Macaw Behavior Help

[Tiredmama2015]

Hi again! I am wondering if anyone can tell me what is happening with Kiwi my rescue. We have had her since November. Scared of my hand, we work on target training and she will come out of her cage and stand on a branch I connected to the door of her cage. I can not touch her or move her to another location. She started doing this about 2 weeks ago. She also does it on top of her cage but has a loop she does repeatedly. She is 4 years old. Is she doing some kind of mating dance with her shadow? Should I try and change something in her environment?

Here is a youtube link of her behavior:

[ame="https://youtu.be/1lvXVdLHBX4"]video 1514926236 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[itzjbean]

Hello and welcome! Kiwi is gorgeous and in my opinion this seems like normal (but slightly obsessive) behavior for a macaw. Does she do it all the time, or just when you approach the cage? It does not look aggressive, more like a pacing bird that has been used to being locked up and doesn't have much room to do much except pace along the perch. To me, she seems active and healthy in the video, possibly it is a behavior she has learned over time to release excess energy.....but I will let others with macaw experience chime in here.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Hello and welcome! Kiwi is gorgeous and in my opinion this seems like normal (but slightly obsessive) behavior for a macaw. Does she do it all the time, or just when you approach the cage? It does not look aggressive, more like a pacing bird that has been used to being locked up and doesn't have much room to do much except pace along the perch. To me, she seems active and healthy in the video, possibly it is a behavior she has learned over time to release excess energy.....but I will let others with macaw experience chime in here.

She just stared doing this about 2 weeks ago. From what I understand, she was not let out of her cage at all for most of her life. We are getting her a new cage soon but she will be out for most of the day and her new play gym is being built this week. I am new to macaws and have had wild caught quaker parrots warm up to me faster than this lady. So all of this is quite new to me. As long as she is ok I am good with her being a little quirky.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Here is her current set up:

https://imgur.com/a/cxe20

 

[itzjbean]

Looks like a great starting setup to me! The cage is decent but of course the bigger the better with these guys. And yes, you'll find that macaws are quite proud creatures, depending on her past she may take a while to come around and trust you, but as long as you continue to show her patience and love, she will reward you in the end with her trust and it will be well worth the wait. They are magnificent creatures, but definitely not for the timid!

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Thanks, I have other people in the facebook Macaw group saying it is behavior seen in other animals from being caged too much and that she will probably never stop. Strange that she just started this 2 weeks ago with 12 hours out of cage time daily. I am wondering what I have done to her.

 

[Scott]

Hello and welcome! Kiwi is gorgeous and in my opinion this seems like normal (but slightly obsessive) behavior for a macaw. Does she do it all the time, or just when you approach the cage? It does not look aggressive, more like a pacing bird that has been used to being locked up and doesn't have much room to do much except pace along the perch. To me, she seems active and healthy in the video, possibly it is a behavior she has learned over time to release excess energy.....but I will let others with macaw experience chime in here.

She just stared doing this about 2 weeks ago. From what I understand, she was not let out of her cage at all for most of her life. We are getting her a new cage soon but she will be out for most of the day and her new play gym is being built this week. I am new to macaws and have had wild caught quaker parrots warm up to me faster than this lady. So all of this is quite new to me. As long as she is ok I am good with her being a little quirky.

I am wondering what I have done to her.

I would agree Kiwi's pacing behavior is fairly benign and may be symptomatic of a long-term cage-bound situation. The question of shadowing is fascinating as many birds are keenly aware of the shape and will interact. Been meaning to start a discussion thread! Might you experiment with eliminating the shadow if possible? Even if Kiwi paces in the absence of a shadow, there may be an expectation of a sudden emergence?

You likely have no idea of the "baggage" Kiwi harbors from prior home(s). Parrots have very long memories, and seemingly minor incidents can take years to eradicate. Not your fault!

 

[Alwese]

Your Catalina is beautuful and marked exactly like my Catalina "Doogie" My Blue & Gold Kayko had 'mental illness' caused by being cage bound for the first 20 years of his life. He would hug a large drink cup as his buddy. His association with Doogie and Clifford brought him out of his shell. I would recommend getting your boy his own room with a nice big tree branch going across it and maybe even another macaw for a buddy... works for me

 

[LeaKP]

I’m not a macaw owner (what a beautiful bird,) but am sure with the help of this group you’re going to do an amazing job with this one.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Hello and welcome! Kiwi is gorgeous and in my opinion this seems like normal (but slightly obsessive) behavior for a macaw. Does she do it all the time, or just when you approach the cage? It does not look aggressive, more like a pacing bird that has been used to being locked up and doesn't have much room to do much except pace along the perch. To me, she seems active and healthy in the video, possibly it is a behavior she has learned over time to release excess energy.....but I will let others with macaw experience chime in here.

She just stared doing this about 2 weeks ago. From what I understand, she was not let out of her cage at all for most of her life. We are getting her a new cage soon but she will be out for most of the day and her new play gym is being built this week. I am new to macaws and have had wild caught quaker parrots warm up to me faster than this lady. So all of this is quite new to me. As long as she is ok I am good with her being a little quirky.

I am wondering what I have done to her.

I would agree Kiwi's pacing behavior is fairly benign and may be symptomatic of a long-term cage-bound situation. The question of shadowing is fascinating as many birds are keenly aware of the shape and will interact. Been meaning to start a discussion thread! Might you experiment with eliminating the shadow if possible? Even if Kiwi paces in the absence of a shadow, there may be an expectation of a sudden emergence?

You likely have no idea of the "baggage" Kiwi harbors from prior home(s). Parrots have very long memories, and seemingly minor incidents can take years to eradicate. Not your fault!

I hung some really busy tropical print fabric on the side where she was originally doing it and now she has directed her focus on the white area on the other wall so I do believe the shadow is part of the equation for sure. I am going to play with the lighting and try and try hanging some more fabric along the other wall and see how that goes.

I am patiently waiting for my GW to hurry up and hatch already so we can wok on introductions and see if she enjoys his company.

I covered her cage this morning while she was on the branch. That caused her to fly off and she spent the day hanging out on a shelf and zero pacing and there was no shadow over on that side of the room. This is turning out to be very interesting.

 

[Scott]

Fantastic detective work! Birds have superior vision and can likely acutely isolate movement and shapes. Several of mine seem transfixed on shadows in the afternoon, but generally get distracted when I walk into the room.

 

[Tiredmama2015]

Just caught her preening her shadow so I think that is the cause. 😂