What is my Macaw up to?

[KITKAT1971]

My newly adopted macaw does this almost daily and it's a new behavior. She hangs on her toy and make growling type noises. It's cute, but what does she want? She gets plenty of out of cage time everyday. Any insight into my new feather baby would be great. She is about 12 and I've had her about 6 months now I tried to upload a video but it's too large

 

[saxguy64]

Sounds like playing to me, but a video would be helpful. (and fun to see either way )

What seems to work the best is to upload your video to YouTube and then put the link in your post.

 

[KITKAT1971]

Thid is a nut.

 

[KITKAT1971]

Thid is a nut.

This is what she looks like when she makes the growling/cooing/purring noises. Always the same spot... she is a nut

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

Yes, those blue and golds are nuts.

Mine will think of multiple ways to play with the same toy.

 

[Cindylynn]

When Pancho does this, he's giving himself scratches. He will actually reach up and scratch his own head in addition to rubbing against the cage. Sound effects and eye contact seem to serve to let me know that he's disappointed that he's having to do it himself.

 

[wrench13]

Goodness, if all Salty did with his favorite toy (a SS tubular bell) is growl with it, I'd be happy. He loves to fight with it, attacking the opening while screaming vile Amazon only curses only to minutes later to using the edge to head scratch himself. A little toy fixation in your B&G is pretty normal.

 

[SailBoat]

Consider adding more out of cage time!
Big parrots need to work off lots of energy!

 

[WakaWaka]

Consider adding more out of cage time!
Big parrots need to work off lots of energy!

Agreed, they need a LOT of attention !!!. If she is not clipped, flying back and forth between you and another with frequent treats as rewards is a lot of fun for her and you. Overall I'd say she is having fun and entertaining herself. Arika growls frequently almost like a Police K9 but is not aggressive. They act like 2 year old toddlers even in their older years. Enjoy the antics, never a day goes by where we do not laugh.
I highly recommend reading Birdman's posts, he is the master of Macaws.

 

[Birdman666]

Just playing...

And yeah, I have a little golden conure that is more of an attention hog than my two lap macaws ever were... so it's not necessarily a size thing... just a bird thing.

 

[Birdman666]

Goodness, if all Salty did with his favorite toy (a SS tubular bell) is growl with it, I'd be happy. He loves to fight with it, attacking the opening while screaming vile Amazon only curses only to minutes later to using the edge to head scratch himself. A little toy fixation in your B&G is pretty normal.

My little BFA beak wrestles with my face hanging upside down by one foot with a toy, while barking like my mom's dog. He's an amazing bird. I need to get video of that...

 

[KITKAT1971]

Update.... she laid an egg shortly after this weird behavior. She wasn't laying on it - I found it broken while cleaning the cage... wow.... at least we know she is definately a female haha. I was advised by a bird expert that I may have unknownly simulated her... Learning experience for me. I'm just glad she wasn't egg bound. Good news is no other eggs since...... love my bird. She is now getting plenty of screen porch time and is mimicking the wild birds