Fredrik
New member
First a short presentation of me:
I am a 42 years old computer engineer, living in the very south of Sweden.
When I was a kid we had a Cocatiel and when I was about ten I inherited an Amazon, probably an Orange winged, from my grandfather.
He had brought it home in his youth, when he was a sailer, probably in the 1930s.
After a couple of years he completely accepted me and wanted to be around me (preferably on my shoulder) all the time. It was great fun, but also a little problematic, since I had girlfriends and other pets, school, work and other things to do.
I tried to get him a bird companion and "borrowed" at least fifteen amazons, two cocatoos and one macaw for him. They stayed from one to six months before I gave up, but he refused to bond with any of them. The only emotion he ever showed towards them was agression. Probably not seeing any birds but wild ones for 60 years, he had forgot he was one.
When he died last winter, at least 80 years old, I decided that I would never again get a lone parrot.
(Also, it is not permitted by law to have a lone parrot in Sweden, since summer 2013)
Then this summer, I was offered two macaws, a seven years old female B&G and a nine years old male Harlequin.
I have wanted a macaw at least since I was ten, so I happily accepted.
The previous owner found me through a friend of mine who runs an animal rescue. He didn't know her either, so I have no proof that anything she has told me is true, even if I have no reason to think she is lying. However, in theory, the birds could both be seventy years old. Or it could be two females.
The previous owner had divorced in 2012 and had moved from a house with indoor and outdoor aviaries to an appartment.
In the appartment the birds were kept in a 4x4x6' cage, in a birdroom, with only a small window and a naked lightbulb.
In the spring of 2014 the female laid an egg on the floog of the cage and started inbcubating it.
The owner decided to remove it, but had it tested and found it to be fertilized.
This is when her problems started.
The male got very aggressive and the female plucked her own chest and his head.
At least since this incident I think they were very rarely out of the cage. She had to give them food using a long stick, since she was so scared of him. I don't know how she managed to clean the cage...
She said that they had been on a diet of 50% seeds and nuts, 30% Pretty Bird pellets and 20% fruits and vegetables.
However there were no remains of fruits and vegetables in the room and the parrots droppings looked suspiciously firm for that.
In the summer (july?) of 2014 I picked them up.
At my place they got to keep the 4x4x6' cage in my livingroom, but also got a 12x6x6' cage (minimum legal space for a single macaw in Sweden, no matter how much it gets out) upstairs and a 22x12x6' cage outdoors. All three cages are connected, so they can move freely between them (except I closed the exit to the outdoors one when autumn got chilly).
Whenever I am home the door to the livingroom cage is open and they usually sit up on top, on one of three available playstands, or walk on the floor.
They are showered daily, have fluorescent tubes (one UV, one dayligt) and get a diet of 40% fruits and vegetables, 40% Pretty Bird pellets (I have tried Harrisons as well, but they refused to eat it), 10% sprouted seeds and 10% nuts, as treats.
Even if both have all wing and tail feathers intact, I have never seen her fly, and him only once, when something scared him and he tried to fly to a nearby bookshelf. He didn't quite make it, hanging by his beek, so I had to help him up.
Our relationship constantly improved, even if he is still a little scared of me and I am still a bit intimidated by that _BIG_ beak of his.
They both had a checkup by a good avian vet and the only thing that was noted was that she has a ruptured airsac, visible as an enlarged craw. No real problem with that and not much you can do with it anyway, said the vet.
They "play" very little and he is almost afraid of toys. I always keep a selection of toys at hand, though.
Then, around august, she laid an egg on the floor.
Since the problems with the previous owner started that way, I decided to let them keep it. Also, I wouldn't mind having a third bird, even if I am aware that they can't live together when it reaches sexuall maturity.
So i put the egg in a nest and she roosted. He got a bit aggressive by the cage, but nothing I coudn't handle and there wasn't any real difference on a playstand. After about 35 days they had thrown the egg out of the nest one morning and were mating again.
Three eggs showed up and she roosted. After about 35 days they were thrown out and they started mating again.
Rinse and repeat.
Now a new clutch of eggs have been thrown out and I don't know what to do to stop this roosting behaviour.
If I get more eggs (and I think I will), I will have them checked if they are fertile.
If they are not fertile I will have "him" DNA checked, to see if I have two hens, in which case I suppose I should remove the nest?
But, what to do to stop this cycle? Should I remove the nest? Should I seperate them? Should I steal the eggs? Should I do anything else?
Her feathers are starting to lock worn, from so long in the nest, and it must be a strain on her body overall.
Any help appreciated.
