Appreciated Ideas, Comments and or Advice please....

I like seeing what everyone thinks in a forum. I'm not offended by much of anything except the squashing of "freedom of speech"

I have an unusual situation that may or may not happen any week, month or year from now. Rudy my boy, is likely to enter into his promiscuous years. Ive read the range of a Macaw entering adulthood is 3-5 years. For more detailed info on our daily activities. Please read here. http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/74393-rudy-brandywine-park-wilmington-de.html Now, if you have a thought without reading the above link, just post the question, I am happy to post a reply.

OK Knowing he is a male, likely dominate, what would you do to uhhh.... curtail any possible boisterous behavior. Rudy is not clipped. He is already somewhat free flighted however always on a harness. I am contemplating a falconry transmitter. That's another subject.

What activities would you think about doing more of with your bird, knowing what may or may not come?

I understand "corrective" measures. I also understand potentially clipping him someday..

The thought comes to me of these Macaws you see at resorts, Where Macaws can be stacked onto guests. Photo ops for tourists. Busch Gardens etc. Free flighted parrots in shows IMO probably aren't sat on someones arms for photos. Hey... I don't know where to get what may be proprietary info on the aforementioned sentences... .

Just thought I would start here first. Thank you for your .02!!

lol where are the free thinkers?. guess im gonna have to call Candace and Kanye!

I am a strong believer in flight and I hope you don’t feel the need to clip him.

I would say you start with solid socializing, do plenty of trick training just to get him used to the idea of doing something to earn a treat as well as to keep his mind busy, and be sure to practice good hormone management, I’ll post a link below.

Parrots don’t really understand dominance the way people or dogs or horses do.

http://www.silversageaviaries.com/handlinghormones/


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Good for you for looking into this beforehand! Make sure he's on a 12 hour light/dark schedule. This is perhaps the most important thing for parrots to help minimize hormonal issues. Right now you shouldn't worry but at the onset of hormonal behaviors lower the amount of sugary fruits and up low sugar veggies in his diet (this goes for when he's an adult and enters his annual spring hormone phase too). Lots of toys to take out anger and frustration on. BITE PRESSURE TRAINING. Big Mac beaks are so large, so if he's not bite pressure trained, now is the time!

Unless he's launching aerial attacks, no need to clip. Even if you do decide to clip, be sure it is a light clip for attitude adjustment and not a hard one for punishment that just butchers the wings. I know everyone (who hasn't dealt with it) claims parrots do not get dominance issues, but I disagree and say they can (though not all will)! My dads cockatoo and Kiwi when he was younger, both serious male dominance issues. I don't know if it's the "same" as dogs and cats because I've never owned or spent much time around dogs or cats, but I have been around horny male parrots and it's a thing with some of them. You just have to be the bigger badder bird and keep them well in their place. Parrots do in fact have a social hierarchy and they all want to be the flock leader. YOU must remain in the position of flock leader and a perception of weakness on your part can lead to worsening behavior as they try to assert themselves on top, especially bold young males under the influence of hormones for the first time:54:. Just remain in control (easier said than done at times). To my understanding though, Big Macs are not known for having particularly bad hormonal issues, especially well adjusted, well cared for and properly socialized ones like Rudy. I honestly wouldn't be overly concerned given species and his background.

Many parrots often become hyped up on hormones because they have no other outlet, we feed them a nutrient rich diet, we pet them incorrectly, feed them warm foods, give them places to nest or even nesting material. (this could all be unintentional!)

Parrots out in the wild would spend hours foraging, flying, napping, etc. Keeping busy. Parrots in captivity? We clip their wings, give them "everything", then expect them to be happy. When they have no outlet for all that energy, it can easily turn into aggression or excessive hormones.



Foraging activities, training and exercise can go a long ways into having a healthier (not just physically, but mentally/emotionally), happier parrot.

Buddy, this is the key here: "especially well adjusted, well cared for and properly socialized". Kiwibird, has nailed it on the head. Keep that advice, all of it, as in mind Rudy approaches puberty. Its different with every bird. My little Maxie blew past puberty and we never even noticed any change in his behavior. Or his spring hormone infusion. He was such a member of the family that he was relatively unaffected outwardly.

Great advice in the posts above. Seeing as Rudy is already fully flighted and so well harness-trained, what need would there be to clip him? As Monica mentioned above, all that energy needs an outlet... and flying burns off excess energy like nothing else. Flight drills can be your best friend, here. The less excess energy, the lower the likelihood of frustrated biting.

And as April pointed out, socialization and bite pressure training are key. I know you've already got the socialization part down, though you'll have to keep a vigilant eye out if he's been getting increasingly nippy. That's a powerful beak he has there.

It's also true that every bird is different. Some birds are more dramatically affected by puberty than others. All we can do is take note of tendencies (male GW's, from what I understand, tend to push their boundaries quite a bit at this time), limit daylight hours, be consistent with corrective training, and cut down on sugary or fatty foods.