TK is making me so sad :(

[MelanieAnn]

He is so well behaved now that he is attached to my son cat and I, but whenever my parents come over to visit us he FREAKKKKSSSS OUT im talking SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER my parents have NEVER seen him being a quiet good bird and they want me to get rid of him because they cant even come over and hear themselves think! I dont understand why he freaks out so much when they are here! i have high anxiety that i have been trying to control because when i panic TK does, and my dad gets irritated quickly, and the noise is stressing my mom out they were so upset they left and made me feel like im choosing him over my family
i THINK if they give him a chance and be cal, and talk to him calmly and give him a while to warm up he might calm down, but he doesnt even give them a chance the second they walk in the door the noise is so unbearable i have to move him into another room and close the door he freaks out so bad
why does he freak?
how can i help him stay calm?

i love him <3 he is sweeter and sweeter everyday, unless my parents come over!

 

[goalerjones]

he is a rescue/adoption bird yes? If so perhaps he's had a bad experience with someone who looks like or sounds like one of ur parents.

 

[cdog]

Locking him in another room will only make it worse. I think the best way to handle it would be ignore him or be very mellow and move slowly and talk soft. You cant get upset with him and you have to tell your parents they have to be calm and that they cant get stressed with him.

 

[MelanieAnn]

i am not sure your understanding how LOUD it is, its SCARY, not that "mom pay attention to me" screech it is a SCREAM of terror and his eyes get pinhole like he is about to kill! putting him in a different room helped him to just constantly go MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM in a still Very loud but farther away, its like my parents are there to kill us or something!??!
My dads attitude does not help he will walk right by TK getting dangerously close paying no mind and TK actually leached out to bite him but he didnt even notice
how do i calm him?

 

[goalerjones]

i am not sure your understanding how LOUD it is, its SCARY, not that "mom pay attention to me" screech it is a SCREAM of terror and his eyes get pinhole like he is about to kill! putting him in a different room helped him to just constantly go MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM in a still Very loud but farther away, its like my parents are there to kill us or something!??!
My dads attitude does not help he will walk right by TK getting dangerously close paying no mind and TK actually leached out to bite him but he didnt even notice
how do i calm him?

perhaps u can go and visit them instead for a while until TK settles in with u better and is more secure? How long have u had him for now?

 

[cdog]

Well he may just think its his house and your parents are intruding, that's why you have to get them used to new people. No matter how loud he gets or how scary he is you have to stay calm and your parents have to stay calm. You cant be scared of your own bird and your parents cant be scared of him, you have to stand your ground otherwise he will dominate you and you will get hurt.

 

[MikeyTN]

He's feeling left out that's why and he wants to join in on the conversation. If your parents visit, best to just move into a different room from where he's at. He's most likely not going to change at all what so ever. He may also feel threatened by someone else in his presence other then just you alone. Mine does it all the time, we just move into a different room to talk cause it is impossible to talk with him in the room.

 

[QuackQuack]

When deciding how to handle things with TK screaming at guests, try to think of him as a small child. You wouldn't lock a small child in another room or it would probably just get worse or cause some emotional damage. He is a new family member which may warrant some reduction in traffic in your home for sometime. When he is better adjusted at a time in the future, perhaps he can meet people individually with you when it is quiet. We have had a MAJOR reduction in our house guests since the birds. Kitty was abused to say the least so she got very nervous when we had new people over. She is getting comfortable with certain people now after some slow introduction, but we cannot ever have people over like we used to. I have to accept that as I have decided to make her a member of my family.

 

[QuackQuack]

I was just looking at the post where you announced that you were getting TK and someone there mentioned how Macaws like to intimidate you and once they know they have you have lost the battle. I would re-read some of those posts with suggestions on how to handle a macaw and their behaviorisms. There is some good advice in there from longterm Macaw owners! They are definitely complex to have a relationship with! I think it MikeyTN (?) who has had a Macaw longterm that bit him to the bone once - sometimes these kind of antics come with the territory and are why so many SEEM negative toward macaw ownership, but are only really wanting to protect the birdies

 

[Safira]

Oh I know how loud that scream is.

You need to be able to ignore it. It's hard, it's painful for your ears, but reacting to it is only going to make him realize that he can get attention if he does it.

