is this behavior cause to be worried?

IamJolyn · Nov 28, 2015

Harley seems to be settling in okay, but there are a few things she does that makes me worry. She is very frantic when James leaves the room, and as we have established transfered her over bonding from the last owner (the husbsnd) to James. She is a chewer, and we have given her lots of toys to destroy etc, and so she doesn't destroy the couch and clothing, a blanket while she sits with James. But she has gotten almost frantic with it, getting red faced and even panting, and has to be stopped and put back on her cage.

[ame="https://youtu.be/TaYGJW7tyrM"]Okay or frantic? - YouTube[/ame]

Is this nesting behavior? Should it be stopped? I haven't made much progress with her. She still lunges and tries to bite. I push her beak away.

I know I post a lot :/ thank you everyone for your help and advice.

JerseyWendy · Nov 28, 2015

First thing’s first: Please never worry about how much you post, ok? We’re all here to help, day or night. 

Yes, I’d be a tad bit concerned about how she’s going to town on the blanket. Her eyes are pinning, and she looks as if she’s trying to prick out individual strands of fabric. That would worry me some (I’d be afraid of ingesting those fibers). It ‘may’ be nesting, but it may be as simple as her ‘claiming’ the blanket, which is also not a good thing.

IamJolyn · Nov 28, 2015

JerseyWendy said:
First thing’s first: Please never worry about how much you post, ok? We’re all here to help, day or night. 

Thanks

I feel like a whiny child sometimes lol, but I have two birds that each have issues and the help here is invaluable.

I will then take that blanket away, and find her one that she can't get strands out like that. Without the blanket she chews on any fabric available, and has put holes in shirts and pants already. So it may be a behavior we need to correct, but one thing at a time haha.

I have to tell you it is torture having two birds in the house that don't trust me

Davy is coming along, but on his terms. :blue1:

Harley . . . well I am sure she will take a lot of hard work on my part.

http://www.parrotforums.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

JerseyWendy · Nov 28, 2015

LOL, I hear you about chewing clothes! Both my big macs do it - with a passion, so I've learned to put on 'crappy' clothes when I'm around them for a prolonged period of snuggly time. They've yanked off buttons, punctured blouses and jeans, torn up pillows and made too many holes to count in some blankets. But none of them go 'string after string' if you know what I mean.

Oh, and then there's the 'hair preening'. Niko is particularly excessive with it. You should see me when he's done. :52: :30: I'm surprised I have hair left!

You all will get the hang of each other, I just know it!

IamJolyn · Nov 28, 2015

I was a "god-mother" to a umbrella 'Too for 5 years while his family had a baby, then lost the mother . . . His name was popcorn and he LOVED nesting and preening in my hair, so I feel your pain there lol. (He is back at home with the husband and kids, and is very happy)

I certainly hope we will get the hang of each other! I would love her to be a mush mac and Davy velcro 'Zon

Birdman666 · Nov 28, 2015

No. I don't see this as nesting behavior. If it were nesting behavior, she'd actually be creating a nest with what she is tearing up. This is just run of the mill, every day fabric chewing... which pretty much all macaws will do given the opportunity. (Just push the cage too close to the curtains sometime! You'll see! Oh, and the window sill is fair game too!)

My Greenwing goes to town, and more than that with her favorite shredder towel, and occasionally with my tee shirts... (She's not responsible for the flip flops, that was the work of my CAG and my LCA) The shirt below was playing on my lap during a football game. I was wearing it at the time! She is perfectly content to sit on my lap and chew up a towel... In fact, she has a towel she's allowed to chew up, and she'll drag it over to me, and drop it on the floor. That's greenwing for put the towel on your lap and pick me up... NOW!

What is a little concerning is that she is going after the individual strands... which mine doesn't do. Mine just seems to like seeing how many holes she can poke/tear in it...

