murfchck Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 The first evening we had Bubba, i thought his name should have been Cujo! After just one day he has allowed my husband, not me so much, to pet him and he has gotten kisses. He is very cage mean but once out he is more mellow. And by out i mean, he can not see his cage. Just opening the door for him to come out to the top doesn't curb his mean streak, he must be away. His health, he is missing his tummy feathers and has destroyed one wing and some missing in spots hear and there but my fingers are crossed as we have not seen one on the floor since Sunday. One of his wings (the one with feathers) seems to be floppy (?) hard to explain but it has an extra bend in it like double jointed. He also holds a wing up fully open when he is playing, either one, but one at a time. Reminds me of driver using his arm to signal turns. Bubba does not know how to fly but boy does he want to learn. He shakes his head alot so we are watching that. My first thought was lice or dry skin so the misting has begun, lol. He is okay with it. If Bubba should ever get lost, he will not be hard to show proof of who he is, atleast 100 times if not more he said Bubba. Even with a mouth full of food he is saying Bubba! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 My goodness, you sure are fond of the hard cases! lol Bless you for giving him a good home and sending you tons of good vibes for positive, pleasant future with your boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 You are real bird people !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Your heart must be so huge but it is full of love for these magnificent creatures, thanks for opening your home and heart for another bird in need, what an awesome creature he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yep. I can see why he got tangled up in your heartstrings. Glad he's finally home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 He has a Tail! He may remain a bit cage aggressive but I think as he learns that he is in a good place he will settle in and relax a bit. Worried about that wing though, perhaps disjointed or an old fracture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Our biggest fear is that it was broken by someone to keep him grounded as a baby. He has no clue how to fly from what we have seen. I just saw him holding onto a wing feather with his foot and chewing it. I have put alot of chew toys and some shredding toys in with him to distract him from this but i guess it doesn't work. Any ideas? He is much better today with his cage aggression, i can atleast go into the room without him charging me! He is a lock picker too, gotta fix that! Lol they said he will open his cage door and then open the other doors to the other cages. I also now understand why not to let a bird regurgitate like i was allowing Oliver to do. He is just fine with Bubba UNTIL i enter the picture, then he turns into one of those possive boyfriends who are labeled crazy!!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 He could have fallen or gotten caught between cage bars causing that break these are common causes. It will take a while for him to break some of those negative habits like feather chewing so take another deep breath and keep on rolling along. Reward the positive and ignore the negative-distract when you can. A good friend has had escape artists in her past here is one of her comments. I did have a Scarlet that would get out and she would let only her firends ie military and severe. She wouldn't let the B&G or tooz out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWIX Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 God bless! It breaks my heart to see Bubba like that but you are an Angel for giving him a home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 I spoke with the previous owner today and asked about the wing. She said she took him to the vet and he said it was a broken wing when he was young and that it could only be corrected by rebreaking it. She then said i should get another opinion.... Had both the b&g's on my new birthday present from hubby today. A huge manzanite tree. They beaked a bit but then settled in and chose their side. Going to try it by myself tomorrow! Fingers crossed. He did good this afternoon with the feathers. When he and Oliver got together playing, he played so hard he really wore himself out! They played tug o war with a shredder toy that had us laughing so hard there were tears! It was great to see both boys playing so hard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Happy birthday and a wonderful present for them to play so well together that alone would make your heart just soar! The Manzanita tree is da'bomb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Oh boy oh boy oh boy. We are in trouble. Not sure whats going on with these two but it sure is a love hate relationship. They protect each other which means they are mean to us, then they beak and scream and stomp each others feet. I am am at a loss how to correct this, if i can correct this. Was it a phase today? Two feathers are missing from Olivers head but he is the one shoving his head at Bubba for grooming. Yikes! They were on top of their cages this morning, then switched cages then switched back and tore up their own cage? If pictures could show the mess, i tried! One entire phone book, shredded, half by each. All the paper for lining, shredded. It is like they were taken over by a demon today. Fingers crossed tomorrow they wake up happy again!!!! