Blue and Gold Macaw Behaviour Change

[Jono]

hi guys,

my wife and i own a blue and gold macaw he is 7yrs old (almost 8) and we have noticed a big change in his behaviour in February 2020 with no trigger.

he is perfectly healthy, has a good diet, has plenty of out of cage time, is regularly showered.

his behaviour which is concerning us is his sudden mood swings, aggressiveness, he tends to pair with either the dog or myself and not be so friendly towards my wife who he has always been closer too. becomes very defenisve and protective of his cage.

we have not been able to pin point anything that would cause these changes or he has not had an traumatic experiences that would turn him aggressive. he is very well loved and has been a part of the family since 6months old.

we are looking forward to any feedback or ideas as to how we could handle these things better and try to turn things around

thanks

 

[noodles123]

when was blood work done last? A sudden shift can be due to other things, but birds can seem healthy when they are not (so just make sure you aren't just guessing on that).

How many hours of sleep does he get nightly?
Does he have access to any shadowy spaces (e.g., boxes, tubes, under furniture, under blankets, under tables, low shelves, drawers, hampers etc?) If so, prevent that access- shadowy spaces simulate nesting environments and trigger hormones (even if you never noticed issues before). If you have anything on top of the cage, you should move it (don't ever partially cover him during the day either). You want as few shadows as possible (except when he is in the cage to sleep, at which point you can cover him).
Any new people in the house or changes to work schedules?
Any new hair or furniture?
Any new sounds in the home? Any changes in artificial lighting (like a burnt out bulb==yes, this upset mine recently lol) ?

 

[Jono]

thanks noodles123 for your response.

we are in the process of booking a blood test now to make sure that is clear.

as for the rest of your questions we have no access to nasty things, he gets more then 12hrs sleep at night in his own bedroom he is never covered up ( only shut the blinds at night)

aside from that we did move house but noticed a really big improvement in a positive way with his behaviour but he has since reverted back to these strange times 2 months into the new house. he gets plenty of sunlight in his room, just wondering if there are any other things to stop these nesting hormones or behaviours if they were triggered at some point?

appreciate all the help we can get and will keep you updated with the blood work results

thanks
jono

 

[wrench13]

To me, and I am no macaw expert by far, it sounds like he is having hormone issues. While 7 yrs is a bit late, Macaws do take longer to hit puberty than smaller birds, and every parrot is an individual and different. Taking the usual steps to minimize the effects can help. As with all hormone and mating behaviors, this too shall pass.

 

[Cycletim]

Maybe some time outside one way or another? Get away from cage?