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Don’t know what to do

Kimo

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Hello
ok. So I rescued a female bg macaw a few years ago. She loves me and loves men but hates my husband. We are now to the point where I fear our current situation will prevent me from caring for her properly and I need to rehome her.

she is way too hormonal with me and I don’t know how to curb it. She is intimidating and I’ve seen people here that cuddle and love on them and while I’d love to I’m a little nervous to. She lunges and bites my husband.

what if I’m just more of a smaller bird person. What should I do
 

Shezbug

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So, this sounds stressful for you!
I am not quite sure from your post if you are wanting to rehome her or if you are hoping to be able to find some ways to change the behavior and work with her to make your home safer for you all.

There are quite a few people here who give great tips on how to help curb these behaviors you are having problems with, quite often it is the things we humans do that encourage the unwanted behavior. Sometimes it can be a simple change of routine, diet or our own habits with the bird that make all the difference.

Can you clarify if you are wanting to rehome or get help to change the situation so it is safe for you to have both your husband and your bird in the same room?
 

MiniMacaw

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All macaws go through hormonal phases. My macaw tolerates my husband but he has lunged at him and his favorite game is “pretend I’ll take the pinenut from the man but really I’ll try for his finger at the last second.” Keeps my husbands reflexes in tip top shape. :roflmao:

We just never have my macaw out when I’m not there. He also isn’t a cuddle bug like many macaws are...each is different so I wouldn’t compare what you see to your situation and feel lacking.

I’ve found with my guy that when he has abundance of toys to use up both in and outside of his cage, he is a happier fella. Just like a toddler he can be crankier than normal when I don’t switch toys enough or maybe I forgot to give him his treats. I’ve found a routine of attention helps him stay calm too. Every night he knows he gets to sip tea with me and it instantly puts his mood to rights. BUT he is just getting to the age where the hormones start raging so I’m hoping someone with more experience in that dept will chime in. :hug8:

Also, I think like with any animal that inspires a healthy dose of respect for their claws/fangs/extra large macaw beak, just being calm and confident goes a long way. They read us like a book and know when we’re feeling nervous which makes them nervous.
 

Kimo

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So, this sounds stressful for you!
I am not quite sure from your post if you are wanting to rehome her or if you are hoping to be able to find some ways to change the behavior and work with her to make your home safer for you all.

There are quite a few people here who give great tips on how to help curb these behaviors you are having problems with, quite often it is the things we humans do that encourage the unwanted behavior. Sometimes it can be a simple change of routine, diet or our own habits with the bird that make all the difference.

Can you clarify if you are wanting to rehome or get help to change the situation so it is safe for you to have both your husband and your bird in the same room?
I would prefer to make our situation better and keep her. But ultimately if it’s not good for both if is rehoming is the next step.
 

Shezbug

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To me it sounds like you’re her chosen human so she sees your husband as getting in the way/being a threat.

Hopefully the others more experienced with mature and hormonal macaw behaviour will be along soon to offer you some support and advice..... my big scary lunging B&G is still just a cheeky baby so my experience with lunging and attitude will be nothing on what others have dealt with. I can’t help but laugh when my boy tries the lunge to be intimidating because he nearly always looses his footing or balance and when he doesn’t loose his footing he lunges and if you don’t move he will gently press his beak into you and then push firmly while making a big scary rah sound :roflmao: then he gets cute and fluffy.... kinda takes away from the intimidation.

Keep checking in as we’re all in different time zones so it may take some of the other members a bit of time to get to your post. :)
 

TikkiTembo

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Our cockatoo is similar, he loves me and hates my husband. Poor hubby got some nasty bites in the past. He no longer handles him and the bird is away when I'm not home. We changed his diet to be as low carb and sugar as possible, removed all boxes or nesting items, and I only pet or preen his head. If he acts hormonal, I walk away. Since implementing strict boundaries, things have changed, and Chipper and my husband can share a space most of the time with little to no lunging. I highly recommend a behaviorist like Pamela Clark, she has guided us through it all!
 

