Screaming

[JFields]

I recently purchased an eight-year-old Severe Macaw. His previous owner died from cancer. Her daughter took her and now she has started chemo and ask a breeder to sell him. Hence that's where I step in. I cannot get out of this bird site that he is not screaming bloody murder. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal and he's decided to start biting as well. I am at wit's end!! He doesn't really like toys, doesn't really like creeps. And finally getting him to eat some fruits. He has no use for veggies. This bird has me dumbfounded and I need some.

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome
It takes time for them to adjust. With so much that has happened with previous owners being sick and multiple home changes. They can grieve, and act out. Bird time can be slow as in months to build trust. On veggies, don't give up, you will get there. Try bird skewers, the veggies can st least be enrichment and something to destroy. You can try steamed and mince and mix with quinoa and served warm. Or offer as big chunks. When I'm getting new birds to eat veggies, offering them in wide shallow dishes outside of the cage and letting them explore helps. .
Here are some ideas

Managing Behavior through Environmental Change

By making simple changes to the environment, you can often accomplish amazing improvements in problem behaviors. When referring to environment, social exchanges are included in the discussion, as w…

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

Stress Reduction for Companion Parrots – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

To put it bluntly, keeping companion parrots is similar to trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. The fact that they do as well as they do is testimony more to their adaptability than it is to our husbandry efforts.

lafeber.com

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. Screaming in parrots is one of the harder actions to curb, especially if its been ingrained in the parrots behavior for any length of time. If you can give all of us a clearer picture of the living condition in your home, like # of people, who is home when, living conditions for the macaw, daily schedule, how bonded he is to you or others in the family, etc, etc. Armed with that info we might be able to make some concrete suggestions to improve things. As I said, curbing this is likely going to take some actions on your and the familys' part in order to change things. Parrots HATE change and are stubborn to boot. There is no 'magic bullet' and this could take some time to effect a change in his behavior. Can it be done - very much yes.

Try and find out as much as possible on his life prior to the upheaval he has recently been exposed to.

In the mean time, go to our Macaw sub-forum and read the sticky threads at the top of the page there, mostly written by a member birdman666, who is one of our leading, most knowledgeable folks here, especially when it comes to Macaws. After reading those, do a search and also read any threads that he has contributed to, he really has that much knowledge to give to people. After that, go to the "I Love Amazons" thread on the Amazon sub-forum. A great deal of the information in that thread is applicable to all parrots, not just Amazons. THis is a huge amount of reading, so go thru it all, and then read it again. It will help to read it aloud to your new Macaw - parrots love to be read to. The sound of your voice will be soothing to him, and will get you more familiar with many aspects of parrot ownership (being a parront).

Welcome and dig in, your both going for a long ride!

 

[JFields]

Welcome
It takes time for them to adjust. With so much that has happened with previous owners being sick and multiple home changes. They can grieve, and act out. Bird time can be slow as in months to build trust. On veggies, don't give up, you will get there. Try bird skewers, the veggies can st least be enrichment and something to destroy. You can try steamed and mince and mix with quinoa and served warm. Or offer as big chunks. When I'm getting new birds to eat veggies, offering them in wide shallow dishes outside of the cage and letting them explore helps. .
Here are some ideas

Managing Behavior through Environmental Change

By making simple changes to the environment, you can often accomplish amazing improvements in problem behaviors. When referring to environment, social exchanges are included in the discussion, as w…

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

Stress Reduction for Companion Parrots – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

To put it bluntly, keeping companion parrots is similar to trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. The fact that they do as well as they do is testimony more to their adaptability than it is to our husbandry efforts.

lafeber.com

Well, I now have the imprint of his lower Jaw in my arm. It's the biting is worse today. I've never had a bird act like this.

