Hormones, or something else?

[Clynne]

Hello everyone!

I adopted a male severe macaw, Ezra, about 5 weeks ago. He is supposedly around 10 years old, but his leg band indicates that he may actually have been hatched in 2004.

He screams a lot throughout the day. I know this can be common with macaws, but it almost seems like he's in distress? I don't know for sure though. He also regurgitates a LOT. He literally grabs his ankle and regurgitates all the time. He does it for toys, for me, or for whatever is near him. It's generally always on/with his ankle. He does have a bit of a tendency to pluck, also. Not a ton, but he does have some little bald patches.

I took him to the vet a couple weeks ago, and his bloodwork came back fairly normal. In my opinion though, looking at his bloodwork panel, his phosphorus levels looked low (I'm no expert though, so I could be wrong). I also noticed that his breath sometimes smells a bit sour, so I'm wondering if he may have sour crop and/or a yeast infection. Could that be making him fussy, or mimic hormonal behavior? I am going to get him back into his vet as soon as they return from their vacation. I tried getting him into the other 2 avian vets that are within a few hours drive, but they were either on vacation also, or they were booked up.

I've made sure to put him to bed at about 7:00 every night, and I cover him as well. He gets a good 14 hours of undisturbed quiet time once I put him to bed, because I know that is important for helping curb hormonal behavior.

Any opinions or advice based on the information I've provided? Thank you in advance, and thank you for taking the time to read all of this

 

[April]

Let me tag a few folks for you. @MiniMacaw @Macawnutz @Mizzely @MommyBird @flyzipper

 

[Clynne]

Let me tag a few folks for you. @MiniMacaw @Macawnutz @Mizzely @MommyBird @flyzipper

Thank you!

 

[April]

Thank you!

You're so welcome. I'm sure they will all have some advice for you. Do you have any pics of your sweetie? I absolutely adore Severe Macaws they are one of my favorite species of Macs.

 

[Clynne]

You're so welcome. I'm sure they will all have some advice for you. Do you have any pics of your sweetie? I absolutely adore Severe Macaws they are one of my favorite species of Macs.

I do have some pics of him! Let me see if I can figure out how to post them haha

 

[April]

I do have some pics of him! Let me see if I can figure out how to post them haha

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[Clynne]

Here's the little nugget, giving himself scritches lol

 

[April]

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Here's the little nugget, giving himself scritches lol

Oh my goodness! He's absolutely adorable! . Nothing is cuter than self scritching.

 

[Clynne]

Oh my goodness! He's absolutely adorable! . Nothing is cuter than self scritching.

Aww, thank you! He's a pretty neat little guy

 

[April]

Aww, thank you! He's a pretty neat little guy

I'll bet,I've always loved hearing about folks Macs,they are a special species as a whole for sure.

 

[Clynne]

I'll bet,I've always loved hearing about folks Macs,they are a special species as a whole for sure.

He's my first sort of "big" bird lol, so it's been really interesting learning about him, and seeing how different he is than the smaller birds I have. Of course I love all of them the same, but there's definitely a huge difference between him and my little guys, in so many ways.

 

[April]

He's my first sort of "big" bird lol, so it's been really interesting learning about him, and seeing how different he is than the smaller birds I have. Of course I love all of them the same, but there's definitely a huge difference between him and my little guys, in so many ways.

Aw I'll bet. I've interacted with several macaws at work over the years and they are a species that just instantly grabs your attention and interest without a doubt. Actually it's was a pair of Scarlet Macaws at Disney world that sparked my interest in parrots at the tender age of 5.
What smaller species do you have?

 

[Toy]

Awww he's cute. Calling & regurging & possibly plucking is a sign of being in breeding mode. Keep in mind only ever pet his head, neck, beak & feet. Any other place can trigger sexual activity/desire.

When my previous B&G macaw was in breeding mode she'd sound like a crow cawing with asthma. She'd start out sort of low sounding then get higher & higher until our ears were ringing. Thankfully she'd only do it a few minutes at a time. It's also sound like she was in distress.

Hormones can cause them to pluck, but I'd also ask the vet to do a skin test for fungus, etc. His breath shouldn't smell sour or like yeast, so I'd insist on a crop swab too.

 

[Clynne]

Aw I'll bet. I've interacted with several macaws at work over the years and they are a species that just instantly grabs your attention and interest without a doubt. Actually it's was a pair of Scarlet Macaws at Disney world that sparked my interest in parrots at the tender age of 5.
What smaller species do you have?

Scarlet macaws sure are beautiful! <3
For the little birds, we have three green cheeks, one sun conure, and two cockatiels. I had a dusky conure that passed away in December. Oddly enough, today would have actually been his first hatch day, according to his papers. I only had him for a little bit, unfortunately, but he was my absolute heart bird. I miss him dearly They're all really special though.

I think the biggest difference I've noticed between them and Ezra, is the fact that it almost seems like Ezra can... read my mind? Lol not exactly, but it's like he can really read the room. He'll do something goofy, and the second I'm about to laugh, he starts laughing too. It was almost creepy to me at first (not in a bad way), just how human-like he is. I don't know if that's just part of his unique personality, like how all birds are different? It's really interesting though.

 

[Clynne]

Awww he's cute. Calling & regurging & possibly plucking is a sign of being in breeding mode. Keep in mind only ever pet his head, neck, beak & feet. Any other place can trigger sexual activity/desire.

When my previous B&G macaw was in breeding mode she'd sound like a crow cawing with asthma. She'd start out sort of low sounding then get higher & higher until our ears were ringing. Thankfully she'd only do it a few minutes at a time. It's also sound like she was in distress.

