PDA

View Full Version : Hy for a 10 year old



josiesmom
08-20-2014, 01:29 PM
One of Ben's friends just told him that they bought their 10 year old daughter a baby hyacinth macaw for her birthday. They found the breeder on craigslist and traveled to NJ (about 2 1/2) to pick him up. They said the place was a bit shady but after pricing these babies, they couldn't go wrong for $3,000. They have NO experience with small birds let alone macaws. This guy will not believe that this bird is going to be big. He showed Ben a pic of his daughter with the bird on her shoulder! Ben has been trying to educate this guy and at least clue him in on what to expect but he won't listen. It's a cute lil bird, like blue from rio. I'm sorry for the rant...I just can't believe how ignorant people can be.

plax
08-20-2014, 02:01 PM
How old is this baby Hy? Have they taken over the hand-feeding and are they competent to do it safely (without aspirating the baby)? It's hard for me to imagine that anyone would sell a baby Hy for $3000.

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 03:57 PM
No longer being hand fed but still young and relatively small. They said the place was shady but they bought him because the price was right. I can't imagine it either or any breeder who would sell such a bird to someone for a 10 year old and no experience at all. A very sad situation of you ask me.

plax
08-20-2014, 04:06 PM
No longer being hand fed but still young and relatively small. They said the place was shady but they bought him because the price was right. I can't imagine it either or any breeder who would sell such a bird to someone for a 10 year old and no experience at all. A very sad situation of you ask me.Even beyond the things you've mentioned, there's something else that bothers me. That is, baby Hyacinth Macaws can take up to one year (and in some cases longer) to wean. If the bird has not reached its adult size, then it should most likely still be on appropriate formula and receiving regular feedings (which should be combined with making solid foods available). If it is young enough to still require the hand-feedings and they have been discontinued, there is a significant potential for nutritional deficiency to develop and for its growth to become stunted :(. Worse yet, there is the risk that it may pass away from inadequate nutrition :'(

Have these folks consulted with an avian veterinarian?

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 04:28 PM
I'll ask when he gets home but my guess would be no. We don't have one in the area. I hate the thought of what the future holds for this poor guy. I'll post more when I get more info.

plax
08-20-2014, 04:30 PM
I'll ask when he gets home but my guess would be no. We don't have one in the area. I hate the thought of what the future holds for this poor guy. I'll post more when I get more info.Thank you. I sincerely hope that someone can put them on the right track, and soon!

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 04:33 PM
Plax, do you have a pic of your hy with your b&g so I can let Ben show this guy a comparison?

Macaw Lover
08-20-2014, 04:37 PM
Shady + baby Hy is never a good mix. Please, please get involved and as Tony said, this can be/is a life threatening situation for this baby. If babies are not fed out properly their internal organs do not develop properly and will die and sometimes that can be quickly.

A Hy for a 10 years old .... that just blows my mind.

2birds
08-20-2014, 05:12 PM
I don't see anything wrong with a HY for a 10 year old. That is providing that the parents of said 10 yr. old know what they're doing and teach the 10 yr. old how to do it right. Obviously not (Just a blue bird, like on Rio). I feel so bad for this guy and I'm not even close to this situation.

kendrafitz
08-20-2014, 05:14 PM
Tony & Renee - I was thinking the same thing about handfeeding. I know GWs are handfed for what seems like forever and Hys take even longer to wean.

Lori - I agree with you as long as the parents are aware that it will be mostly their job. ;). Rosie is technically Ashley's bird. However, in reality she is mine. Nothing wrong with bringing in a family pet, as long as mom/dad help out.

Macaw Lover
08-20-2014, 06:14 PM
It is obvious the parents know nothing about Hyacinth Macaws if they are willing to hand over $3000 to some shady person and doesn't even realize this will be a BIG bird.

Usual scenario: this back yard breeder owns a pair of Hyacinths that ended up having an egg that was able to hatch. With Hyacinths, the 2 critical stages in a baby's life is making it out of the shell and then getting it past the 3 month mark because Hyacinth babies will throw themselves onto their back where they can aspirate the food in the crop. Many, many a fantastic Hyacinth breeder has almost had a heart attack when they do this.

The seller of this baby more than likely doesn't have a clue that it takes to raise the baby 8, 9 maybe 10 months our more so to cut the chance of loosing money, they find someone who knows nothing about the needs of properly feeding out the baby, they get to put $3000 in their pocket and could not care less that the baby is more than likely to die because people believe the seller when they are told it is 'easy, just feed them a couple times of day'.

Do these people know what signs to look for when things are starting to head down hill and the vet needs to be seen immediately? Probably not.


Do they even own a scale to monitor the baby's weight? My guess would be no.


Do these new owners even have someone to mentor them that are experienced with Macaws and I don't mean any other species.

For $3000 my bet is this is a really young baby, forced to wean out and is begging for food, being small which really is stunted in growth, and a good chance of it having medical issues.

