| Macaw won't play - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Patty |
Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
Thanks!
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| Toucanldy |
>From: pzang@sij.com (Patty)
>Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
>plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
>also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
>macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
>won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
>nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
>I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
>how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
>will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
>ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
>vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
>
>Thanks!
Perhaps you can try a natural feather duster, that hasn't been chemically
enhanced.
Regards
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| Byron Kindig |
God bless you for adopting this poor bird and working with it. I know mine
likes the tips on shoe laces and removes the plastic tips. This is similar
to the sheaths the new feathers come out in and I read somewhere that a
package of shoe laces tied to the cage can give a bird an alternative to
feather chewing. I have not had the problem (yet) and have not tried it. I
hope something will work. We adopted a chihuahua who had been neglected
and/or abused at several households. She was so neurotic, we thought she
would never be emotionally healthy or trusting that we would not abandone
her. After 4.5 years she has settled in and seems secure and trusting of our
affection. We love her very much and she knows it. Good luck with your bird.
Byron
"Patty" <pzang@sij.com> wrote in message
news:828b7cb7.0309290717.313c9b77@posting.google.com...
> Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
> plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
> also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
> macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
> won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
> nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
> I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
> how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
> will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
> ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
> vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
>
> Thanks!
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| Louis Boyd |
Patty wrote:
> Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
> plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
> also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
> macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
> won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
> nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
> I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
> how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
> will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
> ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
> vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
My 9 year old scarlet macaw only rarely plays with toys and doesn't chew
other than what it takes to keep her beak in shape which isn't much. Her
feathers are perfect. She simply doesn't care about toys. She is very
eager to be near me or the other macaws. She overgrooms the male B&G
which I suppose you could call feather chewing. He looks like hell but
seems to enjoy the excessive attention from the two female macaws.
Your bird sounds like a bird who spent a lot of time in a cage alone and
ignored. My advice would be to not cage her as long as she's behaving
well. A T stand near where you are most of the time may get her
interested in being social agian. That worked with my CAG who was a self
plucker years ago.. At least your bird hasn't gotten bitter towards
humans. Count your blessings if she doesn't want to chew on furniture!
A B&G can do massive damage to woodwork.
Of my nine birds the wood chewers are the two B&G's, a U2 and a white
front amazon. The two concures, CAG, scarlet, and Mexican redhead
amazon rarely chew anything. I don't think any of them are acting
abnormally.
Chewing and plucking aren't alternatives. I see no correlation between
the two in my birds.
--
Lou Boyd
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| Lee & Trish |
"Patty" <pzang@sij.com> wrote in message
news:828b7cb7.0309290717.313c9b77@posting.google.com...
> Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
> plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
> also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
> macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
> won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
> nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
> I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
> how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
> will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
> ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
> vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
>
> Thanks!
Glad that you adopted this B/G Patty. Be patient and give her plenty of
loving. I also have a B/G that won't play much. It has been fun trying to
get her to play. She only wants to be held. When I started making her
toys, she seems to be more interested. I found when I have toys that they
are afraid of, play with them more. For some reason when they see your not
afraid of that toy they become more interested in the toy. May take a lot
of attempts, but worth a try. You can also try singing to her/him. They
love to be sing to. Don't think my B/G had toys either. It's been a
battle, but she seems to be coming around. Hope this helps. Keep us
updated on his/her progress. Best of luck to you.
Trish
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| oldmolly |
"Patty" <pzang@sij.com> wrote in message
news:828b7cb7.0309290717.313c9b77@posting.google.com...
> Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
> plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
> also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
> macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
> won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
> nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
> I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
> how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
> will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
> ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
> vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
>
You have only had her for 3 weeks. Perhaps she is still grieving for her
former keeper. They don't swap homes easily.
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| Mamabird |
"Patty" <pzang@sij.com> wrote in message
news:828b7cb7.0309290717.313c9b77@posting.google.com...
> Hi! I adopted a 14yr old B&G Macaw about 3 weeks ago. She is a
> plucker, but very sweet. She's already letting me pet her head...I
> also have an amazon and a conure. Here's the problem- I can't get the
> macaw to play with anything. I've given her wooden blocks and she
> won't chew them. I've provided a rope with and without blocks and
> nothing. I've bought one of those rubber toys and she's afraid of it.
> I've tried, cardboard tubes, standard toys...nothing! She doesn't know
> how to play. Any ideas? I'm surprised she won't chew, since my Amazon
> will chew anything in sight! ...including furniture. Let me know any
> ideas...I want her to get busy playing and stop plucking! (she's been
> vet checked on the plucking and no physical reason).
>
> Thanks!
Patty, give her more time to adapt to her new surroundings. Maybe she's
still a little too nervous to play yet. Keep trying the different toys, but
don't get frustrated if she's doesn't accept them. Maybe once she settles
in and feels comfortable she'll overcome her inhibitions and surprise you!
Best of luck!
--
Mama
~^~^~^~ Visit Mamabird's Nest: <http://iluvbirds.tripod.com/> And My
Photo Albums at: <http://photos.yahoo.com/iluvbirdz>
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