Hormones can cause them to pluck, but I'd also ask the vet to do a skin test for fungus, etc. His breath shouldn't smell sour or like yeast, so I'd insist on a crop swab too.

Thank you for the info! I'll definitely get him in and have them do both of those tests that you recommended. If this is all hormone-related, is it likely to subside after spring is over, or do some birds just continue being super hormonal? I just feel so bad for him, because he seems so frustrated

 

[April]

Scarlet macaws sure are beautiful! <3
For the little birds, we have three green cheeks, one sun conure, and two cockatiels. I had a dusky conure that passed away in December. Oddly enough, today would have actually been his first hatch day, according to his papers. I only had him for a little bit, unfortunately, but he was my absolute heart bird. I miss him dearly They're all really special though.

I think the biggest difference I've noticed between them and Ezra, is the fact that it almost seems like Ezra can... read my mind? Lol not exactly, but it's like he can really read the room. He'll do something goofy, and the second I'm about to laugh, he starts laughing too. It was almost creepy to me at first (not in a bad way), just how human-like he is. I don't know if that's just part of his unique personality, like how all birds are different? It's really interesting though.

Ooh that's wonderful! Green Cheeks are my heart species for sure. What are your babies names? Psst any pics

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your Dusky and that you lost him so young

Wow he sounds like a really special guy,sounds like yall have really connected on a special level.

 

[flyzipper]

Welcome to you and Ezra!

There's so much to say, but I'll start with praising you for taking Ezra to the vet to ensure he has a clean bill of health. That relationship and baseline will be valuable going forward, plus it will put your mind at ease that the "screams a lot throughout the day" observation isn't due to a health concern, but likely just the newness of his environment.

Next, I'd encourage you to have patience with Ezra as he gets settled into his new life. At his age, it's likely he has established likes and dislikes, so unless you received a detailed briefing from his previous caregivers, the first part of your relationship will be spent figuring out what makes Ezra tick -- and you've started that process during a time of year that triggers hormonal behaviour for many birds (so don't judge him too harshly).

I've included two photos of my Jericho below which illustrate ways he's been very hormonal this season. You can see him being nesty in my fruit bowl (which is no longer with us), and cavity seeking in my upper cabinets. It doesn't take a determined macaw long to figure out how to get what they want even when the lower cabinets have been secured (upper cabinets are now chained too). Hormones also manifest through increased chasing and aggression toward my other two. Jericho chasing the others is something we work through all year long, but I'd say that hormones amplify those behaviours. He always likes shredding paper, for example, but this time of year he actively seeks it out (searching my pockets, discovering the paper towel and toilet paper holders, mail pile, etc).

He's also very expressive with his voice and over time I've learned to distinguish what each means. If you've ever seen a toddler in a grocery store throwing a tantrum because their parent won't give them candy... that pathetic wailing sob... yet also clearly not signalling pain or danger... that's one type. The toddler who's pretending to cry while looking out the corner of their eye to see if their parent is paying attention... that's another. The toddler who's hungry or thirsty or tired, yet doesn't know how to convey that they're hungry or thirsty or tired... that's another. Something just scared me is another yell. Yelling with the flock is another... yell at the flock is another... and so on. The point is, you'll figure out the yells -- they're all meaningful if we pay attention.

That last "I want" scream is a delicate one to manoeuvre because we shouldn't reward those outbursts, yet when I hear that at a certain time of day, I know what Jericho wants, so it becomes a matter of letting him settle and compose himself, and then providing what he was loudly asking for.

It's not all yells though. Jericho laughs when it makes sense to laugh. He uses words in context. He knows what it means when I'm looking at him in a certain way (like your 'read my mind' comment).

He's quite a smarty pants.

Hopefully some of that sounds familiar and is somewhat reassuring as you begin your relationship with Ezra.

​

 

[BrianB]

Hi to you and Ezra. It sounds like hormones for sure, but also a crop issue. I would get that checked out as soon as you can. It's spring so a lot of the parrots are being unpleasant right now. I have a house full of cranky teenage birds right now. They are all cute but rotten, and that's why we love them.

 

[Clynne]

Ooh that's wonderful! Green Cheeks are my heart species for sure. What are your babies names? Psst any pics

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your Dusky and that you lost him so young

Wow he sounds like a really special guy,sounds like yall have really connected on a special level.

Thank you, I really appreciate it

Our three green cheeks from left to right are Tillie, Iggy, and Nova. I like to lovingly call them the three stooges haha! They're a lot of fun. My sun conure's name is Lainey. She's a goofy little sweetie. Sherman is our cute little bald guy. He was surrendered to one of our local pet stores, so we brought him home. He's not very people-y, but that's understandable. We don't know much about his past. And then we have Henry, our gray cockatiel. He's a little diva for sure haha. I also attached a couple of pictures of my Douglas. He's the dusky that passed away. I always love a good post-bath picture haha

 

[April]

Thank you, I really appreciate it

Our three green cheeks from left to right are Tillie, Iggy, and Nova. I like to lovingly call them the three stooges haha! They're a lot of fun. My sun conure's name is Lainey. She's a goofy little sweetie. Sherman is our cute little bald guy. He was surrendered to one of our local pet stores, so we brought him home. He's not very people-y, but that's understandable. We don't know much about his past. And then we have Henry, our gray cockatiel. He's a little diva for sure haha. I also attached a couple of pictures of my Douglas. He's the dusky that passed away. I always love a good post-bath picture haha
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Oh my goodness! The cuteness is off the charts! What a lovely flock you have past and present