Some changes...

[Shezbug]

No. Birdie has taken none of Burt's time or attention away! Burt has always spent time during the day in his cage alone so if it needs to be done it is not a problem and I found out today that I can not be heard out there when I am changing Birdies water or topping up his food. If Burt was going to show jealousy issues because of another bird or animal I am interacting with it would surely be Squeak or Suzie who are in the house, I have a relationship with both of them and Burt does not but he sees and hears me interacting with them numerous times a day- there has been no aggression shown for me interacting with Squeak even when Burt is in the room- same with Suzie. As I don't float Birdies boat I do not make him put up with my company for great lengths of time- I am still working with him just accepting my presence and trying to have him decide I need to spend more time with him rather than flooding him with my company- he enjoys a whistle back and forth with me but so do the neighbours birds which Burt could care less about. I really do not think Birdie has caused any of what has happened.

As for being put in the cage so I can hang with Birdie or tend to him, that is again a no. Burt nearly always goes back to his cage when he is ready- I always could put him back in there if I needed to even if it was only a minute since he was let out- Burt has never ever viewed his cage as punishment and I have never put him back in to go tend to Birdie (Oh, I lied... once I did when Birdie fell backwards off his perch- Burt did not seem to react or care then)

 

[fashionfobie]

I am sorry you are sorting this out right now. I appreciate your courage in sharing this story as it is a great and impactful reflection.

Sending as many good vibes your way as possible. If what you are dealing with is anything like my cockatoo when she hit maturity, I know everyday is hard. You are a strong and caring person. Burt wouldn't want you any other way. His feelings for you are true, he is sadly going through a difficult and rough patch. fingers crossed you make it through as smoothly as possible.

 

[Shezbug]

Burt and I were just interacting and I was keeping one half of a step ahead of the behavior and mood shift so we were actually making good progress there, I was even able to get him to comply with me telling him not to do something without it ramping his mood up to attack levels- all was going quite well and I managed to avoid him getting excited and worked up at a few different things. When my son heard us in my room behind the door and realized all was going really well he came into my room obviously thinking all was back to normal and Burt got super excited super fast and I nearly got a good bite to my face I have again explained the situation and hopefully that wont happen again. I managed to get him to climb back into his cage before he got any more excited.

 

[April]

Burt and I were just interacting and I was keeping one half of a step ahead of the behavior and mood shift so we were actually making good progress there, I was even able to get him to comply with me telling him not to do something without it ramping his mood up to attack levels- all was going quite well and I managed to avoid him getting excited and worked up at a few different things. When my son heard us in my room behind the door and realized all was going really well he came into my room obviously thinking all was back to normal and Burt got super excited super fast and I nearly got a good bite to my face I have again explained the situation and hopefully that wont happen again. I managed to get him to climb back into his cage before he got any more excited.

I'm sorry to hear that it almost ended in a bad bite but that's encouraging that up until that moment he was doing well with you and staying calm.

 

[FeatheredM]

I don't have any advice, but good luck! I hope things between you and Burt get figured out soon, you are great for not giving up on him

 

[Monaco]

Burt and I were just interacting and I was keeping one half of a step ahead of the behavior and mood shift so we were actually making good progress there, I was even able to get him to comply with me telling him not to do something without it ramping his mood up to attack levels- all was going quite well and I managed to avoid him getting excited and worked up at a few different things. When my son heard us in my room behind the door and realized all was going really well he came into my room obviously thinking all was back to normal and Burt got super excited super fast and I nearly got a good bite to my face I have again explained the situation and hopefully that wont happen again. I managed to get him to climb back into his cage before he got any more excited.

One step forward is still a good thing, and no bite! I hope it's similar to the dogs...it's one thing to have commands down pat at home, but the first (and 10th) time out in public or with fun distractions can look like chaos! Fingers crossed your diligence and care will work to everyone's satisfaction even with distractions like this in the future.

 

[camelotshadow]

Burt and I were just interacting and I was keeping one half of a step ahead of the behavior and mood shift so we were actually making good progress there, I was even able to get him to comply with me telling him not to do something without it ramping his mood up to attack levels- all was going quite well and I managed to avoid him getting excited and worked up at a few different things. When my son heard us in my room behind the door and realized all was going really well he came into my room obviously thinking all was back to normal and Burt got super excited super fast and I nearly got a good bite to my face I have again explained the situation and hopefully that wont happen again. I managed to get him to climb back into his cage before he got any more excited.

