possibly rescuing another B&G, advice needed

[AirtransCrash]

I am most likely going to bringing a 12 YO B&G male home tomorrow. This bird is coming from a lady with failing health which is why she needs to find a home for the macaw. She had attempted to rehome the bird before but it seems that it was brought back to her twice. One thing for sure is that he is a plucker, and from the poor quality pictures I got his chest is pretty well bare.

I've read a couple of posts on how to introduce two birds to eachother over time. Will there be unique difficulties for me to be prepared for due to the age, gender and plucking habits? Having a male that has reached sexual maturity and a female that has not could lead to issues if they are every friendly with each other right?

I want to help this bird, not make both it and my Tess upset or stressed.

 

[JerseyWendy]

OI, that's a tough situation to be in. You could 'potentially' run into problems, but for the time being your female isn't sexually mature just yet. However, since the male you'll be looking at/bringing home IS sexually mature, he may get his own ideas about your girl. :54:

 

[Birdman666]

OI, that's a tough situation to be in. You could 'potentially' run into problems, but for the time being your female isn't sexually mature just yet. However, since the male you'll be looking at/bringing home IS sexually mature, he may get his own ideas about your girl. :54:

That is exactly right.

I tend to keep macaws in same sex pairs myself. I'd proceed with caution, especially if you don't want breeding issues later on.

 

[AirtransCrash]

Thanks for the input. If they breed in the years to come I'd be fine with it. Learning how to do my part right would be important but since Tess is still only 3 I have a while. I just want to do all I can to keep them from hurting eachother, and hopefully being friends.
Right now both my wife and I are home most days, I have classes three times a week and the wife only a couple times so we get a ton of social time with the bird. It's a far cry from my old 5 and 2 12hr shifts I used to do.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Will you quarantine the new male and get him health tested before introducing him to your girl Tess?

 

[AirtransCrash]

Will you quarantine the new male and get him health tested before introducing him to your girl Tess?

Absolutely, for their safety.
I read some guidance in another post about slowly introducing birds to eachother by putting them in seperate rooms and let them get used to hearing eachother first, then moving to letting them see eachother in neutral territory, then advancing from there. It seemed like a good plan.

Lucky for my I have a large bird veterinarian 5 minutes from my house. Apparently people come all the way up from Oregon to have her see their birds.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Good luck today! Please keep us posted, would you?

 

[AirtransCrash]

Will do. I'll be dropping my son off at school in 2 hours then driving two hours to get to the bird.

 

[Allee]

Good luck! Can't wait to hear the update!

 

[AirtransCrash]

Tell I got him and he's home.

He's very defensive of his cage and lunges at me when I am close. He lunged with beak agape and ready to bite but he doesn't bite. I think he is just working the intimidation angle.

He won't step on wood perches, matter of fact the only way to get him to step up (he definitely knows the command) is by basically corralling him by holding a stick in hand so he sees it moving behind him.

He is definitely a screamer! Where Tess will give maybe one loud scream, Chico will do a loud warbling scream for anywhere from five to what seemed like 20 seconds straight.

He needs paper training.


The back story: he was a part of some pirate show theater in Palm Beach for many years. For some reason he went into the "care" of someone who kept him in a closet for two years.... Which is why he is a plucker. He went into the care of the lady I got him from, I'm the third attempt at rehoming him, the other two just couldn't do it. The lady I got her from was aging and he was just too big for her (physically).

Tomorrow a call to the vet for an appointment.
Tonight it's time to do some research on some of the stuff that needs work. I was spoiled with Tess.... She was aggressive and scared, but paper trained, and not a screamer.


This bird is a sweetheart, he just needs some love and care which my family is ready to give!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome home, Chico!

Please tell, how did Tess react when she heard Chico hollering?

Oh gosh, poor thing was kept in a closet for 2 years?

I'm truly happy you got him, and your family sounds like a great fit for him!

 

[Birdman666]

So, he was a living theater prop, kept in a closet?!

Just when you thought you'd heard every thoughtless thing that could be done to one of these birds...

Add another one to the list...

And we're back to the phrase "Sometimes I just hate people!"

IDIOTS!!!

 

[AirtransCrash]

Tess saw Chico when we got home. I had to weld two replacement bars on Chico's cage since someone had shipped them for some reason.
We let Chico sit on the perch in the living room while I worked, Tess was curious but not happy. While I was buying some metal rod Tess was busy showing Chico that my wife belonged to her.
Tess had come out of cage to sit with my wife while talking back and forth with Chico from across the room. Basically the plan to not let the. See eachother for the first week is shot.

Oh and now Tess is snubbing us and giving attitude. I Love birds.

 

[Birdman666]

Oh and now Tess is snubbing us and giving attitude. I Love birds.

It's normal for pair bond birds. As soon as Tess realizes she is not being replaced or displaced from her people, she'll mellow out.

Right now, there is an intruder possibly coming to take over her nest, and displace her from a happy home, so it's normal to feel some anxiety.

Those go away when the new bird gets intigrated into the flock, and the happy home is still a happy home. (Which may, or may not, come with adjustment drama.)

When introducing them: Always handle Tess first! This will go a long way to letting her know her place in the flock is still what it was...

 

[AirtransCrash]

Will do. We have two PVC perches and one is a foot taller than the other. Should I make them even out in height or just make sure Tess is on the taller one?

 

[Birdman666]

Will do. We have two PVC perches and one is a foot taller than the other. Should I make them even out in height or just make sure Tess is on the taller one?

I'm not really sure that stuff matters. If they argue about whose taller, I'd make them even height.

The biggest thing is if you know you're gonna have jealousy issues, and it appears obvious that you are, then a little reassurance goes a long way. Tess gets showered with attention. The new bird gets some, and slowly gets more as he is integrated and accepted into the flock.

That way she doesn't take it out on either him or you...

HE'S NOT BONDED TO YOU YET, SO HE'S NOT GONNA GET MIFFED...

 

[AirtransCrash]

Great point.
He is a character already. Give him a treat and get rewarded with an enthusiastic "OOOOOOOOH!"
he says "Get over here!" "Peekaboo" "hello" "no!" And a few others so far.
When I got Tess she barked like a dog, Chico makes pigeon sounds. -.- I hate pigeons. LOL

 

[AirtransCrash]

So, interestingly... He is very defensive when I try to pet him, showing aggression when in his cage, and I need to be slow and really persistent when petting him on the perch. I have to show im no threat to him.
He is friendlier with my wife.
He is not afraid or hesitant when my 9 YO son comes up to pet him, not at all.
He has a vet appointment Monday.

 

[AirtransCrash]

 

[Birdman666]

So, interestingly... He is very defensive when I try to pet him, showing aggression when in his cage, and I need to be slow and really persistent when petting him on the perch. I have to show im no threat to him.
He is friendlier with my wife.
He is not afraid or hesitant when my 9 YO son comes up to pet him, not at all.
He has a vet appointment Monday.

I'd suspect he was either really bonded with a woman, or had a bad experience with men, and has to learn to trust them again.

He was hanging out with Pirates after all, so maybe the men in his life weren't the best role models...

AAARRRRGGGGHHH! (What else can you say to that joke?!)