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Unstable and dangerous 5 years old severe macaw
- Thread starter Maestro
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Dear alshgs,
To tell you PRECISELY I DO. "not qualified" is strictly business term of industry so I DO and I ALWAYS WILL and I ALWAYS HAD BEEN.
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No you don't. I'd give ANYTHING to have my baby back, and yet you just want to sell yours to the highest bidder. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Give him to a rescue so he can get he love he deserves.
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- David
Welcome to the forum, Maestro.
Maybe, hopefully, some Severe macaw owners can show up and give some insight. General advice is not always helpful with regards to particular species temperaments. I've heard the mini-macaws referred to as "little vampires," this could be what's playing out in your home. But I got curious about their temperament so I did a Google search and this is a site that came up...
From....Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Macaws - Personality Plus!!
On Severe macaws, she writes: "In my opinion, I have never, nor will I ever, suggest anyone buy one for a family or pet quality bird. Though they may well be manageable for some people, the majority of pet owners will have problems with severes and will 'dump' them at the first opportunity - because the birds are not what they expected. These guys are hard headed, opinionated, and for the most part a one person only bird. I do not remember ever hearing of one that was a good quality pet for more than ONE person in the household. Those fortunate enough to find one of the rare ones, a sweetheart, are one VERY lucky person and I doubt any of us would have enough money to get them to part with their baby!"
Take it for what it's worth but remember this is coming from a breeder. Maybe they are better appreciated in captivity in a different sense than that of a hands-on pet, perhaps as an aviary bird with it's own kind?
Maybe, hopefully, some Severe macaw owners can show up and give some insight. General advice is not always helpful with regards to particular species temperaments. I've heard the mini-macaws referred to as "little vampires," this could be what's playing out in your home. But I got curious about their temperament so I did a Google search and this is a site that came up...
From....Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Macaws - Personality Plus!!
On Severe macaws, she writes: "In my opinion, I have never, nor will I ever, suggest anyone buy one for a family or pet quality bird. Though they may well be manageable for some people, the majority of pet owners will have problems with severes and will 'dump' them at the first opportunity - because the birds are not what they expected. These guys are hard headed, opinionated, and for the most part a one person only bird. I do not remember ever hearing of one that was a good quality pet for more than ONE person in the household. Those fortunate enough to find one of the rare ones, a sweetheart, are one VERY lucky person and I doubt any of us would have enough money to get them to part with their baby!"
Take it for what it's worth but remember this is coming from a breeder. Maybe they are better appreciated in captivity in a different sense than that of a hands-on pet, perhaps as an aviary bird with it's own kind?
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Vets, especially CAVs, Please, don't bother chipping into this post. I understand it's part of your wallet, but I've already got few nice suggestions to rebuild relationship and will concentrate on that. Also as a foreigner is MERCENARY and MERCHANT same meaning or am I missing something? It looks like someone ows me an appology...
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macawpower58
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I also am not quite sure about this post.
Merchant is a business man who makes a living selling things.
Mercenary usually is used when someone puts money over everything else, often used for people who fight for pay not loyalty.
If this a language barrier it's one I've not seen before. If it's culture, maybe that could explain it as some other cultures don't view pets as others do.
Troll? I can't tell.
I wish I knew if this poster truly wants help and advice, and if they like/love this bird for itself.
Merchant is a business man who makes a living selling things.
Mercenary usually is used when someone puts money over everything else, often used for people who fight for pay not loyalty.
If this a language barrier it's one I've not seen before. If it's culture, maybe that could explain it as some other cultures don't view pets as others do.
Troll? I can't tell.
I wish I knew if this poster truly wants help and advice, and if they like/love this bird for itself.
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No one owes you an apology. You have given more than one reason as to why he doesn't belong with you. Everyone on this forum cares about the welfare of the bird. They try to give advice. You didn't answer have the questions asked to you.
jmfleish
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You own one of the hardest Macaws there are and my guess is that, at five years of age, he's starting to hit hormones. I would highly suggest the book Clicker Training Your Bird. You need to find a positive way to work with him and this book will help you do it.
Another incredibly important piece of the puzzle is learning to read your bird's movements and physical behaviors so that you know when he is going to bite and you can avoid it. Avoiding the bite is incredibly important and will go a long way.
Finally, like it or not, our vets have knowledge that we do not and birds, just like humans can and do get illnesses that we may never even see. I've had a few issues that I would have never known about had I not gone in and had testing done. Bacterial infections can show up and birds don't show illness until it's generally too late to help them. I have a Cockatoo who was showing strange signs with shaking his foot and it turned out to be long term zinc poisoning. Having a good vet you can turn to is incredibly helpful and when you see a strange behavior out of nowhere like you are describing, the first thing most of us do for our companions is make absolutely sure that there isn't a medical problem. It's the first sensible solution, especially for those of us who have lost birds to horrible disease.
Finally, I have an idea of what you are going through. I have a 6 year old Galah who was the most awesome bird ever until he turned four and the hormones kicked in. I love this bird more than you could ever know. So much so that I also took in his clutchmate who is also going through a hormonal stage right now. They have both been seen by my vet of 14 years to make sure they are healthy and they are. My vet has given me a number of ideas to try and deal with this crazy time in their lives that could last several years. They now share a cage so they have each other but they are definitely caged more than I would like them to be. They are very sweet when there are bars between us and I talk a great deal to them and give them treats and pet them through the bars and even open the cage door from time to time and carefully pet them while they sit on a platform perch. When I take them out, they come out one at a one and I keep all attention on that bird and I read that bird's body language very carefully.
