Meet Pe Pe

brianc

New member
Jul 21, 2017
14
0
Littleton, Massachusetts
Parrots
Looking for a macaw
Pe pe is 10+ yrs old. I'm his 3rd parrant. Last human had him for ~10 yrs and its unknown who had him prior or how long.

He's definitely cage aggressive and I had to clean quite a bit of feces from one of his perches and the bottom of the cage. His nails are quite long as well. Getting them done on friday with some help from my local pets store. Its going to be a joint venture. Ya real fun... (I'm getting him use to towels)

Featherage is extremely good (Though he did bite himself day one but the affects aren't long lasting. Some flight feathers is all). So on one hand he didn't come out of his cage much or was handled at least he wasn't a complete mess. His food choices weren't v. good pretzels and seed. More on this later.

I was looking at a rescue down in Southern Conn (sorts creepy really. Ankle bracelet on one of the house tenants (not good right)). But the B+G was bare from the thigh's down. There was some trauma there and I made the choice to get Pepe instead.

He's a lunger but is improving day by day. From day 1 to now day-11 he's made incredible progress. Getting him off his cage is still difficult but after being away from the cage has been v.good. On or off thye cage, he takes head scratches and the like. And is still gaining trust. (My trust and his trust of me). He's gotten me once and broke skin but not bad and it serves well to respect the beak.

I have an old denim jacket that has protected me with newspaper in the sleeves. I expect to wear that for at least a month

When I can I need to start a thread for 20 questions. I know I have that many.

One of my questions is when will the regurgitating stop. He does it whenever I enter the room. It is subsiding somewhat but clearly he's trying to bond. I suspect all birds go through the rehoming process.

Yes, I've read as many post on here as possible and done as much research as I can.

Some immediate questions are food related.

How many nuts do you all feed you birds on a daily basis. Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans etc.

I've given him his pre-existing food seed mix, but have tried, Bluebeeries (only takes a couple each time) spits out skin. then stops them.

bananas until he's disgusted by the slime on his beek.

Strawberries (wont eat them). chopped or otherwise.

I've also given him what I cook for myself.

Some pork chop diced pieces, rice/spinach rizotto (loves it). Sweat potatoes (he decides how much he'll eat). Butternut squash ravioli, and a spinach / aspargus ravioli. Loves each of them.

Chicken barbequed etc.

and some eggs too. a test amount really.

He's not going hungry but he's been eating pretzels and chips prior so changing his diet is going to take some time.

I've got more questions but not enough time to type. Now I gotta figure out how to upload file pics.
 

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Another question would be to ask how you all dry off your bird after a drenching shower. He loved the warm shower (i don't think he got that kind of attention) but drying him was a problem and he shivered for quite a while. I must solve this before it gets cold up in the Northeast.. I saw heated perches but I think a heat lamp might also be needed. What do you all do?
 
Hi, firstly re PePe's nails please go see a Certified Avian Vet and have a full health check over done and his nails filed. Been a few horror stories re nails cut short at pet stores making them bleed. Secondly a Certified Avian Vet and his staff should be competent in handling all parrots.

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/9841-vets-your-area.html

Guessing he has not been to the Docs for sometime and this will give information of how he is health wise and anything that needs attention hopefully before it is an issue.

Drying - does he like to snuggle in a towel? No? How about a hairdryer (NON TEFLON ETC!) on warm only and move it around plenty so as not to cause burns.

Food; https://www.beautyofbirds.com/macawfood.htm

Nuts are fatty and our captive birds don't do the airmiles that they would in the wild to burn them off so common sense must prevail.

Pork and BBQ chicken are not good choices. Well cooked plain chicken is OK from a reputable source. Pork can and does contain all sorts of cr$p. There are warnings to us on the frequency of eating BBQ food.

Risotto is there any salty stock/broth in it? Answer yes and its not good answer No and its alright. Go easy though. No foods should contain salt. Be very discerning with human food please! Onion btw is a no go for our parrots.

I expect you will live in this section are fair bit lol http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/

Congrats on your new addition and thanks for taking him. You sound like you will be good friends.

