Well I guess I will start at the beginning. About a year ago I found an ad for a 7ish year old Female Calico macaw. I talked back and forth with the people and found they had had her about a year, they had no clue how to care for a macaw, and had her living in a homemade cage. I am guessing she went through toys and perches alot and they got sick of it, because she had only a metal rod for a perch and not one toy in the cage. Anyway I ended up bringing her home. They said she took and hour of chasing with a towel to get her in a carrier. I honestly don't think they ever let her out of her cage the whole time they had her. I had to get her from their carrier to mine when we met, and I just stuck my arm in and she stepped up, I told her good girl and placed her in my carrier no problem. Needless to say the peoples jaws hit the ground in shock.
Once we got home, she adjusted well. She played and would sit with me and loved to wrestle. She spent more time on her back than on her feet. She stepped up no problem and was a great bird. She did play a bit rough, not knowing what easy was, so I learned to move quick while playing. LOL This went on for 5 months. She didn't really get along with the other 3 girls, but they tolerated each other.
These are from the old house:
Well, last July we moved back home to Ohio. The birds have a large room open to the kitchen and nice big windows to see out and let light in. Everyone adjusted well except Kyla. At first she seemed OK, she even enjoyed playing outside in the aviary and in the appletrees. But within a week or 2 she started becoming agressive, quit playing, and started screeming....alot of screeming. Eardrum breaking screeming over and over. I tried ignoring her, talking softly to her, telling her no, locking her up.....on and on and on. She started going to the other birds cages and almost lost a toe, It was obvious she wasn't happy...and neither was anyone else within ear shot. I have anxiety issues, and I literally was shaking after an hour of her yelling. My husband works long hours and in the evening would be pissed after listening to her. So I asked a good friend if she would take her to see if she would be happier there.
Tammy came and got her in October. It started out great. She was talking and playing and back to her old self. But then she found a hot little male Greenwing that she wanted to hang out with.... she got agressive again, and even sent one of Tammys other birds to the vet with a bite on the foot. On one hand Kyla was happy and in love, but on the other she was out of control with her agression and she is too big (1400+ grams)to be acting that way. Tammy can back me up when I say she has the strongest biggest sharpest beak we have ever dealt with (and I have 3 other large macs and Tammy has 5).
Last weekend we met half way and Kyla is home. She doesn't want to step up and is being bratty, her first full day here the screaming set in. Well...I decided I was not going to fail this time, and instead of the sweet pos. reinforcement approach, she had a lesson in Jodi's school for wayward birds. After an hour of being forced to step up, getting a good bath, and being shown I was not going to be pushed around (she was in a towel being loved and petted against her will for a half hour of that) I then turned her loose on my bed. She came to me and perched on my hip and let me pet her, preen her, and even open her wings and look at them. We haven't had any major screaming fits for 2 days now. I am still having to use a dowel to get her up to start but then she will get on me. It isn't perfect and I have a long way to go, but I think we are on the right track finally.
02-28-2007, 08:46 AM
Kyla is home... 
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