Recently Rescued Catalina Macaw

[Tiredmama2015]

Kiwi is my rescue Catalina Macaw that I brought home about a month ago. She is super gentle when taking treats. She was cage bound and kept in her cage with her brother for her entire life. She is 4 years old. She seems to have been plucking around her neck, on her legs and under her wings. I have not noticed any feathers in the bottom of her cage after a week of her being here.

I have started target training with her. She gets the concept of touching the target to get a treat and knows treats are on the way as soon as I pick up the target and bring it over. She finally comes out of her cage but getting off of it is another story. We are waiting for Manzanita branches to arrive so I can build her a huge play gym with some foraging toys.

She is terrified of my hand and I am not pushing stepping up at the moment.

She is currently eating Zupreem Naturals and pellets that I ordered from birdtricks. She was previously on a sunflower seed mix and it took about 3 days for her to switch to the pellets but she loves them now. My attempt at chop was a failure but I am going to keep at it and try different recipes and hopefully something works.

Any tips to entice her over to her play gym once it is built? Maybe putting her pellets in a bowl on it instead of in the cage?

Any general tips to make her happy? She is my first Macaw and I am committed to her and giving her a happy home.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Here is a pic after she got a spray bottle shower

Kiwi the Catalina Macaw https://imgur.com/gallery/tcNi3

 

[itzjbean]

Hello and welcome to you and to Kiwi! Thank you for rescuing her out of a bad situation.

You seem to be doing the right things so far - giving her space, not forcing her to step up or off the cage. It will just take some time for her to adjust.

With the CHOP, what is the reason you failed? You want to mostly give her a variety of veggies but also fruits on occasion, as they contain a lot of sugar, and grains/legumes for energy. I make chop for my birds but they're much smaller than macaws. But you should be able to toss some veggies (chopped up a little) into a bowl and it should be good to go. You can feed her peppers (the flesh), carrots, peas, green beans, zucchini, squash, leafy greens, etc. really ANY veggie besides avocado, onion and garlic. These are toxic to parrots.

 

[psychocircus91]

I would just put the stand against the cage. It worked pretty quickly for my shy guy.

As for the chop, I wouldn't say your first attempt is a failure. It just takes time.
This is what worked for me with my two rescues:
Only chop mix in the morning. No seeds, no nuts, no pellets. Then in the late afternoon or evening they would get a little bit of pellets and a treat. Because they would get hungry (but not starved) during the day, they transitioned to eating the chop. It took each of them about 2-4 weeks to really start eating it.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

I may have made the chop to fine in my food processor.

Spinach
Green Bell Pepper
Red Bell Pepper
Carrots
Rotini Pasta
Brown Rice
Chia Seeds

I have tried giving her all of the veggies in rough cuts from my hand. She touched them with her tongue and throws her head back. Broccoli got an even worse reaction. Other veggies and fruit that she seems to loathe are:

Celery
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber
Squash
Zucchini
Grapes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Peaches
Banana (fresh and chips)

 

[Tiredmama2015]

I gave my master creation to her around 8am and it sat untouched until 11am. Pellets were happily eaten around 12. I stuck pellets in the chop the next day and she ate them out. If any veggies were stuck she would shake her head so that it flew off.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Chop for my parrot Kiwi
https://imgur.com/gallery/flO8R

 

[psychocircus91]

I gave my master creation to her around 8am and it sat untouched until 11am. Pellets were happily eaten around 12. I stuck pellets in the chop the next day and she ate them out. If any veggies were stuck she would shake her head so that it flew off.

I would try a longer gap. I did chop at 6am and pellets around 4pm.
I also only did limited pellets in the afternoon so they would be more hungry for the veggies in the morning.

 

[Timneh]

A Macaw breeder BirdFarm told me today "No grapes". I know fruits have limited nutritional value but I wonder why he singled out grapes?

 

[Tiredmama2015]

A Macaw breeder BirdFarm told me today "No grapes". I know fruits have limited nutritional value but I wonder why he singled out grapes?

I found this on the spruce:

Grapes are very sweet to the taste and contain a rather high level of fructose. This means that they can work to give your bird a quick energy boost -- but should be fed sparingly for that very reason. Many bird owners have found that their pets like grapes a little too much, picking them out of fruit mixes while discarding other, more nutritious foods in the process. This can lead to vitamin deficiencies if you don't keep an eye on what your bird is eating. In addition, too many grapes too often could lead to obesity and other issues in your bird, so treat your pet wisely!

Maybe better to just avoid them all together?

 

[wrench13]

Make sure to really wash off skinned fruits like grapes, blueberries, etc. Lots of pesticides are used in modern agriculture, you sure don't want your baby eating OFF.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Make sure to really wash off skinned fruits like grapes, blueberries, etc. Lots of pesticides are used in modern agriculture, you sure don't want your baby eating OFF.

For sure. I have a human child as well and we buy organic and wash all fruit and vegetables well.

 

[MacawMomma]

Such a happy adoption story!!! THANK YOU so much for giving her a loving home!!! Rescued birds might require a bit more time and patience, but boy is it worth it!!!

I also rescued a Catalina earlier this year and we are bonded and inseparable [emoji12][emoji106]

Really happy to hear you are target training, as that will definitely help you get her onto her play perch once it’s ready.

I agree with all the diet recommendations that everyone suggested. My Katie is one picky bird, so only eats about 1/4 of her chop if that. Anything green she hates, but I keep trying! Smoothies are one way I get her some greens [emoji6][emoji736] Anything to get her healthy, right?

Keep us updated, can’t wait to hear how she’s doing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
39 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

 

[Tiredmama2015]

I got Kiwi to come out and about 3 ft down the branch from inside her cage by using the target. This is the farthest she has moved for me and I am really happy. Of course after she ate her treat (almond sliver) and checked out my diy toy, she retreated back to the open door of the cage but I feel like this is progress.

 

[Kentuckienne]

A Macaw breeder BirdFarm told me today "No grapes". I know fruits have limited nutritional value but I wonder why he singled out grapes?

The sugar in grapes can support the growth of yeasts, too.

 

[Teddscau]

The only problems I can see with grapes is how quickly they get mouldy (you know that dimple they have that attaches them to the vine? That's the part that's almost always mouldy), if they ferment, pesticides (grapes are particularly unhealthy because of how much pesticides they suck up), sugar content... So, I guess they really aren't that great. I find grapes become off pretty quickly, so I personally don't feed them to my guys.

 

[wrench13]

The problem I have with feeding parrots grapes.... they could have been made into wine!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I made chop for Amy (BF) and BB (Tiel)...they barely touch it now. Sooo I made "birdy muffin's"...with the same stuff,plus OTHER stuff added...and now they chow down! They are still getting all the proper goodness that chop offers,plus more.

I think the consistency of the chop,being wet ( like after thawing when the bag was frozen)..even after nuking it a bit to try and dry it out,and warm it up ( my kid's like their food "warm") the muffin's are a lot dryer,and also crunchy ( like the muffin top) and they can hold pieces in their hands.





Jim

 

[Tiredmama2015]

I made chop for Amy (BF) and BB (Tiel)...they barely touch it now. Sooo I made "birdy muffin's"...with the same stuff,plus OTHER stuff added...and now they chow down! They are still getting all the proper goodness that chop offers,plus more.

I think the consistency of the chop,being wet ( like after thawing when the bag was frozen)..even after nuking it a bit to try and dry it out,and warm it up ( my kid's like their food "warm") the muffin's are a lot dryer,and also crunchy ( like the muffin top) and they can hold pieces in their hands.





Jim

That sounds like a great idea! Any specific recipe that I should look for?