Moon's Graden

I'm writing a short article for our local parrot club newsletter and I
wondered if there were any owners of Miniature Macaws out there that would
like to share a little information or advice.  I have good description of
the various breeds of mini's, but I need some owner's eye views of their
behaviour.  I want to know what its like to live with a mini macaw and
what separates them from their larger cousins (if anything).

I have more than a author's interest in them, because my wife and I have
just bought a house and the two teils we own look really lonely ;-) in
their "bird room".  Macaws have interested me for some time, but
I know very little about their miniature "versions".

Postings or email are fine.  I will post the article after it gets
written.

Thank you (in advance).

My wife and I have had a Hahn's mini-macaw for about 5 weeks now. She was
about 4 weeks old when we got her, and is just now weaning herself. She is
cute as a bug's ear, and can be very endearing.

Feeding was never a problem. Went from 3 feedings a day for the first two
weeks we had her. Went down to two a day when she suddenly learned to fly.
Which meant that my wife quite taking her to work. But the change went
quite smoothly. Risa is now taking very little food from the syringe, and
is eating mostly solid food. Her favorite thing in the world is millet,
which she can't seem to get enough of. Our condo corners are beginning to
fill up with opened millet seeds.

When she is cuddly, she is really precious. Our only problem (would like
advice on this from others or your article) is that she has recently
started barking. It's all I can think to call it. She just lets loose with
long strings of really loud, repeated barks. We have the famous `Well
Behaved Parrot' book, and are trying to ignore her and let her get it out
of her system. But our neighbors may not be so well disposed.

If anyone has tips on things that might help wean her from the barking,
I'd appreciate the input.

-Don

He does it less these days than he used to.  Basically I ignore him as
much as I can while he's doing this, and I try my best to make sure I
don't somehow reward him for the behavior.  This doesn't always work,
though, and I don't want our new neighbors to get annoyed.  So I've
also learned to anticipate when he will start a screaming fit, and I
distract him (by giving him a small bowl of treats before we turn on
the TV, for instance) or simply take away the stimulus (by being in
the same room whenever the TV is on).  After a while he doesn't react
quite so energetically to the stimulus.  He no longer yells when
we leave the house, for instance.

In any case, someone asked about mini-macaws in general... I don't
mean to give you the wrong impression.  :-)

Charlie is a delightful pet, except for the screaming and an
occasional nippy fit.  He doesn't talk, per se, but he's very good at
imitating sounds that he likes -- running water, laughing, whispering,
kissing, dog whimpers, blue jay calls :-), etc.  (He does say "Hello,"
"Hi boy," "Hello Charlie," "Night night," but this is after 3 years of
trying to get him to talk!)

He craves physical contact.  Charlie is never happier than when he is
tucked up under my chin, or on my shoulder hiding under my hair, or
cradled in my two hands on his back.  He is a one-person bird, though.
It's just my husband and me in the household, and previously it was
just me and a rarely-home housemate; Charlie does not like my husband,
but puts up with him.  But he will obediently step up onto strangers'
hands, as long as I am the one telling him to do it!  

Other random things... Music really gets him going.  I recently got
Eric Clapton's new blues album, and the first time I played it in the
house, Charlie "pinned" his eyes and "danced" (bounced his head and
wiggled his wings) for at least two songs. :-)  

I think he's also supernatural.  Yesterday evening, my husband came
home to find the cage closed but empty -- Charlie was found dozing on
a chair leg in our study.  That cage door is not easy to open, let
alone close from the outside by a wandering bird... We have absolutely
no clue how he got out of the cage!  It was more than a little scary.
Today, I tied the darn door shut with a leather thong that he can't
chew through.  (Yes, I know all the trouble he could have gotten
into while wandering through the house!)

This was long-winded, but I hope it gives you a taste of what it's
like to be owned by this particular mini-macaw.  

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 Cambridge, MA                      (617) 873-2059
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Hugh

WELL, I went through a stage with my ycm at about the same age, where she
would make this loud insistant noise every few seconds for long periods.
It would start low, and then escalate.  It was both irratating and scary.

I have since learned that this is somehow related to food, i.e. hunger
(even though she was getting plenty of food). I don't remember the exact
description, but there is both a physical and psychological element to it.

In my case, she just eventually stopped doing it (at bout 4 months, I think).

I have noticed that Sally Blanchard (of Pet Bird Report) is on the net

directly about this "barking". She'll know the exact description of the
problem. Its not something you want to let go.

-jb

Brewster is a Severe who loves to make noise.  He's between 8-10 years
old (we've had him for 5).  I am his "people", he hates my husband.
Will try trip him limb from b if allowed too close.  I am only
guessing his sex, he came to us pre-named.  He loves to scream, get
jealous of others getting attention (including the phone), mumbles to
himself when he gets a favorite food, says "Hi", "Cracker",
Tickle-tickle, Momma, Tina, various dog names. He has a taught a
budgie and a tiel a few words!  He has several little laughs/giggles
one of which he only uses when he bites someone.  He loves to feed the
dogs from his bowl by raking it out with his beak.  He eats a diet of
pellets, occasional seed and people food, which he demands!  Most of
the time he wonderful to be around, except mealtimes... he gets his
dish and we run to the other room because the stuff on the plates is
always better then the same stuff in his bowl!
--

*      Middangeard Mastiffs                                       *
*                                                                 *
*      Beethoven is NOT a Mastiff!                                *                                                                                

        ===  cuts  ===

Oh.. Harley loves to be right with you. He absolutely adores my husband.
They are *buddies* as my husband puts it. In fact he's now trying to teach
Harley to say " You my Buddy? Y E S  I am! ". Harley doesn't care who in
the house has him.. just as long as he's with someone until my husband
comes home. Then it's him and only him.

He laffs when he plays with you. He loves to pull the scrunchy hair bows
out of my hair. And if he doesn't want to get back into his gage...he
gives you a little growl and a quick nip to let you know he's unhappy
about being put in his house.

Harley likes to play Tunnel under the covers and likes to play inside
paper bags. He loves to tear up paper. That is like a big deal to him. He
attacks it. I make him parrot bread and cook it in the cup cake paper cups
and he will eat everything in it, then tear up the paper.. He loves it.

He also has his own plate at the dinner table. He's the only bird we own
that does, thank goodness. Harley doesn't know he's a bird, or maybe that
we are human. All he knows is that we are his family and he's the number
one son.

Makmelaff ?-