why does my macaw keep trowing his food dish out of his cage?

Question

he also trows his water bowl out

Answer 1

He is being a butt head.
Be sure he has lots of interesting things to do inside his cage. Macaws are really smart and get bored easily.
It may give him a feeling of control to be able to do this and then watch you pick up the mess. If he doesn't like being covered try covering him while you straighten things up. And don't give him attention while you clean up, that's a positive reinforcement.

Answer 2

Hi i have a cockatoo who did do the same thing, make sure the macaw has plenty of toys, but also this has most probably ended up being a game too him lol he chucks it out you pick it up and so on, u need to stop this as say you went out first thing at morning and didnt return home till late at night and he has done it he could have gone all day without food or water, you can get the plastic food dish's theres a few types such as croc lock or quick croc lock or Smart Crock Bird Dishes, which attach to side of cage and then u lock them to stop parrot pulling them out and chucking them you can get these from pet shops and online maybe auctions sites or just search using yahoo search engine or whatever there is also metal dishs you can get which lock into place like stainless steel "coop cups" where the metal thing stays on side of bars then you put the dish in which has two bumps on either side which u twist the coop cup to lock it, good luck i know it can be a pain when u turn round every five minutes too see lots of waisted food and water over the cage floor and your floor, but like i said he will continue to do it as its become a game :-D

Answer 3

I DO NOT have a Macaw, I have tiels and they do this. One of my tiels eat the seed and the hull falls to the bottom of the cage. My other tiel eats her seed and it falls in her dish. When she wants more seed will move out all the hulls with her beak to get the new seed. The water I have noticed now daily that when they drink some kind of film layers on the dish. I now change the water frequently washing the dish to make sure there is no slimy stuff in it. I love my cockatiels and am still learning, but one day I hope to be able to have a MaCaw in my home, amongst others.

Answer 4

Macaws are very intelligent and can figure out what it takes to make things more interesting. They do this to get more attention and to train their human (bet you thought it was the other way around). Suggest more puzzle-type bird toys (yours sounds smart) but be advised the bird has already figured out the food dish trick works. It's not likely to give that up so you need to replace or find a better way to anchor the food dish, but not until you've added the other diversions or the bird may get depressed or find another way to act out. Good luck.

Answer 5

I dont know why your macaw does that but I keep my macaws food inside a USPS POSTAL PLASTIC BIN. A white one with the metal frame and he gets down into it to eat his peanuts and seeds. I also leave a HUGE flat round bowl of water in the place on the floor of his cage where he is less likely to poop into it.

I find the only things mine throws from his cage is one peanut at a time sense I dont use bowls to feed him out of. He has 2 bowls on the front of his cage I fill daily with his fruits and veggies and one for his peanuts and walnuts. He eats all I put out for him and he also loves wheat bread! Try my way of serving him food in a USPS bin and a flat bowl for water and he wont even try to make a mess out of them. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

That is typical behaviour for a macaw. They are noisy attention loving birds. Not much you can do except to buy some good toys for it. That may help.

Answer 7

I had to put padlocks on the dish doors of mines cage :)

Answer 8

i have a catalina mccaw. and he ooften tries to throw his bowl at me he is only playing or else he is telling you he wants another bowl for his beak to be rubbed against.

Answer 9

looking for attention