My new blue and gold Macaw got scared and aggressive

[Bullitr]

I just bought a 15 months old macaw Today
He was sweet and goes with everyone
Here he was 20 minutes after I got him from the previous owner

Then I slowly introduce our 3 years JOEY a male umbrella cockatoo ( it might be a female because she/ he is hormonal and seems to be nesting ( collecting twigs and newspaper ) during the meeting they are both calm and even
Stand next to each other for few minutes.Then my kids gives a lot of attention to Joey and play with him/ her as usual.30 minutes later the blue and gold BILLY gets aggressive to everyone Who get near him and gets very very loud.He is not biting but very close,He doesn't want to step up now and continue to be very very loud.So after 30 minutes of calming him down he
finally step up after multiple attempts.So I put BILLY on his new much bigger cage than his old cageto make him more feel at home and he is still afraid.As I was walking out to check on him again our JOEY fly over to him/her old cage and start being aggresive towards Billy while he was in his new cage and Joey outside the cage.So i take JOEY out immediately to calm him down then He start screaming again so I cover his cage with blanket completely to cover the whole cage. He finally calms
down. Then I check to him to make sure he is ok but he was still afraid and don't want to be touch or bother.

I plan to separate them for a while until Joey calms down too!

Is there any thing else I can do to make him more at home ?
Also does he seems thin?

Thank you for the help.

 

[oled]

From what I can see he is thin, congrat to the new Macaw

 

[Bullitr]

Thank you
I talk to the old owner about what he eats he said seeds with some fruits
So i gave him variety of fruits but he did eat much what can I do to make him gain weight?

 

[mele]

The bird is going though alot of change right now. He needed time to adjust not only to you but to his new home, cage, food, and new flock member. You should always introduce new birds slowly. Start them out on opposite sides of the room so they can get use to each others sounds and movements. Only then should you bring them closer. I also have an umbrella + a macaw. I've had my macaw for about 6 months now and I would never allow them to come in direct contact with each other. Your cockatoo might see you as a mate with the nesting behaivor and now you brought competition into his home. I think your lucky your U2 didnt also attack you.

Give them both time and keep them seperate

good luck

also- since you just got this bird I wouldn't allow him on the shoulder. Its a hard habbit to break and one you don't want when the bird matures.

 

[mele]

I give all my birds a combination of Roudy Bush, Pellets, fresh fruits and veg daily, seeds as a treat, and nuts in moderation depending on the species.

Has he seen a vet??
Your vet might recommend something to pick up his weight.

 

[oled]

Give him the food he is use to but you can try mix in high fat pellets. Give him space, the most important right now is that he start eating. If after aprox. a week he is not eating enough the I surgest that you consult a vet. One more thing, normaly you don´t rehome a skinny bird but now you are where you are so do the best out of it. Good luck

 

[Bullitr]

Thanks guys
I will try to feed him pellets .
can I wet the pellets I read the macaw like them moist?

 

[Ratzy]

Quarantine?

 

[suebee]

just wet a few to start with, i use to use a little fruit juice, (natrual)

but as ratzy mentioned, you should have quarentined the new bird, simply incase he is harbouring any diseases

he looks afraid in the pic, alert an ready to take off?

but welcome to the forum as other said, give them time, he is scared/nervous in a new situation, lots of new situations, sounds, bird, ppl, cage, area and most importantly has no idea what is happening or what his routine will be,

you will also have to make considerations with the too as well, so joey does not feel his losing his place

 

[mtdoramike]

What you need to do is take this bird to the vet and have him checked and weighed. Just from the picture you posted, this bird looks tooooo thin for a healthy Macaw. Do you have a scale to weigh him? But it sounds like to me, he's scared and going through a lot of change, so I would give him time. He might seem tame at the moment, BUT I WOULD NOT ALLOW A STRANGE BIRD THAT I DON'T KNOW REAL WELL AND TRUST TO PERCH ON MY SHOULDER! I did and got a very good pinch for it. Fortunately it didn't break the skin. But an Eclectus beak is a tad different from a Macaw beak. Just a word to the wise.

mike

 

[Bullitr]

Quarantine?