Mizzely

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I think one thing to know is a lot of us don't cuddle our birds. This recent post is actually pretty spot on: Where to pet your bird - graphic

My Jardine's has been super amorous the past several months too. Hormones suck! It swings from trying to hump my hand to coating everything with regurgitate cement, to lunging at me.

Things that have worked for me to help curb some of it:

1) Putting him down as soon as he shows signs of trying to get it on with me
2) Saying "no thank you" and walking away from regurg attempts
3) Removing nesty areas
4) Giving him a schedule. I used to let him have free reign all the time, now he has a set bedtime, gets put in his cage, etc, and that has helped a lot
5) Time. Sometimes you just gotta wait it out!
 

TikkiTembo

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Like Mizzely said, set boundaries! The best thing Pamela ever did for me was give me permission to put him away when he was not being a good citizen. You deserve sanity and so does your family. Nobody wants to live in a home where a large animal is regularly trying to injure them. If you are ready to make changes and do hard work, I'm sure you'll all be able to find peace and harmony! Also, good for you for trying to work through your problems, your bird deserves it, and not many people are ready to fix things, they just rehome and move on.
 

macawpower58

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How does your husband act when she's out and around?
A lot of time the behavior can be curbed with careful consideration from the offending party (your husband).
Birds get jealous, and will attack the invader. What does hubby do when this happens?
Most large bird homes see this problem sooner or later.
The unwanted spouse, often has to limit cuddles with the spouse to times the bird's not out.
Does he have any relationship with her at all? Does he like her? Do they get along when you're not there?
Tell us a bit more, and we can give you some advice.
I'd also suggest you do as others suggest, avoid the hormonal behavior as best as possible.
Avoid much petting and stroking. Distract her with toys if possible.
I don't snuggle my adult macaw at all. Some do, some don't. Each bird is different.
 

Hahns0hmy

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Hello
ok. So I rescued a female bg macaw a few years ago. She loves me and loves men but hates my husband. We are now to the point where I fear our current situation will prevent me from caring for her properly and I need to rehome her.

she is way too hormonal with me and I don’t know how to curb it. She is intimidating and I’ve seen people here that cuddle and love on them and while I’d love to I’m a little nervous to. She lunges and bites my husband.

what if I’m just more of a smaller bird person. What should I do
anyone with a macaw should be intimidated to some extent like someone said above they have to be respected for the power they have. As with any bird in general they have their favorite people. Some of mine have hated my wife to now loving her. It all depends on that persons approach if they’re an anxious person or loud, Lots of things come into play. nothing is set in stone however and if you are wanting to keep it and take the time you can most likely make it work out. Need to provide a little more info as to what your husband is doing to cause that rage. It may be something he is doing or even you to promote it. These birds are like mini human beings very very intelligent they usually have a reason for what they do. On days im in a crappy mood my birds know it and yell all day. they sense hostility. On days im calm and my usual self they are too. They know when You are rushing or anxious, upset and unhappy. Try to work with those thoughts and see if any change happens.

In addition to that you can have your husband start being the one who provides its favorite foods/treats.
 
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Big Blues

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Hi, sorry that you and your husband are experiencing behavior concerns with your feathered girl. As macawpower58 explained, it would be helpful to have specific actions around her when she reacts to your husband. I have a B&G girl that during hormonal seasons she would only go to me and act as if she hated my husband. We made sure that we didn't show any affection for each other including a hug in front of her which she was jealous of. After her hormonal season, we made a change of her cage, different toys and diet so her normal behaviors were unraveled. This year, she even lets my husband preen her even though I am her normal "go to person". I told her good girl when hubby was preening her so she knew I accepted her with him. Your hubby could sing to her, give her the favorite treat where she has to reach out to get it so less chance of a bite. It seems even after many years of macaw caretaking we still learn and keep trying something new if necessary; macaws are very smart and they can read the feeling and actions of people around them and they can change too.
 

Kimo

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Just an update. Paradise is staying. Even though she doesn’t get along with my husband he wasn’t happy that I was considering Rehoming her so we are not. So we will just work on her behaviors. Thanks for the responses though.
 
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