Hyperactivity Problem!

[CaptainGentleGiant]

Are all green wing macaws hyperactive?

Captain, will only stay on the edges of his play gym on top of the cage for a few minutes. Then he wants to climb down and walk on the floor.

I consistantly, get a stick and put him back inside his cage for 20 mins.. When the timer goes off, he is allowed back out. Only to repeat this over and over, all day long, everyday.

Last night, my husband and I were watching TV. Captain climbed down and walked under the recliner and across the room in the dark. Luckily, I wondered why all the chihuahuas were on the sofa and looked on the floor. I wondered if he sees all the pups and us on the sofa and wants to join us. But, all he would do is move around and explore. HYPER!

Captain, has plenty of toys, bells, sisal rope and wood to chew and play with. He does not touch them. With the exception of a piece of sisal rope that I handed him on the edge of his play gym. He did tie that into knots. That baby sat him for a FEW minutes. I've moved his cage near a window for something to look through.

Yesterday, he learned he could fly. My problems with his exploring may get worse.

I feed him fresh fruit in the morning, like cherries, pineapples, blueberries. Vegetables like corn, lettuce, coconut and celery in the afternoon. He gets his seed mix in the evening and pellets are always offered (he does not like them).

He has a nice play gym full of toys. I am home and in the same room all day. Could he just be HYPER?

If anyone else has this hyperactivity problem, please let me know how you handle it.

[Greycloud]

He doesn't sound hyper, he sounds like a macaw! Not trying to be smart to you, please don't take offense. First of all putting him in a cage for 20 mins and having a timer go off might not click with him. You would be better off putting him bacl on his cage and after just a minute or so of staying, give him a treat and praise him.
You need to cut back a little on all the fruits. That's a lot of sugar! I only give 1-2 friuts with mostly veggies and sprouts. Celery is liked by birds but holds no nutricious benefits. Lettuce is mostly water also. Romaine is ok, swiss chard is better and broccoli.
See if this adaption helps.
PS: becareful of that lounge chair. Many a bird, dog and cat has been squished or suffocated when the chair leg comes down.

[MissV]

Agree on the fruit, but remember when you posted abotu this before?

I'm afraid Captain just wants to be with the family! Do you have an actual playstand for him? If you put him on something that's a bit more difficult to climb down from (like solid pvc poles wrapped in vet wrap or stainless steel bars) then he may be a bit more hesitant to climb down ALL the time.

Also, you might try buying or making a simple t-stand that you can add a toy or two too and have it sit closer to the couch when ya'll are hanging out.

Macaws are hugely social and when treated right (cause you are treating him right to me) well get attached to their family or at least one person and want to hang with them as much as possible. Etienne will stay on his playstand for awhile and mess around, but at some point it is likely that he will climb down and come over to see what I'm up to. They just want to be with you!

But no, he's not hyper. Just a macaw, like Grey said. ^^

[CaptainGentleGiant]

No offense ever taken. To learn is to listen to all options and formulating which works best for you.

I'll try cutting back on the fruit...his favorite. He is a picky eater. He was on a seed diet for many years.

As for the putting him back on the cage and rewards...that's what I did in the beginning. It was a constant watch, up & down, seed after seed. He still climbed down as soon as I sat down. I get up, he walks up, I sit down he would climb down.

I read, some peoples birds just sit all day on their perch and play with their toys. That always amazes me, when I read it.

Yes, I am trying to watch the recliner when the lights are dimmed. The TV last night side tracked me. I may have to put him inside at night.

Just trying to type this, Captain has tried to climb down 3 times. I've been up & down.
I need to get him content and happy on his play gym. I just put a whiffle ball up there and he just ignored it. I can't get anything done with him out. My pups are as good as gold, watching the problem child...well at least they are being entertained!

[CaptainGentleGiant]

MissV
If I put a play stand near the sofa so he can be with us...he will be with us. Yesterday, he figured out he can FLY! Once he flys to us on the sofa...oh boy...forget relaxing. Do macaws ever calmly sit with you?

[MissV]

Well, I honestly probably have slight advantage because Etienne was 5 months old when I got him...so some of his patience would be attributed to teaching him that when he's still not quite even sure HOW to climb down from a play stand.