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 In the wild, it's called "Love"....Courting.....Jayd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 It is inspirational how you have adopted all three of these flockmates. I love that Bubba says his name and he is bringing joy to your home even when he is a little ornery. He is a beautiful boy and lucky to have found his way to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Love, hate! Lol there is also cage aggression for sure and now Oliver is starting to act the same, which he has never done. It is funny, we took them outside and they turned into babys again. Bubba wanted to play mimic games, he makes a noise, i repeat it. Lets see we screamed like a little girl, said Bubba many times, said i love you, he clucked like a chicken, i tried to cluck like a chicken, then to top it off as i was trying to get him to say the basic hello, i got the blah blah blah blah instead. Then Oliver said Bubba ( not real clearly but it was a good first try!) Once back inside Cujo and Cujo Jr came back! My saving Grace is my Bongo, he got on my lap and we had ourselves a long love session and all my tension went away! Going into today positive that they just needed a good nights sleep and all will be right in the world again! (don't laugh please, that lie to myself keeps my headache at bay ) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Sounds like they are trying to define their boundaries with you and with each other. Give them lots to shred and debark, lots of showers. I think they and you will sleep better with all the exercise, just keep up that positive energy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 It is Oliver who is the meanie! Understandable since he was here first. What i got is positive attitude and a bottle of wine! Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 All I see are beautiful birds! I'd get a second opinion on the wing. If he broke his wing and it successful "reset" on its own, he probably should be able to regain flight. I'd be super cautious about rebreaking and resetting a wing - especially if he's already learned to compensate for the injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Oliver has a wing the same way, we will not allow anyone to rebrake either of their wings. At this age they are over the pain and have learned to cope. It is not in their best interest. Bubba over groomed Oliver and hit a blood feather. Sad part i was at the pet store and couldn't find septic stick, came home and there was my husband dealing with a nipped blood feather. I got out the flour and he packed it. The bleeding stopped. He was grouchy all night, and i got my first macaw bites, 2 of em! Gesh! Atleast i am past it now, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Total anarchy this morning! The animals have taken over the zoo! Run for your lives! I woke the boys up this morning as normal, opened their doors for them to come out. Went into kitchen to make their breakfast and was bringing it to them when i saw mayham! Both birds were in and on the 2 drawer filing cabinet that i keep their food and supplies in. Chuncks of wood missing, food, paper and treats everywhere, bags full of holes! Oliver moved on to the trash can, plastic and now also full of chew marks. There was no stopping them. I got charged by Oliver while Bubba was pushing the canister of nuts off the table. They were playing of course and did not mean any harm but i gotta change my morning habit to avoid this happening again! Have i mentioned how wonderful my Bongo is? So calm and loving, such peacefulness! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Keep smiling....this too shall pass?? I can't even imagine, but your post did make me smile. I promise I am laughing WITH you. You are still laughing , right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Thats all i can do is laugh, just not in front of the children! After all that, i get them on their stand and Bubba looks at me and says, "hello"! Like nothing happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 In the midst of laughing at their antics and being just a tiny bit, just for a second, thankful that my hands are only as full as my own two "angels", I saw a name I couldn't recollect. I remember Stewart, Oliver and Bubba, but can't place Bongo. I will take some time to go back to a few threads to jog my memory, but did I miss Bongo or am I just losing my mind? LOL... truth is, those two things are not mutually exclusive, sooooo. You made me smile today and I say bless you, the inmates have definitely banded together to take over the asylum or zoo or what have you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ah, I found it, Bongo is Stewart's "alias", I have heard of a lot of "inmates" have two or more nicknames to confuse the guards and have an inside code. LOL. Bongo it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murfchck Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Yeah, we had to go back to Bongo full time. It got to where when we said Stewart, he would turn around and look behind him as if we were calling the wall Stewart. These guys are to smart for their own good! Now i need some advice on these two spazzing macaws! They will not be apart. Oliver has gotten very nippie these last few days, we have been trying to maintain our one on one time but they yell for each other, they do not like to be seperated. What can we do? It is like living with an echo! Lol We just want to nip this,( no pun intended ) they have only been together for 6 days and they are getting really unruley. Oliver who use to only beak us has bit me twice now and my husband once today. We are doing the time out in the cage for 10 minutes then bring them back out as behaviour allows. Is there anything we should or should not be doing? Letting them be on the same stand may have been wrong but they will not tolerate being seperated, and really Oliver is active now and not just sitting slumped on a perch which is good to see now! Any advice would be so welcomed. Edited July 22, 2012 by murfchck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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