Big harley issues.. Helppp

[ZoeynHarley17]

Hey guys i know ive been mia for the past month. i was going through some personal health issues and honestly wasnt up for much of anything.

with that said im feeling much better health wise but emotionally im screwed to say the least.

as you all know Ive had Zoey for the past 8 years and shes like my first born child. I got Harley (Harlequin Macaw) about 9 months ago and he was the second love of my life. he won me over in days and became my everything.
over the past month everything has changed. he absolutely HATES ME...

no i swear im not exagerating. my arms will tell you its the truth. im more than aware that over the last month my parenting skills went south but i did the best i could. going to the park daily became more like a twice a week thing. and 12 hours of play time a day became more like 3 hours of playtime and 9 hours of watch me sleep while we cuddle. during the last month theyve spent alotttt of time together but Zoey still has no interest in Harley. however that is not Harleys case. He adores her. he freakssssss out everytime i try to grab her or even talk to her. if she flys to me he has like a spas attack and goes insane. but this has only been happening for the past 3 or 4 days. hes never been like this. Last week i took them to the park for some flight time. that didnt go so well. Zoey flew to me and then Harley flew to me and bit my face. he DID NOT hurt me. no blood no mark but it hurt like hell and it absolutely scared the hell out of me. im losing him. and hes only 5 we have years to be together. please tell me theres hope

any suggestions? seperating them for good? seperating them for a few weeks then only allow play time together? is he gonna be my loving baby again or have i lost him forever?

neither of my birds are caged. at any point in time. they climb into their cages at night i turn on the heaters and they let them selves out in the morning when i walk in for breakfast. but ive had to start locking his cage at night so i can even feed him in the morning because he lunges at me and frankly im scared. if any of you have seen my boy in his pictures he is hefty and hes beak is one of a kind lol.

ive always had them in the same room on their own stands and lately hes been flying over to her stand and harrasing her. do i need to take them out of the same room. should i harnest him so he cant go yet keep them visible to each other??

FELLOW FID PARENTS PLEASE HELP MEEEE....

 

[weco]

While I don't recall any of your previous posts about Harley, I'll venture a guess here and say that you need to begin doing some type of regular training with him...and it would probably be best in a room that you can close the door, to give the two of you some privacy.....there are a lot of clicker training & target training how-tos on the internet, along with several decent videos on the topics on youtube.....

Since he has become aggressive towards you, you might want to think about having his wings clipped, to restrict his movement.....you might want someone else to do it, so he doesn't hold it against you.....

Good luck.....

 

[ZoeynHarley17]

hey thanks for the quick response.

both of my birds are clicker trained and flight trained.
before i got sick i dedicated my whole day to them.. all day everyday. i work from home so i would be sitting in my yard on the computer while they played in the outdoors or hung out on my shoulders while i worked.

he just doesnt seem to care anymore. the clicker means absolutely nothing. nothingggggggg. although they are both trained with it. over the past 3 months i weaned them off the actual clicker and they follow on command. but over the last 3 days ive reintroduced it and he isnt phased by it at all. his sole focus is WHERE IS ZOEY.

Im not sure how i feel about clipping his wings though i know it might be my only option and trust me ive really been thinking about it. i just cant bring myself to do it.

do you think a temporary full separation where i can interact with each separately might over time work?

 

[weco]

In the time you were MIA from here, was your interaction with them interrupted & did they become closer together in that time? if they are or are on a bonding course, you may have to begin at the beginning, but since I don't know your birds, you may be strictly trial & error.....

Good luck.....

 

[MikeyTN]

He's trying to bond with her and it's very hard to stand in their way when they're trying. He will hurt you if you try! Clipping the wings might solve part of the problem, but he still will try to get to her no matter what. The best thing for you to do is separate them and let one out at a time, your gonna have to train Harley in a different room away from Zoey and shut the door like weco suggests. It will not be a bad idea to have a training stick around you at this time. When my macaws start to act up, I bring out the training stick.

 

[Blancaej]

I agree, I think Harley is trying to bond with Zoey. I think training in a second room is a great idea. You have been given some great advice here. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[ZoeynHarley17]

Thanks guys.. I have already sperated them. Day one was awful he was constantly calling her flapping his wings and just freaking out. Today he was much calmer. Ill let u guys know.

 

[Blancaej]

At least there is some progress!