New to macaws behavior

[silencioso89]

Hello i am new to macaws but have owned lots of birds in the past
i got 2 green wing macaws from a person that can no longer take care of them
they are a pair male and female they are around 10 to 15 years old

now my concern is that they have allways been togetter and i got them in a pretty nice big cage and one of them wont let the other one come near me if the other one tries to come near me he attacks pushes the other one away
and i dont know if this is normal or if its hurting the other one when am not near them they are nice to each other groom each other

is it normal for one of them behave like that or what should i do to stop that behavior sorry for my bad english

Thanks in advance

Silencioso

 

[labell]

Very normal, these are pair bond birds and it is more than likely the male that is keeping you away from his gal.

 

[Birdman666]

Exactly.

The male is probably the pushy one... and it is normal.

You need to win his trust, or he won't let the female anywhere near you. Be careful during breeding season, because males are very protective. Anything seen as a threat to the nest, or the female, will trigger the defense mechanism.

Were these breeders? Or were they handled by the former owner?

If they haven't been handled, they might not be tame birds.

As pair bond birds that have been together for a long period of time, they probably cannot be separated. Macaws form strong pair bond relationships, and they mate for life.

 

[silencioso89]

Exactly.

The male is probably the pushy one... and it is normal.

You need to win his trust, or he won't let the female anywhere near you. Be careful during breeding season, because males are very protective. Anything seen as a threat to the nest, or the female, will trigger the defense mechanism.

Were these breeders? Or were they handled by the former owner?

If they haven't been handled, they might not be tame birds.

As pair bond birds that have been together for a long period of time, they probably cannot be separated. Macaws form strong pair bond relationships, and they mate for life.

they have been with each other for over 10 years and had breeded in the past had babies

I dont know what you mean by handled as for tamed they are not that tamed i allready have them taking food from my hands without trying to kill my fingers hehe

Silencioso

 

[MikeyTN]

When he says handled, it means if they were taken out of their cages to play with, etc. If they are a pair, like Birdman says, they won't be friendly if not handled. Since they have raised chicks together then you'll have a harder time taming them. If they are willing to accept food from your hands, then there is a possibility to tame them.

 

[Birdman666]

Exactly.

Just be careful around the male during breeding season, because his behavior is likely to change abruptly. If he has a female on eggs, his brain is "hard wired" to protect the nest. So, that's usually the time he will become territorial and aggressive.

The rest of the time, he may be fine.

It depends on how tame they were to begin with, and how much they learn to trust you between now and then.

 

[Luna]

Hello, In my experience that is a normal jealous behavior and in your case probably unchallengeable. Had they been handles daily and out of the cage daily this would be absent or much less intense. Always have parrots DNA sexed the very low cost is far out weighed by the benefits and the lab I use keeps a DNA record that could be invaluable some day. D.D.

 

[LadiDy]

@ Luna, love your profile pic.

 

[Luna]

An After thought All the proceeding comments are valid. One comment on my definition of handled is what you see in my avatar as many hours each day as possible. I will take Luna out doors 365 for her morning potty ( 12 or more hours worth ) and as long as I am willing in shirt sleeves. You may see a photo of her and I on the internet in a snow storm. That was only a once in 12 years occurrence because we were caught by the photographer.

 

[Luna]

@ Luna, love your profile pic.

Hello LadiDy, Two things:- you may have a hobby like my wife collecting Royal Family trivia. The second very early in our association Luna began going out daily so she would meet a great many people and hope fully to take my death and re homering better. She often goes to things dressed as a macaw and takes me as her pirrate. D.D.
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