decrypting M2 body language?

[tozie12]

I have had my M2 since january this year. I'm still learning about his body language and was hoping some of the more experienced 2 parronts would be able to help me. I have a Scarlet Macaw that i can look at and know with a glance how he's feeling and if he's receptive to interaction. But my M2 definitely 'speaks a different language'!

I have been told that the 2-beard poofed out is a comfort thing. But when he sees a man he gets very agitated with lots of muttering and his beard poofs out. He is anything but 'content' at this time. I know he was abused by a man in one of his previous homes, and he will react with aggression to anyone who even looks like they may be a man, even a short haired female.

I have long since given up on using the crest as a que, it seems to mean i'm happy, i'm mad, i'm scared, i'm excited, i'm ready to kill, and about 1000 other emotions! I think that when he opens his cowl AND his crest it is a happy thing, but if the cowl stays down, all bets are off on what he's feeling.

I have read thru a few of the older posts looking for this info and didn't see it. I DID however, see that he definitely has 'stereotypical' behaviors. I have referred to it as neurotic behaviors. Is there anything i can do to help him recover from these behaviors? His cage is 4ft x 3ft x 6ft. His room is as cockatoo-proofed as i can make it until he shows me how he's gonna outsmart me. So he is not locked in his cage anymore except overnite. I'm hoping that giving him all this room and lots of toys and things to do will help him with his neurotic behaviors as well as his feather destructive behaviors.
Any suggestions, pointers, or observations would be appreciated.

 

[Cathy AZ]

I am interested too, as I have my BE2 since June this year. There are times I cannot reads his body language either. I am learning but it is much tougher than my B&G Macaw.

 

[Bokkapooh]

I'll have to respond to this later. At work atm!

 

[JLcribber]

It basically comes down to reading the eyes. That's how they speak to each other.

In order to understand their eyes you need to really know them well. That takes a lot of time and keen observation. There's no shortcut for time.

It's a very complicated animal. 2 years would not be an unreasonable time frame to get to that level IME. They continue to teach me stuff all the time.

 

[brilywi]

It basically comes down to reading the eyes. That's how they speak to each other.

In order to understand their eyes you need to really know them well. That takes a lot of time and keen observation. There's no shortcut for time.

It's a very complicated animal. 2 years would not be an unreasonable time frame to get to that level IME. They continue to teach me stuff all the time.

That is very interesting I think I somehow knew this, but not on a level that I could explain it if that makes sense. There was an M2 and a B&G I worked with that were housed together (because they were best friends; if you took one out, you had to take the other one out too or else you'd be in BIG trouble with the other) and the B&G was cage aggressive. The M2 would actually help me get them fed through the food door by keeping the B&G from ripping a finger off while I undid the latch and slid the food into the little platform. At first when Oliver was hovering around the food door, I thought he was out to get me because he wasn't the nicest cockatoo in most cases, but when I realized he was helping me I could see the difference from when he was feeling nippy and when he was feeling nice I didn't realize that his eyes were what was alerting me, but it makes a LOT of sense now that you mention it.

 

[tozie12]

I have found that i can watch the shape of his eyes. ie: almond shaped eyes means WATCH OUT! And i can definitely agree that their eyes are windows to their souls. That is how i read my macaw. If he's mad his eyes go 'flat'. i just dont know any other way to describe that look he gets. But Caleb (my M2) has almost pure black shiney eyes. I know time is the best way to get to know them and i'm all for that. We have nothing but time together because i AM his forever home. I just thought a few tips and tricks might be out there for trying to decipher these VERY complex little guys.

Bri, that is really neat how he would run interference for you to feed them! They are just the most amazing creatures, arent they?

 

[nellysmom]

Be careful if he puts his foot up as if to hold on to you. They have a grip like steel. I have found the if Nelly is the least bit hesitatnt when I ask her to do something I come back later.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

Cockatoos are much tougher to read than macaws. With Paco, his "hawk face" feathers in the face will be up when he is content and sleepy. He is not very aggressive so when he is angry I easily know it, he will attack toys and make a frustrated squeak that can only mean he is not happy! Lol. I think you just have to be patient and learn from each day, but whatever you do don't push it and listen to your instincts. Whenever I have been bitten by Phoenix, I had a feeling things were not going well and I tried to get him out or whatever when I had a small feeling he was not happy. In hindsight I realize I made a mistake, and you won't make that same mistake again! You just kind of learn from your own mistakes and eventually you won't have many more to make. That is my theory anyway!

 

[tozie12]

Chantel, i think that part of Caleb's issues is suppressed aggression. He has all the Feather Destructive Behaviors you would expect in an abused M2. But he's not an aggressive boy. On the few occasions he's given in to the nature of being a bird and bitten me (or my son), he immediately goes on the defensive waiting for the BIG BAD to happen to him. Of course, i dont do that. And after 9 months he's finally starting to accept that i wont retaliate when he bites. Period. no matter what. But he rarely 'kills' his toys. I think he NEEDS that outlet. All my other parrots will vent frustrations by killing toys.

 

[melissasparrots]

I second looking at the eyes. Also make note of the whole package. Sometimes when they can't get away from or attack the person they want to attack, they will sit kind of self contained but ready to explode. That is when you see the puffed up facial feathers that makes them look content, but when you look at overall the rest of the body language and th eyes, you see they are not happy. Usually the body feathers are slicked back instead of loose like a really content bird. Usually the eyes are a little wrong for a really happy bird. I find cockatoo body language easier to decipher than macaw. However, I'll admit that sometimes I just know my bird is in a certain mood without really knowing why I know it. Makes it hard to explain to someone else. It really comes down to just knowing your bird and letting your intuition guide you.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

Awe, poor Caleb. I cannot imagine ever hitting a bird, that is just so cowardly and evil! They have long memories so I am so glad he is starting to trust you and know you won't hurt him. Birds are so sensitive, when you tell them "no!" they understand and my birds even get upset when I tell them no, so hitting them must just destroy them. How sad. The toys my Paco loves to destroy are baby toys, like stuffed animals but ones that have something inside that make them squeak. I only let him around these toys on his net, so never unsupervised, but he just loves to attack the monkey and hear it squeak. I think a climbing net would really help him, that is how I got Paco to start being a bird, and hanging upside down and just being goofy. He learned to trust himself I think, and he is even starting to fly after not flying his whole life I can only imagine. He had his wings for about 3 years before flying, so I was giving up hope. But now he is really getting comfortable...he stills screams after he lands...lol...like holy moley that was scary! What the heck just happened?! But he will at least do it when he wants to poop or whatever, he will fly away to his net. So maybe you can make him a net?

 

[tozie12]

Sometimes when they can't get away from or attack the person they want to attack, they will sit kind of self contained but ready to explode. That is when you see the puffed up facial feathers that makes them look content, but when you look at overall the rest of the body language and th eyes, you see they are not happy. Usually the body feathers are slicked back instead of loose like a really content bird. Usually the eyes are a little wrong for a really happy bird.

THAT is IT exactly! He will see the 'evil man' outside and sit looking out the window with his beard all poofed out and mutter. He's definitely speaking english but its garbled and i cant make out the actual words. When my son is home or a male friend of mine is here, Caleb will sit quietly with his beard poofed out. As long as they stay in his sight and dont make any sudden moves he just keeps an eye on them. But if they leave his sight, he will just about break his own neck trying to see where they went and what they are doing.

You're right Chantel, i cant possibly imagine how anyone could EVER strike a bird. First of all, even when they are naughty, they are absolutely adorable!