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kendrafitz
11-21-2015, 12:05 PM
I have a question for members with older macaws. Do your birds destroy less as they get older?

I don't mean chomping their toys. I mean destruction of your household items.

Rosie has lots of toys. Wood, toys made from that plexiglass plastic stuff, rope, metal, foraging, stuffed animals, human baby toys, etc. She plays with that stuff occasionally. What she REALLY enjoys doing is destroying my stuff. My couch, my office chair, my bedspread, pillow cases, her recliner, windowsills, blinds, and my bathroom wood cabinets are on her wishlist. Oh, and any anything I happen to be crocheting. I can't have her at the table with us during meals bc she is dead set on chewing through my chairs. They have quite a few missing chunks from when I wasn't vigilant enough. She has also discovered that padded chairs and couches have a wonderful treat under the cover. Stuffing!! So we are constantly bickering about that. I am regularly picking up stuffing that she gleefully yanks out and breaks up the minute my attention is diverted. Sigh...

It makes me nutty and I am wondering (and hoping) if this is a juvenile thing? Will she grow out of her obsession with destroying things that I would rather she didn't? Or do I just need to continue this insanity for the rest of our lives? Divert, divert, divert, redirect, OMG Rosie, that is not a toy...ok, now you go back to your tree you crazy bird!!!

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Cedardave
11-21-2015, 05:35 PM
Wow...thats quite a list.Our gang only really destroy their perches and any toy we put on is done for within an hour.As for household stuff.....it seems to me your relationship with Rosie is one of whats mine is yours.None of our birds...macaws or otherwise, mess with any of our household things.

Casper's 2nd best friend
11-21-2015, 09:51 PM
Casper's not a Macaw but he does like to destroy window frames and sills, furniture - both wooden and soft furnishings, kitchen units and if he gets the chance stripping the insulation off cables and wires. Oh and shoes, soles, heals and laces especially the tags on the ends of the laces. And of course biros, how could I forget biros. We have a box of biros on the hall telephone table, when we weren't watching he emptied the box of about fifty biros, pulled the caps off and the little black plugs out the other end and he threw the lot on the floor for us to clear up. I'm surprised he didn't destroy the biros themselves as he likes to do that as well, splitting the plastic lengthways like opening a pea pod.
He's 28 so I think the answer to your question is no.

Macaw Lover
11-22-2015, 12:34 AM
When Jody was younger and her beak was within range of something she could get her beak on, she would take a little sample of it, but not necessarily destroy it. She is 26. Now I can trust her to grab and chew.

Now Kalea, got to watch that girl and what is within beak range. Within the last year she has sampled the edge of the corner of a wall 3 times. There is no door there, it is just an opening going from the kitchen to the living room. When she first came her and I was sitting at the kitchen island with her on my lap, if there was a piece of paper there she was on that island, destroying that piece of paper before you could even react. That part has slowed down some, and not as quick to grad and destroy and not all the time. She is 13 and with me for the last 9 years.

Donovan is the one I can trust to have his stand next to my kitchen cabinet/pantry or that same wall Kalea has remodeled for me, and he will leave things alone but then on the other hand, he is not much of a toy player (his bells I won't count) or wood chewer. He might bat a toy around but they can last him 6 months if not longer. I had 2x4's sitting on his shelf in his condo for forever and he would not touch them. A friend suggested doing smaller sized wood so I cut 1 inch thick pieces which still sat there but when I put them on a skewer, boy did he go to town chewing them. Now I cut 4x4's, drill holes in them and they only get hung up. He has been with me for 2.5 years and I think he is about 16 or maybe 17, have to look that up.

My conclusion, as always it depends on the bird but you have a chance age will mellow.

kendrafitz
11-22-2015, 01:16 PM
Thanks guys.

So it seems there is a good chance she will remain my Destructo permanently. I guess I am going to have to change tactics with her. Any suggestions besides redirecting and removing her?

Renée I forgot to add the corner of the wall near near her cage. Which kills me because she has to really stretch to get there. From the outside of her cage which has toys on the inside and outside that she mostly ignores. She has also tried to get the granite in my kitchen on the edges. I know granite is tough, but I am not positive it will hold up to a determined macaw. Sigh...

kendrafitz
11-22-2015, 01:41 PM
Jean-Pierre - ok, dopey American question. What is a biro?

