Baby Macaw - Spasm - Hiccups - Don't Know !?!?
webm...@seakayaker.com
Just picked up a baby Hahn's Macaw. It's 4 months old and talking.
I've had him 3 days now and noticed he has a very strange problem. He
makes a baby's sound (like a yelping - but like a hiccups involuntary
reation) every 5-9 seconds (when I got him it was spaced at 5 - 20
second intervals). When he was first doing it I thought it was just a
baby thing. Now he's been doing it two days for 24 hours each day.
I brought him back to the dealer and she said she thinks its just a
baby thing and she'll get over it. Let it go for the weekend and if it
persists she'll let one of her vets look her over.
The yelp is involuntary. Even when she tries to sleep her head jerks
up to yelp every 5-9 seconds. She's eating food and drinking. Not much
else right now. Anybody have any similar experience?
Second question: Just shelled out some big bucks for this bird. So I
don't have any cash around till next friday (not kidding here). I live
in NYC and seems like all the vets want cash upfront. Anyone know a
good bird vet that'll bill me next week if I have to run.
Appreciate all your replies!
Would appreciate it if you e-mailed me direct any suggestions! Thanks!
webm...@seakayaker.com
Layne David Dicker
> Just picked up a baby Hahn's Macaw. It's 4 months old and talking.
> I've had him 3 days now and noticed he has a very strange problem. He
> makes a baby's sound (like a yelping - but like a hiccups involuntary
> reation) every 5-9 seconds (when I got him it was spaced at 5 - 20
> second intervals). When he was first doing it I thought it was just a
> baby thing. Now he's been doing it two days for 24 hours each day.
>
> I brought him back to the dealer and she said she thinks its just a
> baby thing and she'll get over it. Let it go for the weekend and if it
> persists she'll let one of her vets look her over.
>
> The yelp is involuntary. Even when she tries to sleep her head jerks
> up to yelp every 5-9 seconds. She's eating food and drinking. Not much
> else right now. Anybody have any similar experience?
>
> Second question: Just shelled out some big bucks for this bird. So I
> don't have any cash around till next friday (not kidding here). I live
> in NYC and seems like all the vets want cash upfront. Anyone know a
> good bird vet that'll bill me next week if I have to run.
Is there a "wing flip" that accompanies the soise" If so, this is a "feed
me" behavior which is very common in prematurely weaned or gavage-fed
macaws. It is a VERY bad sign in allegedly weaned birds. Even if there is
no wing flip, it is probably, and I did say PROBABLY, the same thing.
(frequently referred to as "gronking")
You imply that the birds does this every several seconds to the point of
interrupting it's sleep. If this is so? You imply that the bird seems
listless "She's eating food and drinking. Not much else right now." If
this is the case, you may have even a bigger problem as a 4 mo Hahn's
should be active some if not most of the time.
Anyway, the things you describe could be a lot of both physiological and
behavioral difficulties. You NEED, this is NOT optional, to get the bird
to a qualified avian vet NOW to rule out any physical problems. I could
ask you lots of questions to rule some things out but to hell with me, get
the bird to a vet who knows what he or she is doing. Get the number for
the Big Apple Bird Association or the Long Island Parrot Society and get a
referral. But borrow the money and get the bird to a vet.
Behaviorally, you need to find out the bird's history (breeder, how she
was fed, when and how she was weaned, what she was fed, what she was
weaned onto, etc) and then have a long talk with a behaviorist. Since
money is an issue, try Liz Wilson in PA. She's the same price as me but
you'll save money on the long distance charges. She can be reached at
215-946-5964.
This is possibly the scariest sentence I've read in a while: "I brought
him back to the dealer and she said she thinks its just a baby thing and
she'll get over it." I'm glad you realized that this is far from a
conclusion on which you can rely. Now please do the follow-up ASAP.
Layne Dicker
Staff Avian Behaviorist
Wilshire Animal Hospital, Santa Monica, CA
