Day 3 & A Couple Of Questions

[Blancaej]

I sat with Coqui 3 times this morning. During the first time I decided to be brave and just open the door and see what happens. Well she actually got onto the hand perch for me! Yay! I offered her to go back to her door perch and she didn't want to get off. So I took her into the dinning room and put her on one of the play gyms I made. She puffed up and was pacing so I just had her do it for a minute or two. Then I took her back to her cage. She then climbed up on top of her cage, which was fine. I knew I would be home for awhile. But then she climbed down her door then onto the floor! :th_eek: I was shocked she would do such a thing in such a new environment. Brave little thing. She walked into the hallway. I let her be for just a minute or so then made her get back on her hand perch. She didn't want to, but I gave her no choice. :th_wink: I didn't want her wandering around the house. During the second time I pet her quite a bit while the door was open. So that went well. She really is sweet when she is calm and relaxed.

I have a couple of questions:

Coqui goes from being sweet into what I'm calling "gorillatude" LOL. She goes around her cage making growly noises banging toys and lunging at me. I expect her to do that with me right now as she is still getting used to me. Well I have found out from Linda that she did this on a daily basis with them. Is this typical daily B&G behavior or was she just intimidating them and getting away with it? To be honest, she didn't do much of that today with me while in the room like yesterday. She only lunged once. But she did show some gorillatude when I was out of the room. I think she missed me! LOL!

Also, her favorite snack is mandarin oranges in light syrup! Ugh! I know, you don't need to tell me that this is unhealthy for her. I don't plan on continuing to feed them to her. But my question is, could this be making her over hyper? She seems like a hyper little thing and again, I don't know if that is typical B&G behavior as well.

Thanks for any help and feedback any of you can provide! :)

[Honesty]

I cant help you on this one as obviously I don't have a Macaw, but this is very interesting in what you have just said about Oranges. Codie loves them and has 1 segment per day. Now as you know he can also be very aggressive and paces and lunges like you have just described. Could it possibly be the oranges?? You have got me thinking now!

[Blancaej]

I do believe it is ok to give birds oranges in limited quantities. I don't know how much mandarin oranges per day Linda was giving Coqui but I do know she would let her have the syrup which is pure sugar! Of course fruit you have to be careful with because that is sugar too but at least it is natural.

I found some info online saying if you feed too much fruit and carbs (such as pasta) it could cause birds to be hyper. I do know that she fed Coqui a LOT of pasta as well as the mandarin oranges. So I hope we both get some other members to chime in on this subject! :)

[plax]

Hi Blanca... I can tell you that my B&G, Jack, gets anxious from time to time as well. However, he never makes any "growly" noises. He usually either climbs around his cage or the playgym, or incessantly paces back and forth on the perch stand, or hangs from one claw of each foot and swings back and forth like a pendulum at the top of his cage. Jack does occasionally lunge at me... but he never does it when he's in anxiety mode. He only lunges when he's in a playful mood and he means no harm or threat in doing it. It's just kind of his "lets play!" signal.

You might ask Josiesmom about Josie. If I recall correctly, her descriptions of Josie's moods and behaviors sound similar to what you've described about those of Coqui. Maybe it's a female B&G thing? ;):th_biggrin:

[plax]

IMO, it's best to stay away from any sugar or sugar substances.. except fresh, preferably organic fruit. The best oranges are the kind that need to be cut open or peeled.

[Blancaej]

Thanks for the feedback Tony! Savannah does playful lunging too. But to the those who don't know her, you may think she is about to bite. But I know better! ;) I'm not sure about Coqui's lunging at the moment though and will protect my fingers until I am sure. LOL!

Coqui does tend to pace back and forth a lot, too. And I know it's when she is nervous. I think I will keep and eye on her and hope that the anxiety will get better with time. My biggest concern is she seemed to do this on a daily basis with her previous owners. Hopefully it is something I can get down to a minimum and see this girl more happy than agitated! Maybe I will PM Josiesmom if she doesn't see this post. Thanks again!

I also agree that the only fruit that should be allowed is fresh fruit that can be cut opened or peeled. I really think the mandarin oranges were a bad idea!

[Mare]

I don't know Macaws, at all, I do know cockatoos. If I can pet their head and have my hand hover above them, I can pet their beak and face without issues. I've never seen a bird that paces like you describe. Actually, I have seen Amigo do this when he wants out but that's the only times. Sugar may be the culprit with your issues. I hope you can work this out :)

[Pinkbirdy]

I think part of this is the transition [New home, people and other birds].Theres going to be a lot of growing pains between you two [Im sure shes testing you]. Sounds like she likes you though [that's good]. Its probably like she loves your attention then remembers things are new :) I would keep doing what your doing. She will see your interaction with your other birds [and know your the "Bird MoM"]. My new guys were similar [give her a month].

