Bonded Pair

We are new owners of a pair of macaws that we have been told are a bonded pair. Can someone tell me what consititutes a "bonded pair", i.e., is it just that they are in the same cage and don't kill each other?

The reason I ask is because we can't figure out how to work with them when they are together, we want to separate them but the only thing I've found about bonded pairs says they will scream for each other.

We have had them 6 weeks and they are a bit more adjusted but not trusting at all. The female (approx 8 yrs old) was worked with at some point but the male (approx 3 yrs old) has not been worked with. It doesn't seem like either of them know about step up. The female bites. The male is very shy.

Any info is appreciated.
Thanks,
Rhonda

Mark (Birdman666) has some posts on the issue, and would be your best bet for info, search his posts and you will find plenty of information.

It means these are breeder birds that are bonded to each other and not humans. MACAWS MATE FOR LIFE. They are pair bond birds, that in the wild, become almost inseparable.

My guess is that if they planned to breed these two, they were never handled, are not tame, and don't have any real human socialization skills. (If you want pet quality, you handle them a lot. If you want babies from them, you give them a nest box, and leave them alone.)

Thanks, I'll search those posts. I just read one of yours and am going to print it as our new "Macaw rules". We do not want to breed. We rescued these from a gal who was desperate to find them a home. We are in over our heads and running ourselves ragged/crazy trying to figure out how to give them a happy life so your helpful posts are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

First of all, if you try to separate bonded pairs, they are both likely to become extremely unhappy...

You want to work with the male first, because the male is usually the dominant of the pair bond. He will usually get between you and the female. He is hard wired by nature to "protect the nest." So, watch yourself working with him in and around the cage.

Stick handling would probably be best for the moment.

We are pretty sure the female is the dominant one, maybe because she is the oldest. The female also pushes him back from the food and won't let him reach out to take food from us and will try to get inbetween us and him. He still looks a bit like a baby. The gal did work some with the female when she was younger. The male takes food without biting, does that every happen naturally or did someone work with him at one time?

She gave very limited and conflicting info, saying she had hand raised them but then giving different ages for each bird, one time saying the male was 3 then another saying he was 5. These were supposedly her only birds so I don't see how someone could have a 2 year variance. Also, either their tastes changed with the move or she didn't know them as well as I would expect. She said they like Brazil nuts the best but with us they will literally scramble to get Walnuts and Brazil nuts they can take or leave.

We will try using a stick for now and leave them together.

Walnuts, cashews and pistacios... those are generally the favorites.

Not getting accurate information on a rehome situation (or being flat our lied too!) is about par for the course, unfortunately.

So the next question, are they really a bonded pair, or are they just two macaws stuck together?

If they're banded, you might be able to determine how old they really are.

And to me, it sounds like she stuck them together hoping they would breed, and gave them away when they didn't. They might not be pair bonded at all.

Aquila said:

If they're banded, you might be able to determine how old they really are.

And to me, it sounds like she stuck them together hoping they would breed, and gave them away when they didn't. They might not be pair bonded at all.

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Exactly what I was thinking!

I learned long ago to discount everything a former owner tells me... and form my own opinions.

In any case, she clearly intended to breed them, and she clearly did not handle them, so they probably have ZERO social skills.

You are starting from scratch.

I could be completely wrong, but wouldn't a 3 to 5 year old mac be too young to breed? Aren't they usually 7 or 8 before entering puberty?

Amanda_Bennett said:

I could be completely wrong, but wouldn't a 3 to 5 year old mac be too young to breed? Aren't they usually 7 or 8 before entering puberty?

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That is entirely correct. 7 to 12ish... so really, neither one of them are there yet. Which MAY also explain why the former owner didn't have any luck, and got rid of them... And why she is the aggressive one of the pair.

Run along and play Junior. I'm not old enough to be a Cougar yet!

Bonded pair, and proven pair are two different things. But I question whether they are even a bonded pair. You won't know the answer to that one until you try to separate them. Then it will become immediately obvious.

I personally would separate them now, put in separate cages but the cages together, so they have their own space but can still interact. I worry about the male not eating enough since you said she gets in the way.