I would also read up on how to deal with hormones in parrots. Lowering the protein in their diet and trying to make sure they get equal amounts of light and dark can sometimes help. There are other tools out there, those two come to mind right away.
Another incredibly important piece of the puzzle is learning to read your bird's movements and physical behaviors so that you know when he is going to bite and you can avoid it. Avoiding the bite is incredibly important and will go a long way.
Finally, like it or not, our vets have knowledge that we do not and birds, just like humans can and do get illnesses that we may never even see. I've had a few issues that I would have never known about had I not gone in and had testing done. Bacterial infections can show up and birds don't show illness until it's generally too late to help them. I have a Cockatoo who was showing strange signs with shaking his foot and it turned out to be long term zinc poisoning. Having a good vet you can turn to is incredibly helpful and when you see a strange behavior out of nowhere like you are describing, the first thing most of us do for our companions is make absolutely sure that there isn't a medical problem. It's the first sensible solution, especially for those of us who have lost birds to horrible disease.
Finally, I have an idea of what you are going through. I have a 6 year old Galah who was the most awesome bird ever until he turned four and the hormones kicked in. I love this bird more than you could ever know. So much so that I also took in his clutchmate who is also going through a hormonal stage right now. They have both been seen by my vet of 14 years to make sure they are healthy and they are. My vet has given me a number of ideas to try and deal with this crazy time in their lives that could last several years. They now share a cage so they have each other but they are definitely caged more than I would like them to be. They are very sweet when there are bars between us and I talk a great deal to them and give them treats and pet them through the bars and even open the cage door from time to time and carefully pet them while they sit on a platform perch. When I take them out, they come out one at a one and I keep all attention on that bird and I read that bird's body language very carefully.
I would also read up on how to deal with hormones in parrots. Lowering the protein in their diet and trying to make sure they get equal amounts of light and dark can sometimes help. There are other tools out there, those two come to mind right away.
BINGO
Merchant and Musician is I, Mercenaries are more-likely vets and doctors of USA. I also know that Mercenarie is a killer for hire, which I'm too far away from.
Did I read right that you are pressure washing the bird? I'm fairly sure that hurts and terrifies him. 
jmfleish, thanks for kind, understandable and reasonable words. i watch behaviour of my parrot daily and note always any changes in his meal amounts, preferences. meals are strictly whole foods that i purchase from farmers i trust -- no pellets and no artificial food of any kind with any kind of loud and advertising words. he's been playing with his feet since day one i picked him up and he finds it entertaining. he finds many more things entertaining and i also keep eye on that to rather stimulate that. he finds entertaining to rip off buttons from shirt -- he's got 'wardrobe' in his cage he can 'play' with and he's also got my clothes i don't mind destroying while other are kept in closed closet. there's no source of any kind of zinc poisoning he can ever face and he lives in conditions very close to wild nature. i noted that severes are extremely active and like to play rough and i make sure it does kept this way. so far no changes, no pain and I MEAN NO PAIN just simply because I KNOW when there is!
CrazyBirdChick, and others, please check this out and have fun:
He's either away in 'bird hotel' watched by lady who watches many birds as part of business or simply in the kitchen uncaged while his cage is on porch under pressure washer.
So far I started day from 15...20min holding him on my arm (puck that I can sacrifice that instead of face -- not fingers though) and block every attempt to approach shoulder by saying NO or simply removing him from path there and replacing back to arm. The attempts got more frequent and I moved him back to his cage. I will repeat sessions throughout this Sunday and see if it will work out. He was also preening and getting pet.
jmfleish
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I'd really try the clicker training. I met and fell in love with a Severe at a rescue I volunteered at several years ago. He was really awesome when his owner wasn't around and hated me when she was. She eventually gave him up to the rescue and I could have adopted him but I already had a crazy bird in my house who was a handful, my Cockatoo. To this day, that bird still has a small part of my heart!
Just so you know, I'm a firm believer in pellets simply because I think most of us don't know enough about the human diet to feed ourselves correctly much less a parrot who no longer lives in the wild but in our living room. A great deal of research has gone into pelleted diets and I look at them as a way to fill the holes in my birds' diets where I most likely am missing something. I live in WI and my birds do not get and will never get enough Vitamin D3, so that alone is a huge benefit to a pelleted diet for me. Vitamin A deficiencies are much lower in parrots who are on a pelleted diet as well. If you can feed an all natural diet, kudos, but I truly feel that most of us cannot. Another reason to see a vet, to make sure that their organs are working correctly and that they aren't vitamin deficient. That can only be done through a CBC and physical exam.
As for Reggie D2 and the zinc poisoning, I'm incredibly careful with what I give my birds and to this day we still have no idea where the zinc came from. That was seven or eight years ago.
Just so you know, I'm a firm believer in pellets simply because I think most of us don't know enough about the human diet to feed ourselves correctly much less a parrot who no longer lives in the wild but in our living room. A great deal of research has gone into pelleted diets and I look at them as a way to fill the holes in my birds' diets where I most likely am missing something. I live in WI and my birds do not get and will never get enough Vitamin D3, so that alone is a huge benefit to a pelleted diet for me. Vitamin A deficiencies are much lower in parrots who are on a pelleted diet as well. If you can feed an all natural diet, kudos, but I truly feel that most of us cannot. Another reason to see a vet, to make sure that their organs are working correctly and that they aren't vitamin deficient. That can only be done through a CBC and physical exam.
As for Reggie D2 and the zinc poisoning, I'm incredibly careful with what I give my birds and to this day we still have no idea where the zinc came from. That was seven or eight years ago.
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