Every Saturday or Sunday, I make a one hour trip to my breeder’s house to hang out with my TAG. I usually spend 1.5 to 2 hours with Ollie under the watchful eye of my breeder and it can be very boring since I am not comfortable being goofy around her. My breeder also has a Macaw that she sometimes takes out of the cage while I play with Ollie and today she actually hit her Macaw and yelled "NO!" She said he had her knuckle in his beak and started to clap down. I would have moved my hand away instead of hitting him.

She hit him in the back and she did it so fast I did not even know what happened. I wonder what some of the other things she has done when no one is looking. She even admitted to throwing things at the bird’s cage before, but she also said she does not believe in spraying a bird with a water bottle. I wonder if that is true or not.

Ollie seems fine and was active and happy to see me. My breeder said she had some cultures done on Ollie and the lab results reviled mild Ecoli? She said it will be easy to cure because of the four different cultures, all four antibiotic types killed the virus which she said means its an easy to cure problem. Can this cause Excessive pooping? Ollie goes every 1 to 2 minutes at first and then it slows to every 5 min or so.

At the end of the session, I went to put Ollie back in his rusty cage and a bunch if tinny Nat flies were fling in his cage. What the heck are they?

All I can say is I can't wait to bring him home!

OKAY A VERY SCARY POST! Lots of red flags here! Can you get your money back right now?
That baby should not have E. Coli. means she is not washing her hand before handling the baby or the bay's food. E. Coli can be a viscious killer
A baby should never be in a rusty cage
There should be no flies or gnats around a baby..that means something isn't clean.
Is the baby being treated with antibiotics and Bene-bac? Who is the vet? You need this info right now.

I haven't even addressed the part about her hitting her MaCaw, because I don't have the words to go there without damning her. di

There's an informative article at Avian Biotech on Ecoli, it's causes and treatment. It might be a good idea to consult with your Avian Vet also.

LINK: Escherichia (Ecoli)

I don’t think I will ask for a refund after all the time I have invested going up there on visits. If anything I will be a rescue person for Ollie. She mentioned E. Coli can be passed on from the parents in the egg. She said here pairs had three eggs but only one hatched. When I go over there, she always makes me wash my hands before handling the baby and has always been very firm about washing hands.

As for the rusty cage, she is obviously very cheap with equipment. I don’t like the rusty cage but I really have no option. All I can do is hope the antibiotics cure the problem and Ollie get weaned as soon as possible. She even admitted that the infection could be slowing the weaning process a little. Ollie is about 4 months old now and she said he is feeding (baby formula) about every 18 hours and should be close to one feeding a day very soon.

I agree.

Greymeister please be cautious. I know you have your heart set on bringing Ollie home as soon as you can, but it may be wise to be sure he is given a clean bill of health before you do.

I thought this site might be of interest to you. It mentions; Often, fruit will age or spoil, and flies can easily carry E. coli onto the fruit. The birds may ingest the fruit and establish an E. coli population in the gut.

LINK: Old World Aviaries: The truth about E. coli

I will see next week what happens. My breeder said she will obtain a clean bill of health before she gives the bird to me and a refund will be given should anything happen as long as I get a vet to look at Ollie within three days, if I remember correctly, after bring him home.

I know how you feel about bringing your bird home! Please be cautious and get all the necessary vet checks before and after bringing him home. When you take you bird to the vet after you bring him home, should he still have a minor problem, the breeder should bear the expense and guarantee the bird’s health until any problem is resolved. Everything you have mentioned is not life threatening if treated in time. I see you are in love with your bird and are willing to take a risk to give him a great home!


If you are in doubt about anything you can always get a second opinion from a reputable avian vet.

After all the visits, I have bonded. All I keep thinking about is getting him out of there. The trailer that the lady lives in seems so dark and not much light coming in. It just seems so gloomy in there!

I live in a 2100 sqr ft. single story home with 13ft ceilings with lots of huge windows. it's bright and happy here in our home. Brand new cage just waiting for the arrival sitting in our living room with a 57" wide screen HDTV ready to play the cartoon network for Ollie. Ollie is going from rags to riches, lol, he just needs to wean!

Here is Ollies new home:

What type of written guarantee does this woman offer?

I am not overly concerned about the low level ecoli. It is everywhere and can happen. Ecoli sounds worse than what it is. It is a bacteria. I am not saying it is normal, but it is somewhat common in a hand feeding baby. I assume they have put Ollie on an antibiotic?

What concerns me more is the rusty cage, the gnats and the fact that she hit her macaw. I would definitely schedule a vet appointment prior to your bringing Ollie home so that you can get him checked out the next day. When are you planning on taking him home?

I'm not an expert, but it does sound like the little guy is in a scary place.

I just want to wish you all the luck in the world. Can't wait till you get the little guy out of there, and into his new, wonderful, loving, POSH, forever home.

Good luck to you & Ollie. He's one lucky baby