 

[JFields]

Welcome and be welcomed. Screaming in parrots is one of the harder actions to curb, especially if its been ingrained in the parrots behavior for any length of time. If you can give all of us a clearer picture of the living condition in your home, like # of people, who is home when, living conditions for the macaw, daily schedule, how bonded he is to you or others in the family, etc, etc. Armed with that info we might be able to make some concrete suggestions to improve things. As I said, curbing this is likely going to take some actions on your and the familys' part in order to change things. Parrots HATE change and are stubborn to boot. There is no 'magic bullet' and this could take some time to effect a change in his behavior. Can it be done - very much yes.

Try and find out as much as possible on his life prior to the upheaval he has recently been exposed to.

In the mean time, go to our Macaw sub-forum and read the sticky threads at the top of the page there, mostly written by a member birdman666, who is one of our leading, most knowledgeable folks here, especially when it comes to Macaws. After reading those, do a search and also read any threads that he has contributed to, he really has that much knowledge to give to people. After that, go to the "I Love Amazons" thread on the Amazon sub-forum. A great deal of the information in that thread is applicable to all parrots, not just Amazons. THis is a huge amount of reading, so go thru it all, and then read it again. It will help to read it aloud to your new Macaw - parrots love to be read to. The sound of your voice will be soothing to him, and will get you more familiar with many aspects of parrot ownership (being a parront).

Welcome and dig in, your both going for a long ride!

I am the only human in the house. The biting is worse today. I have the imprint of his lower Jaw in my arm and it's deep. I've left him partially covered today. When I did get him out I had to tell him no bite and finally had to put a towel over my arm and shoulder, he's wanting to eat me up.

 

[JFields]

Welcome and be welcomed. Screaming in parrots is one of the harder actions to curb, especially if its been ingrained in the parrots behavior for any length of time. If you can give all of us a clearer picture of the living condition in your home, like # of people, who is home when, living conditions for the macaw, daily schedule, how bonded he is to you or others in the family, etc, etc. Armed with that info we might be able to make some concrete suggestions to improve things. As I said, curbing this is likely going to take some actions on your and the familys' part in order to change things. Parrots HATE change and are stubborn to boot. There is no 'magic bullet' and this could take some time to effect a change in his behavior. Can it be done - very much yes.

Try and find out as much as possible on his life prior to the upheaval he has recently been exposed to.

In the mean time, go to our Macaw sub-forum and read the sticky threads at the top of the page there, mostly written by a member birdman666, who is one of our leading, most knowledgeable folks here, especially when it comes to Macaws. After reading those, do a search and also read any threads that he has contributed to, he really has that much knowledge to give to people. After that, go to the "I Love Amazons" thread on the Amazon sub-forum. A great deal of the information in that thread is applicable to all parrots, not just Amazons. THis is a huge amount of reading, so go thru it all, and then read it again. It will help to read it aloud to your new Macaw - parrots love to be read to. The sound of your voice will be soothing to him, and will get you more familiar with many aspects of parrot ownership (being a parront).

Welcome and dig in, your both going for a long ride!

How do I get toMacaw sub-forum. I seem to be having trouble navigating on here

 

[LaManuka]

Firstly let me say that I am NOT knowledgeable about macaws AT ALL, having somewhat of a big-beak phobia myself! But a member whose username is @Birdman666 has written a lot about the various methods he uses to get through those initial biting stages, such as the tactic of wrapping a towel around your forearm and wearing a long sleeved shirt over it...

excitement

I know shes not a macaw but it was all from the same day and I was terrified I am in yellow and Mandy in green and I wont lie I was always to scared to hold her because of the horror stories I was told about her (she gave a lady a tongue piercing once.... can ya blame me for being a tensie...

www.parrotforums.com

Tips on preventing or stopping biting

Perjo is getting stronger and more daring at 22 weeks of age. She's been so sweet and nice all her short life. However, she's gaining some confidence in everything she does, I allow her some freedoms when I have her perched on my hand or shoulder (I know I know). While she is great at...

www.parrotforums.com

I hope that someone far more experienced in these matters than me will weigh in with some help for you soon, but in the meantime maybe the towel-under-the-sleeve tactic might just help prevent you from suffering some fairly major injury!

