My newly adopted (23 years old) green wing macaw periodically throughout the day will step on some of her wing feathers(causing shredding of her wing feathers). She lifts her tail and squats and yells rhythmically. I am guessing this is some sort of mating behavior and it does not bother me except for disfiguration of her feathers. is there anything I can do to discourage the behavior? I don't want to reinforce it by going in to her room every time it happens. Thank you for any help and suggestions!
macaw behavior question
- Thread starter jlcnwop12
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Birdman666
Well-known member
- Sep 18, 2013
- 9,904
- 264
- Parrots
- Presently have six Greenwing Macaw (17 yo), Red Fronted Macaw (12 yo), Red Lored Amazon (17 y.o.), Lilac Crowned Amazon (about 43 y.o.) and a Congo African Grey (11 y.o.)
Panama Amazon (1 Y.O.)
I've never seen my 16 year old female greenwing to anything of the sort...
How does she manage to step on her wing feathers? I actually can't recall ever seeing a macaw do that to her own wings.
I'd honestly have to see it to offer an opinion, but my first impression would be some sort of attention screaming.
How does she manage to step on her wing feathers? I actually can't recall ever seeing a macaw do that to her own wings.
I'd honestly have to see it to offer an opinion, but my first impression would be some sort of attention screaming.
JerseyWendy
New member
- Jul 20, 2012
- 20,995
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Welcome to the forum. 
Without venturing any kind of guess, has your girl been vet checked yet?
Do you know whether she exhibited the same behavior BEFORE you adopted her, and if so, how long?
I'm not nearly as experienced as Mark (Birdman) with big macs, but I've never heard of any bird doing such a thing.
Without venturing any kind of guess, has your girl been vet checked yet?
Do you know whether she exhibited the same behavior BEFORE you adopted her, and if so, how long?
I'm not nearly as experienced as Mark (Birdman) with big macs, but I've never heard of any bird doing such a thing.
henpecked
Active member
Welcome to the forum. Could you get us some video and start a new thread? I'll check the macaw section but i usually don't,LOL.
My macaw still steps on his wings, but he does not ruin them.... He never did tear them up actually, but I still found it odd. Though he did it a lot more when he was new to me, and that was when he was not in good feather condition overall. He's been with me for nearly 2 years now and he's totally pristine in feathering, but the wing stepping still happens. Sometimes he gets both wings underneath him and it looks like he is hugging himself!
Other times it will be just one wing, and then he will groom him head and nares with his free foot, grab his tail even, and sort of stretch his body. Birdie yoga? Actually when he does it now, I know that he is receptive to touching and I can pet him.
I am still thinking that it is a self soothing, or a deviated mating behavior, but my guy does not make noises at all when he does this. My guy was alone for many years, with little human interaction, so I figured it was something he did to pass the time out of his boredom.
Maybe in more time your bird will ease up too? When my guy got settled, ate better, took spray baths, etc all of the ratty feathers molted out and he stayed very nicely feathered.
I was unsure as to my macaw's sex initially, but a blood test tells us he is male. And he is estimated to be from 9-12 years of age.
All in all, the wing stepping is a quirk with mine, but it does no harm. If there were screaming involved then I'd be more inclined to try to resolve it. I guess that learning about your macaw's background may indicate why the wing stepping happens too? I would leave the room is screaming occurred, so with time, you may break through to your new bird that quiet time means she is being accompanied and not alone?
Other times it will be just one wing, and then he will groom him head and nares with his free foot, grab his tail even, and sort of stretch his body. Birdie yoga? Actually when he does it now, I know that he is receptive to touching and I can pet him.
I am still thinking that it is a self soothing, or a deviated mating behavior, but my guy does not make noises at all when he does this. My guy was alone for many years, with little human interaction, so I figured it was something he did to pass the time out of his boredom.
Maybe in more time your bird will ease up too? When my guy got settled, ate better, took spray baths, etc all of the ratty feathers molted out and he stayed very nicely feathered.
I was unsure as to my macaw's sex initially, but a blood test tells us he is male. And he is estimated to be from 9-12 years of age.
All in all, the wing stepping is a quirk with mine, but it does no harm. If there were screaming involved then I'd be more inclined to try to resolve it. I guess that learning about your macaw's background may indicate why the wing stepping happens too? I would leave the room is screaming occurred, so with time, you may break through to your new bird that quiet time means she is being accompanied and not alone?
Last edited:
Birdman666
Well-known member
- Sep 18, 2013
- 9,904
- 264
- Parrots
- Presently have six Greenwing Macaw (17 yo), Red Fronted Macaw (12 yo), Red Lored Amazon (17 y.o.), Lilac Crowned Amazon (about 43 y.o.) and a Congo African Grey (11 y.o.)
Panama Amazon (1 Y.O.)
Now, macaws hug stuff all the time... that's normal. (My RFM actually sleeps with her wings wrapped around a favorite toy.) So, if this is just the hugging stuff, then I'd say it's entirely normal.
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