My Hahn's macaw seems to want a Pacific Parrotlet tail

[Cthebird]

I really don't understand it. My Hahn's macaw seems to hate his tail. For a while after we adopted him he had a long beautiful tail, then somehow he was doing a lot of horseplay and bent one of them. Since it was "out of whack" he started chewing on it to try to get rid of it. We felt sorry for him so snipped it off, but didn't want to pull it out since we figured that would be very painful.

Then another tail feather got out of whack. We left it (looking like an antenna for a while) then eventually snipped that one off, too. They started to look like the trimmed flight feathers.

It is obvious that over time my Hahn's macaw has started to deliberately mangle his tail. A full feather finally fell out (all the feathers gone were the longest ones), then he seemed to work on biting off another. It eventually came off half-way. Now his tail looks like the short little tails of Pacific Parrotlets, with the ones left (new growth) all mangled.

By the way, how long is it going to take for those chopped off tail feathers to fall out and have new growth? Even none of the clipped flight feathers they clipped before we adopted him 5 months ago have fallen out. And how on earth do we protect the new growth feathers?

He has a very well-rounded healthy diet, seems extremely healthy, and I spend oodles of time with him playing and being sweet to him.

 

[wrench13]

Hmmmm..... Are you perhaps channeling your old parrotlet? Kidding of course. Only suggestion-make sure his cage and play area are biggenough tonot cause more tail fether damage. Replacing fethers can take a long time especially if he is not in molt.

 

[Cthebird]

No channeling of my old Parrotlet, though I do miss him. I think my Hahn's macaws does have plenty of room, but he gets so wild sometimes.

 

[Sarge]

Maybe he thinks he’s a Military macaw and likes his hair (feathers) short? Lol just kidding. Sometimes all we can do is laugh and try another angle. Does his/her cage hav3 the toys around the edges to prevent any interruption with the tail feathers? Maybe more time away from the bars of the cage?
Either way best of luck. It can be frustrating but hang in there.

 

[Kiwibird]

I feel bad for macaws. Those tails must really make it difficult for them to navigate without messing it up. I don't think what your bird is doing sounds behavioral at all. It just sounds like he has become a playful, active bird and his tail is taking the brunt of it. The ends of Kiwi's tail are always a bit ratty due to the way he plays. I see how his tail gets bent and brushed over stuff and it's no wonder the ends aren't perfect. If your bird isn't bothered by it and isn't chewing healthy/unbent/undamaged feathers, I don't think you should be too worried about his tail looking a bit beat up. I think of Kiwi's ratty tail as a sign he's a happy, active bird who doesn't just sit there rotting on a perch doing nothing all day so his plumage is pristine. Kind of like a car will never get a dent or knick in the paint if it sits in a garage 24/7, but then again, what's the point of the car if it's not being driven? Overly perfect plumage is often a sign of an under-active bird who never plays or does anything interesting.

 

[Cthebird]

Maybe he thinks he’s a Military macaw and likes his hair (feathers) short? Lol just kidding. Sometimes all we can do is laugh and try another angle. Does his/her cage hav3 the toys around the edges to prevent any interruption with the tail feathers? Maybe more time away from the bars of the cage?
Either way best of luck. It can be frustrating but hang in there.

Sometimes my guy does spend too much time on the top of his cage and that can surely affect it. Hubby doesn't want him there, but it's hard to train him off of it. Plus the set up we have makes it difficult. I wish he'd spend more time on his play gym, but it's hard to figure out a way to rearrange his set up. The way it is offers him the greatest amount of area to move around and explore. We'll really have to think about this hard.

 

[Cthebird]

I feel bad for macaws. Those tails must really make it difficult for them to navigate without messing it up. I don't think what your bird is doing sounds behavioral at all. It just sounds like he has become a playful, active bird and his tail is taking the brunt of it. The ends of Kiwi's tail are always a bit ratty due to the way he plays. I see how his tail gets bent and brushed over stuff and it's no wonder the ends aren't perfect. If your bird isn't bothered by it and isn't chewing healthy/unbent/undamaged feathers, I don't think you should be too worried about his tail looking a bit beat up. I think of Kiwi's ratty tail as a sign he's a happy, active bird who doesn't just sit there rotting on a perch doing nothing all day so his plumage is pristine. Kind of like a car will never get a dent or knick in the paint if it sits in a garage 24/7, but then again, what's the point of the car if it's not being driven? Overly perfect plumage is often a sign of an under-active bird who never plays or does anything interesting.

I can't imagine he is doing anything to his tail because of any psychological issues or even health issues. As said, we feed him a variety of healthful food (Harrison's pellets, fresh fruits & veggies, nuts, a little seed, mash "cookies", beans & rice, and other things). And as for his daily situation, I'm with him almost ALL day. He's definitely not lonely! I guess I could play with him even more, but I have to work. I can't have him in my work space because he is prone to what I call "criminal mischief". He is extremely active. He exercises about 10X more than my old Pacific Parrotlet.