Think back on those moments & try to figure out what about your son entering made the mood swing/
Just too much stimulation?
A diversion he thought might give him an upper edge?
Birds emotions are so complicated.
Likely nothing to do with your son perse.



That's a hard situation but maybe put a reminder sign on the door & make sure they know its nothing personal
but Burt is going through issues & needs quiet time to work them out...

 

[soundsfun]

Maybe we need to make a thread showing all the non pretty sides of macaw ownership..

I think this would actually make an amazing sticky. People really need to know the extremely challenging (and sometimes scary) realities of sharing your life with a large parrot. Like @ems08 said, I know I’m not a big parrot person! But I do adore them, so I live vicariously through all of you large parrot parronts, and find myself constantly in awe - you give so much time, love and dedication to your birds - and the resilience and undying devotion of you long term parronts is especially inspiring.

 

[ems08]

I think this would actually make an amazing sticky. People really need to know the extremely challenging (and sometimes scary) realities of sharing your life with a large parrot. Like @ems08 said, I know I’m not a big parrot person! But I do adore them, so I live vicariously through all of you large parrot parronts, and find myself constantly in awe - you give so much time, love and dedication to your birds - and the resilience and undying devotion of you long term parronts is especially inspiring.

@soundsfun you said it better than I did! They're so beautiful and I admire them and those who love them a great deal. I also love a big bird attitude in a little body so I can see the appeal, but I would be completely intimidated by a larger bird and they would quickly have the upper hand. I'll stick to admiring from afar!

 

[rocky'smom]

Ok sweetie I'm going add what I learn from working with those big beakers. One the bite is not acceptable in any way shape or form. Of the ones I worked with Peace and Happy were the nippiest twosome ever. Mostly Happy. Thanking God she never got me hard but she caused her fair share of stitches and blood letting. Reward the good behavior the bad behavior was cage time outs. At the clinic we couldn't close the door to the waiting room where they were but we could cover cages. And did so often.
I'm not sure if that would work with Burt or not but it's worth a shot. Cage time outs was 10 minutes of dark quiet time. We had huge insulated blankets to cover them up with. After 10 minutes we would uncover but they stayed in their cages until they asked to come out. Our greatest concern was with clients coming in that somebody would get hurt. We really tried to keep the more aggressive behavior ones in their super sized cages and let them out when client load was less. We all knew their cues for "I'm going to get you" tudes. You will find the way I'm sure with Burt .

 

[Shezbug]

Ok sweetie I'm going add what I learn from working with those big beakers. One the bite is not acceptable in any way shape or form. Of the ones I worked with Peace and Happy were the nippiest twosome ever. Mostly Happy. Thanking God she never got me hard but she caused her fair share of stitches and blood letting. Reward the good behavior the bad behavior was cage time outs. At the clinic we couldn't close the door to the waiting room where they were but we could cover cages. And did so often.
I'm not sure if that would work with Burt or not but it's worth a shot. Cage time outs was 10 minutes of dark quiet time. We had huge insulated blankets to cover them up with. After 10 minutes we would uncover but they stayed in their cages until they asked to come out. Our greatest concern was with clients coming in that somebody would get hurt. We really tried to keep the more aggressive behavior ones in their super sized cages and let them out when client load was less. We all knew their cues for "I'm going to get you" tudes. You will find the way I'm sure with Burt .

Thanks Laurie
You are right about the bites, they are certainly not acceptable but in all reality, they are going to happen once every now and then... I will stuff up cos I am human, he will bite cos he is a parrot. That is just the reality of having a bird- not the dream but the reality.