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

Casper's 2nd best friend
11-22-2015, 01:49 PM
Aha I didn't know you didn't know - ball point pen, that's what we call them cos they were invented by Laszlo Biro. I think he was Hungarian.

Casper's 2nd best friend
11-22-2015, 01:59 PM
A guide to English English:
We tend to name things after people - a vacuum cleaner is a Hoover because there was an American President who was good at cleaning*
A refrigerator is called a Fridge - apparently it was invented by Alfred Fridge**
The hood of a car is called a bonnet and the trunk is the boot - just because.

*This might be an outrageous lie
**This is definitely an outrageous lie

Pinkbirdy
11-22-2015, 02:01 PM
We just adjust to the situation at my house . Like no blinds on the windows near them or things hanging on the walls. I would think Rosie would calm down.Look at it as a sign of health :).

kendrafitz
11-22-2015, 02:04 PM
Lol Jean-Pierre you had me going for a moment. I thought a biro might be a pen from your description, but I wasn't sure.

kendrafitz
11-22-2015, 02:12 PM
Terri - hello my friend, I've missed you! How is your flock and your new baby??? I've seen some pics on fb or another forum. I can't remember, but what a doll. You must be in HEAVEN!!

A sign of health is a good way to look at it. The problem with the blinds is she flies, lands clinging to the blinds and then says hey, since I'm here may as well have some fun. CHOMP! I am really hoping she will mature out of this.

Pinkbirdy
11-22-2015, 02:57 PM
I remember Harlow and her being of the same age. She was just starting to change [more devious ] when she was well.So Im sure it would have continued on:). I would think its just their teenage years :).

PlaxMacaws
11-22-2015, 05:57 PM
I remember Harlow and her being of the same age. She was just starting to change [more devious ] when she was well.So Im sure it would have continued on:). I would think its just their teenage years :).Harlow :heart::'(

kendrafitz
11-22-2015, 07:09 PM
Terri - I hope you are right and she is just being a nudgy teenager. I'm used to that with my human kids. ;)

Harlow was gorgeous and sweet. You must miss her very much.

Macaw Lover
11-23-2015, 07:41 PM
Correction to my above where I said I could trust Jody to grab and chew. I meant I trust her to NOT grab and chew.

kendrafitz
11-23-2015, 08:24 PM
Renée I knew what you meant. ;)

Mare
11-24-2015, 01:36 AM
We have no macaws but some amazing chewers around here. When new people come into our home Tim always points out their wood artwork. I feel your pain, Kendra. If we gave Sassy and Amigo free reign in our home..it would be chewed from the inside out! Thankfully, Amigo can release this energy on the poor trees in the surrounding area but when we have Sassy out of her cage she has to be watched carefully or some buttons on the controls are going to disappear, a whole will magically appear in a cushion..you know the picture.

I don't think there is a magic age this behavior disappears, I think we become better at managing their behavior and then life settles to a more/different..normal..:th_eek:...:)

Casper's 2nd best friend
11-24-2015, 10:57 AM
Casper, yesterday...
Margaret was cleaning the cold ashes out of the fireplace when she got called away and forgot to put the fireguard back. I went into the room a couple of minutes later and Casper was chatting away to himself but I couldn't work out where he was. Then I saw him standing on the edge of the fireplace looking out, liberally dusted with ash.
Bath time Casper!

Lesson learned. He has always been fascinated by the fireplace so we are very careful to make sure the fireguard is there when it is lit. He seems none the worse for his adventure. You see sparrows and suchlike in the wild having dust baths so perhaps it is instinct.

Casper's 2nd best friend
11-24-2015, 12:11 PM
Today he has been doing sums, standing on my printing calculator. :th_smile:

kendrafitz
11-26-2015, 11:51 AM
OMG...thank you for the laugh. Casper coveted in ashes is too funny.

Glad that Casper was helping you with your sums. Hopefully he didn't pull any keys off. :)