Newbie

[bamsmomjdg]

Hi, just got my first Macaw last night. I'm so excited this is my dream bird. I got him from someone selling him in the pet section. He is 19 yrs old, I'm not sure what kind he is. He does have a little handicap though (missing his front toes). I plan on taking him to the vet today to get checked out to make sure he is healthy. Is there any tips you might want to share?

 

[95talongirl]

Well congratulations!

The vet is the #1 tip, first and foremost. Especially if you have any other birds in the house. Also, if you do, keep him separate from the others for at least 30 days and until you get a clean bill of health from the vet.

I don't think his lack of toes will hinder him much. I've seen many birds get around very well with missing toes! It's amazing how they can adapt! However, if you do find him having some difficulty, they make some more flattened type perches that can help with balance/grip issues.

Best of luck to you and congrats!

 

[GW.Joe]

Welcome to the forum!! Congrats on the new mac!!

If you take a picture of him we could tell you the type he is
(well we really just want to see him but we can still tell you)

 

[95talongirl]

^ LOL, that, too.

We all love photos!

 

[Allee]

Congratulations! Welcome to the forum! Good of you to give a loving home to an older bird. Looking forward to photos.

 

[Terry57]

Hello and welcome! Congratulations on your new family member. Good luck at the vet and I would also love to see pictures!

 

[Birdman666]

Given the missing toes, I'm going to guess that this was not the dominant bird of a pair, or was housed in and around another large macaw when he was young, who was not thrilled to have to share with another bird...

One of my all time favorite Hyacinth macaws was missing toes, and didn't miss a beat. He was feeling amorous, and his mate was "not in the mood." He was too young to "take the hint." Put that foot on my back one more time and you're gonna be missing a toe... so now he is. He still gets around just fine though. "She" was the dominant bird in that pair, which is a little unusual for macaws...

What is the background? Has this bird been handled much?

 

[thekarens]

Welcome! Birdman gives excellent mac advice, feel free to share.

 

[bamsmomjdg]

How do you inset a photo? and i'll glady share

 

[bamsmomjdg]

Added pic to profile. ... His foot injury is the original owner didn't secure the cage and it fell over with him in it and it landed on his foot

EDIT: added pictures to post for you, GW.Joe

 

[Birdman666]

That explains a lot really. And I am afraid it doesn't say much to me about his former owner... but then I am a bit of a snob in that respect.

Okay, I was thinking this was a big mac, and it's a mini-mac. Looks like a severe macaw to me. He seems a bit on the small side from the pic, but it's hard to tell.

His feather quality, frankly, is pretty ratty. Usually tail feathers like that on an older bird are pretty good indications of being in too small a cage, for too long a period of time. He could do with a good bath.

I see the stumps on the toes. Seems to be long healed. I've seen worse. He has enough to hang on to the perch in the pic. So that should be fine. Just watch out for sudden movements when you are carrying him.

 

[GW.Joe]

How do you inset a photo? and i'll glady share

Skip down to how to add them to a post (#8)


I don't know if it is different if you are using a phone, I am on a computer

1) Go here to create an album:

http://www.parrotforums.com/album.php?do=addalbum

Type the name of the album in the "Title" field
Then If you want to, type a Description of what the album is about
(not necessary if title is self explanatory)

Then click "submit" to create the album

2) Now click where it says "Click here to upload pictures!"

3) Then click one of the "Browse" buttons to locate the picture you want to upload
(you can add up to 3 pictures at a time)

4) After you have the picture (or pictures) listed, click "Upload Pictures"

5) Now you are at the "Caption" box, type in a description of the picture
(or one description in each picture's Caption box if you have more than one)

6) Then click "Save Changes"

7) Now you will see the picture (or pictures)

8) To add them to a post, just click on one and then copy buffer the "BB code" and paste it into your post

NOTE: For viewing nicely from a computer the picture should not be much more than 800 px to 1000 px wide

To get back to your Albums just click the "user CP" at the top of every forum page
Then click "Pictures & Albums" on the left sidebar

 

[Freespin]

My partner s Sulphur too has toes missing. Her daddy bit them off when she was a baby. She manages perfectly fine like that =)