 

[JFields]

Firstly let me say that I am NOT knowledgeable about macaws AT ALL, having somewhat of a big-beak phobia myself! But a member whose username is @Birdman666 has written a lot about the various methods he uses to get through those initial biting stages, such as the tactic of wrapping a towel around your forearm and wearing a long sleeved shirt over it...

excitement

I know shes not a macaw but it was all from the same day and I was terrified I am in yellow and Mandy in green and I wont lie I was always to scared to hold her because of the horror stories I was told about her (she gave a lady a tongue piercing once.... can ya blame me for being a tensie...

www.parrotforums.com

Tips on preventing or stopping biting

Perjo is getting stronger and more daring at 22 weeks of age. She's been so sweet and nice all her short life. However, she's gaining some confidence in everything she does, I allow her some freedoms when I have her perched on my hand or shoulder (I know I know). While she is great at...

www.parrotforums.com

I hope that someone far more experienced in these matters than me will weigh in with some help for you soon, but in the meantime maybe the towel-under-the-sleeve tactic might just help prevent you from suffering some fairly major injury!

I did the towel thing tonight, he bit thru it, on my arm again. I got him back to his cage and slammed the door. He's trying to bite me anywhere he can get ahold of me. I tried messaging Birdman and it told me I needed to contact you or another admin

 

[LaManuka]

I did the towel thing tonight, he bit thru it, on my arm again. I got him back to his cage and slammed the door. He's trying to bite me anywhere he can get ahold of me. I tried messaging Birdman and it told me I needed to contact you or another admin

Unfortunately you do require a minimum of at least 10 posts before our private messaging system becomes available to you, but in the meantime yes you can send whatever message you would like to me privately and I can pass it on to Birdman666 for you. Cannot guarantee how quickly he may respond of course but I am more than happy to help!

 

[Laurasea]

Well you have my sympathy! No fun getting bites.

Probably a few things are going on, no trust built yet, new home, misunderstood, frustrated ect.

Its best to switch to hand off interactions. Using a hand held perch for moving him. Doing some target training. Training to return to cage on own. Moving a Playstation next to cage fir him to get on them moving the stand with him away from cage fir Doing cleaning and feed and water. You can have a small treat only dish, and use that when you come and say hi and put treat in dish. Keep Learning his body language and que . Quit putting him or crowding, pushing him so he bites. The simplest answer is you are rushing him if you are getting bites.

You still need to have him out of the cage, enrichment, and hands off interactions. Until you build more trust. I've had to work with fearful, hands off biting birds. It can be done, just git get creative. Create routines, abd ritual, talk him through stuff with the sane phrases so her learns what to expect.

You are going to get there! But You probably need to slow down , and expect that progress can take months.

 

[JFields]

Well you have my sympathy! No fun getting bites.

Probably a few things are going on, no trust built yet, new home, misunderstood, frustrated ect.

Its best to switch to hand off interactions. Using a hand held perch for moving him. Doing some target training. Training to return to cage on own. Moving a Playstation next to cage fir him to get on them moving the stand with him away from cage fir Doing cleaning and feed and water. You can have a small treat only dish, and use that when you come and say hi and put treat in dish. Keep Learning his body language and que . Quit putting him or crowding, pushing him so he bites. The simplest answer is you are rushing him if you are getting bites.

You still need to have him out of the cage, enrichment, and hands off interactions. Until you build more trust. I've had to work with fearful, hands off biting birds. It can be done, just git get creative. Create routines, abd ritual, talk him through stuff with the sane phrases so her learns what to expect.

You are going to get there! But You probably need to slow down , and expect that progress can take months.

