20 year old Catalina Macaw! I have a few questions!?

[FeliciaMae]

My boyfriend and I just got a Catalina Macaw yesterday. The previous owner said she has a habit of biting her feet and ankles extremely hard when she has tantrums. I'm assuming its because they didn't spend much time with her and shes in a new environment so she's stressed. Is there anyway we could relieve some of her stress? Could it be because she needs her nails clipped? Her beak as well? (We'll be paying someone to come and clip them soon) I Just dont want to overwhelm her even more than she already is.

She seems to have a few behavioral issues, is it too late to change that? I dont expect anything to change overnight. I just need a few tips on how to make her more comfortable in her new home. She is our first large bird.

 

[Chesphoto]

Hey FeliciaMae,

I just rescued a 17 year old scarlet and it does the exact same thing. When it gets over excited, it bites down on its foot and then screams.

What is weird is she does this more out of over stimulation and not from being upset. For example, she will do it when she is getting a bath, but she really enjoys getting wet. Hopefully someone else can shed some light as to why they do this.

Enjoy your Catalina!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi FeliciaMae and welcome to the forum.

Your new baby will need quite some time to settle into her new home. At 20 I'd still consider her a young bird, considering how long they can live.

When I first got my Green Wing Macaw he would often appear to be gnawing on his legs and/or feet. He never mutilated them, he just did it when he was either anxious or overly stimulated. Now that he's been with us for 4 months, he's completely stopped doing it.

It's NEVER to late to modify unwanted behavior. Time, patience, and perseverance will pay off.

If you just got her a few days ago, I think taking her to an avian vet and getting her a check up would be a good idea to rule out any health problems.

Do you have any pics of your new family member?

 

[U2gal]

Most scarlet macaws (and hybrid of scarlets) have this behavior. Its from over stimulation and anxiety. Possibly misplaced aggression too.

 

[Blancaej]

I agree with everyone else. Savannah will do that when she is anxious. She did it a lot when she first came to live with us. She has been with us almost 2 months now and she does it a lot less!

Savannah turns 20 this month! I just took things slow with her and once she bonded with me, which in her case didn't take long, I've been able to do a lot with her. It can take time. Up to a year even. It will depend on your bird. I would just be patient and take baby steps and let her take the lead. You will then begin to know what she will and will not let you do as you progress.

 

[horsesculpter]

Our five year old Catalina Sunny does this when she gets overstimulated in front of new people. Don't worry about it. I think it is normal behavior and possibly a stress reliever. Sunny has never hurt anything except our ears.

 

[MikeyTN]

Lola does it too! She does it so much her leg feathers are gone but they're slowly growing back in. She's not biting her feet as bad now as she did from the beginning. She does it when she's nervous or anxious. She does it more when my partner is trying to pay her attention when I'm around. She did a lot with me from the beginning but have cut it down to minimal to barely doing it. Cause she's already pretty attached to me. Its because of that my partner stay clear from her when I'm home so she won't bite her feet.

 

[FeliciaMae]

We're actually not sure if she is a Catalina! My boyfriend believes she is, but the previous owner believes she a Harlequin! Maybe someone could help us figure this out?

Thank you for all of your replies! Shes not biting as hard or as much as yesterday! She truly is a sweety! Just needs some TLC! which she will get living with us. Ive got time and patience.

 

[MikeyTN]

She looks more like a Scarlet Macaw to me! That was the first thing that came to my mind but if you can get a better picture of her would help! Need to see her tail too!

 

[sssaucey]

Beautiful girl, but to me she just looks like a Scarlet macaw, I've never seen a harlequin or catalina with so much red.