Like Mikey said, you will probably have to remove yourself from the room he is in. Keep your parents away from him until he settles down. You haven't had him very long and he's still getting use to his enviorment, does he react like this if you have other friends over? Or is it just your parents? Some birds just don't like people, or he could be jealous you're talking to them and not him. But the very best thing to do would be to ignore it and move to another location. when he settles down you can give him attention and praise.

We had ear things where I use to work, and would shove them in our ears to protect our hearing and muffle the sound.. but then we had like 6 Macaws in a room, and throw in an umbrella or two and it's just.. well loud.

 

[luvmytooo]

Would leaving the room as soon as he starts to scream kind of give the bird what
he wants ? Maybe waiting till he is quiet , even for a second , then leave the room ?
Just a thought ....

 

[pamcor57]

We all understand how loud a bird can be (any Bird). So that being said. One thing you shouldnt do is put your Macaw in another room and shut the door on him. That was your number one mistake. He is seeing this as punishment believe it or not, and you on the other hand are punishing him just by this act. (bad bird..into the corner with you). I dont mean this in a negitive way understand. You decided to bring TK home with you. At that moment it became "HIS HOME" too. He should be allowed to act and do what MAcaws do. Macaws Scream...was this such a suprise to you? I dont think TK dislikes your parents. I think you should show TK that your parents are part of the flock. He is a ten year old Macaw who has been with many owners so far, I think TK isnt comfortable just yet in your home and the people you bring in your home. Slowly introduce your parents to TK...one at a time. Dont all three of you just walk up on him at once, that sight is overwhelming to him. Try one parent at a time. You need to watch his reaction with each parent, see if he reacts to your father differently than your mother, watch his body language and his eyes. His screaming could be a warning to you that there is "strangers" in his house. These Macaws are complex...you just got him, please take the time to understand where he is comming from and try to adjust. But dont put him in a another room and shut the door on him. Hope this helped.

 

[MikeyTN]

I was just looking at the post where you announced that you were getting TK and someone there mentioned how Macaws like to intimidate you and once they know they have you have lost the battle. I would re-read some of those posts with suggestions on how to handle a macaw and their behaviorisms. There is some good advice in there from longterm Macaw owners! They are definitely complex to have a relationship with! I think it MikeyTN (?) who has had a Macaw longterm that bit him to the bone once - sometimes these kind of antics come with the territory and are why so many SEEM negative toward macaw ownership, but are only really wanting to protect the birdies

Yes Willie bit me several times during his hormonal season this past year when he was fully mature at 10 years old. But he's fine now, even though the hormone last longer then I was told....lol....I do mean a lot longer....He's always done it in the past, but never really bad. Never ever bit me like that! We rarely have visitors so it didn't matter about the screaming at the visitors, he's gotten pretty good over time where he stays quiet when we do have visitors. But that took YEARS before he gotten like this. Just be patient that's all. For the time being, just move into a different room. They want to be a part of the pack, IF you move away when he's screaming, he knows why. Don't move him into a different room, you need to be the one that leaves the room. Before leaving, give him a few chances to quiet down like asking him to do indoor voice like I do.

 

[pamcor57]

I was just looking at the post where you announced that you were getting TK and someone there mentioned how Macaws like to intimidate you and once they know they have you have lost the battle. I would re-read some of those posts with suggestions on how to handle a macaw and their behaviorisms. There is some good advice in there from longterm Macaw owners! They are definitely complex to have a relationship with! I think it MikeyTN (?) who has had a Macaw longterm that bit him to the bone once - sometimes these kind of antics come with the territory and are why so many SEEM negative toward macaw ownership, but are only really wanting to protect the birdies

Yes Willie bit me several times during his hormonal season this past year when he was fully mature at 10 years old. But he's fine now, even though the hormone last longer then I was told....lol....I do mean a lot longer....He's always done it in the past, but never really bad. Never ever bit me like that! We rarely have visitors so it didn't matter about the screaming at the visitors, he's gotten pretty good over time where he stays quiet when we do have visitors. But that took YEARS before he gotten like this. Just be patient that's all. For the time being, just move into a different room. They want to be a part of the pack, IF you move away when he's screaming, he knows why. Don't move him into a different room, you need to be the one that leaves the room. Before leaving, give him a few chances to quiet down like asking him to do indoor voice like I do.