FYI:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...e-s-pfoa-s-silicon-ceramic-cook-bakeware.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/449-toxic-list-our-birds.html
 
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Hi, firstly re PePe's nails please go see a Certified Avian Vet and have a full health check over done and his nails filed. Been a few horror stories re nails cut short at pet stores making them bleed

Yes have seen a couple threads on this myself. Really pet stores shouldn't offer this service. They're really not trained to do it. Also if you ask about a trim the same time as a check-up you find that some vets will just do it for free (rare but not unheard of) as it's often such a short simple thing to do, even if you're charged it's cheap so better to let them do it.
 
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I've been in to speak to the Avian Vet down the street from my house (reputable of course). I doubt he's been into a vet his whole life. I'll be taking him in to the vet next week.

The rizotto (its not really rizotto) no broth - no salt. Its my own creation. No worries there as I don't cook with salt anyway.

No snuggling in a blanket for drying. He'll tear it appart. I'm getting him used to towels but it'll be a process that could take some time. There's nothing quick here but every day shows improvement with his demeanor. I suspect a long long warm up time to get him to a comfortable welcome place where he can have trust.
 
Hi, firstly re PePe's nails please go see a Certified Avian Vet and have a full health check over done and his nails filed. Been a few horror stories re nails cut short at pet stores making them bleed

Yes have seen a couple threads on this myself. Really pet stores shouldn't offer this service. They're really not trained to do it. Also if you ask about a trim the same time as a check-up you find that some vets will just do it for free (rare but not unheard of) as it's often such a short simple thing to do, even if you're charged it's cheap so better to let them do it.

LordTriggs is correct..any time I bring my kids to their doc for a wellness check..a birdicure is a complementary nicetee :)
PLEASE avoid taking your beautiful Mac to a pet store for any trims..DAMHIKT!


Jim
 
You'll get great advice here. Thank you for rescuing this bird! That puts you on my hero list.
 
Welcome and be welcomed Read, read, read my friend, the stickies at the top of the Macaw sub forum. Birdman666 is our Macaw guru.

Re drying him off - First I use a towel to gently pat off a lot of water on the top feather layer, then use a space heater about 5-6 feet from Salty's cage till I see he's dry, some folks use a hair dryer held at arms length
 
Welcome to your new Mac!

Also second the advice to get your new macaw checked out by a Certified Avian Vet who will also be able to assist you in trimming his nails and give you a good idea of what needs improvement in his health and how he is doing physically. With blood tests they'll also be able to ensure he is healthy on the inside, free from diseases, etc.
 
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Update: Meet Pe Pe

Been over 3 months now with Pepe. Been to the Vet (blood work, nails, featherage) and everything is good. Clean bill of health from the (avian) vet. Nice to have a specialized vet < .5 mile from my house.

He's doing well. Shower(s) are on Sunday's and he's now allowing to be wrapped in a towel for 15 minutes followed by blow dryer treatment which he loves and it settles him in.

He's gotten a second cage over my g.f.'s house and he loves it there too. She;s really good to him and he's making an effort to bond with her too. She's been bitten twice but she's gotten him on her arm a few times and progress is being made. She's not as assertive as I am so I think he takes advantage of it. He's a big bird and needs rules.

Anyway, bye for now. I'll update along the way
 
Re: Update: Meet Pe Pe

Been over 3 months now with Pepe. Been to the Vet (blood work, nails, featherage) and everything is good. Clean bill of health from the (avian) vet. Nice to have a specialized vet < .5 mile from my house.

He's doing well. Shower(s) are on Sunday's and he's now allowing to be wrapped in a towel for 15 minutes followed by blow dryer treatment which he loves and it settles him in.

He's gotten a second cage over my g.f.'s house and he loves it there too. She;s really good to him and he's making an effort to bond with her too. She's been bitten twice but she's gotten him on her arm a few times and progress is being made. She's not as assertive as I am so I think he takes advantage of it. He's a big bird and needs rules.

Anyway, bye for now. I'll update along the way


Thanks for the update! Glad to hear things are going well and that he seems to be adjusting well. You are right in that these guys need boundaries set and will test them on a daily basis!
 

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