I have a Blue and Gold Macaw, Ziggy.
Ziggy has been with us since he was 7 weeks old, he's now 25 years old.
Ziggy has been problem free and has never had to go to the Vet. I have been able to do any maintenance for him despite his hatred of being worked on ( nails, bath)he does like being petted and handled ( until he doesn't,that is indicated by mad look, then a bite).
I would like to trim his lower beak a bit, Ziggy will have no part of this.
I hesitate to attempt to pack him up and haul him to the Vet, I feel this would be so traumatic to him that its not worth it.
I just finished a beak session and he's exhausted from fighting me.
I would like to try some kind of chew toy that might work on his beak naturally.
He has tree branches(Chestnut), lumber, and gritty perches to chew now but never wants to chew on these.I give him MilkBones to try and give him something to wear on the beak.
He has sunflowers seeds and walnuts(shelled) to eat as snacks. He does not care for peanuts in the shell nor will he bother with nuts that are in shell.He also has Dog Food kibble to chew on.

Any suggestions from the Parrot people?

Have you tried a cuttlebone? Or a mineral block?

I used to give our cockatoo small blocks of unfinished wood (white pine usually) for her to shred.

Some like hollow wooden interior doors.

I'm lucky that anything is a chew toy to Roxy.

She learned long ago that if I drop something on top of her cage, it's hers to destroy.


She gets one of these a month, but they merely last a day at tops.

https://www.amazon.com/RUBY-Q-...hp_d_atf_rp_2_t&th=1

What kind of trimming do you do? With a dremel or clippers?
Cuttlebone is too soft, most woods are too soft. You need a rock of some sort.
I, too , hate toweling mt birds to bring to the vet. Haven’t for years, but…at his age, there might be a reason for the overgrowth. I know, he’s only in the first quarter of his life, but still.. it might be worth it to get that trim and a full panel of bloodwork to make it worth the trauma. If you were going to do it, I would want to make sure it was with a board certified avian vet - not just some Joe that says they treat birds.
YMMV

Thanks for the tips.
I ordered the toy Mars suggested.
I use the nail cutter to trim his beak.
The first time I tried I brought a whole arsenal of cutters to try. I quickly found out that I would never be able to hold him and operate a electric trimmer like a Dremil nor would he put up with that.
Any type of cutter with exposed blades could easily cut his tongue. The nail clipper was fast and effective and the protected cutting edge saved his tongue.

I got most of the over growth and would like to finish the job with wearing down the beak.

The Vet I go to "used: to be a specialist in Birds. The Doctor made products for birds, Lafebre was the product name. He died years ago but the clinic still says they have a Bird specialist on staff.
I would probably head to the University of IL Vet clinic for Ziggy. I have found from having Dogs and Cats that they are very good, well worth the 2 hr drive. I would worry about the stress that would accompany the trip.

Back when I had Izzy the umbrella cockatoo, with my Ex we just did a lot of toys, and she managed her own beak. I miss that bird.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
Thanks for the tips.
I ordered the toy Mars suggested.
I use the nail cutter to trim his beak.
The first time I tried I brought a whole arsenal of cutters to try. I quickly found out that I would never be able to hold him and operate a electric trimmer like a Dremil nor would he put up with that.
Any type of cutter with exposed blades could easily cut his tongue. The nail clipper was fast and effective and the protected cutting edge saved his tongue.

I got most of the over growth and would like to finish the job with wearing down the beak.

The Vet I go to "used: to be a specialist in Birds. The Doctor made products for birds, Lafebre was the product name. He died years ago but the clinic still says they have a Bird specialist on staff.
I would probably head to the University of IL Vet clinic for Ziggy. I have found from having Dogs and Cats that they are very good, well worth the 2 hr drive. I would worry about the stress that would accompany the trip.

He might actually really enjoy the trip if he can roam around in the car.

Make the toy a playtime object.

Play with it together with your bird.

I started traveling with Roxy when I got her so she knows what to do when we go to the car. She knows her spot to sit or just perches on my arm and looks out the window.

I only trim 1 parrot beak here, and that’s because he has a deformity that doesn’t allow him to self maintain. The others all manage their own beaks by grinding, etc, without any extra effort from me. I use both clippers and a dremel, depending on the help I receive.

Once upon a time I was an avian vet tech. The overgrown beaks we saw in practice were usually due to extreme age, physical, or medical issues (often due to diet). Ziggy isn’t old by macaw standards, which is why I mentioned the blood panel. We’d often see beak overgrowth associated with liver issues- but that was more an Amazon/budgie situation, not macaw.
You can train ziggy to car rides. We did it with one of my greys, and he thought it was the best! Yes, it takes time.
Macaws do have special requirements with their tails, however, and I’d probably place him in a macaw box (long, rectangular, opens at both ends, narrow such that he can’t turn- with visibility for him for his trip).
I’ve seen custom made ones and was very impressed with them- the owners took great pains to train their birds to them so they were comfy and went in easily.
I’d suggest the idea that Ziggy needs some special training: either to tolerate your trims, or to take car rides, or both. I agree the car rides can initially be traumatic, and I’ve long since quit taking my parrots anywhere (we are now a “closed aviary” so to speak). I also will comment anecdotally that I’d see more subclinical infections manifest after the vet visit- meaning the bird had something mild under control, but got stressed and the infection took over a week or so after the visit.
Tl/dr: macaws his age shouldn’t need beak trims, therefore I’m suggesting a trip to the certified avian vet to knockdown a few birds with 1 stone: the beak trim itself, and a complete blood workup to see if anything is causing this.

For my most destructive cockatoo, I cut a 2x4 and 1x1s into squares, drill a hole and thread a stainless hanger chain through them.
Alternate big small.
use a quick link and a stainless washer on the end.

You can use small quick links to hang it in the cage.

The toy that MARS suggested came today, I hung it up, Ziggy is still studying it. From past experience this may take a day or two for him to get comfortable with a change in his cage.

I have a large dog crate to put him in if I need to transport him.

I will make the toy suggested out of 2x4 and 2x2 squares, Do you suggest a hardwood like Oak or a soft wood for this?

Maybe THIS or THIS or THIS

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
I will make the toy suggested out of 2x4 and 2x2 squares, Do you suggest a hardwood like Oak or a soft wood for this?

Pine, it needs to be soft enough to destroy or they'll lose interest.

I also dye mine. I buy water soluble cake coloring and mix it with water(1:1) and soak the wood pieces in a covered plastic tub.

Ugh, it's easier just to buy the chew toys.

Take the toy out and play with it.

I toss it on top of Roxy's cage and she immediately goes after it when I start shaking it around.