Military macaws - first hand info please!

[Ted]

Hi!
My name is Ted and I live with my 14 months old U2 and a 6 months old military macaw in Stockholm, Sweden. Though my current birds are pretty young I have experience of adult birds aswell. I bought my first U2 when she was seven months and had her for eight years, she passed away in an accident in 2006. I feel pretty secure on the "general care" I have quite some experience I work at a big breeding unit (we keep hyacinths, scarlets, miliitary blue throated + keas and some cockatoo species) I'm studying at a school where we read a lot of different animal-related subjects and I have a lot of friends who also keep parrots.

Thing is, military macaws are really rare as pets in Sweden, I only know of one other in the entire country (there are more ofc but still, very rare) and I would really like to have all the information tips and tricks you can give me concerning military macaws as pets.

I keep her in a cage about 13*7*7 ft (l*w*h), feed her nutri bird pellets, seeds, vegetables, fruit different nuts and occasionally rice potatoes, pasta, cous-cous etc.
I don't have any big problems with her, she's somewhat nippy - she doesn't bite but she will hold my hand/finger in her beak and add some pressure - what method do you think is best for avoiding this behaviour? Another thing is that she still is a bit "stupid", just normal for a baby bird of course, but how long does it usually take for a baby macaw to get "adult", not as in sexually mature but to become more independent, intelligent and secure?

My umbrella cockatoo got to that mental stage at about 12 months, is it some what the same for a macaw?

I'm sorry for my terrible English, I hope it will improve now that I get to use it more often :)

[Chief's Mom]

I have no experience with baby Militarys, as I rescued Sarge as an adult. But from what I've read, they tend to be a little nippier than some other macaws. He also seems to have a more cautious personality than my Greenwing or my B&G. He does bite, but again, he's a rescue, and we have no clue as to what was done to him in the past. I have worked with him a ton, and he's a cuddle-bird most of the time with me, but I still get the surprise attack occasionally.

As far as the 'stupid-ness,' I'm not sure they ever really stop that Sarge's favorite thing to do is hang from the top of his cage by one toe and swing. When he's in a really good mood, he'll scream too. And he's definitely my most 'robotic' bird! He has a lot of movements that look robotic or systematic, like he's scanning something. He's so weird sometimes

But I have had Chief, my Greenwing, since she was 6 months old, and I'd say anywhere from 12 to 18 months is a good estimate for what I think you're asking. Chief did the baby head-bob 'please feed me' thing for quite a few months after she was weaned. But the more time you spend with them, the more you notice that they pick up on everything that you do. She loved to open water bottles and throw dishes on the floor one at a time (she still does this often).

You may regret wanting them to grow up so fast though Because soon you'll be watching her unscrew her quicklinks on all her toys, and open her cage, and learn how to remove and dump her food and water bowls, and destroy what was sold as an 'industructable' toy, and so on. Be careful what you wish for

[jjones1719]

Ted, sorry to hear about your U2, My Brother owns a Military Macaw who is approx 3 years old and is a mature bird. His name is Ricky. Ricky was a rescue Macaw and came from a bad family who gave up on him. they kept his cage in their garage next to their cars. too sad. Anyway,Military Macaws are know to be great at bluffing. They act as if they are about to strike and bite you but if you hold your ground, they normally back down. Not to say that this always happens, but for Ricky, it does. I own 2 birds a 3 year old Male Eclectus and 11 month old Green Wing Macaw. So I am used to having birds bite me. If your Military Macaw bites you, instead of pulling away, just press towards the back of their throat very easy and they will let go without drawing blood. I think as you bond with your new Macaw, things will get better and they will alway test you. Keep us posted on your progress. Just have one question. How much in U.S. Dollars does the Hyacinths cost in Sweden? Thanks Joe

[kellywess]