Best regards, Fredrik
I am a 42 years old computer engineer, living in the very south of Sweden.
When I was a kid we had a Cocatiel and when I was about ten I inherited an Amazon, probably an Orange winged, from my grandfather.
He had brought it home in his youth, when he was a sailer, probably in the 1930s.
After a couple of years he completely accepted me and wanted to be around me (preferably on my shoulder) all the time. It was great fun, but also a little problematic, since I had girlfriends and other pets, school, work and other things to do.
I tried to get him a bird companion and "borrowed" at least fifteen amazons, two cocatoos and one macaw for him. They stayed from one to six months before I gave up, but he refused to bond with any of them. The only emotion he ever showed towards them was agression. Probably not seeing any birds but wild ones for 60 years, he had forgot he was one.
When he died last winter, at least 80 years old, I decided that I would never again get a lone parrot.
(Also, it is not permitted by law to have a lone parrot in Sweden, since summer 2013)
Then this summer, I was offered two macaws, a seven years old female B&G and a nine years old male Harlequin.
I have wanted a macaw at least since I was ten, so I happily accepted.
The previous owner found me through a friend of mine who runs an animal rescue. He didn't know her either, so I have no proof that anything she has told me is true, even if I have no reason to think she is lying. However, in theory, the birds could both be seventy years old. Or it could be two females.
The previous owner had divorced in 2012 and had moved from a house with indoor and outdoor aviaries to an appartment.
In the appartment the birds were kept in a 4x4x6' cage, in a birdroom, with only a small window and a naked lightbulb.
In the spring of 2014 the female laid an egg on the floog of the cage and started inbcubating it.
The owner decided to remove it, but had it tested and found it to be fertilized.
This is when her problems started.
The male got very aggressive and the female plucked her own chest and his head.
At least since this incident I think they were very rarely out of the cage. She had to give them food using a long stick, since she was so scared of him. I don't know how she managed to clean the cage...
She said that they had been on a diet of 50% seeds and nuts, 30% Pretty Bird pellets and 20% fruits and vegetables.
However there were no remains of fruits and vegetables in the room and the parrots droppings looked suspiciously firm for that.
In the summer (july?) of 2014 I picked them up.
At my place they got to keep the 4x4x6' cage in my livingroom, but also got a 12x6x6' cage (minimum legal space for a single macaw in Sweden, no matter how much it gets out) upstairs and a 22x12x6' cage outdoors. All three cages are connected, so they can move freely between them (except I closed the exit to the outdoors one when autumn got chilly).
Whenever I am home the door to the livingroom cage is open and they usually sit up on top, on one of three available playstands, or walk on the floor.
They are showered daily, have fluorescent tubes (one UV, one dayligt) and get a diet of 40% fruits and vegetables, 40% Pretty Bird pellets (I have tried Harrisons as well, but they refused to eat it), 10% sprouted seeds and 10% nuts, as treats.
Even if both have all wing and tail feathers intact, I have never seen her fly, and him only once, when something scared him and he tried to fly to a nearby bookshelf. He didn't quite make it, hanging by his beek, so I had to help him up.
Our relationship constantly improved, even if he is still a little scared of me and I am still a bit intimidated by that _BIG_ beak of his.
They both had a checkup by a good avian vet and the only thing that was noted was that she has a ruptured airsac, visible as an enlarged craw. No real problem with that and not much you can do with it anyway, said the vet.
They "play" very little and he is almost afraid of toys. I always keep a selection of toys at hand, though.
Then, around august, she laid an egg on the floor.
Since the problems with the previous owner started that way, I decided to let them keep it. Also, I wouldn't mind having a third bird, even if I am aware that they can't live together when it reaches sexuall maturity.
So i put the egg in a nest and she roosted. He got a bit aggressive by the cage, but nothing I coudn't handle and there wasn't any real difference on a playstand. After about 35 days they had thrown the egg out of the nest one morning and were mating again.
Three eggs showed up and she roosted. After about 35 days they were thrown out and they started mating again.
Rinse and repeat.
Now a new clutch of eggs have been thrown out and I don't know what to do to stop this roosting behaviour.
If I get more eggs (and I think I will), I will have them checked if they are fertile.
If they are not fertile I will have "him" DNA checked, to see if I have two hens, in which case I suppose I should remove the nest?
But, what to do to stop this cycle? Should I remove the nest? Should I seperate them? Should I steal the eggs? Should I do anything else?
Her feathers are starting to lock worn, from so long in the nest, and it must be a strain on her body overall.
Any help appreciated.
Best regards, Fredrik
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