CrazyBirdieMom
New member
- Nov 2, 2025
- 1
- 4
- Parrots
- Zak-African Grey
Indygoblue-Blue and Gold Macaw
Hello, I'm new here, but not new to being a Birdie Mom. I have a situation that I need help with or I will have to give up my TAG. His name is Zak. He was my first parrot. I have another parrot named Indygoblue- Indy, for short. Hes a B&G Macaw. He's 20 y.o.
The thing is, that there has been a LOT of stressful things since we first got Zak. At first when we got him, he was just weaned and he went to work with me 3 days a week. I worked in a property mgmt office. He got to see lots of people. But 2 yrs later I was dx with a brain/spine condition and had 2 brain surgeries. Zak had to stay with my sister for over a month. But seemed ok when he came home. I was sick for a long time and slowly got better. About 4 yrs after we got Zak, we got Indy. He was also just weaned. Until we got Indy, Zak had been our only bird and got lots of attention. When we decided to get Indy, we decorated a spare room for their bird room because the living room was too small for both cages. Zak had already started having hormone/behavior problems at about 1 year of age. When it seemed as tho he was never not hormonal, we took him to an Avian vet who gave him a hormone injection. It almost killed him. The Vet reversed it somehow and he was ok. But she said no more hormones for him. So we tried to just deal with it. We learned that Af. Greys have 2 hormone periods per year, not one like other parrots. I laughingly tell people the first one is from Jan to June and the second one is from June to Dec. But its not funny. Zak fusses most of the day. We were encouraged to get him a box and fix it up like a nest for him to be alone in. We were told that it could help and it does. However, he spends so much time in it that he doesnt want much interaction some days and others he whines while he's in the box too. Every day I spend a few minutes in the morning with them and they eat and play and have music on the radio. Zak doesnt really play with toys anymore. He stopped doing that years ago. All he wants all day is for me to hold him and he likes to look out the window. He likes to knock his beak on the window and when I couldnt get him to stop, I decided to teach him to count. Now if I ask him to count a number, he will. I tell him that he's Count Zakula. I know that he and Indy need more attention from me and thats probably a lot of the problem. I am in and out of their room several times a day. And then I spend about an hour in their room i. Thw evening. Sometimes we go on the enclosed porch. I bought an animal double stroller but Zak won't try it and neither will Indy. Its been in their room for 2 years. I was trying to get them used to it but if I so much as bump it, Indy screams so they still havent gone for a ride in it. I tried to get Zak to do some training like he used to do but he refuses to do anything. He only wants held...all the time. I'm a singer and he and Indy used to practice with me and I called them my back up birds. Zaks not interested anymore. He pulls his feathers and has for years. I used to be able to talk to him and he would stop doing it. But not now. My husband died in 2020. It was hard on the birds. We had 2 dogs and another parrot at the time. A cockatiel named Joey. A rescue. He died in 2023. He was 23 y.o. Our 2 dogs were older as well and they passed away within a year of Joey dying. I have been left trying to take care of the birds and everything else, since our children have become estranged since their father's death. I continue to be disabled but able to care for my home and the.birds. But its difficult to have time for the birds when I am so swamped with the work I have to do to maintain my home. Im 69 y.o. so Im not young and my brain/spine disorder has left me with a chronic pain condition. I'm not looking for sympathy, but I figure you need to know the circumstances in order to offer me any suggestions. I dont want to give up Zak. But its so clear that he's unhappy and he's making me unhappy. Its also so unfair for Indy because even he can't take Zak's whining and he can't escape it. Indy will listen to Zak whining and fussing for just so long and then he'll say "Zak! Knock it off!" That's how annoying Zak is. And I know its not his fault. Its mine.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've been crying for hours at the thought of having to give Zak up. I dont give up on people or animals easily, but Zak is getting worse and its driving me crazy.
Thank you.
The thing is, that there has been a LOT of stressful things since we first got Zak. At first when we got him, he was just weaned and he went to work with me 3 days a week. I worked in a property mgmt office. He got to see lots of people. But 2 yrs later I was dx with a brain/spine condition and had 2 brain surgeries. Zak had to stay with my sister for over a month. But seemed ok when he came home. I was sick for a long time and slowly got better. About 4 yrs after we got Zak, we got Indy. He was also just weaned. Until we got Indy, Zak had been our only bird and got lots of attention. When we decided to get Indy, we decorated a spare room for their bird room because the living room was too small for both cages. Zak had already started having hormone/behavior problems at about 1 year of age. When it seemed as tho he was never not hormonal, we took him to an Avian vet who gave him a hormone injection. It almost killed him. The Vet reversed it somehow and he was ok. But she said no more hormones for him. So we tried to just deal with it. We learned that Af. Greys have 2 hormone periods per year, not one like other parrots. I laughingly tell people the first one is from Jan to June and the second one is from June to Dec. But its not funny. Zak fusses most of the day. We were encouraged to get him a box and fix it up like a nest for him to be alone in. We were told that it could help and it does. However, he spends so much time in it that he doesnt want much interaction some days and others he whines while he's in the box too. Every day I spend a few minutes in the morning with them and they eat and play and have music on the radio. Zak doesnt really play with toys anymore. He stopped doing that years ago. All he wants all day is for me to hold him and he likes to look out the window. He likes to knock his beak on the window and when I couldnt get him to stop, I decided to teach him to count. Now if I ask him to count a number, he will. I tell him that he's Count Zakula. I know that he and Indy need more attention from me and thats probably a lot of the problem. I am in and out of their room several times a day. And then I spend about an hour in their room i. Thw evening. Sometimes we go on the enclosed porch. I bought an animal double stroller but Zak won't try it and neither will Indy. Its been in their room for 2 years. I was trying to get them used to it but if I so much as bump it, Indy screams so they still havent gone for a ride in it. I tried to get Zak to do some training like he used to do but he refuses to do anything. He only wants held...all the time. I'm a singer and he and Indy used to practice with me and I called them my back up birds. Zaks not interested anymore. He pulls his feathers and has for years. I used to be able to talk to him and he would stop doing it. But not now. My husband died in 2020. It was hard on the birds. We had 2 dogs and another parrot at the time. A cockatiel named Joey. A rescue. He died in 2023. He was 23 y.o. Our 2 dogs were older as well and they passed away within a year of Joey dying. I have been left trying to take care of the birds and everything else, since our children have become estranged since their father's death. I continue to be disabled but able to care for my home and the.birds. But its difficult to have time for the birds when I am so swamped with the work I have to do to maintain my home. Im 69 y.o. so Im not young and my brain/spine disorder has left me with a chronic pain condition. I'm not looking for sympathy, but I figure you need to know the circumstances in order to offer me any suggestions. I dont want to give up Zak. But its so clear that he's unhappy and he's making me unhappy. Its also so unfair for Indy because even he can't take Zak's whining and he can't escape it. Indy will listen to Zak whining and fussing for just so long and then he'll say "Zak! Knock it off!" That's how annoying Zak is. And I know its not his fault. Its mine.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've been crying for hours at the thought of having to give Zak up. I dont give up on people or animals easily, but Zak is getting worse and its driving me crazy.
Thank you.
