Brand New here and NEED HELP!

[honestlyfungirl]

Our neighbor recently was sent to prison and we now have his birds. We know next to nothing about birds but something had to be done for them. The blue and gold macaw, Harley is doing well and loves my husband. He is training him and his feathers are coming back in etc. Then there is Spanky. He has always been pretty aggressive but we were able to feed him by hand, clean his cage etc. Most of the time anyway. Spanky is a parrot of some kind but we are not sure what kind. He is big and his main color is green. He has become a crazy almost possessed bird. He gets angry no matter what. We can not feed him, clean his cage or even walk into the room without him getting angry. His tail feathers flair out, his wings flair out, his eyes dilate over and over. He will attack every chance he gets. What are we doing wrong and what do we need to do to help Spanky?

 

[Greycloud]

Welcome to AA! I am glad you have taken these babies in! Spanky sounds like an Amazon of some species. Remember that their lives have been turned upside down rig now and it may take a very long time for them to feel comfortable. Takes things slow and don't push them. Can you post a pic of them and of the cvage set ups so we can see how we can help?

 

[Love My Zons]

Sorry to hear that these birds Daddy is gone to the big house hope he gets out to come back to them. Yes, the big green possessed one sounds like an Amazon. Do you have any pictures that you can take so we might be able to help you with anything you think they are missing?

Sorry to the same advice as Judy I just read her reply to you fully. *must stop skim reading other replies*

 

[honestlyfungirl]

Here is a close up and a full pic of his cage. thank you for any help you can give. We really want to do what is right for these guys. Just hate to see him regress so badly. When we first brought him to our house 2 weeks ago he would sit on the bar that is higher and now he sits on the lower one?????

 

[Peachfaced]

Perches are like chairs; some chairs are more comfortable than others. The lower perch looks like it has some varied width to it; which allows him to choose where it's more comfortable for his feet. (Varied widths = better foot health)

Spanky is most definitely an Amazon; a yellow-fronted if I'm not mistaken.

Can you tell us what you're currently feeding them and what the previous owner fed them?

 

[honestlyfungirl]

Here is Harley. He is the one that is doing pretty good. He and Spanky have been together for about 18 years. They seems to hate each other.

 

[honestlyfungirl]

His previous diet and his current diet is Nutri-Berries With peanuts as a treat. We have given him some bread.

 

[Peachfaced]

I'll let someone who knows both species better advise you on diets; but the general rule of thumb is that they get a good variety of safe veggies (preferably organic) and fresh pellets every day.

Winged Wisdom Magazine - Avian Nutrition Pet, Breeding Birds (a quick look at the veggies we serve them)

Can anyone recommend a good pellet for her?

 

[Momto3boys]

Oh wow, those poor birds have no idea whats going on right now.

First off, thank you for taking them in.
Spanky is in fact a yellow crowned Amazon, BEAUTIFUL.
Their life has been turned upside right now BUT a lot of amazons are hormonal right now. Do you know if Spanky was friendly with his owner?

Diets. They need to be on a pellet diet, its soooooo much better for them. LOTS of veggies, grains and some fruits. Most of us here make a chop, its a whole wack of yummy, nutritious food all mixed together. If you search "chop" or look in the food section you will get soooooo many ideas.

Blue and Golds can have LOTS of protein, where as amazons shouldn't have much at all.
Have you misted them at all? Showering is important as well as lots of toys and perches.

 

[honestlyfungirl]

Thank you all for the advice. We will up his diet. We have tried so veggies etc but he will just spit them out so far. Right now we can not even open his cage to put food or fresh water. He will just attack when we do. Having to put a barrier between us and him to be able to take care of him at all and not be attacked. How do we handle that? Do we just keep putting the barrier up and wait for him to calm down? He was not overly friendly with his previous owner but way better then he has been the last week. I do wonder if it is hormonal. He was way better the first week we had him. He has regressed in the last week to the point he is down right scary. We have misted Spanky. It makes him mad. They are both scared of it as I don't think the previous owner has ever done this so it is new to them

 

[ilikebirds]

well thank you for helping those guys! i have a naughty amazon too, but he is not quite THAT naughty . you are probably right, it is all new, and he is scared. thank you again for taking them in, and im wondering what advice you will get. maybe it can help me too
such pretty birds!
it looks like there are feeder doors on the cage, that is how i have to feed jaime, because she will bite if i put my hand inside. i saw somewhere a trick of using a paper towel tube to send the food to the dish without being pinched.