Well he calls me to his cage. He doesn't have any flight feathers so he acts like he wants to fly and I asked him if he wants to step up and he does don't worry we are doing it was a towel. He will not step on a perch he will destroy it. I fixed him some rice today and he seemed to enjoy it. And his usual peanuts and fruits and all that good stuff. He has a play gym on top of his cage but he will not get on it he sits on the edge of the cage and screams for me. He likes sitting on the arm of the couch so I let him sit there most of the evening. Then he turned his back to me and lowered his body and started quivering because I was rubbing his back. I talked to a lady here in Knoxville at Strictly Feathers, and she said this bird is in love with me. When he sits on my arm he beats his beak into my hand and regurgitates all his food for me. She said rubbing his back was the worst thing I could possibly do. I guess this is just going to be trial and error and have a lot of nips and bites. So we're going to get through this because I am not going to have him having to find another home. I may go deaf in the process but I purchased him, he's mine, and I'm not going to lose this battle. Wish me luck!!

 

[LaManuka]

Oh JFields I admire your dedication, and I do wish you all the luck in the world with....him? It is absolutely true what you were told about stroking their back and/or tail, it is perceived sexually by them and can lead to a great deal of frustration in both males and females. I do wonder though - how certain are you that he is a he? I'm sorry I am not familiar with the species but from what I can gather there doesn't seem to be a great deal of difference visually between male and female, other than some difference in size. I may be wrong in your bird's case, but the lowering the body and quivering that you describe sounds a little more like a female response to me, I see it in my little lorikeet hen who is quite the bitey and hormonally charged little minx! I think it's well worth paying a visit to your local avian health specialist for a health check and blood test to determine the sex for sure. The following link may assist you in finding one close to you...

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

A good avian vet is an absolutely gold mine in terms of assisting with behavioural issues as well.

Oh and the Macaw sub-forum is here...

Macaws

www.parrotforums.com

Good luck!!

 

[Bekki]

First, welcome! You have come to the right place to get helpful advice and support. I understand your frustration and confusion with your new fids behavior. As someone that recently took in a macaw, I was also baffled by the difference in behavior from my sun conures.

From my own experience, when getting a macaw that has been previously owned, I've had to throw out expectations I may have from my experiences with other birds as well as what I would see on videos. I've learned those videos are typically made by Paronts who have had their fid from infancy.

I have now had Ruby for over 6 months, and she STILL does not step up upon asking, and will bite if pushed. Once thing I've learned during the time I spend with her is that she gives me PLENTY of warning if she is not interested. It may be some warning "beaking", which is like a little pinch, and if I don't listen or decide to push, she let's me know in no uncertain terms that NO MEANS NO.

Ruby is a bit younger than your bird, but I know it's taking us this long to undo the experiences she had before me, and for me to build the level of trust that we currently have, and we have a very long way to go. This is very different from my conures, who trusted me completely from week 1.

The most difficult thing is reminding myself not to react. She is very observant and is reading my reactions. In the last 2 weeks she has started grabbing my shirt when I walk past, and I think she is expecting me to yell, and jump back. I just stand still praying she isn't intending to pinch/bite me (she isn't) and hoping that she is attempting to become comfortable with being in my "space".

One question for you, how much sleep is he getting? Do you cover him? He may not be getting enough sleep.

To get him back into his cage - have you figured out his favorite treat? IF he will take treats from your hand, you can place two options on your hand and see which one he takes, then place that same one with a different option and see if he still picks that one. If he tries to bite your hand (Ruby did at the beginning) you can put them in a bowl or on a plate and keep your hand out of view.

Once you have, don't just give it out - show it to him and then place it in his cage (bowl or on a perch) as incentive to get into his cage when you want him to. This teaches him that getting into his cage is a reward (the opposite of slamming the door).

Only pet his head, ignore/discourage regurgitation behavior, give baths, adequate sleep, improve diet, and most importantly - continue your patience and determination!!

Also, we love pics!! Feel free to share!

 

[JFields]

First, welcome! You have come to the right place to get helpful advice and support. I understand your frustration and confusion with your new fids behavior. As someone that recently took in a macaw, I was also baffled by the difference in behavior from my sun conures.

From my own experience, when getting a macaw that has been previously owned, I've had to throw out expectations I may have from my experiences with other birds as well as what I would see on videos. I've learned those videos are typically made by Paronts who have had their fid from infancy.

