(upbeat music) (air whooshing) - Hi, I'm Karen Kalunian, and today, we're gonna be talking about bird health.

(upbeat music) ♪ Hey, oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ (bird chirps) Here we are with Corrie at the Rhode Island Parrot Rescue, and The Count, who is actually blind.

And he came here because his family could no longer care for him, which is a very sad story.

But The Count has a lot of good years left in him.

But Corrie was just gonna talk to us a little bit about bird health, because when The Count came here, he wasn't in very good health, obviously.

- Want one?

- So, I can see on his chest that a lot of his feathers are missing.

Maybe you can't quite see it.

Yes, there we go.

I got him to lift his wing a little bit.

So Corrie, what is the care for that?

- Said, don't touch me.

- What will he need?

- So, his care is definitely ongoing.

He is 42 years old.

This is a hyacinth macaw.

When he first came to us, he was not on a great diet at all, to say the least.

So, we completely switched his diet.

He gets showers two to three times a week.

He also receives eye drops to keep the pressure in his eye down.

We just took him off antibiotics about a week ago.

So, he was- - Wow, that's good news.

- Yeah, big time.

So, the damage that you're seeing with his feathers, that can be caused by a lot of things.

It can be caused by lack of proper nutrition.

It can be caused by stress.

- Plucking.

- It can be caused by boredom.

- Plucking.

- It can be caused by a medical issue as well.

So, the first thing we tell people when they are seeing their bird or experiencing their bird, you know, beginning stages of plucking, or maybe over-barbering, is get your bird to the avian vet.

- Good boy.

- Get some blood work done.

And if the blood work comes back good, then start with some of the behavioral things.

And start with maybe environmental things that might be causing some stress.

He has nut all in your hair.

- Oh, I don't care.

- Nut shavings.

- That's okay.

- So, this is The Count.

I adore him.

He's come a long way since he's been here.

We thought we were gonna lose him a couple times.

- You're so handsome.

Could you just turn a little bit so everybody can see him from the side?

The beautiful color.

He's like a violet color.

What is his exact type of breed?

I know he's in macaw, but what do they call him?

- So, he is a...

It's okay, baby.

Baby, it's okay.

It is a hyacinth macaw.

- Hyacinth.

- Yeah, he's a hyacinth macaw.

- Beautiful coloring.

- And they are endangered.

- Look at that.

They're an endangered species.

- Yes.

- And I think people don't even realize that.

I mean, it's not something, this is not the type of pet for everyone, especially because he has such health concerns.

- There you go.

- So, you need someone experienced for him.

- Absolutely, oh definitely.

- You're so handsome.

Well, thank you for sharing The Count with us.

And for more tips and health concerns, I'm sure that they can reach out to the website and find out more information.

- Yes, absolutely.

- Good boy, Count, good boy.

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