I don't think that cage covering will work with what I know of Burt and how he handles things placed on his cage he does not want there lol. Any cover put on his cage would be ruined within seconds as well as cause a scream the house down tantrum- I also do not actually agree with the practice of covering birds up through daylight hours for this sort of stuff, I see it as punishment which I do not like and it does not work well as a training tool.
I can understand maybe having not many other options and feeling you need to do the covering or timeout in a clinic type setting where paying customers are and their safety must be thought of but I do not want to use the cage as a time out zone ever.... He loves his cage- it is his safe sanctuary- his space- his home when he is not roaming free in mine so I never want him to associate the cage with negativity or punishment. I do not want to even imagine how it would look trying to get Burt caged up when needed if he associated the cage with punishment.
He is simply testing me or acting out because of broken communications, built up frustrations, excess energy, hormones or ???, I gotta figure out which it is and how best to stop it happening through positive reinforcement and avoidance, I am sure my behavior is a factor too so I need to look at that also- I would prefer to use healthy manipulation and rewards rather than force or negativity with him any day- I will do time out for one reason only... I need the time to gather my emotions and thoughts so I can think straight and find another way to approach the issue.
If he is angry and I grump at him he will amp his anger up to meet or beat mine- he is usually like a mirror with treatment and attitude which is why I think this saga really shocked me, this little episode we are going through is telling me for sure that something is wrong or happening (not sure exactly what yet) but I have yet to learn how best to treat the whole situation so as to get the best out of us both. Saying no and trying to demand some basic respect the other day basically just asked him to up his challenge game and kick my behind which he did lol. I got to be smarter not bossier.
I am learning to pick when his getting overstimulated and ready to lash out, thankfully that saved me from a face injury today- fingers crossed I can get to a point where I see much more and can again predict his every move.

 

[Kassiani]

It's good news that you have begun to make even a bit of progress with your reading his new, mercurial moods and with shaping your interactions! I know you and Burt will get through this.

P.s. I know my cranky red head pales in comparison, but if Opie is wound up, it sometimes helps if I whisper when speaking to him to bring his energy down.

 

[Wardy]

Good to see there have been some positives since your first post, I remember reading the interview when Burt got Celebirdy of the month and you described him as a powertool with wings i cant even comprehend how challenging this is for you.

Again would like to wish you the best of luck and following along with interest i think there is something we can all learn from in this thread even those of us with smaller birds, Hang in there Shez.

 

[Shezbug]

Two days with no bruising or bleeding for me! Lots of stress but no real injuries.
I have had a few tiny nips through my clothes, fairly gentle hand or finger crushes warning me more is coming if I do not allow what he wants to do like yesterday when he snuck my phone out of my pocket and literally run off with it and went to remove the camera lens (yes I now need another new screen protector and case but at least I still have a working phone!) and also some impulsive attempted bites when he got real excited at the darn horrid cat stalking him outside our window and the bin chicken that was too close for his liking etc, when he gets startled, stressed or excited I need to be on the ready and extra calm and alert. It does not take much at all to raise his excitement to danger level right now.
He is so moody and quick to tantrum or change to danger mode that it is not really very safe for me physically interacting with him (which he very much insists on doing when out of the cage) but I am getting better at feeling, hearing and seeing the new behavior/mood changes coming.
I honestly hate this new situation we are in and I really miss the predictability of my evenly tempered sweet and very cheeky little boy, he is now so seriously erratic I do not know what to expect or when to expect it coming- I am reluctantly learning to accept he is not likely to ever go back to exactly how he was a month ago (I will keep my fingers crossed for this to totally pass but I doubt it will), I am not so sure I am ready just yet for how switched on and prepared for saving myself from attacks I will always need to be now.
I really feel for him with how frustrated and angry he is most times before lashing out and then when he calms down he almost seems ashamed or regretful that I have said he is being horrid and I turned my back and left him.
For the first time since all this started he listened to NO and also BE GENTLE today when I spoke to him - it really peeved him to be pulled up but he did very reluctantly comply.

He seems extra clingy which is odd given how cranky he is at nearly every single thing I do.

 

[Nnbal]

Two days with no bruising or bleeding for me! Lots of stress but no real injuries.
I have had a few tiny nips through my clothes, fairly gentle hand or finger crushes warning me more is coming if I do not allow what he wants to do like yesterday when he snuck my phone out of my pocket and literally run off with it and went to remove the camera lens (yes I now need another new screen protector and case but at least I still have a working phone!) and also some impulsive attempted bites when he got real excited at the darn horrid cat stalking him outside our window and the bin chicken that was too close for his liking etc, when he gets startled, stressed or excited I need to be on the ready and extra calm and alert. It does not take much at all to raise his excitement to danger level right now.
He is so moody and quick to tantrum or change to danger mode that it is not really very safe for me physically interacting with him (which he very much insists on doing when out of the cage) but I am getting better at feeling, hearing and seeing the new behavior/mood changes coming.
I honestly hate this new situation we are in and I really miss the predictability of my evenly tempered sweet and very cheeky little boy, he is now so seriously erratic I do not know what to expect or when to expect it coming- I am reluctantly learning to accept he is not likely to ever go back to exactly how he was a month ago (I will keep my fingers crossed for this to totally pass but I doubt it will), I am not so sure I am ready just yet for how switched on and prepared for saving myself from attacks I will always need to be now.
I really feel for him with how frustrated and angry he is most times before lashing out and then when he calms down he almost seems ashamed or regretful that I have said he is being horrid and I turned my back and left him.
For the first time since all this started he listened to NO and also BE GENTLE today when I spoke to him - it really peeved him to be pulled up but he did very reluctantly comply.