My heart bleeds for this baby.

plax
08-20-2014, 06:24 PM
Plax, do you have a pic of your hy with your b&g so I can let Ben show this guy a comparison?I'm sorry, Anita, but I don't have any photos of Zaf and Jack together. That's because each of them has an intense dislike for the other. When they happen to become too near one another I have to act very quickly to avert a serious fight between them :(. Additionally, Jack is a fairly large B&G (his empty weight is currently 1250 grams and he's a very tall Macaw), so the size contrast in a photo may not appear that striking. Zaf's weight is 1400 grams empty now... which is about what he used to weigh before his accident last year. He lost a great deal of weight from his muscle depletion - he was down to barely above 1200g at his lowest point. Thankfully his weight progressively increased throughout his recovery and his muscle mass is now back to normal. He seemed to hang around 1370 empty for a while but finally inched up to 1400 again.

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 06:29 PM
Thank you for the info. So basically, your full sized healthy Hy was weighing in a lil over 3 pounds at his heaviest. That's impressive! Any idea how long he is or his wing span?

We estimate Josie's wing span to be about 3 1/2 feet but we can figure out how to do a more accurate measurement since she really won't let anyone else near her while I'm holding her.

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 06:30 PM
Uh=hy. Gotta love auto correct.

plax
08-20-2014, 06:42 PM
Thank you for the info. So basically, your full sized healthy Hy was weighing in a lil over 3 pounds at his heaviest. That's impressive! Any idea how long he is or his wing span?

We estimate Josie's wing span to be about 3 1/2 feet but we can figure out how to do a more accurate measurement since she really won't let anyone else near her while I'm holding her.I've fixed your auto-correction typo for you, Anita :)

You are correct... Zaf weighs just over 3 pounds empty. Zaf's wingspan is somewhere between 48 and 50 inches. I'm unsure of his length from beak to tail tip... I can guess about 38 inches (or less). Obviously, it depends upon whether his longest tail feathers have fully grown in at the time of measurement. He recently molted out both of his longest tail feathers and his newest ones are still growing in.

Macaw Lover
08-20-2014, 07:26 PM
A friend of mine's Hy had a top weight of 1800 grams but the vet said that was too much and he is down to 1600.

There is another male Hy with a weight of 1534 and a length of at least 40 inch. Forget about wingspan other than B I G That little guy can have one foot on each shoulder and look over your head.

plax
08-20-2014, 07:59 PM
A friend of mine's Hy had a top weight of 1800 grams but the vet said that was too much and he is down to 1600.

There is another male Hy with a weight of 1534 and a length of at least 40 inch. Forget about wingspan other than B I G That little guy can have one foot on each shoulder and look over your head.1600 grams is a big Hy. 1800 grams is likely an obese Hy. Believe it or not, many captive Hys fall within the 1250-1330g range... I classify those as small Hys. I'm aware of the prevalence of the smaller ones because someone on a Hy breeders group that I belong to took a poll from the members for the weights of their birds. I was surprised at how many smaller ones existed. I consider Zaf to be a medium size Hy. If I weigh him with a full crop he usually weighs somewhere between 1430 and 1460 grams. Now Salsa, my GW, currently weighs in the 1570-1580g range empty. He doesn't look to be bigger than Zaf but he sure outweighs him! Salsa has a tendency to overeat and his weight will increase to exceed 1700 grams if I don't meter his meals and keep him engaged with his flapping workouts.

josiesmom
08-20-2014, 09:50 PM
Does salsa like his workouts? Josie doesn't like it when I make her flap. She gets all mouthy and starts yelling at me to stop that. She is a bird of leisure I guess. She has lots of toys and lots of outside time but I feel she needs to stretch her wings and flap.

jtbirds
08-20-2014, 09:55 PM
If these people need serious help I am in PA and can offer assistance. This whole situation seems like nothing else but ignorance..

plax
08-20-2014, 10:32 PM
Does salsa like his workouts? Josie doesn't like it when I make her flap. She gets all mouthy and starts yelling at me to stop that. She is a bird of leisure I guess. She has lots of toys and lots of outside time but I feel she needs to stretch her wings and flap.Fortunately, Salsa loves to hang on tightly to a perch or a bar and just cut loose with his hard flapping. Once I got him in the habit he began doing it on his own. Flapping with fully feathered wings is the best calorie burner and cardio workout possible for them due to the air resistance involved.

plax
08-31-2014, 10:40 PM
Anita: Have you heard anything further on the young Hy?

josiesmom
08-31-2014, 10:47 PM
I'm sorry, I thought I posted an update a few weeks ago. His owner is doing better so they aren't going to rehome him at this time. I'm happy for her and for the lil guy. It just wasn't the right time. :-)

josiesmom
08-31-2014, 10:49 PM
Duh...totally wrong post. Lol

No, Ben hasn't seen the guy since. I keep bugging him but he thinks the guy got transferred.

plax
08-31-2014, 11:04 PM
Duh...totally wrong post. Lol

No, Ben hasn't seen the guy since. I keep bugging him but he thinks the guy got transferred.Okay. Well, then I hope the very best for the little guy :(

And BTW, I have no idea who or what your previous reply was about ;)

josiesmom
08-31-2014, 11:10 PM
I thought you were asking about the hahns Mac that we were going to take in. It was a true blond moment!

plax
08-31-2014, 11:24 PM
I thought you were asking about the hahns Mac that we were going to take in. It was a true blond moment!Ah okay... I remember the situation about the little Hahns now. And no problem at all... you've managed to provide update info for both birds :). But I'm truly hoping the Hy has a chance to live a healthy life considering the circumstances involved :(