[Blancaej]

I don't know Macaws, at all, I do know cockatoos. If I can pet their head and have my hand hover above them, I can pet their beak and face without issues. I've never seen a bird that paces like you describe. Actually, I have seen Amigo do this when he wants out but that's the only times. Sugar may be the culprit with your issues. I hope you can work this out :)

Thanks Mare. I checked with a friend of mine & the pacing is common in b&g's. I know the sugar could be a contributor in this case. The mandarin oranges are no longer in her diet now. So I suppose this is the important thing. :)


I think part of this is the transition [New home, people and other birds].Theres going to be a lot of growing pains between you two [Im sure shes testing you]. Sounds like she likes you though [that's good]. Its probably like she loves your attention then remembers things are new :) I would keep doing what your doing. She will see your interaction with your other birds [and know your the "Bird MoM"]. My new guys were similar [give her a month].

Thanks Terri. I'm not really concerned about her behavior with me right now. As I think it is pretty normal with her transition.

My concern was some of this behavior was still going on with her old owners and I was trying to figure out why that would be. I want to learn all I can! :th_wink:

We had a great afternoon. I got her out of her cage twice to hang out in the dinning room. One of those times to have dinner with us. :) I think she felt a real part of the flock. She seemed to enjoy it. While out she stepped up with one claw on my arm. Progress!




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[Macaw Lover]

If feeding pellets, you need to stay away from foods that are high in iron such as oranges. Birds will become overloaded on that iron and it is dangerous for either the kidney or liver and cause damage, I just forget which.

Remember, pellets are loaded in vitamins too and you never want to add any additional to the diet.

[Blancaej]

Good point! Thank you!

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[Blancaej]

I am continuing to have a great time with Coqui. She hung out on her new play gym I made her this morning for an hour while I did some cleaning. When I had some time to pet her for a few minutes she let me pet her under her wings. She is such a sweet sweet bird when she is relaxed and happy.

No sign of gorillatude today! :th_wink:

[plax]

I am continuing to have a great time with Coqui. She hung out on her new play gym I made her this morning for an hour while I did some cleaning. When I had some time to pet her for a few minutes she let me pet her under her wings. She is such a sweet sweet bird when she is relaxed and happy.

No sign of gorillatude today! :th_wink:Sounds quite positive :)

[Blancaej]

Very much so! :th_biggrin:

[Honesty]

Its sounding good Blanca:)

[josiesmom]

Hi. I'm glad things are going well with your new girl. When Josie first came to us, she was a pacer, also. She didn't growl, but she did bark. Her previous owner had 3 labs, so I'm guessing she got the barking from the dogs. In the early days with her, everyone wanted her to like them, so one of the kids would give her a teddy graham almost every time he walked past her. He would also say cookie. Once we caught on to what he was doing, we put a stop to it because of the amount of sugar and the fact the a teddy graham isn't something she would be able to get if she lived in her native environment. Needless to say, this did not go over well with her at all. She was very hard to handle for a few days after this was cut out. She would also be very demanding whenever she saw this particular person and start demanding "cookie". We are very careful with her diet. Ben is very good at making the kids aware of what they should and should not offer her. For a bird, one teddy graham or one mandarin orange slice is probably the equivalent to more sugar than an adult person should take in in one day. Josie would live on sugar and carbs if we let her, but she would also be a very high strung, hard to deal with macaw. She does get fruit, but she seems to prefer veggies instead.

Spending time with Coque and being firm in what you will and will not allow are key to having a great relationship with her. Josie will try to push the limits with me, but she also knows that I'm not afraid of her. The spring was really rough for her but I think since that is mating season for most birds, that was the reason. Since May, she has been a delight and much more approachable by others. (She seems to be bonded with me and only wanted me during the spring) Josie's previous owner worked and traveled alot, so I don't think she spent enough time with her. She did come to us with some bad habits that we were able to break her of (barking, refusing to step up, refusing to come down from the top of her cage). Interestingly, when her previous owner came to visit, she would not step up and while refusing to step up, she barked at us like she used to. It was like seeing her previous owner triggered the bad behaviour again.

Good luck to you and please keep us updated on how Coque is getting along.

I hope this was helpful to you. Please keep us updated on how she is getting along.

[Blancaej]

Thank you so much for the feedback Anita! It is sooo helpful! Coqui went from a neglect situation for 9 years of her life to being really spoiled. I think she pretty much ruled the house with her previous owners. I have been really firm with her and making sure I have been teaching her boundries. She loves to wander and it is way to early for her to be doing that in our house. I really only want her on the floor if we put her there. Even though she doesn't like it, she knows she isn't supposed to crawl down from her play gyms and if she tries she knows I am not scared to make her go back up! I love her reaction. She gets totally pissed at me but I know she gets over it and she gets over it quickly. :th_wink: So I definitely feel like she needs lots of positive reinforcement and me to be firm on what she is allowed to do and not to do. I will keep your tips in mind and appreciate hearing how life is with Josie!