Parent of the heaviest macaw..

[94lt1]

Plax just slapped that on me.. Now the story..

Monte is my green wing/scarlet... He doesn't keep enough feathers at times to identify him.. Sad... He was passed from owner to owner to owner.. Neglected, very cage possessive.. To him, every time he bonds to someone, they get rid if him.. Its wold buy him, their gf or wife would say, me or the bird..

Perhaps because I understand the bond between a bird and it's friend... I would've said see ya...

So long story short... He's very overweight.. Didn't do anything..plays with us, but he doesn't fly or flap...

Brought him to the vet, I was told at first an unreal number.. Vet tech screw up.. But he's still very heavy..

So now everyday while I work out, I have to get monte to flap... Turns out that putting a box fan blowing. On him will make him flap...

Doing it for a month, his diet was fine, but we're going to see what exercise does first.. Then we'll worry about changing his diet...

Fun fun.. Excuse The typos.. Dang phone..

[Honesty]

It seems like you need to teach Monty how to work out with you:)

[94lt1]

That's what we're up to... He keeps getting bigger and we're gonna have to name him thanksgiving lol

[Wendy K.]

That's what we're up to... He keeps getting bigger and we're gonna have to name him thanksgiving lol

That's hilarious, Brandon! Monte, the Thanksgiving Turkey. HAHAHAHAHA!

Poor baby has gone through SO much! I'm glad you're taking the time with him. He's the one that bit the "you know what" out of you on the entire car ride home, right?

I'm sure he'll shed the extra ounces with your excercise program in NO time. :D

[94lt1]

Yep.. He was love at first bite.... Lol

[josiesmom]

Does he like that? I think if we put a fan in front of Josie she would scream. She can't fly so she yells for "help" when she attempts it. She's such a baby.

[94lt1]

No monte is used to fans... I Would never do anything to scare or injure my flock..

And yes he likes it.. Its his exercise regimen now... The fan is blowing at him, but on the ground.. He's 3-4 feet above it..

[Blancaej]

Sounds like you are working on the weight issue. I'm sure he will be leaner before you know it. I don't think you want GW for Thanksgiving supper! :th_shocking: LOL!

[94lt1]

He has a vet visit coming up.. He seems more fit.. But man... He's plucking more and more....I wish I knew why... We give him lots of attention, love, treats... Time away from his cage... He's with us all the time... Eats meals with us.... He's my new hat lately...

He's gotten good enough that he will ride on my head... And not try to take it off... Thinner and plucked... :( not a good combination.. I wish I knew what the poor guy is thinking.. He seems happy... Lots of toys... New toys ever few days..

I just don't know about him.. Maybe it's hormones...

[plax]

He's gotten good enough that he will ride on my head... And not try to take it off...That's one heavy hat!


Thinner and plucked... :( not a good combination.. I wish I knew what the poor guy is thinking.. He seems happy... Lots of toys... New toys ever few days..

I just don't know about him.. Maybe it's hormones...It can seem nearly impossible to get them to stop plucking at times. It becomes an ingrained, virtually involuntary behavior :(

[roxynoodle]

Well, I want to see the actual number, lol! What does he weigh (or did weigh when you got him)?

Yeah, the plucking might be ingrained by now. I've decided it's best just to accept it for what it is and not think about it. You can't undo his history; you can only give him love from now on.

[94lt1]

He was just over 4 lbs a few months ago.. We're shooting for 1700 grams... Which is about 3.2 pounds I believe... I need to check.. I'm not great with the metric system... Or anything other than pounds lol..

[roxynoodle]

About 450g is one pound IIRC. That would make 3lbs at about 1350g. He's a big boy!

[Debra]

I have a female eclectus and a female quaker who pluck. The quaker isn't too bad and only plucks her neck and right side of her chest. The ekkie, on the other hand, started plucking because she was hormonal. This went on for a couple of years until we realized just what was going on with her. It got so my husband couldn't touch her without her going into a mating pose. We took away everything that might make her hormonal and she's beginning to let her feathers come back in. I'm hoping she'll let them all come back in. She's beautiful feathers or not though. I wish you luck on your baby.