I do that with my fish And corals

Qt

Social acclimation

So I gues I have to do that with him too!
Priority number one I need to make him fat first.

 

[Bullitr]

So I check with him today he is still work eat fruit!
He ate a little bit of banana yestersday before he meet Joey.

I am planning to buy a lot of nuts and pellets today and I will schedule a appointment with avian Vet if he is still like this tomorrow

 

[Molcan2]

1st - nice fish tanks. We have a few, no hard corals though just soft, trying to save up some money for lights for the hard stuff - sooo expensive! So since you have salt tanks then you know the importance of quarantine. Also you know which fish you can mix and which ones you cant. Think of it this way you quarantine so that you don't get what you already have sick and risk crashing everything. You wouldn't put a new angel in your 20 gallon that already has one in it. You would be asking for something to happen (they would rip each other apart). You most def don't want to put two large birds within biting range of each other on the first day. They don't know each other yet. Also your new bird is in a completely different environment and is going to be more likely to strike out at anything, since he is very insecure right now. Wait for your new bird to settle in its new environment before you introduce them. Also don't expect anything from the bird for the first month. If you ask him to step up and he doesn't, then leave him be. He has to get used to you and trust you first. Spend a lot of time being around his area (talking to him, sitting near his cage - let him develop a feel for who you are). Try not to impose yourself physically. Play hard to get. Act like you don't care if he ever steps up on you. This will take the pressure off of him and allow him to relax. Once he relaxes then he will seek out your attention and want to be with you. It is going to take time, be very very patient with him. Go into this with the mentality that you will have him for the rest of your life, so you have nothing but time to allow a solid relationship to form.

When you first got him home he probably was on your shoulder because that was the highest vantage point that he could get to, not because he trusts you. Macaws can be a little more standoffish when acclimating to their new home (could take you a month or a year before he trusts you), so give him his space and allow him to come to you when he feels comfortable enough to do so. You know that your intentions are good, he has no idea who you are or what you expect of him.

Remember that this is a big change for him. Completely new environment, people, and cage. The cage is their safe haven. It is going to just take time, a lot of time. He will eventually get comfortable, just let him do his own thing until he does otherwise you will just stress him more than he already is.

Take him to the vet, they will be able to weigh him and base his weight on his size to determine if he is underweight. Also they will be able to do blood work to make sure he isn't malnourished. The vet will also be able to tell you what diet to feed him based on his current condition.

 

[Molcan2]

Don't wait to schedule an apt with a vet. Every new bird that you bring into the house should ALWAYS be vetted and have blood work done as soon as possible.

 

[mellykyitus]

macaws have a higher matabolism than other parrots. a higher fat diet is recommened...lots of nuts and palm nuts are a nice treat. also if you switch to pellets make sure to include some seeds for him too as he will need the oils in them. my AV recommended a seed based diet for the larger macaws.

 

[Bullitr]

Thank you very much for that advice the best advice I receive so far.
As far a a reef I spend more on my reef tank than my vette And one of the reason I get Billy is to take my mind of my tank becauseI just loss 30 large angel some rare after putting them on the main tank on top of countless rare fish I killed because of ick even going fallow several times and quarantine every single one for months. But everything is going back to normal thanks to ozone.

I am on reef central with same user name

For the lights
Get LEDs it's cheaper in the long run.
I only use a china made reefkoi and it's good for the application.
The fan is a bit noisy but it gives a very good par for a 1 watts bulb
AI is good but I need a minimum of 8 and 12 to cover the entire tank.

 

[Bullitr]

Just bought some nuts and pellets
He eats nuts and let see if he will eat pellets too
I have multiple bowls in the cage
One for nuts
One for seeds
One for pellets and fruits
One for fresh water.

 

[kodibloo]

I would recommend you get a bottle for water, they learn how to use it very fast and my Jalen holds a pellet in her mouth and dribbles water on it to moisten it. Water bowls start growing bacteria within 30 minutes, and most birds will put food in it to get it wet, creating even more bad germs....Enjoy the new Macaw!!

 

[Bullitr]

Thank you
I am using RO water for him just like my other pet
Much better than bottled water and for the environment too!

 

[Remy]

What a cute baby! I don't have any advice that hasn't already been said, but good luck!