I have now had Ruby for over 6 months, and she STILL does not step up upon asking, and will bite if pushed. Once thing I've learned during the time I spend with her is that she gives me PLENTY of warning if she is not interested. It may be some warning "beaking", which is like a little pinch, and if I don't listen or decide to push, she let's me know in no uncertain terms that NO MEANS NO.

Ruby is a bit younger than your bird, but I know it's taking us this long to undo the experiences she had before me, and for me to build the level of trust that we currently have, and we have a very long way to go. This is very different from my conures, who trusted me completely from week 1.

The most difficult thing is reminding myself not to react. She is very observant and is reading my reactions. In the last 2 weeks she has started grabbing my shirt when I walk past, and I think she is expecting me to yell, and jump back. I just stand still praying she isn't intending to pinch/bite me (she isn't) and hoping that she is attempting to become comfortable with being in my "space".

One question for you, how much sleep is he getting? Do you cover him? He may not be getting enough sleep.

To get him back into his cage - have you figured out his favorite treat? IF he will take treats from your hand, you can place two options on your hand and see which one he takes, then place that same one with a different option and see if he still picks that one. If he tries to bite your hand (Ruby did at the beginning) you can put them in a bowl or on a plate and keep your hand out of view.

Once you have, don't just give it out - show it to him and then place it in his cage (bowl or on a perch) as incentive to get into his cage when you want him to. This teaches him that getting into his cage is a reward (the opposite of slamming the door).

Only pet his head, ignore/discourage regurgitation behavior, give baths, adequate sleep, improve diet, and most importantly - continue your patience and determination!!

Also, we love pics!! Feel free to share!

Oh JFields I admire your dedication, and I do wish you all the luck in the world with....him? It is absolutely true what you were told about stroking their back and/or tail, it is perceived sexually by them and can lead to a great deal of frustration in both males and females. I do wonder though - how certain are you that he is a he? I'm sorry I am not familiar with the species but from what I can gather there doesn't seem to be a great deal of difference visually between male and female, other than some difference in size. I may be wrong in your bird's case, but the lowering the body and quivering that you describe sounds a little more like a female response to me, I see it in my little lorikeet hen who is quite the bitey and hormonally charged little minx! I think it's well worth paying a visit to your local avian health specialist for a health check and blood test to determine the sex for sure. The following link may assist you in finding one close to you...

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

A good avian vet is an absolutely gold mine in terms of assisting with behavioural issues as well.

Oh and the Macaw sub-forum is here...

Macaws

www.parrotforums.com

Good luck!!

I was only told by the guy I've bought him from that he was a male and that he's 8. Maybe I need to schedule another vet visit.

 

[bittybo]

I recently purchased an eight-year-old Severe Macaw. His previous owner died from cancer. Her daughter took her and now she has started chemo and ask a breeder to sell him. Hence that's where I step in. I cannot get out of this bird site that he is not screaming bloody murder. I'm pretty sure it's hormonal and he's decided to start biting as well. I am at wit's end!! He doesn't really like toys, doesn't really like creeps. And finally getting him to eat some fruits. He has no use for veggies. This bird has me dumbfounded and I need some.

welcome to the world of severe macaws. they usually bond with one person but will accept others if main person is unavailable. will scream when happy, excited, angry or just plain happy. i suggestinvesting in ear plugs so severe macaw learns he will not get his way if he continues to scream. it took years for my severe to accept vegetables andwould end up eating them my self making hmmmm noises just to get him to try them. someone once suggested chopping up vegetables very fine and mixing with favorite foods. they will still try and avoid the vegies but will manage to get some taste and eventually will start eating.severe macaws will bite sometimes pinches and sometimes hard. sometimes hormonal and sometimes playing rough and sometimes because they get jealous. must teach biting is not nice and will get sent back to cage if it continues. dont scream because severes will out scream you every time. i had my severe for 31 years. he passed away from cancer and i would do anything to have him back with me. i always feel that sometimes the ones that cause you the most problems are the ones you ended up loving the most. dont give up on him. i also found playing classical musicis very soothing. when he was youg he liked watching sesame street on tv. i think the colors and sounds intrigued him

