Bird Questions of the Day! :)?

Question

How do you care for a Maccaw?

Is there anything specific I should know about these magnificent creatures? How do I teach it not to scream its lungs out, but communicate normally: teaching it how to talk? Is there anything I should be concerned about: health-wise, mentally-wise, or physical-development of the birdie? Is there anything I can do to make sure that the bird is feeling well? How can I tell if the creature is feeling bad: health- and physically- wise? What else should I know or be concerned with? Is there a Bird-Vet that can take of the birdie and tell me if anything's wrong or if it needs something I didn't realize it needed?

Thank you for your help and assistance :)

Answer 1

Macaws are wonderful companions! I have one at home and hopefully I can help you out.
* As far as screaming goes let me tell you that macaws will scream if they want to no matter what you do. They are loud and boistrous. Still, one thing you can do is keep it in a quieter place where not too much loud action is going on. Don't blare the TV or radio next to him. He will try to compete for noise. Also, one common problem people have is that they bring the bird home and have soooo much time to spend with it...then get busy and start to ignore the bird. The bird will not understand this. They will cry out for your attention. To avoid this resist the urge to cuddle and play with your new Macaw every moment. Play with him for about an hour or so (something that seems reasonable and that you can do each day). Also, don't yell at him. He will only learn to yell back. When he yells he wants attention...negative or possitive. When you yell back you're giving it to him. Try to ignore it when he yells. He will realize that it doesn't affect you and try something else (hopefully talking...)

* Teaching it to talk is a fun time but it requires a lot of patience. One major thing you have to know is that he is only going to say what he likes the sound of. And they love the inflection of tone you use when you cuss. Watch what you say around him. Also try to say things in his tone of voice (it sounds weird but it makes it easier for them to copy and it will sound clearer when they say it). Don't spend more than a half hour a day trying to train him how to speak. It will tire him and you out. I recommend 15 minutes. Clicker training seems to work very well (where you use a tool that makes a click sound each time he repeats a word you want him to say, then give him a treat.) It makes him realize that everytime you click he gets a treat. This works well becuase he can forget what he did to deserve the treat sometimes if it takes you too long to get the treat to him. A click gives him an instant reward becuase he knows the click means a treat is coming and he is a 'good boy'. (if you don't have a clicker cluck your tongue or something as long as it is consistant). Tapes and CDs that replay the same word again supposedly work, but I haven't seen any exidence of it in my own birds. Imagine if you heard the same word over and over again for an hour. It's the last thing you're gonna want to hear again so why say it? ;)

* Birds are very bad at telling their owners they are sick. I don't know about all of the deseases right off the top of my head but you can look them up easily on the internet. I do know some signs of illness. Sitting on the floor of the cage and not perching can be a sign of the bird not feeling well enough to perch. Feather loss, especially plucking his own feathers can be a sign of illness or boredom. Obesity can be a problem so watch what you feed them. Listlessness can be a sign. Also, watch their stools. A runny stool indicates diarrea and stools with no white in them can also be a sign of illness. Stools should be slightly firm with while specks or swirls in them. If any of these signs are present for over a few hours I would take him to the vet. Avian vets can be found easily on an internet directory, but you should ask your bird store where they go. They usually know the best places.

* Make sure you feed them plenty of fruits and vegetables. Give them plenty of toys to chew on (they seem to like wood toys becuase they can chew them up). Beware that a macaw's beak can in some cases dismantle their own cages. If he is bored or lonely he might do this. Also know that if he does decide to bite you he can do a lot of damage. Be careful. If he does bite you one way to help him realize he was wrong is called 'the shake method'. If he is on your arm rock your arm back and forth so that he feels like he is going to fall (not hard enough to make him fall just hard enough that he feels like he might). If he is on a perch, rock the perch. It is harder to rock his cage, but if he constantly bites you from inside his cage use a stick to get him out (many macaws are portective of their cages). He will come to realize that when he bites he suddenly feels like he will fall. He wont want to bite anymore.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions e-mail me.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Hey, well a maccaw is a big big responsibility, just to let you know. And yes you can always take your bird to the vet if you see a difference in their behavior. In order to teach it how to talk their are several methods you can use. You can just talk to him, saying the same word over and over. Make sure you give him a treat if he trys to say it, or gets close. You could leave the TV on during the day when you leave. You could record your self saying something over and over and over again, and play it for him.

Please remember that these brids need a lot of attention. If you notice him chewing on himself, you need to spend more time with him. Get his wings cliped regualry if you dont want him to be able to fly. I also suggest buyng a book on taking care of Maccaws. They are great birds but they need special care. Also this is very important. Try to expose him to a lot of people, otherwise he will only love you and will be mean to others. You dont want this trust me. I hope this helped. Just do some research there is a lot out there.