He seems extra clingy which is odd given how cranky he is at nearly every single thing I do.

This reminded me of a situation with humans.
Some children or teenagers feel bad psychologically and act really horrible towards their parents.Parents have a great responsibility in this situation.
Doctors say you need to be patient and strong for regain your child.
I pray I'm sure you and Burt will win this process.

 

[Macawnutz]

Shez, I'm so busy right now between the store/xmas and home stuff but I really don't believe Burt has made this change forever. I do think it's an eye opener for you later into his life but I think he will pull himself back from this after a season change. I have enough young male macaws boys to know they go through things. Things I can't understand and things that clearly they think should be taken out on me. There were times when Korbel wanted my blood spilled on the floor, there were times he did spill my blood on the floor. Shoot... Maui thinks he is Don Juan with the ladies and threatens me with evil stares a few times a day BUT.... I can still pick these boys up and love on them. Each one has different rules but I learned them quickly. I read body language faster than they process their own feelings and lucky for you BG really tend to wear their feelings on the outside. You will learn those subtle facial expressions/ noises/ feather positions. Once he gets a grasp on what he is attempting to do you will be able to work around his new behaviors. Just ride this out a little with him.

I know you got this. He will figure out his side and you will figure out yours.

Oh.... and by the way TEACH DROP IT. That is like the #1 rule in the owning a flighted macaw manual.
I don't care what it is taught with but you have to teach it. With Korbel I used an old high value off limits prescription bottle filled with a few rattling things. For the reward I would use cheese. No, cheese it not a reward that I would ever use to teach anything BUT if Korbel was up in a tree the first thing I would grab is cheese. "drop it" is very important. I use it very rarely and only when it's of the most importance. My guys know that if they have something they really shouldn't and I say drop it, I'm going to trade for an item they consider more valuable.

 

[Pat H]

Thank you, I appreciate knowing that showing the less attractive side has made it real for some, I think it is important to share this sort of stuff for others to benefit from, if it saves one macaw from being taken home by the wrong people then it has all been worth sharing the less pleasant side of loving my big brat.
I can honestly confirm that having a macaw is so much more than just the pretty pictures lol. Maybe we need to make a thread showing all the non pretty sides of macaw ownership... lol I can just imagine some of the first pictures our members could post- would look very different than what the youtubers show that is for sure.

THAT IS SOOOO TRUE!!! Really HELPS to hear and understand ALL the aspects of bird 'ownership' -- They are continuous emotional wild beings that we are privilaged to be a part of... I, for one... am humbled by their love!

 

[Pat H]

I never had a macaw but this sounds exactly spot on to me. This is how I deal with my caiques. If they treat you differently you have to adjust because if you don't change it won't get better. Taking action and making changes immediately as you have done it perfect. It's what you need to do. So many people don't know or can't adapt fast enough and it makes the whole process take longer and many people give up before they succeed.

I am sure you and Burt will work it out and be better than ever. Best wishes.

One of my crazy little fluff of feathers bit me last week and then two days later he almost got me again and this was on top of all his usual threats when I get near his cage. Turns out his misses was about to lay eggs (the timing of which was a totally shock to me), yet I should have known because this is exactly how he acts right before she lays eggs. He is fully mature (had him almost 9 years) and I should know by now what it all means but it was still a surprise.

Your in good company and I know you will get great advice.

We just NEVER STOP learning... do we??? THANK GOODNESS!

 

[macawpower58]

Cheese, yep, worth it's weight in gold to a macaw.
I keep a bag of shredded thick cut cheddar. One strand is Chaos's gold.

 

[fashionfobie]

Cheese, yep, worth it's weight in gold to a macaw.
I keep a bag of shredded thick cut cheddar. One strand is Chaos's gold.

They got it wrong with all those mice love cheese fables. Turns out mice aren't that impressed, but the macaws are, who knew!