Rita is a S T A R

[FreedomAndForgiven]

I posted a video a me, and Rita earlier this year when she was rescued. I got a message the other day. It was parrotshop.org and they did an article on us, and the video. She also made rescue of the week on their site.

Link to article Military Macaw Rescued: Shameful Neglect Is Finally Over

 

[MacawLoverOf3]

Looking upside down is not a neurotic tendency, it is a normal Mac thing they do.

What you call a head banging thing does not look neurotic either, just something she does herself. When she was doing it into you hand that was just to make contact with you.

So glad she is doing much better with you. Thank you for loving her like you do.

 

[Birdman666]

My RFM does the head banging thing when she's regurging for me... it's entirely normal for her. But it's an "I love you" thing...

 

[FreedomAndForgiven]

It is a neurotic thing with her because she has to do it to everything before she can touch it. Before she will go in her cage she has to knock on the walls around it or she will fight you going in. She has to do it to her boing every night before she goes to sleep even if she just was playing on it she has to climb off bang it, and then she will climb up and go to sleep. She has to do it to playstands when she gets on it. There are times she'll just stand there and do it for no reason for a minute or so. I've talked with a couple people who work with birds, and deal with rescues. One of the women who works at our avian vets office said that they see it quite a bit in Military rescues like Rita. They have no idea why really, but it is just something neurotic they start to do.

 

[Birdman666]

So she's testing the perch for some reason...

 

[FreedomAndForgiven]

We can't figure out the wall thing. The lady who works for the avian vet (I don't know if they would want me posting their names on the net) said they had a male rescue that would be standing there just fine then all of a sudden start banging his beak so hard that you would think he was going to knock himself out. We were offered to take in another Military rescue that is only 3 that had been neglected also, and he would do the same thing as Rita with banging everything.

 

[Birdman666]

It's actually easy to explain. It's a habit they pick up when they become cage bound, and have nothing to do but bang their head against the bars of the cage for hours on end.

It's like a plucking disorder, it just becomes something they compulsively do. And once they get in the habit, even though they are no longer cage bound, they continue to do it. It's ingrained in them. Then, when they start getting attention for doing it, it becomes positively reinforced, so they continue to do it all the time.

 

[FreedomAndForgiven]

Thanks birdman. She sure isn't cage bound here lol.

 

[Birdman666]

Thanks birdman. She sure isn't cage bound here lol.

Might become LAP BOUND if you're not careful...

DO NOT GET UP. DO NOT PUT ME DOWN!

 

[GW.Joe]

So it is a neurotic thing for her, Mark can read them like a master!!

Thanks birdman. She sure isn't cage bound here lol.

Might become LAP BOUND if you're not careful...

DO NOT GET UP. DO NOT PUT ME DOWN!

I know right? (soon we will have a new entry over at the mush mac thread LOL)

 

[Birdman666]

So it is a neurotic thing for her, Mark can read them like a master!!

Thanks birdman. She sure isn't cage bound here lol.

Might become LAP BOUND if you're not careful...

DO NOT GET UP. DO NOT PUT ME DOWN!

I know right? (soon we will have a new entry over at the mush mac thread LOL)

I believe he has a few of those already...

 

[SeymoursDad]

So it is a neurotic thing for her, Mark can read them like a master!!

I disagree. I watched the video carefully and Rita's head bobs are not a manifestation of neurosis. Instead they are merely a common regurg pumping ritual out of the affection she's feeling for her human - she's hoping to feed him If you look closely you will notice that after her head bobbing motions Rita begins swallowing the small amount of crop matter that she managed to bring up. She even gets a little of it on her host human toward the end of the clip So the head bobbing is a sign of affection toward him and contentment with her current situation. I can't speak to the "banging" of her beak on objects that was as well mentioned, since that's not shown. Perhaps two entirely separate behaviors. But what's on the video clip is just an affectionate macaw

 

[MacawLoverOf3]

Nick, can you post a clip of her actions that you are referring to as this head banging?

 

[Birdman666]

Sorry but I couldn't make it through the video. After bird reeked of cat pee, and got food and water about once every four days, I just couldn't watch anymore! Brought back too many bad memories... I've been on those calls.

My answer was nothing more than an educated guess, and certainly not worth arguing about. Obviously this bird loves you, and obviously, the first ten years must have been good, because she bounced right back... (Oh, wait, that's right... rescues have baggage! I forgot...)

Why do people like that get these birds?! It makes me so friggin' angry!

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

I bring Rico everywhere I go. There a (older then my 30 something self) lady that asked me why I take him out of his cage.
People truly believe they shouldn't come out.
I told her most birds have the intellect of a three year old human. I asked her if she has ever seen birds with missing feathers, or even gaping holes in their chest. She answered she has seen ones with no feathers, but she thought they were sick. I told her they pluck themselves, and it's similar to humans cutting themselves.
They need physical, emotional, and developmental nourishment, and leaving any bird on a cage doesn't provide everything they need.
I said Rico truly loves coming out with me, and the bigger the crowd the more excited and happy he is.
Many people just don't understand. They think it's like a fish tank, just pretty to look at. Give it food and water, and if your lucky some will talk.
I try to educate people when I take him out. And since it's summer, I take him everywhere I can

People know me as the crazy bird lady now. I don't mind at all. He comes to beaches, farmers markets, and if I have somewhere quick to go. He also comes to bird meetings.
He's my friend, not just a pet.
But so many people don't realize anything about birds.
So many people get all sorts of exotic pets for the novelty.

 

[FreedomAndForgiven]

I will try to get videos of her doing it soon. My wife, and I were in an accident back in July and she has still not fully recovered, and then I had another stroke a couple weeks ago. She has made more progress and I posted a new thread on what she has been doing. We make sure we don't "over handle" our birds to the point that they have to be handled all the time. We do spoil them, and the do know they're really loved though. I do play with them a lot, and handle them a bunch but they are fine playing on their own, and not being handled.