Answer 3

Ok I will tell you what I know on this subject. here it goes

There is stuff you should know about these magnificent creatures. They require at least 2 hours of attention a day, have specialized diets depending on the species, and have certain special cage design requirements.

How to not teach your bird to scream its lungs out.? Thats aquestion that I am going to give you the answer to. It cant be done!!!!! They are creatures of instinct and naturally vocalize a lot. Never yell shut up that will make things worse. If you want your bird to be quiet whisper in their face they have to be quieter they are smart enough to quiet down to hear you. Or get a quieter specie of Bird as a pet. Such as a Senegal Parrot, African Grey Parrots, Toucan, Toucanet, aracari, Mynah, cockatiel, Pionus Parrots, and Eclectus Parrots. But with a quiet specie of bird you will have to expect some noice. It can learn to communicate to you by learning human speach (Toucans, Toucanets, and aracari are the exception here) It has to be done at a young age.

Health wise a bird is prone to Obesity, Feather Picking, Gout, Infections from eating rotton or undercooked food, self mutilation, shyness, phobic behaviors, and Boredom. But if raised in a loving environment with a at least 2 hours of direct attention and play from its human family, a nutritious diet of fruits, vegatables, Bird safe human food, pellets, and seeds, it must also have lots of toys. Toys that can be chewed, like colored wood toys, plastic toys foraging toys, toys that challenge their intellect, and bells.

Too make sure the bird is feeling well have it taken to an avian vterinarian at least once a year for a check up. Birds are masters of hiding illness's and can be fine one day and you wake up and find them dead. That once a year check up makes a difference.

To find a bird vet look in your local yellow pages since I dont know where you live, or go to a bird oriented seminar to find info on one near you.

If you want more info you can e-mail me at [e-mail]

Best Of Luck Joe

Answer 4

Judging from the other answers you don't really need any more advice from me - they seem to have covered most of it especially 'Krys'. I just have one comment:

Regarding your question: "How do I teach it not to scream its lungs out, but communicate normally: teaching it how to talk?"

First thing you need to come to grips with is that is a bird! Talking is NOT normal communication for a bird. Screeching, high pitch whistles etc ARE. You can train them to be a little bit quiter and substitute one kind of noise for another that you find more acceptable but it does take a lot of time and patience. In the end you may just have to accept your bird for what it is.....

Answer 5

I know of several bird vet specialists in my area; i.e., OAKLEY -DR. SPEER, A WORLD AUTHORITY; WALNUT CREEK--COTTAGE VETERINARY, FOUR SEASONS VET.; FOUR CORNERS VET. IN CONCORD. I MAY HAVE OTHER SUGGESTIONS IF I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. MACAWS CAN BE SCREAMERS--I TAKE CARE OF 3 OF THEM OCCASIONALLY, AS I HAVE A PET CARE BUSINESS. ALSO, A FRIEND HAD THEM FOR SALE IN HER PET STORE. YOU COULD CALL FEATHERED FOLLIES IN LAFAYETTE, CA FOR HELP AND ADVICE. THEY ARE GOOD TALKERS--KEEP REPEATING OVER AND OVER WHAT YOU WANT IT TO LEARN EVERYTIME YOU PASS THE CAGE. THE THINGS YOU ARE ASKING ABOUT SHOULD ALL HAVE BEEN CHECKED OUT BEFORE TAKING YOUR BIRD. YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE THE WINGS AND NAILS CLIPPED EVERY FEW MONTHS AND THE BEAK FILED DOWN. BIRDS, WHEN GOING THROUGH THEIR "TEEN" YEARS AND SEXUAL MATURITY, CAN BECOME DIFFICULT, SUCH AS BITING AND TEMPERAMENTAL. MANY TIMES, WHEN BIRDS ARE ILL, THEY WILL SIT ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CAGE AND FLUFF THEIR FEATHERS, EYES SOMETIMES CLOSING. I SUGGEST YOU GET A BOOK ON MACAWS.

Answer 6

What kind of bird is it? sometimes they scream because they are bored. give it more toys, be patient and persistent with the training. patient above everything else. to teach it to talk just repeat the same thing over and over for him/her.don't have your bird where it will get any drafts. birds hide their illness by puffing up to make them look big to predetors. please feel free to email me if you have any more questions. I used to raise cockatiels and parakeets and have hand raised both and a love bird also. good luck.

Answer 7

Just try talking to it often, if you keep repeating a word over and over again it will get the hang of the word and will start saying it more.

Answer 8

Try this site
http://www.birdtricks.com/macaw_video.htm
it might help