ToMang07 · Nov 28, 2015

I was hoping "the shirt" would make an appearance, lmao

MikeyTN · Nov 29, 2015

I'm careful on what I wear with my macaws as well since they don't hesitate to chew a hole right through your shirt. Sometimes I would forget what I was wearing and they would rip a new hole on a brand new shirt...ugh.....

StephenAndKyleigh · Nov 29, 2015

I'm kind of torn to be honest. I'll do some research and come back with an educated opinion. I honestly dont know.

1500 · Nov 30, 2015

JerseyWendy said:
LOL, I hear you about chewing clothes! Both my big macs do it - with a passion, so I've learned to put on 'crappy' clothes when I'm around them for a prolonged period of snuggly time. They've yanked off buttons, punctured blouses and jeans, torn up pillows and made too many holes to count in some blankets. But none of them go 'string after string' if you know what I mean.

Oh, and then there's the 'hair preening'. Niko is particularly excessive with it. You should see me when he's done. :52: :30: I'm surprised I have hair left!

You all will get the hang of each other, I just know it!

Now that I have gotten to the point that Bonny likes to be held, I have learned not to wear shirts with buttons. She is very fast, and just rips them off, then I have to figure out how to get the button back. It would not be much of a problem except she flips it back into her mouth to hide it when i reach for it then brings it forward again, to chew on, when my hand moves away.

Birdman666 · Nov 30, 2015

1500 said:
JerseyWendy said:

Now that I have gotten to the point that Bonny likes to be held, I have learned not to wear shirts with buttons. She is very fast, and just rips them off, then I have to figure out how to get the button back. It would not be much of a problem except she flips it back into her mouth to hide it when i reach for it then brings it forward again, to chew on, when my hand moves away.

Click to expand...

Buttons are just a foregone conclusion. If you pick up a macaw, you won't have any...

Same holds true for buttons on pants. I have lap birds. I have to be careful when buying clothes. They see a button, they're going after it relentlessly... until "wardrobe malfunction."

One of the worst periods of time I went through with Sweepea in terms of wardrobe malfunctions, was when she "discovered" she could rip the zippers off my pants! What a fun game that was! (For her... ) Had to switch to sweat pants when handling her for awhile...

or sit there with a hand over my zipper... STINKER!

Flboy · Nov 30, 2015

StephenAndKyleigh said:
I'm kind of torn to be honest......

Now that has to hurt! You may want to consider giving up the shirt!

Birdman666 · Nov 30, 2015

IamJolyn said:
JerseyWendy said:

First thing’s first: Please never worry about how much you post, ok? We’re all here to help, day or night. 

Click to expand...

Thanks I feel like a whiny child sometimes lol, but I have two birds that each have issues and the help here is invaluable.

I will then take that blanket away, and find her one that she can't get strands out like that. Without the blanket she chews on any fabric available, and has put holes in shirts and pants already. So it may be a behavior we need to correct, but one thing at a time haha.

I have to tell you it is torture having two birds in the house that don't trust me Davy is coming along, but on his terms. Harley . . . well I am sure she will take a lot of hard work on my part.

http://www.parrotforums.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

Maggie has a thick towel to play with.

Woody had a fleece blanket that he loved. Same deal.

IamJolyn · Nov 30, 2015

We now have a big old bath blanket that she happily chews on when she sits with James, so that works well, and isn't pulling out little strands. Davy hasn't chewed on anything yet (fabric wise, he loves the wood toys I got him).

I think my next step with Harley is to wrap my arm with a thick towel under a shirt so I can show her biting me doesn't phase me. The crazy thing is she got really mad at me this morning when I was ignoring her, but as soon as I turned to talk to her she lunged. She also gets upset if she sees me pick up my 3 pound dog and yells "Harley Harley Harley com'mere com'mere com'mere" and I will go over to talk to her, give her a treat or something, she doesn't like it when I get close.

Anansi · Nov 30, 2015

IamJolyn said:
...I think my next step with Harley is to wrap my arm with a thick towel under a shirt so I can show her biting me doesn't phase me.

