Looking for baldness/pluck answers for Macaw

[ChickDancer]

Yesterday, I received a rescued B&G Macaw. It is an assumed female, who was abandoned. Tenants moved out of a rental house and left her behind - locked in her cage for several weeks alone. I've owned parrots before, but not one in this horrible shape!

I'll start looking for a good avian vet tomorrow. But I'm trying to make her as comfortable as possible until I find one. She's getting rehydrated, eating well, and already dancing for me. But she hasn't got a single feather or piece of down on her entire body. She only has her longer wing feathers, her tail feathers, and then feathers on her head where she can't reach to pluck.

On payday, I'm buying her a "hoodie" from flightquarters.com to help her stay warm. But I'm wondering if the plucking was JUST stress from being left alone and abandoned, or if she may have an underlying illness I can treat. She does seem to have one raw area, right on the middle of her breast, just beside the sternum. It's about an inch long, and maybe half an inch wide.

More importantly, last night she kept shaking her head and twitching - a sign of mites in most chickens. I doubt she slept all night. But despite having almost no feathers, I see no sign of mites.

So what else would cause her to twitch so much? And what is the best treatment suggested until I can find a GOOD avian vet?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sorry to hear the bird has such a bad experience. It was probably going stir crazy. Once they start the habit, they may never quit but they can still live a long life. We had a paired Scarlet in Costa Rica that was completely bald but for the head.
My first advice is to put the cage on a blank wall in an area where there's a lot of family activity. The blank wall will allow it to focus on one side of the cage to prevent stress but still have stimulus. Also a warm area with no drafts.

Lots of toys in the cage and frequent attention.

A good quality parrot molting ration, high in protein.

Aside from a good avian vet - which is a good idea - you may need a good animal behavior consultant. The vet may know one or if you tell me where you're located, I may be able to suggest one.

 

[slayv4petz]

Ditto all the above, kudos to you for taking in a rescue bird, so many that are in need of a forever home

 

[ChickDancer]

Okay, feathers are coming back in and no serious skin issues. But now I have a new question - and a vet appointment for Monday.

We've named her Bazinga, and she has adopted my mom more than me. But she'll be playing around on my mom's bed and then suddenly stop and stare at the surface she is standing on. She puts her head really close to it, like she is trying to focus on it. Then after about 10-15 seconds, she goes back to normal and continues on her way.

Has anyone seen this behavior in a parrot? Just the sudden stop-and-focus, with their face really close to the object? Or could she be having vision problems?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

petitmal seizures perhaps.
ask the vet

 

[Rosa moschata]

It could be something far less serious -- regurgitation. I've known macaws to get excited while playing (or simply are very happy!) and start to "share" some food. They don't always do the pumping to bring the food up. Next time it happens, look closely at her beak to see if there's some food coming up. If so, no worries -- it's perfectly natural. But of course mention this at the vet visit. Hope things work out for you.