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"Rehomed" Hahn's, Regurgitation and Behavior

wesleyfay

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Hello, first time posting, but have read so many great posts so far!

My husband and I recently took over care of my family's 17 year old Hahn's Macaw, Kiwi. She has been living with my parents for all of her life up until now, and due to my parents change in work schedule we decided to take over her care so she has more daylight time with people.

We got Kiwi before she had feathers and hand-fed her. We would get her out of her cage a few times a week growing up, but once my brother and I left the house she mostly stayed in her cage. She was always in the dining room or living room central to the action of the house and loves being part of the conversation. We moved her to our house (about 3 hours from my parents) in October '22, and she now lives in our office and is with me all day while I work from home. I've transitioned her to Harrison's High Potency Fine from a diet of mixed seeds, fruit loops, and the almonds and tortilla chips my dad would give her daily. :cautious: She now loves her Harrison's and we don't give her any people food. I'm starting to introduce fresh vegetables to her as treats to make them more exciting, and am refreshing "step up" and getting her out a few times per week - for which she is rewarded with a veggie Nutriberry.

Since I'm with her all day, I've noticed a few disturbing habits: In the morning, the first thing she does is get a bite of her Harrison's, mixes it with water, and then goes to regurgitate on her toy. (It's a series of rings with pony beads that she likes to crack off). I bought the toy recently, so I don't think this was something she did before. She shows other sexual behaviors like rubbing her butt on anything she can in the cage and making baby sounds. I removed a soft Bird Buddy (the cage-side ones) that my parents had as soon as I noticed her behavior, and have removed or rearranged other larger toys in her cage that she has shown sexual behaviors with. Unfortunately, I'm removing more and more toys! I've tried very hard to keep toy materials fun to destroy, but not too shreddable as to be seen as nesting material. We only pet her on the very top of her head, and if she gets too "snuggly" I stop petting her and walk away. She was molting for the winter when we moved her, and when her new feathers started coming in I noticed she's been over-preening slightly.

Overall, I'm afraid she is preparing to lay an egg, and I'm worried she is getting more and more bored as I remove the toys that seem to be contributing to her sexual behavior. I've been tracking how much she's eating, and making sure to not leave any extra food in her bowl. She's going to bed and waking up with the sun, so over 12 hours of sleep, and is in a quiet room with the door closed at night.

I would love suggestions on how to reduce her sexual behavior, "safe" toys and games I can incorporate with her that will keep her busy, and any other activities or change in my behavior that I can do to help her.

Thank you in advance for your wisdom!
 

Clueless

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Welcome!

I'm not going to be much help here but others will chime in.

Has she laid eggs before?

I always leave plenty of food in Secret's cage. If I'm hungry, I eat. Just feel the same way about any pet I've owned. My amazon isn't "chubby" either despite the rap that amazons get. Then again, Secret is a unique bird.

As far as I know, birds go through hormonal cycles. Secret just finished a period of rubbing on toys and being a bit crabby.
 

Pixiebeak

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All creatures self stimulate. I wouldn't worry , I'd leave the toys. The toys aren't causing the behavior, her body hormones are..she's found a way to cope and relieve tension.

Substitute chick/mate object she regurgitating to, something id leave it. They will regurgitate to their own feet when they r t hsvr nothing else. My Penny had a Substitute toy she regurgitating to and cooing to when I first got her. My vet felt removing her comfort object would cause harm. And that as I gave her more attention and better life she would stop. Whicj held true.

I suggest more out of cage time. If she has become cage bound, then you can start helping her work through that. Really enriching her life encouraged self directed behavior and movement .

There are some good stuff on helping cage bound parrots out there. Sometimes clicker training can help
 

Tyrion

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:congrats5: And :welcomesign:
 

Emma&pico

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:hello: Sounds like you have made brilliant progress already
 

wesleyfay

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Thank you for the quick replies and the warm welcome! :)

@Clueless , she has never laid eggs before, I'm just so afraid of there being complications and the stress it would cause her so I'm doing everything I can to prevent that from happening! I read a few places that having excess food in their cage at all times can make them feel like they have an abundance and could support a chick, that's why I've been making sure she sees her bowl is empty at the end of the day. If she eats everything early in the day (on days when I'm not training and she's not getting other snacks) I'll feed her a little more in the afternoon to make sure she has a chance to eat what she wants.

@Pixiebeak , I guess that's reassuring that they will find a way regardless, I'll reintroduce the toys so she has more to play with. She's pretty good with coming out of her cage, although some days she's just really nippy and doesn't want to step up or will try to sneak around me and run out to play chase on the top of the cage. I'll continue to work up to giving her the option to come out every day if she wants to. Do you think time of day has anything to do with her being more nippy or is that just pure attitude? Haha

Thank you for the welcome, @Tyrion and @Emma&pico :)!
 

April

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@Mizzely had a wonderful Hahns girlie so she could share some insight with you I'm sure.
 

Mizzely

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My Jardine's boy did the same thing when I brought him home at 19 years old - eat food, drink water, proceed to regurgitate on everything until it was coated in concrete layer of love puke. :eek:

I honestly just rode it out. I made sure to keep our interactions brief vs long sessions of attention. Kept away from warm mushy foods. Made him forage for most of his food. Provided a ton of toys (sometimes, yes, this meant shreddables. Whatever he was into. Chewing was better than regurgitating and cloaca rubbing!). I provided a lot of horizontal space to encourage movement to get him out of the cage. Just open the door and walk away!

IMG_20181001_173601_976 (1).jpg PXL_20210531_154256189.jpg

And let him do his thing. :shrug:

My Hahns girl was much less hormonal overall but she was completely hands off. She was terrified of hands, but we still let her out of the cage whenever we could. I don't make them come out, I just give good incentives for doing so, like their favorite foods :)
 

Pixiebeak

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Thank you for the quick replies and the warm welcome! :)

@Clueless , she has never laid eggs before, I'm just so afraid of there being complications and the stress it would cause her so I'm doing everything I can to prevent that from happening! I read a few places that having excess food in their cage at all times can make them feel like they have an abundance and could support a chick, that's why I've been making sure she sees her bowl is empty at the end of the day. If she eats everything early in the day (on days when I'm not training and she's not getting other snacks) I'll feed her a little more in the afternoon to make sure she has a chance to eat what she wants.

@Pixiebeak , I guess that's reassuring that they will find a way regardless, I'll reintroduce the toys so she has more to play with. She's pretty good with coming out of her cage, although some days she's just really nippy and doesn't want to step up or will try to sneak around me and run out to play chase on the top of the cage. I'll continue to work up to giving her the option to come out every day if she wants to. Do you think time of day has anything to do with her being more nippy or is that just pure attitude? Haha

Thank you for the welcome, @Tyrion and @Emma&pico :)!
Some of my burds are over excited when they first come out as well.

I talk to them a little. Then open the cage step bsck and let them come out on their own. I chat , but don't try to interact with for a few minutes until they've run around and burned off some of that excitement. I also have stuff on the top of the Cage they can toss around or attack .

If im worried they might be real worked up. I set out an apple slice or high value longer to eat food on top of the cage before I let thrm out. They go chiw on thst sbd calm down. Then I come over and ask for step up or interacting.

Yeah lol , I don't think you have extra sexy irresistible toys that are driving her wild and tempting her to sin. :lol: :birdance: they are just there and she's finding ways to please herself. Exceptions would be box's thst csn be seen has hollow cavity for nest.

If you feed soft or warm foods stop thst during hormonal times.

Extra baths and ways to burn off energy. Increased mental foraging stuff can help.

Mizzely has much experience and your species! So thsts gold to listen too.
 
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