Bird Problems

[BirdMa2Lou]

Hi all,
This is my very first post on this wonderful site!! I sure hope you can help me..because my darling fiance is at his wits end with Lou, I must admit I am too, and have even gone as far as looking for a new home for him, but to be honest...It breaks my heart!! I know that most large birds have up to 9 homes in their life and Louis is so attached to me, I know it will break his heart as well.
We (more I than we) have a darling (to me) 12 year old severe macaw named Louis. When we first got Lou (in 2002), from a guy that my fiance worked with, Lou immediately bonded to me...shared his food and all! Sweet huh? He was also fine with DF and our 2 cats. As time went on Louis turned...when a cat or DF gets near me (and Louis for that matter, since he is always on me) Louis gets puffy and pissy. He has even bit me when one of them came near me. This change has been a gradual change.
I am thinking that Louis is viewing me a his girlfriend/mate and he is extremely protective of what is his.
Louis also chases feet, it might be my feet, your feet, the cats feet, DF feet. This is annoying.
My questions, *how to get Lou to not see me as his mate? *Would it be better for me to re-home him? *What can I do to get him to stop chasing feet?
I thought I would let all of you know now that I have thousands of questions, so be prepared

[SunMommy]

I am sure there is a way to teach him to not view you as his mate however I am still a Macaw newbie so I will leave it to the professionals.

How much time is he spending in his cage? Do you put him back in his cage when he starts chasing feet or the other undesirable things he is doing? Kinda like a time-out?? Does your DF feed him and help care for him?

I hope you all can get this worked out and not have to rehome him. Good luck!!

[BirdMa2Lou]

How much time is he spending in his cage?
Well, I think that might be the problem. When we first got him, we didn't have any room in the living room, so we put his cage in the spare bedroom, not even thinking about. So, to answer the question, he is out of the cage 100% when we are home, we both work 9-5 jobs. But he goes in his cage at night and when we are not home.

Do you put him back in his cage when he starts chasing feet or the other undesirable things he is doing? Kinda like a time-out??
I have tried that, but I was told before that birds didn't "understand" punishment and that they wouldn't figure out why they were put in the cage, but I have seen Lou "think and problem solve".

Does your DF feed him and help care for him?
Yes! Let me rephrase that..when DF has something that Lou is interested in, such as a chicken bone, Lou will "ask" for some..(he paces back and forth saying "step up", with his neck stretched out to try and get a better look I guess), but as far as cleaning the cage or feeding him daily, no he doesn't help to much. But like I said, DF feeds him treats.

[Doubleyolk]

Bonding to one person is a common thing with parrots,in the wild the bond is usually a life long thing. I have found with my parrots that the people that will be instrumental in their care have to spend equal time with their care to prevent a one person bond. I have a Cockatoo that was a foot biter and the only cure that worked for us was not allowing him to be on the floor,which took about two years to accomplish.

I also feel that re-homing your parrot should be a last resort and shouldn't be used to rid yourself of a behavior problem. I have always found the reward for my hard work and dedication to a parrot was always worth the effort. JMHO

[Copper]

Every one of the birds here know "No Bite" and "Naughty" and "Be Nice"
They also understand "time out" If I say it, the culpret goes back to their cage, I no longer have to pick them up to do it. I don't even have to close the door. They will sit with their back to me for about 10 minutes, and then come out and play nice again.
They do understand, and adjust their behavior.

[ljhassell]

All birds are not all people birds- they ALL pick one to have a bond with. We after 28 years have come to accept and appreciate at least they want to bond with one of us, instead of none. Our GW- loves Hubby, tolerates me to feed, clean and make toys, hold to do nails. Other than that Im just bait. Our 2 B&G's and Scarlet are my babies, tolerate Hubby, will step up to be brought out to me- but thats it. With the 2 Cag's 1 loves each, Tag scared of men- so thats me, Goffin scared of men- so Im the one, 2 Rosebreasted, they will go to anyone, anytime no preferance what so ever. We have lived with this and its best to accept it and maybe he needs to find his "bird" then you can each have one, so one isnt left out.

[kellywess]

Hi Kelly, my name is Kelly too and like you I have a Severe named Marvin. Marvin is two and he is a handful... more like a terrorist but yet very darling at times. I tend to disagree with birds bonding with one person or the other, all four of my macaws welcome both the attention from myself as well as from my husband. They do have days and moments when they prefer one of us over the other... however I feel your problem can be resolved. Your darling fiance is going to have to take a couple of bites on the hand and become more involved with Louis both by way of interacting with him, discipline and helping with the birdie chores. Unfortunately for you he sees your df as a threat / opponent and your DF is rewarding this behavior by offering treats. If you cant bite the one you want... bite the one your with. DF needs to become a little more hand on handling Louis when you are not around until they become acquainted. At the same time it is Spring and he probably has "eyes" for only you. Be patient. When he bites, try not to react... walk him right back over to his cage or perch, put him on it... tell him "not Nice, no bite" in a calm but firm voice and walk away. Dont look back at him to see what he is doing do not give him not a second thought. Go sit back on the couch or leave the room... ignore him completely for 3-5 minutes. The worse thing for a companion bird is to be ignored by the one they love... crushes them. When you go back to pick him back up inform him he better be nice or hes going back. If he does it again... repeat, he WILL eventually get the idea. Severes are hard headed and very adamanat, persistent critters, I know, I completely adore mine for all of those reasons. But Marvin hates to be ignored and when I turn my back on him he talks more with my back turned than he does at any other time, so I know me paying him no mind is working. Make rehoming a last decision, hes just showing you love. Your DF is just going to have to make friends! You may need lots of chicken bones. Oh yeah... I almost forgot, Marvin loves feet too, I cant offer any advice on the feet thing... Sorry! You can PM me if ya want.