Well said. She needs to remember that this is his home too. I own two very large B&G's, since hatched 11 years ago. I think I have experience to talk about with other B&G owners. I hope She can take some of our advice and use it with TK her macaw. Only here to help her since she has never owned a B&G before. It can be overwhelming for a new owner...espeically with a new "10 year old B&G".

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Have your parents tried approaching his cage? Maybe they can do something that he enjoys, or just trying to talk softly.

have you tried trick training? or just target training? It can help to change a birds mindset and calm them down.

 

[Molcan2]

Try having everyone wear ear plugs until you can get him used to new visitors coming and going. Your parents need to just understand that your an adult, this is your new child who will out live them and he makes you happy so they will just have to deal.

 

[luvmytooo]

Why not have your parents come by one by one and just have conversation .
This way he can get used to a "strangers"voice , then move closer to him once he accepts them and is quiet. It can take a long time for any kind of progress .
And he may never accept them , you just dont know what happened to him before you got him. All it takes Ipis one incident to leave a bad impression in their minds.
I think this all happened too suddenly for TK , meaning your parents coming over , seeing your son , and like grandparents do , they get all silly , lolol. Maybe that was what he didnt like ? Or maybe they just approached TK too fast ? I'm just trying to put together things that might have spooked him or whatever...
Try writing down everything that happened that day.....everything !
Maybe you will be able to see a possible action that caused TKs reaction.
Don't fret too much over this MelanieAnn , you are going to Have encounters with things/sounds/people that might make TK act differently.
Does any of our parents smoke ? My horse HATED anybody who smoked !!!
God help you if you tried to walk past her smelling like smoke !!!

 

[Mare Miller]

To me, it sounds like TK is doing his alarm warning call, "intruders are in our territory!!" Your parents need to be patient with him and try to act natural while around him, with their earplugs tightly screwed in, until he realizes that they are family and, as we all know, not all family members are likable, but usually tolerable.

 

[MelanieAnn]

We all understand how loud a bird can be (any Bird). So that being said. One thing you shouldnt do is put your Macaw in another room and shut the door on him. That was your number one mistake. He is seeing this as punishment believe it or not, and you on the other hand are punishing him just by this act. (bad bird..into the corner with you). I dont mean this in a negitive way understand. You decided to bring TK home with you. At that moment it became "HIS HOME" too. He should be allowed to act and do what MAcaws do. Macaws Scream...was this such a suprise to you? I dont think TK dislikes your parents. I think you should show TK that your parents are part of the flock. He is a ten year old Macaw who has been with many owners so far, I think TK isnt comfortable just yet in your home and the people you bring in your home. Slowly introduce your parents to TK...one at a time. Dont all three of you just walk up on him at once, that sight is overwhelming to him. Try one parent at a time. You need to watch his reaction with each parent, see if he reacts to your father differently than your mother, watch his body language and his eyes. His screaming could be a warning to you that there is "strangers" in his house. These Macaws are complex...you just got him, please take the time to understand where he is comming from and try to adjust. But dont put him in a another room and shut the door on him. Hope this helped.

OKAY NUMBER 1) putting him in the ROOM was a punishment and thats exactly how i wanted him to see it, he was screaming to loud for TOO LONG and it was unacceptable and like i said, putting him in the room with the door closed calmed him the same way covering his cage does because he feels safer, so YOUR wrong not me i hate the way you come off it irritates me im not an idiot

NUMBER 2) YES i did bring him home to HIS new home, and its is perfectly fine with me for him to act as you said "and do what macaws do" and what they dont do is scream bloody murder for NO reason

NUMBER 3) he HASNT had "many owners" he has had ONE other owner from birth to 10 and now me..

I think you made a good point with him maybe freaking out because he thought they were intruders because the closer they were to me the louder he screamed
please understand i ask questions for advice, not anyones "im better then you" attitude
I am doing everything i can to make sure my TK is happy and thats most important

 

[Mare Miller]

Until I started to free flight my bird, (which I'm not recommending to you), I couldn't understand SO much of his behavior in the house. When seeing Amigo in action outside, in his own territory, it all makes sense, now. It sure didn't while living with him in the house but now it does.