Behaviour Differences

[madparrotwoman]

I've had Beau for 18 months now and Argyle for a year. What has surprised me in this time is the differences in behaviour between the two species, I have to admit I was ill-prepared for the rollercoaster ride which has been life with Argyle, much of this could be down to him being pre owned but I don't think it is all due to that, the differences between the two parrots are emmence.

Beau is timid, skittish, mostly quiet and easily spooked by sudden movements and will nip anyone he doesn't know stupid enough to put their fingers in his cage. He is very loving with both hubby and me although hubby is his favourite.
Argyle is bold, confident nippy, hates strangers/visitors and creates a noise when they come calling. He can be cuddly but only ever on his terms, it is hard to tell who he prefers but it is probably me.
Both birds don't like my 12 year old son Argyle seems to dislike him the most.

Chalk & cheese? Definately! Hard to believe they are both parrots sometimes. I love them both though and couldn't give either of them up. I wonder if other members have been surprised by the difference in their flock members.

 

[HRH Di]

Parrots are all their own "people". They vary in personality as much as people do. I've never met a Hahn's but the little Severe I knew was a pistol! He was everywhere and into everything.

Jade, our RFM, is such a diva! I was looking at the pictures of her before we even brought her home and she had this little gleam in her eye and turn of her head that should have tipped us off. She's a flirt and a love.

Rudy, the CAG, is, I think, going to be the "brains behind the beauty". Not that Jade isn't smart or Ruby isn't beautiful, but in the week she's been home, she's more subdued, but not easily cowed. I can see her being the instigator.

Max is just a grouch. He doesn't have much use for either of the girls and prefers to be on my son's shoulder in his room.

Popcorn, the U2 we're bird-sitting? Well, as my 21 yo son says, he's bat-sh*t crazy. He's incredibly loving and kind of a velcro bird, but he is a bit crazy. He has a war dance, empties kitchen cupboards and drawers, does aerobics on his perch (leg lifts with wing flutters), likes to swing (sits on my hand and I swing him up over my shoulder and down above the floor) and he Loopty-Loops: he has a toy holder on his cage that looks like a sheperd's crook; he sits on the top, pulls his wings in, lifts his crest and just drops...then swings around the the loop part of the toy holder. Think of a gymnast on parallel bars. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

 

[Bobby34231]

I was sitting here thinking about how sometimes folks who aren't really familiar with exotic birds, especially macaws ask about their pesonality and I usually respond with by compairing them with breeds of dogs so that they can somewhat understand better, from the Hahns, who I consider to be the chihuahua of the bird world,smallest of the breed/species, but can be the most fearless and tenasious of them all, to the Hyacinth, the Great Dane, the "Gentle Giant" and you can pretty much lump the rest of the macaws somewhere in between the bichon or pom pom lap dog, to the mean old junk yard dog, then you have to go on to explain that with birds, just like dogs or any other pet for that matter they are all individuals and should be evaluated on their own behavior and interaction with you........

 

[madparrotwoman]

You are so right bob but the fact I was ill prepared for Argyle is no one's fault but my own. I researched both of my birds before getting them but you know there is little information on the hahns macaws out there and I knew nothing of their fearless personalities, my information was gathered from a friend who owns one (and she told me none of this) and a little I researched online - not enough obviously. The fault was mine alone but hey I'm not adverse to a challenge and like my own children I took them on and the responsibility is mine. It is a rollercoarter ride for sure.

 

[Bobby34231]

“" Life can be like a roller coaster...
And just when you think you've had enough,
and your ready to get off the ride and take the calm, easy merry-go round...
You change your mind, throw you hands in the air
and ride the roller coaster all over again.
That's exhilaration...that's living a bit on the edge...that's being ALIVE!
-Stacey Charter.

I might also add, thats pretty much the life of being owned by a parrot....lol

 

[apatrimo94]

My birds have very different personalities.
My keet is a vigorous player. She justs loves to play, shred, chew, break, and throw her toys around the cage. She is like the legally blonde of the bird world, LOL. If I put foraging or enrichment toys in her cage, it will take her days and days to figure it out. She is restless sometimes too. She's very quiet though.
My tiel is very laid back and always relaxing. He's also very lethargic and always wants to eat. He's very cunning and sly though, for example, when I'm putting food in his cage and I look away, he dashed for the cage door to get out. He's also very, VERY vocal, not loud though.
Both of them are completely different birds.

 

[Birdamor]

The other problem is that people who've had a bird for a few years only think that's the way they will always be and that is simply not true. Parrots are very long lived animals and they do change as they get older so a young zon, for example, will not behave at all like an old one. The other main problem are hormones. Captive birds have a real hard time with sexual hormones. This is because they were never meant to produce them all the time and they were never meant to produce them without getting any kind of relief. That's why birds that are kept to a strict solar schedule are healthier and calmer than the ones that are not. Same as the ones with mates versus the ones without. It makes a HUGE difference in their behavior. As a matter of fact, most behavioral problems can be tracked back to an abnormal production of sexual hormones. What I am trying to say is that it's not only species and individual temperaments, it's also husbandry.

 

[Mel]

OH Yes chalk and cheese. Bob I love your canine comparisons