macaw won't preen

[sschneider]

I got my blue and gold macaw about 6 months ago. He was beautiful when I got him. I have never noticed him preen himself and at first I thought he was stressed with the move. Now his feathers look terrible and I am worried. What should I do?

[Xanthus]

regular bathing is what you should be doing. Shower, mister, whatever. But I would do it as often as he will allow. Everyday for now if he will allow it. You want to get him good and wet, not just a light misting. Also, see if there are any avian vets that can give him a good solid bath (possibly soap used). I know the avian pet shop I work at offers a spa treatment that runs $50 and includes wings and nails as well as the bath. Just a few thoughts. Hope they help.

[Jessalyn Eaton]

Hmmmm..... A macaw not preening? I've never heard of this. Someone here will know. The bath is a good idea. Ruby preens and preens after her shower. How old is he? Maybe a call to your vet.

[2horse]

Banjo is a selective preener, she does not preen all the way to the end of every tail feather. She loves doing her head with her foot. She also does not preen with the same thoroughness of the other birds and sometimes I wonder if this is because she is an incubator baby. She is learning but who knows how expert she will eventually get at it. Her feathers are with the exception of the tail in excellent condition.

Showers do help because they have to dry themselves.

[Jessalyn Eaton]

What does it mean to be an incubator baby?

[Xanthus]

it means that a fertile is removed from the nest and placed in an incubator to hatch. It is usually best to let the parents hatch and feed for the first feed, as incubation is tricky, and hand feeding such a tiny little thing is very difficult.

[Jessalyn Eaton]

Thanks! I see. So they weren't raised by their parents at all. Guess they would have taught the baby to preen. Hmmm.... how to teach a parrot to preen???

[2horse]

Originally Posted by Jessalyn Eaton

Thanks! I see. So they weren't raised by their parents at all. Guess they would have taught the baby to preen. Hmmm.... how to teach a parrot to preen???

Even when I take babies, the older birds preen babies and continue to teach them. Banjo missed out on this as she is the first macaw. Peanut did not like her so he did not preen her. Preening is a bird thing that they need to learn from another bird. Honey does help Banjo but that tail is simply too big and dangerous to preen, it can knock a little birdie right off.