 

[Alwese]

Agreed! This looks like ALL scarlet to me. There is some variation to Scarlet feathering; ones from Mexico have noticeably less yellow on the wings. Ones from South America have a big green spot on the back of the head. Those from Bolivia area have forest green tips to the yellow feathers. I have both a scarlet and a Catalina. My Catalina has a dark beak and black ticking feathers in the face. Yours has the bald face of a Scarlet. Here are some pics to compare my Scarlet Clifford and my Catalina; Doogie. By the way, Doogie will turn 20 on July 5th.... there must have been a lot of hybrid making back then, I haven't seen a "new" Catalina in a long time here. Click on thumbnails to enlarge.

 

[JerseyWendy]

She is a GORGEOUS bird!!!

To my untrained and unprofessional eye she looks like a Ruby Macaw.

 

[FeliciaMae]

Heres another picture of her!

Also, shes been hacking with her feathers fluffed on just her head as if she would be choking on something?! does anyone know what this is? and she screams like frantically for no reason. Now I completely expected and was aware that macaws (birds in general) scream. But this isn't any normal scream! it sounds like someone is hurting her! lol which obviously I'd never do! Its been a little over a week now and she doesn't seem to warming up very well!

 

[MikeyTN]

She's probably trying to regurgitate, who is she doing that to???

Macaws will scream, it's expected!!! They would do the ahhhh ahhh ahhh ahhh, I can imitate the sound better then typing it out...lol...It sounds like bloody murder when they do it.

It will take her time to get used to you, it doesn't just happen over night or a week even.

You should be looking for a new cage for her in the near future as her cage is rusty and it's bad for them to chew on it! And try to use the perch across the full length of the cage instead of in the corner like that, I'm sure that's how you got it to begin with, but it's something to think about. And place a concrete perch higher above, that's normally where they will roost at night depending on their mood....

 

[horsesculpter]

I think she is a scarlet although I have seen Catalina's that resemble a scarlet but not completely the same. Here is my fairly typical Catalina

 

[FeliciaMae]

Thats another thing! She doesn't chew on ANYTHING! the owner before me said that she only chews on rope and tennis balls and that they had gotten her toys before and she never used them. I rarely ever see her chewing on her cage unless she tries to knock her dishes out. But I put new toys in there the other day and I got her to play with one and then rewarded her afterward so hopefully she'll start playing some more? we'll see.

I suggested a new cage to my boyfriend before (shes technically his bird even though I'll be the primary care) and he said that he doesn't want to overwhelm her. We'll be investing soon, even if its from my own pocket.

I know all about the warming up stuff though, our conure was from a pet store and was never handled (he was also sick with a bacterial disease) and now he's healthy, happy and we can cuddle, pet, play and everything. I'm a very patient person and have a new found passion for birds. If I could afford veterinary school and become an avian vet I would, but unfortunately my life isn't leading me in that direction.

She does have a couple perches that you can't see, but I do like the idea of the perch at the top because she always goes up there to show us her belly.

She's warmed up a little bit though every morning she screams "Wake up! Wake up! gotta go to work!" and later last night while my conure and I were in the office she said "Hey guys!"

But anywho, my boyfriend and I got 4 different books on macaws and will be doing reading and research. I love all of your opinions and advice! Its so helpful!

 

[MikeyTN]

Playing with new items takes time. Lola have been here for 3 weeks and I kept her toys, cage, etc all the same and just changed it two days ago to new cage and bunch of new toys. She's already adjusted to her new cage cause she is attached to me. So right now you guys need to work on socializing with her. I picked Lola up and started training from day one and every single day I train her. Looking forward to see more progress!!!

 

[U2gal]

Perhaps she is a red dominant catalina or camelot. Or a mexican subspecies of scarlet macaw. She is neither central american scarlet or brazilian.

 

[U2gal]

I'd also take what the previous owner told you and flush it down the pot.

Try new toys with her

I'd also suggest an avian vet check

 

[JerseyWendy]

Maybe you can try giving her something "easy" to play with like an empty roll of paper towels. She may have to learn to play, but once she figures out how much fun it is to destroy things, she'll get the hang of it.

She certainly is a VERY very pretty girl!!