Firstly I would like to say that I do not feel anyone is an expert on parrot behaviour, including myself.
There have not been enough studies carried out on parrots in the wild to give us the information we need to become an expert. My experience has been gained by working hands on with parrots and assessing their behaviours in captivity at the sanctuary, and also by working with other peoples parrots. We need to fund the organisations who are attempting to study these wonderful creatures in the wild, by doing this we will be able to give a richer life to those in captivity.
If you are considering keeping a parrot, I would ask that you please contact a rescue centre. In my opinion it is wrong to keep parrots in captivity. If we must then there are huge amounts of birds awaiting a forever home in other rescue centres. Please help them.
Max
Max is a Blue & Gold Macaw (Ara ararauna)
Max is fifteen years old. He has been past from pillar to post for most of his life. He has some real issues and is currently on anti-psychotic medication to try and prevent him from abusing himself and others.
His last owner loved him, but his previous life left a lot to be desired.
The first time I lifted a brush to sweep the floor, he cowered in the corner screaming "Max’s is a good boy". He screams "sorry" before he is bad, this is Max’s way of telling you he cannot help it, so please go away before I hurt you..
Max has a vast vocabulary and pulls the heart strings when he says, I love you.
We will never know for sure what Max's past life involved, but what I do know is that he was parent deprived also known as hand reared. He was probably very loved to begin with but as these birds mature their needs also change.
Macaws are predominately wild animals who still have the same instinct that their ancestors had. The need to mate when they mature is so strong that it can cause all sorts of problems for them and their care givers.
Max has over-bonded in desperation to fulfil this need and will sit on the cage floor feeding his foot in order to get some emotional satisfaction.
The work I have been doing with Max is to try and reintegrate him back in to a flock, to allow him to feel part of the flock that I care for. (To feel worthy)
Max now has regained some of his self respect albeit he still feeds his foot on the cage floor.
He has now reached the top of the tree in the sense that he is fully feathered and only attacks himself in times of stress or change.
He stands tall above the other Macaws and will watch them but will not interact with them.
Max has never flown and I am still working to give him confidence, sometimes this is hard to do as reacting to any of his dysfunctional behaviour can lead to reinforcing it. Max also suffers from liver damage due to a poor diet in his past life.
Max sadly died late 2009 he is so very sorely missed but will live in my heart.
Max was only 17yrs of age
Shuggy
Shuggy is a Scarlet Macaw (Ara Macao)
Shuggy is about five years old. He had one owner before he came to us. His owner loved him dearly and looked after him very well. The owner was leaving for college and Shuggy came to stay with us.
Shuggy is full of mischief and likes nothing better that to get in to all sorts of stuff that he should not.
His problem is his language; it is as colourful as he is. He has an enormous vocabulary and speaks in context: if one of the birds are where they should not be, he screams at them "Up now, I won't tell you again."
Most of the other sayings I cannot put in to print but let me say that I've had my eyes opened wide on many an occasion.
Shuggy loves to bath and likes nothing more than to come in the shower with you. He is a real boy and shows his prowess by strutting and puffing up like a chicken.
When he came to me he would bite and point his head in the direction he wanted to go. Would you let a child do that? No! I don't think any of the animal kingdom would allow that.
So how did I fix this little habit?
Easy, I went the other way with no noise, words or drama. I just turned and led him away from what he wanted. Then when he calmed down and was being pleasant, I took him to what he wanted.
Sounds simple! Well yes it was.
I think that is the knack of training or rehabilitating birds like Macaws.
If you stand there waving your arms and shouting at the bird he/she will just enjoy it. (Oh look I can make Mummy squeal.) Don't get me wrong I have been chomped badly by some of the birds when they first arrived and I have the scars to prove it.
It is not easy to keep your mouth from shouting out in pain, or cursing under your breath. Remember these birds are empathic and can hone in on emotion as well as words.
So if your baby bites or has a tantrum, try to feel disgust rather than rage, disappointment, rather than frustration. This takes time to achieve: it is a natural human reaction to cry out in pain.
One of Shuggy's favourite games is to nip and then look at you and say (You Little Sh...) then he will go in to the mad laugh.
So how did he get to that?
Well, on one occasion he nipped someone, the person receiving the nip said in an exited tone "You little sh...." Shuggy probably repeated the words and the human laughed.
So there we had the positive reinforcement telling him
that was fun wasn't it?
We can relate this sort of behaviour to many aspects of the badly behaved Macaw, but in truth they are just behaving in a way that they think is right.
Don't be shy in asking for help.
islandparrotsanctuary@hotmail.co.uk
If your bird is ill please call your Avian vet IMMEDIATELY
Yvonne MacMillan