 

[Chopin]

Welcome and be welcomed. Screaming in parrots is one of the harder actions to curb, especially if its been ingrained in the parrots behavior for any length of time. If you can give all of us a clearer picture of the living condition in your home, like # of people, who is home when, living conditions for the macaw, daily schedule, how bonded he is to you or others in the family, etc, etc. Armed with that info we might be able to make some concrete suggestions to improve things. As I said, curbing this is likely going to take some actions on your and the familys' part in order to change things. Parrots HATE change and are stubborn to boot. There is no 'magic bullet' and this could take some time to effect a change in his behavior. Can it be done - very much yes.

Try and find out as much as possible on his life prior to the upheaval he has recently been exposed to.

In the mean time, go to our Macaw sub-forum and read the sticky threads at the top of the page there, mostly written by a member birdman666, who is one of our leading, most knowledgeable folks here, especially when it comes to Macaws. After reading those, do a search and also read any threads that he has contributed to, he really has that much knowledge to give to people. After that, go to the "I Love Amazons" thread on the Amazon sub-forum. A great deal of the information in that thread is applicable to all parrots, not just Amazons. THis is a huge amount of reading, so go thru it all, and then read it again. It will help to read it aloud to your new Macaw - parrots love to be read to. The sound of your voice will be soothing to him, and will get you more familiar with many aspects of parrot ownership (being a parront).

Welcome and dig in, your both going for a long ride!

Good day wrench13, I have a new baby macaw and want to read all I can. I am having trouble finding the “sticky threads“ you mention above. I am on the macaw portion of site, but how do I find info written by birdman666?

 

[JFields]

welcome to the world of severe macaws. they usually bond with one person but will accept others if main person is unavailable. will scream when happy, excited, angry or just plain happy. i suggestinvesting in ear plugs so severe macaw learns he will not get his way if he continues to scream. it took years for my severe to accept vegetables andwould end up eating them my self making hmmmm noises just to get him to try them. someone once suggested chopping up vegetables very fine and mixing with favorite foods. they will still try and avoid the vegies but will manage to get some taste and eventually will start eating.severe macaws will bite sometimes pinches and sometimes hard. sometimes hormonal and sometimes playing rough and sometimes because they get jealous. must teach biting is not nice and will get sent back to cage if it continues. dont scream because severes will out scream you every time. i had my severe for 31 years. he passed away from cancer and i would do anything to have him back with me. i always feel that sometimes the ones that cause you the most problems are the ones you ended up loving the most. dont give up on him. i also found playing classical musicis very soothing. when he was youg he liked watching sesame street on tv. i think the colors and sounds intrigued him

He starts screaming even when I turn my back to him

welcome to the world of severe macaws. they usually bond with one person but will accept others if main person is unavailable. will scream when happy, excited, angry or just plain happy. i suggestinvesting in ear plugs so severe macaw learns he will not get his way if he continues to scream. it took years for my severe to accept vegetables andwould end up eating them my self making hmmmm noises just to get him to try them. someone once suggested chopping up vegetables very fine and mixing with favorite foods. they will still try and avoid the vegies but will manage to get some taste and eventually will start eating.severe macaws will bite sometimes pinches and sometimes hard. sometimes hormonal and sometimes playing rough and sometimes because they get jealous. must teach biting is not nice and will get sent back to cage if it continues. dont scream because severes will out scream you every time. i had my severe for 31 years. he passed away from cancer and i would do anything to have him back with me. i always feel that sometimes the ones that cause you the most problems are the ones you ended up loving the most. dont give up on him. i also found playing classical musicis very soothing. when he was youg he liked watching sesame street on tv. i think the colors and sounds intrigued him

He screams even if I turn my back to him. He wants my undivided attention. I've intelled 3 BAD bites. He's making me hate him. But I refuse to give up...