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Curious about Hormonal Male Macaws

rocky'smom

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No other then organic and loose leaf, Dr Barb says she gets it at Wholefoods. It can contain no human tea leaves in it. That can harm birds.
 

BirdManDan

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Changing his water is a struggle. He makes soup, so I change it often. He strikes at me repeatedly, hard. He's not displaying; he aims for flesh. He grabs the water dish and spills a lot as I try to close the door.

I would highly recommend switching to a water bottle! I made my own water bottles out of 4 inch PVC schedule 40 pipe with a SS Macaw proof water valve. You can buy one with about a 32oz capacity but I wanted bigger so I made it fatter and taller and it holds well over a gallon.
 

redindiaink

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He displays and strikes EVERY time he sees me.
This is Rosie with my partner. She was sweet as pie towards him when she was at the shelter, but at home things quickly changed. I don't let her out of the cage when he's around.

She is a very nervous and skittish bird. The other day a squirrel jumped from one tree branch to the other, she saw it happen and ran to the other side of the cage. Our vet prescribed l-tryptophan to help calm her down and it worked like a charm. She went from running laps in her cage when she was overwhelmed to being able to sit in place for awhile. The vet also suggested Bach flower essence, but I'm leery of anything that has (seemingly) too much woo and the tryptophan worked so well I didn't need to look further.
 

hrafn

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Jeez, this thread is making me insanely glad about Taco's hormonal behaviour. :eek:

He's super snarky and he smashes his toys around like he's possessed, but he hasn't demonstrated any overt aggression toward me. He displays a bit, but the second I come over and start talking to him he mellows out. Handing him treats and asking him to step up (even when I put my hand right into his cage) is still safe. If he doesn't want to interact, he just backs away.

He seems to be reserving his frustration for his toys, and I'm incredibly grateful. Be nice to papa, Petey!
 

aooratrix

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The same. Aggressive, 24-7. :(
 

Icey

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Was just having a peek here to see how Petey has been lately.
I was hoping to hear there was an improvement Matthew.
It's so sad when someone like you who loves your birds so much and gives snuggles and cuddles constantly is going through the hormone stage with such continual aggression from Petey.
I know you're not taking it personally, but it must be an emotional and frustrating time for you too.
Those bites look really bad. No point in saying be careful because I know you are doing everything possible to avoid another bite.
My heart goes out to you!!! BIG HUGS!!! :sadhug2:Hope it's over soon :)
 

aooratrix

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I hope so, too. It's not all bad: like Sarah told me: "you've got other birds." If I need hands-on, Harry, Annie, and Daff are happy to oblige. I don't expect it to be over soon. I expect months of hormones.
 

aooratrix

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I would highly recommend switching to a water bottle! I made my own water bottles out of 4 inch PVC schedule 40 pipe with a SS Macaw proof water valve. You can buy one with about a 32oz capacity but I wanted bigger so I made it fatter and taller and it holds well over a gallon.


I'm not switching him: he's a dunker. Sadly.
 

rocky'smom

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Hugs Sweet Pea scared the bejesus out of me today. I'll be at the clinic this weekend, birds annuals. I'll let Dr Barb know.
 

SherLar

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Koko, our male B&G that is 27/28 yo and we have had for about 8 months, went from a gentleman to something from the Exorcist in about 24 hours. It is the first time he has been around any other bird, been allowed off his cage, allowed to destroy toys or shred paper. We were very happy with so much progress, until today. Suddenly so hormonal. So sudden and so severe. I have read so many of your inputs and I want to thank all of you so much for that. It has helped me understand and help me what to look out for. We had thought this late in his life, he would not be so bad. But this may be the first true time he has dealt with this in such force, or the previous owners kept it hidden. We are the 4th owners in the past 2 yrs. His first owner apparently had him for 25 yrs. The last 2 owners swore he wouldn't come off his cage and never acted aggressively, though they were afraid of him, possibly just the power and size? He was scared of water and wouldn't bathe. Never acted aggressively. We will take all these words of wisdom, things that may possibly help, and hope for this to pass quickly.

Sherri and Larry
 

aooratrix

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I get it. Petey's going on 5 months of hellion behavior. He strikes at the bars, hard, whenever he sees me and displays, too. He vocalizes a lot and has really riled up my flock. I still get him out, on a stick, for baths and stuff, but I have to watch him like a hawk. One moment of in attention and ill need stitches. He bit Mom to the bone a month ago; he's lucky I'm an animal lover. I can't even service his cage without holding a perch he dislikes. Otherwise, BAM.
 

bumblebee

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Oh boy, watching this thread with interest... looking forward to what I'll get to experience in a few years :lol:
 

Clueless

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@aooratrix

Your mom was a buddy with one of the macaws. I thought it was him.

What happened?
 

MommyBird

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I was reading to see if there were any good updates, I'm sorry it is still a challenge.
Have you considered using lupron shots or one of the implantables to knock down some of the hormones?
I know there is less chance of him losing his home with you than with most people if they were dealing with him, but I'd say this deserves a try at some point soon. It is going on so long and I'm very sorry to hear he bit your Mom. Sometimes hitting the reboot with hormones really makes a difference to the bird. And you can just eliminate any triggers from the start instead of trying to do it in the middle of a mess.
 