 

[Greycloud]

I would block him and move his bowls to the door of the cage. That way when the door swings out you are safe to change his food and water. Continue to offer their established foods before coming to you and add new foods to it. Many birds are very hungry in the morning so putting fresh fruits, veggies, cooked legumes, Quinoa as well as baked Birdie bread might be better accepted in the morning. Then replace with their normal foods later in the day. I am sure Spanky is very frightened right now. Also, you really don't know what baggage he has before coming to you. He might just not like or trust people or strangers. He needs time. If he seems bothered by the macaw you may want to separate their cages to add some calm to their living space.

 

[SandraK]

Thank you for helping these two birdies & welcome to AA! I'll say this about your fids - even though they seem to hate each other, they'd each probably have a fit if you separated them. I have much smaller birds in comparison and they don't all "love" each other but when I take some to the vet or to "spa day" (for nail/beak/wing trimming) whoever is left behind raises the roof 'cause they all know someone is being taken away. Of course they also raise the roof when everyone comes back home. Each bird is different and they're just like people - only a bit smaller and with feathers instead of skin.

Go figure, I guess it's like siblings - as a sister I'd fight with my brother (3 years younger) but only I could do that - God help whoever tried to do the same thing!

If you need specific help like vets, I'd suggest that you give a general idea of where you are out of - I don't mean address or anything too personal, just a state and an approximate location within the state (e.g. northeast Illinois in my case). That way members can point you to vets/stores/groomers/bird sitters in your area if needed.

 

[Anne88]

This may sound silly but use a pot lid as a mini shield for your hands when you need to reach into the cage.Hold the lid by the handle with one hand to keep the bird at bay, while you keep a close eye on the bird and use your free hand to fill or move dishes. I use the lid as a physical barrier between my flesh and her beak.

When my female Ekkie is nesty and on eggs she becomes very very protective if her cage. I also rearranged her perches to limit her ability to reach me easily and moved feeding dishes. Luckily with her once she is back to normal she returns to her sweet self.

 

[Anne & Gang]

thank you for helping out and stepping in...you know as soon as you said the words big green and aggressive, I just knew it was a zon...I know little about them or macaws but just want to commend you for trying to help...@holiday, @roxynoodle @Macawnutz

 

[Maxsmom]

Welcome. Thanks for taking in the birds but even more for becoming more informed. It takes a special person

 

[Katy]

This may seem corny, but there is a $15 plastic training perch called The Percher. It is designed to protect your hand and wrist while teaching step up command. It might work.

Also, it seems impossible now, but as soon as you can handle the birds, especially Spanky, he should be seen by an avian vet. Amazons are prone to fatty liver disease and other nasties, and with the diet he had with the previous owner, he may feel sick and need medication.

 

[macawpower58]

I think it's awesome you've taken in his birds. Is this long term for you? Is your neighbor in for a long time, and if so will you be keeping both birds?

You've received great advice so far. I'm not sure how far you're willing to go though financially for them. Vet visits really are needed, but they are also expensive. Will their owner reimburse you?

Getting them on a good diet, and allowing them to relax in your home is probably all you really need to do for now. Some toys for them to chew up and shred should also be on your list.

 

[Holiday]

Welcome to AA! I'll let the Amazon folks advise you on Spanky, but I do have a few questions. Firstly, do you know what material those cages are made of? I think I'd be a little concerned about the possibility of metal toxicity if it were me. The safest cages have a tough plastic "powder" coating over metal or else they're stainless steel. Secondly, I'm so glad you're caring for that poor plucked macaw They need a lot of space! Does he have a play area or stand? Is that a perch I see in front of the cage in the one pic?

I concur with the previous posters that a pelleted diet with fresh foods added will help them feel healthier and improve their mood a bit. But, it takes time.

 

[honestlyfungirl]

Wow Thanks to All of You! I like the tricks of using the paper towel roll and the pan lids. That will be better then the newspaper that we have been using to keep him from attacking us. The bowls are on the little doors and come out of the cage when they are opened. We had no plans of getting birds ever but this is a long term deal. Their previous owner who has had them since they were very young will be in prison for a very long time it looks like. Will know for sure in less them a month. In the long run this may not be a bad things for our new family members. He has lived a rough life and they have some baggage from what little I know about them. Right now money wise it is very tight. We just moved into the neighborhood. We inherited the house but had to move across country to care for my ailing father in law who is gone now. I am in the process of looking for a job so hopefully will be be able to get some health care for these guys soon. We are going to do all we can to keep the birds together since they have been together for 18 years. The macaw loves my husband and her feathers are coming in. He gets her out of the cage a few times a day and it doing a little training with her. Thank you all again for helping. My husband works at home and the birds are in his office. We have to get some answers soon or he will loose his mind. Any additional ideas on how to stop the screaming?