Great idea... as long as this doesn't mean you'll be ignoring the bite. Remember that you should always let her know when her bite pressure is unacceptable. No histrionics, of course. Your voice should be firm and even as you turn her beak from your arm and tell her, "No biting!"

Jessw931 · Nov 30, 2015

My mac does the same thing! But she is just making as many puncture holes as possible in her blanket! She spends a good hour or so every evening on the couch in someone's lap poking away!

Birdman666 · Dec 1, 2015

Jessw931 said:
My mac does the same thing! But she is just making as many puncture holes as possible in her blanket! She spends a good hour or so every evening on the couch in someone's lap poking away!

Yep. Mine loves chewing on her towel...

Birdman666 · Dec 1, 2015

IamJolyn said:
We now have a big old bath blanket that she happily chews on when she sits with James, so that works well, and isn't pulling out little strands. Davy hasn't chewed on anything yet (fabric wise, he loves the wood toys I got him).

I think my next step with Harley is to wrap my arm with a thick towel under a shirt so I can show her biting me doesn't phase me. The crazy thing is she got really mad at me this morning when I was ignoring her, but as soon as I turned to talk to her she lunged. She also gets upset if she sees me pick up my 3 pound dog and yells "Harley Harley Harley com'mere com'mere com'mere" and I will go over to talk to her, give her a treat or something, she doesn't like it when I get close.

Have you tried just ignoring her completely for a day or two? THEN, start this training... MACAWS HATE BEING IGNORED. Let the bird start craving attention from you... then give her what she wants.

You act up, you get put back, and you get ignored.

You behave, you get extra attention, treats, praise and played with.

It's your choice bird.

I'm not going to tolerate that biting stuff. Lunging is only okay if you're playing. Knock it off or the fun stops, and I'll go back to ignoring you. Be nice. That's better. Here's a treat. Can I scratch your head?

Use that approach to set the boundaries....

IamJolyn · Dec 3, 2015

Birdman666 said:
IamJolyn said:

We now have a big old bath blanket that she happily chews on when she sits with James, so that works well, and isn't pulling out little strands. Davy hasn't chewed on anything yet (fabric wise, he loves the wood toys I got him).

I think my next step with Harley is to wrap my arm with a thick towel under a shirt so I can show her biting me doesn't phase me. The crazy thing is she got really mad at me this morning when I was ignoring her, but as soon as I turned to talk to her she lunged. She also gets upset if she sees me pick up my 3 pound dog and yells "Harley Harley Harley com'mere com'mere com'mere" and I will go over to talk to her, give her a treat or something, she doesn't like it when I get close.

Click to expand...

Have you tried just ignoring her completely for a day or two? THEN, start this training... MACAWS HATE BEING IGNORED. Let the bird start craving attention from you... then give her what she wants.

You act up, you get put back, and you get ignored.

You behave, you get extra attention, treats, praise and played with.

It's your choice bird.

I'm not going to tolerate that biting stuff. Lunging is only okay if you're playing. Knock it off or the fun stops, and I'll go back to ignoring you. Be nice. That's better. Here's a treat. Can I scratch your head?

Use that approach to set the boundaries....

The last day or so, yes I have ignored her, to the point of letting the bf handle all her chores etc. I have spent extra time with Davy and the pups, in view of her. She calls out to me, "hello com'ere" a lot or "Harley" and today she raised her foot to me, so i got closer, and she keep her foot up and leaned toward me. So I pushed my hand closer and she reach out to my thumb, moving slowly, and pulled my hand closer so she could step up. She stayed on my hand for a few minutes, watching me. I was softly talking to her and she seemed pretty content.

Then she flushed red and nailed my finger. (OUCH) So I put her back on her stand and walked away, ignoring her again. I was pretty proud of not saying anything but a stern "No Bite" as i put her back.

I think it is progress, she did ask to step up. Not sure why she bit, no one else was in the room, no dogs or anything, no noise . . . It was like she suddenly realized, hey this is a woman and I don't like her! lol

is this behavior cause to be worried?

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