Well, I have a Miligold (cross between a Military and a Blue and Gold)... there are days where Captain is a Military... honery, likes to play rough, bluff and challenging and there are days where he is Blue and Gold sweet. I have a friend who has a Military who is a complete sweetheart, very cuddly. They do require a lot of attention, they are very demanding kinda like Scarlets (they excite easily). I would definitely keep working with him and understand that the lunging will stop (kinda) once you set some boundaries. Be persistent and do not back down. If he bites, nicely put him on the floor or back in his cage or perch and ignore him for a couple of minutes before picking him back up. As typical with Macaws, they are always looking for the hole in the fence and they never quite give up. If he is six months old he is just coming into his "macawness" so he is going to test you quite frequently. Good Luck and keep us posted.

[chapala]

We have a Military we re-homed 7 years ago as a mature, untame, never handled bird. We think she's now somewhere around 15 years old but quite possibly older. She is bonded to my husband and is a very cuddly and affectionate bird with him. I am allowed to move her from place to place but not to touch her, only he can do that, but I am well accepted as the parrot slave who feeds her! Since we didn't have her as a young bird, can't tell you much about how they mature. She's a nice bird and relatively quiet - only the occasional jungle scream. She loves attention but is not too demanding. As far as the biting with too much pressure, I would put her down right away on a stand or back in the cage, saying the same word each time, "no bite" or "gentle". If she wants to be with you and I'm guessing she does, she soon will realize that biting isn't getting her what she wants. Short time-out - five minutes or even less, and then try again. They do learn with consistent training. And, by the way, your English is excellent!

[Ted]

Thanks for your input, she is very cuddly and love to snuggle up with both me and her u2 friend she has never bit me "for real" she'll just lounge at my hand and "hold" it. But I guess that it's best to set the rules right now so I'll be a little more consequent with her.

I think Hyacinths are a bit more expensive in north of Europe, we usually trade birds with other zoo's etc but otherwise they're between 12-14000:- USD

[becca623]

I'm surprised you consider your macaw "stupid" since you have a cockatoo also. I had a moluccan cockatoo that I had to give to my mother because I couldn't handle the dander. I had her from the time she was 2 1/2 months until she was 14-15 months. She's 3 yrs now. Until about six months ago, we swore she had to have shaken egg syndrome. Cece was the dumbest ( but sweetest) bird I ever saw. Now she's finally starting to act like the intelligent species she is supposed to be. My baby macaw is 9-10 months old and much smarter than she ever was. Both my amazon and eclectus were between 3-4 months when I got them. Neither was ever as brainless as Cece. I thought it was a cockatoo thing but maybe she was slower than most.

[Ted]

Well, my umbrella was kind of slow too, I mean, large parrots in general tend to be rather infantilé for a long period. Vilja the cockatoo (Vilja is swedish for the verb "want" or "free will") was a sweet, dumb ball of feathers for a long time too but she's quite smart now, I've started to train her with a klicker and she's king of good at it - not that I'm in a hurry though, she'll hopefully stick around for a looong time :)

How nippy are your adult military macaws, is it something that you'll have to "live with" or is it something you can get rid of with patience and a lot of training?

[chapala]

As I said above, you can reduce the nippiness, especially with the females who aren't as pushy as the males.

[Greyconsen]

I just got my Military one week ago, from a good bird store here. He's 10 months of age. My arm was beginning to look like someone drove over it with gravel wheels! Huey even grabbed onto the underside of my arm and pinched! Ow!!

But, I think they love the reaction...and if I have to take the pain, then they aren't getting any reaction. So I only am speaking to him when he is kind with me. Too soon to tell, but the nasty bites? Haven't had one since the trial by fire on the underside of my arm (yes it hurt like...well, ALOT).

Since then, nothing even mildly uncomfortable. But there again, we are counting the days in the single digits.

I train dogs, and I tend to be pretty unflappable when something happens that is unwanted. If it is possible, I ignore the behavior or give a somewhat undesired response by the bird -- meaning, no response.

Not sure how it's going to work out...but I'm hoping it keeps getting better!