Help! Max is getting "too interested"

[MacawMomma]

Max has been home for almost a week now and settling in amazingly. There’s only one thing that concerns me-

He might be getting too attached/interested in my other Macaw Katie [emoji33]

Some history on Max, 10 years ago he had a pair, a military Macaw. The rescue didn’t have the whole story but they were separated. If it had been more recent I would definitely be on guard.

My Katie is bonded to me and has no interest in Max other than saying hi to him then moving on. But I’ve noticed when I take her out he climbs off his perch, cage, wherever he’s on to get close to her. When I take her out of his site he immediately calls out to her non stop. He’s a quiet bird and this is the only time I’ve heard him yell. (She ignores his calls btw)

I definitely don’t want to let him bond with her, what are ways I could do this?

Should I move her cage out of his site?

Thank you, all advice appreciated!

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As you can see Max is giving Katie the sexy look from behind [emoji23]


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Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
34 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

What does Katie think? Is there a contraceptive pill for parrots? :)

[Dragonlady2]

I am guessing, that because Max was pair-bonded, he will have an interest in another similar sized bird. I would work on them not having time together....it may encourage hormonal behaviour which might lead to aggression, but that is just my opinion. If you try to keep them from seeing each other, you may end up with a lot of calling out to each other. Probably, setting the boundaries when they are out will be your best option for now.

[PlaxMacaws]

I tend to agree with Helena. In my opinion, keeping some distance between them may be your best option. That doesn't necessarily entail positioning their cages out of view from one another. But you could certainly do that. One problem in any approach is that Max knows Katie lives there with him. Considering his interest in her, he's not likely to forget she's his housemate - which would remain the case even if he were unable to see her from his cage. As such, perhaps the most you should expect is to be able to mitigate Max's level of passion for Katie by consistently keeping them several feet apart. The closer he becomes to her, the more his passions will escalate.

My B&G and my Military were bond mates for decades. Once I brought another macaw into the mix, my Military became a death machine bent on killing my poor B&G (who adored him for so long). That was in 2005. I had to physically separate the two on a permanent basis in order to protect my B&G. He thus became extremely upset and started plucking. His feelings of devastation lasted for many years thereafter. While he currently accepts an absence of physical contact with my Military, he's still quite protective of him. If I remove the Military from his view he flips out. While ours has been an extreme case, it may serve as an example of how terrible things can become between bonded birds. If my Military had not become vicious toward my B&G, I'd likely have left them together.

Please keep us updated on developments.

[MacawMomma]

What does Katie think? Is there a contraceptive pill for parrots? :)

Not that I’d ever want them mating (even if they were young) but have you ever seen a cross between a GW and a Catalina?!! It’s called a Flame Macaw!!! So gorgeous [emoji33]

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Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
34 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[MacawMomma]

I am guessing, that because Max was pair-bonded, he will have an interest in another similar sized bird. I would work on them not having time together....it may encourage hormonal behaviour which might lead to aggression, but that is just my opinion. If you try to keep them from seeing each other, you may end up with a lot of calling out to each other. Probably, setting the boundaries when they are out will be your best option for now.

Thank you! I completely agree! I do not want any upset birds! They’ve only come in contact twice by accident, they bumped beaks for a second then I separated them. Other than that, they have their own play areas, perches, etc. He’s just trying anything and everything to get to her lol

He does call out to her when she’s out of site but I noticed yesterday that he eventually stops when she doesn’t respond. Poor Max, I’m trying to give him tons of time to bond with myself or my husband but he might only ever want to bond with another Macaw. Either way he’s a sweet guy❤️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
34 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[MacawMomma]

I tend to agree with Helena. In my opinion, keeping some distance between them may be your best option. That doesn't necessarily entail positioning their cages out of view from one another. But you could certainly do that. One problem in any approach is that Max knows Katie lives there with him. Considering his interest in her, he's not likely to forget she's his housemate - which would remain the case even if he were unable to see her from his cage. As such, perhaps the most you should expect is to be able to mitigate Max's level of passion for Katie by consistently keeping them several feet apart. The closer he becomes to her, the more his passions will escalate.

My B&G and my Military were bond mates for decades. Once I brought another macaw into the mix, my Military became a death machine bent on killing my poor B&G (who adored him for so long). That was in 2005. I had to physically separate the two on a permanent basis in order to protect my B&G. He thus became extremely upset and started plucking. His feelings of devastation lasted for many years thereafter. While he currently accepts an absence of physical contact with my Military, he's still quite protective of him. If I remove the Military from his view he flips out. While ours has been an extreme case, it may serve as an example of how terrible things can become between bonded birds. If my Military had not become vicious toward my B&G, I'd likely have left them together.

Please keep us updated on developments.

Thank you for sharing your story!! Your poor B&G!! Shows how much of Pair-Bonders (is that a term? [emoji12]) Macaws are. It’s good to keep that in mind when owning more than one MAC.

Katie has no interest whatsoever in Max (at this point at least). Her previous owner owned Katie and two CAGs only. So I’m her bonded pair at the moment.

Good news I guess that moving their cages wouldn’t make things better or worse for Max. I will definitely keep them apart, I was doing it mostly because I didn’t want either hurt, but now I’ll add not getting Max all hot and bothered to the mix... [emoji23]

Thank you so much for your advice!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Our rescue birds~

23 yr old Katie - Catalina Macaw
34 yr old Max- GW Macaw
1 yr old Nibbles- GC Conure
ADOPT DON’T SHOP [emoji172]

[PlaxMacaws]

Not that I’d ever want them mating (even if they were young) but have you ever seen a cross between a GW and a Catalina?!! It’s called a Flame Macaw!!! So gorgeous

[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] strikingly beautiful! I've seen them before and they're one of my favorites :)

[luckyandjenn]

How strikingly beautiful! I've seen them before and they're one of my favorites :)
So is this a doubble hybrid then ?? So pretty i wounder how their personalitys are