Need help now

[Mariar]

So as most of you know I rescued a 1 1/2 year old severe macaw on May 16. 2015.. She won't eat chop, veggies, pellets..sometimes I get her to eat apples or watermelon or pastchios..some seed..no water...I mean the only time she drinks is if I purée watermelon and cucumbers and she drinks from my cup..I don't know what to do..I thought I'd give it time..but no go on her part..she's so scared of EVERYTHING. Do I crop feed her to get some nutrients in her?shes so thin and the skin around her eyes are a little loose...dehydration?...I can't lose sissy too..I'm just starting to really love her..vet sAys nothing but try new things,whatever...please give me advice..please. I've tried all kinds of food and chop and veggies and fruit..I'm scared of losing her.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Something doesn't sound right . I would go to an avian vet [and tell him everything soon].

 

[RavensGryf]

I agree with Terri (Pinkbirdy) something isn't right. Sounds like a trip to the avian vet is in order. Good luck.

 

[Mariar]

She's 360 grams and I went to an avian vet..I was told it was stress related..considering the abuse she may have endured.

 

[Mariar]

I lost my YNA on May 10 this year I may be over thinking things but I'm not willing to take any chances..this little girl needs me as much as I need her

 

[Kiwibird]

What WILL she eat readily? Even if it's not particularly healthy, she needs calories NOW. If she will eat seed and nuts, feed her that. Have you tried her on (cooked) beans and grains and pasta? How about baby food? You have lots of time to get her on fresh, healthy foods, but right now you need to just get in any food. Many birds are highly resistant to drastic changes in diets and some will even starve themselves over it. Get her eating something, get her weight back up, THEN start working on getting her to eat chop and fruits ext...

 

[Mariar]

She eats nothing really ..I get lucky..that's all I can say..I give her pumpkin seeds,pastchios ,apples and watermelon..I make homemade candy ..chia seeds,sesame seed and honey ..I give her pellets but she won't eat em..she ate sunflower seed and crack corn when I took her from those awful people at the flea market . She's so scared of EVERYTHING...food included.im willing to crop feed her if it comes to it..I love her so much.

 

[KimKim]

What about almonds or walnuts? Have you tried seed mix again?

 

[Kiwibird]

Ok. So she eats sunflower seeds and corn. Get her those ASAP. I'd suggest buying the best bagged seed mx you can find (preferably a vitamin fortified one). Remember, this is NOT a long term diet, rather a short term fix to keep her eating. A young bird is not going to suffer long term effects of a few more months on seed while you work with her and get her to point she is ready to start transitioning to healthier foods Even if it takes a YEAR to convert her, it will be OK. Force-feeding her will be FAR MORE damaging than taking time to convert her to a healthy diet. Sounds like she will accept some fresh, which is better than some birds, so keep offering it, but give her seed too (for now). It actually took us several YEARS to convert Kiwi to fresh foods. It was a struggle, as he reacted to fruit and veg as though they were radioactive! He also came home not eating hardly anything but a little seed and human junk food (or if there was something else he ate, we couldn't figure it out). It took a LONG TIME, but we just steadily decreased the seed and upped the fresh. Now that's pretty much all he eats and he is perfectly healthy. Don't get too worked up over the diet thing, take a deep breath, and go to the pet store tomorrow for some seed mix ok? =

What you need to focus on right now is getting over her fear of new things and socialization. Diet will be part of that process, via sharing your (healthy) food with her as she becomes more social and intrigued with what your eating. This bird was abused. She will take time to come around and start blossoming. Don't get frustrated, give up hope or get overly concerned that she's not progressing as fast as hoped. She will come around on her own little time line, some issues will take longer to overcome than other. Diet tends to be one of those issues that takes a long time and shouldn't be rushed. Love, patience, dedication and persistence is the *key*.

 

[Bartleby]

I'm with Kiwibird, feed her the sunflower and cracked corn.

Sterling came home and sunflower seeds were the only thing he recognized as food. He would have starved himself had they not been available to him....and he's a typical piggy Zon who will now eat anything. Anyway, death from starvation/malnutrition is far more imminent/worrisome than the down the road of effects of a bad diet (which would take years and years to have any effect anyway).

With Sterling it was about 6 months before sunflower seeds finally exited this house. It's taken a year for him to try a pellet. You've got time to work her slowly up to eating healthy, there is no rush to get her on the "best" diet.

My one diet tip was/is birdie bread...seeing me eat it got his interest piqued and he tried it. Then I tricked him into trying other more "scary" things by baking them into the birdie bread. At first all mushed/ground up so he was exposed to the taste and then slowly over time larger and larger pieces that required actual chewing and manipulation and eventually we transitioned to uncooked dice.

 

[Mariar]

Thank you ..I'll calm down..and try your suggestions...my YNA was mr. Piggy..so this is a big change for me..her reward treat is pecans but she'll only eat like two same with almonds..I'll take your advice,thank you thank you.

 

[Kiwibird]

Thank you ..I'll calm down..and try your suggestions...my YNA was mr. Piggy..so this is a big change for me..her reward treat is pecans but she'll only eat like two same with almonds..I'll take your advice,thank you thank you.

I know you are very worried about her, and are a very concerned parront

What you are experiencing is actually a VERY common issue with rescues, and there is a very effective protocol to switch them off a bad diet (Bartleby gave a good overview of the methodology all of us who have had this EXACT issue have used!). It just takes time and requires them to continue getting their familiar diet during the transition. And if it eases your mind any, birds take DECADES, not months, to develop the diseases of an all seed diet. And your baby won't even be on an all seed diet anyways, as she is accepting some fresh foods already (which is excellent!).

If you don't know what brand she was eating before or it was so abysmal you can't bring yourself to feed it (like the walmart stuff), if you have a local Petsmart, they should carry a good brand called "Vitacraft MENU care complex". It's in a hot pink and yellow bag with a B&G and CAG on the front. Kiwi gets their seed mix in his foraging toys as non-perishable treats (I'm not anti-seed personally, just don't feed it as a significant portion of his diet anymore). For a seed mix, it is pretty decent. No peanuts or bulky fillers, a pretty good assortment of various seeds (not too much sunflower), some grains, vitamin fortified with A, D3, E and omega 3's+6's , probiotics and even some pellets. Again, not a long term diet, but should be adequate as a dietary staple in the short term for a bird transitioning off a seed diet.

 

[Solo]

Any updates?

 

[Mariar]

No updates...she's still being miss picky....still will only drink from my cup not hers.ill let you know if something different happens. .thanx.

 

[Flboy]

Remember, as Kiwibird said, don't freak out over seeds! We all know sprouts are great for them, hmm, what are we sprouting? Seeds! Good pellets? Lots of seeds!

 

[Mariar]

I know im overthinking things...im just going to keep her bowls filled with fruit and let her drink outta my cup...at 360grams shes not under weight
Thanks for all the great advice...arrggg off to job #1

 

[Mariar]

Thanks kiwi bird ..sissy loves eating the vitakraft menu care complex..never would I have thought to give her that. Btw I quit job # 1 I would never be home and I feel this time with a new bird is important..thanks again.