Eti is atm, quite a cuddly bird, so yes. If I'm releaxing and scritching his head/neck/face, he completely chills out. Sometimes late at night, he'll also just quietly perch on the couch, but most times he'll make very quiet squawks so calm is a bit relative---he's Macaw calm at that tie. ^^

He isn't so relaxed though if I don't occasionaly look up and pay him some attention, so when I'm trying to focus on something it's a bit challenging. He's usually most relaxed if I just let him hangout on my shoulder and pet him very few minutes or so.

Ummm..there's also another method I picked up, but it requires sitting in a position that would be awkard for most on the couch so that my leg can stretch up to the back, and I, uh...scritch him with my foot.

Of course, now he's in love with my foot too...but that's kind of awesome because he'll run up to it excitedly at times!

Errr, I'm quite insanely flexable though, so I don't know that that's practical advice for anyone else!



The one difference though, that I have to note, is that I don't put Eti right back. If he comes down, I usually pick him up and play with him or scritch him awhile, and then put him back on his stand after a bit. So I think the fact that he knows if he behaves and hangs out for a bit he'll get attention later helps him stay put and occupy himself. I also talk to him from across the room if he gently calls to me. (I ignore any indignant/fussy screaming which is rare)



Oh! And finally, sorry this is so long o.0

By rewarding with a treat every time you put Captain back, I think you've in actuality trained him to climb off his cage and find you. Remember that macaws are extremely smart and can learn more complicated tricks....it may be that he has learned this is a trick. Instead, you might try going to him when he's actually staying put for a bit (if he ever does!) and treat him THEN. Not when you initially put him back. That will show that you're rewarding for staying put, not for getting down and finding you.



Edit: For various reasons, I don't actually reward with treats. I reward with general praise/scritching/goodboys/etc. So instead of giving a treat for staying still, I actually go up to Etienne every now and then and give him that attention. So he also knows that I'm not going to sit and ignore him for an hour--I'm going to get up throughout that time and come see him at his playstand (on his turf) for a bit before returning to whatever it is I'm doing.

[KimM]

You are not alone! My Harlequin, Newton, (1/2 GW, 1/2 BG) is hyper as H&*! HE never sits still, he won't stay on his playgym if I go to another room for minute. He constantly gets down from his playgym and either goes to his "brothers" and torments him or comes and torments me. He's into EVERYTHING! I can never keep my eyes off of him.

The woman that owns the shop where I got my boys has a GW and she's the same way... constantly into everything and bosses all of her other birds around. LOL. To me, it's intelligence and they're constantly trying to find new things to investigate, even though they have 9000 toys, enrichment activities, etc. It's just how some of them are made.. I'm convinced.

As far as foods, try eating them with him. I do this with mine and make a big fuss on how "good" it is, and they will follow and try it. Mine are pretty good now about trying anything I give them.

I don't know that I handle it, I just deal with it knowing that's just the way Newt is. but I can tell you he is super super smart, almost scary smart! That's the way God made him, so I just try to find the humor in it and enjoy him.

[Lori~D]

HYPER? LOL, Macaws are a bird of the wild and free . You would expect him to even stay in one little room or even a house for that matter?? They are born programmed to fly for miles and forage in the trees and on the ground and socialize!!

[nanmadpad]

My bgm is also super hyper,apollo never stays put anywhere . Even her beak is never silent, she mumbles and grumbles all the time. I have found giving her and entire cardboard box to chew keeps her occupied and in one place for at least 2 hours. When shes done theres nothing but a pile of rubble left. We play alot of catch with her. She throws and i catch although i get tired before she does.Thank goodness the weather is been nice because being outside tires her out so when we bring her in she had expended some energy and is not as hyper. Keep macaws busy thats what they like.

[MissV]

You can spend all the time and money on all the toys in the world...

and in the end? They want the damn carboard and magazine paper.
*sigh*


Lori's got a point (and my mom's name which still weirds me out). Somedays I am just honestly shocked that they don't just stand up, open the door, and walk right out.

Like: "Hey Mom, sorry, I just saw something shiny and moving outside so I'm gonna go check that out. BBL."