SherLar

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OK. This may be crazy for others, but yesterday Koko (B&G) discovered a plastic bag of plastic bags and has been tearing them apart and building a nest under the end table between the couch and chair. He has drug a stuffed dog toy and has placed it in his nest, always holding on to it, preening and feeding it. As long as no one goes near his hide away nest, he is content to just keep shredding and moving plastic bags around and caring for the toy. He has never been so busy. He occasionally returns to his cage for water and to poo in his spot, and then back to the nest. When he gets hungry at night, he returns to his cage and I quickly lock him in. He cries out but then it is bedtime and we shut the house down and we retreat to our bedroom. He quiets down and goes to sleep. This morning, after being let out of his cage, he went to his nest and it started all over.

Before he did this, we was charging my husband, trying to attack through a glass door, challenging dogs with growling lunging and wings open and beak sharpened etc.

We keep our eyes peeled for him and never take off our shoes. The dogs don't go near his hidden nest. He was a B&G that was always afraid to be on the floor before 2 weeks ago.

I am not sure what we will do if we need to leave during the day, because we cannot leave him out of his cage anymore. He used to never leave his cage, but now is very comfortable doing it and is quite hormonal. I guess our activities will work around Koko getting a drink. May be able to throw his favorites in his cage ~~ pecan or a walnut in the shells.
 

aooratrix

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I am going to get him a hormone shot of some sort. I think Lupron is mainly for hens. I'd like a depo shot, which, unfortunately, my vet doesn't use. I need to find another vet in Ohio I'd trust (Lindstrom or Dahlhousen) that will administer that. I've been hoping he'd cycle out of it, but that's not the case. And I agree he does need a reboot; some of the behavior seems to be becoming habitual aggression rather than hormonal, but I'm not sure. We will explore a shot and see what happens.

Petey was my mom's buddy. Was. I am not happy about the bite she sustained. I understand his situation and don't blame him, but that doesn't mean I have to like what happened. If a shot doesn't make a difference, I will be rehoming him. I'm not going to live with a dangerous animal. And he's disrupting my entire flock with his constant calling and displays.
 

MiniMacaw

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I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Makes me terrified for Bowsers hormones to start up. (And my daughter is almost a teen now so I know fear lol.)
I wish I had any advice, but you’d know more than I. I can only give my sincere wishes that he starts calming down soon or you find a suitable medication that helps stabilize the behaviors.
I hope your mom is healing well and quickly.

Having worked in various clinics, I have fostered many dogs and I had an English bulldog once that I just loved. She was from a backyard mill situation and she was the sweetest dog to me. Then she started trying to bite my husband. I bought gates and made a complicated maze out of my house so she couldn’t get at him or other animals. Then she started trying to attack my kids and I knew she couldn’t stay. It sucked. I did find her a safe rescue with a guaranteed sanctuary setting if needed but it still hurt.

I don’t envy you the decisions coming up, but I’m sending good vibes your way for a happy solution, whatever that may be.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Gosh Matthew, I am so sorry your mother had a nasty bite. I went through the exact same thing and feelings. I can't remember how many months Henry stayed in such a furious mode. I couldn't even look at him without him pinning, flaring and displaying. He would instantly become defensive the minute he would see me. I still unlocked his cage in the mornings but would make a hasty retreat because he would jump at me. He missed a few times but did connect a couple of times. Thank God I shook him off before he bit. Those actions only fueled his behavior. Taking care of him was difficult. I still did the same things but like you, I had to use a perch to keep him at bay. He would seem so angry when I put his cooked cup of food in place when he would stab his beak so hard into the cup. At one point I was ready to let him go. What kept me from doing that was the worry of what his life could turn into. As much as I feared him I also feared an attack that could possibly make me fall and break another bone. When I broke my leg it honestly did me in. I've struggled with discomfort for seven years with this leg and I have yet to miss a night of taking care of my flock ... it's wearing. I suppose I'll keep going until I can't handle so much physical work with all of them. I'm extremely happy Henry has calmed down and returned to a companion bird. He is more anxious about getting his head scratched in the evening than he is his cooked food. Has been this way for months now. He even takes direction from me to move from one perch to another so I can set his food bowl in place ... but only after I scratch his head first. No more angry bowl stabbing. I'm astounded by his patience as I put it in place... he's just twelve inches from this bowl and could easily bite. Food wise, I've done nothing different. The only change I made was starting off with putting something on his top tray to destroy and eventually I was able to hand it to him. Sometimes he would drop it on purpose. I never bent down to retrieve it and would just say " If you want it, it's on the floor".. see ya later alligator!" When I take the water cups from their cages before I give the cooked food now I drop a few pieces of fruit and veggies for him to eat in the same corner and leave. I'm done with the prepped dinner and wash the water cups. He gets a chunk of wood to chew when I come back to change papers. Amazing how through the months he has become a tad bored with the wood chunks and is more ready for his head scratch. He will actually go inside his cage and sit there while I'm pulling paper out. I really can't stand being supervised, but as long as he is calmly sitting there waiting I do what I need to do and don't have any direct conversation with him. I can talk... but it's not meant to engage his interest in contact. I mean, how can I not make a comment on how giant that poop is?!!!! I'm hoping the old Henry never returns, I like him like he is now.

I wish you well, hope there is a change in Petey for his sake. Kiss your mom's BooBoo for me and give her a hug!
 

Clueless

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I'm so so sorry about your mom. I know she loved Petey and that makes it even worse.
 
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