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scared of the dark and face turns red sometimes


MrCongo

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So my Severe Macaw Petrie came home on sunday and went through quite a bit of stress and his schedule is changing drmatically so I'm not sure if he is really scared of the dark or not. When I turn off the lights he paces the perch and leans forward making a frustrated whining/hissing noise with his feathers all raised.

 

The first night I put a blanket on the cage and he freaked out, but I think he is just scared of it from the vet experience (they threw the towel on him :( ). I turned off all the lights and about once an hour I would hear him moving on the cage bars and he fell once.

 

Last night he hissed at the blanket so I left it off and the frustrating noise was worse when I even made it just less light in there. I ended up putting a blanket over the lamp so I could sleep and he did a lot better but fell again at 3:30am lol. He is still a baby (8mo) so his balancing skills are sub-par haha

 

Also. His face has turned red twice now and he got super hot feeling. The first night it was mostly due to the super late night and stress from earlier but yesterday there was no reason that I could guess except still stressed from it. anybody got any experience with that?

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I think I figured out the red face. The first night was definetly due to stress. but now I am positive he is excited when he does that. I searched on the web only found like 2 vague entries about face turning red when excited. He is sooooooooo cute and has been getting calmer as the days progress.

 

last night I popped some popcorn (just kernals, no salt/oil/butter/teflon) and we were eating it together! every time I stuck my hand in the bowl he'd make a noise and eat faster then stick his head in the bowl for more! he even grabbed the popcorn while I was trying to eat it! haha! adorable!

 

do you guys know if the unpopped kernals are good for him or not? I know we can't eat them but he snapped those in half pretty good and there was like a little seed in the middle. I took it away since I didn't know.<br><br>Post edited by: MrCongo, at: 2009/03/10 16:21

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I don't see the harm Jacqueline and that is a pretty good feat if he snapped them in half, those unpopped kernals are tough.

 

My grey and conure go nuts over popcorn when they see me with it but instead of letting them share over my bowl, I feed them in their own bowl for they make such a mess with it.

 

I think you are right on the face flushing, he is excited and happy, way to go.

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I don't mind the mess, it was worth it! :P I felt bad leaving him home alone all day to go to work so we needed some mommy/birdie time together. This morning he ate blueberries with me :cheer:

 

The only thing that worries me is he only likes to eat peanuts and pumpikin seeds from his bowl. He doesn't really go for the pellets. I hope I can get him off the seeds eventually. I got a ton from the store (he came with it) so I will use that up first and put more pellets in as the days go on. He does love raw spinach tho, which is great! tons of nutrition in that!

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He sounds so cute When I first got Gizmo my Severe macaw he had been on a total seed diet probubly all his life and he is 8 years old. He eats allot better now but it takes time I had to sit and eat in frount of him and give him food I was eating just so he would try different thing. now he will eat quite a few different kinds of veggetables and pasta eggs and he's finally eating his pellets also once I got him eating fuits and veggies I started putting less and less seeds in his cage and always left a bowl of Zupreem fruity pellets mixed with harrisons and pretty soon he started eating the pellets because he was hungry You could try mixing his peanuts with pellet and just start giving him less and less peanuts. About him being afraid of the dark Gizmo hated being covered when I first got him if I tryed to cover his cage he would scream owie owie owie owie Like he was being killed so I started slow I covered three sides and left the front of the cage uncovered the every night I slowly lowered the blanket over the front and couple inches every night.Now I can cover him no problem. I your bird is falling he could hurt himself you might want to put a thick towel on the grate until his balance inmproves<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2009/03/14 01:15

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Thanks for the advice! He eats the pellets sometimes since they did put a few in the seed mix at the store, but now he actually begs for nuts and seed!!! His feathers all puff up and he starts bobbing his head and makes a little squawk lol... it's adorable! I try distracting him with something else but he knows what he wants!

 

He does love to eat or at least try everything i eat but sometimes he wants stuff he can't have and he'll start begging for that! lol! and everything i do he has to be with me which gets really really annoying. If I don't have him on my arm he is up against the cage watching me and whining and after a few minutes he'll squawk the loudest Macaw squawk ever! This is tough because when I leave him alone he doesn't really play or eat much and I'm gone for about 11 hours M-TH! He has been plucking too. He started that habit in the store and me being gone all day does not help. I've given him a ton of cool toys and stuff so we'll see. It's only the first week.

 

For now I don't mind not covering him because there is no draft or anything nearby but eventually when i get out of this apt i will. He hasn't freaked out as much when i turn off the lights at night since i have 2 night lights right next to his cage. He also hasn't fallen since his 2nd night!

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You are making some progress with him and this will be a long process but he will be so much better for the effort. He wants to be with you for the assurance of knowing you are still around, in time he may come to relax and enjoy some time spent to himself and not be so needy.

 

These are small steps but they are all on the road to a better pet, I think you are doing a wonderful job with him so far, keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us updated.

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I have the tv on for my Grey while I am at work. Not all day because she needs her quiet time too. I have it on a timer. She likes to watch the childrens channels. If you are gone that long during the day you might try it.

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If I had TV I would lol... my TV didn't have an antennae and I don't have cable :( I do turn on the radio for him, not sure if this is working for him yet. I am getting my old ipod set up for him with some good songs and stuff. I'm thinkin about also those rain forest CDs and putting those on the ipod too in the mix.:silly:

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  • 2 months later...

probably about the bst thing you could have done for him. My Blue and Gold is just a baby and when I turn out the lights and she hears something go by the cage she growls louder than my TAG when I try to stick something in his cage with him in it. With Tim I know better not to put stuff in there with him in the cage so I have to let him out then put things in his cage. Sounds weird but it makes sense if the bird doesn't like it when it's in the cage. The first few nights were as you said it probably stress and as he or she gets adjusted to the home then becomes more comfortable and loose.

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Update on da cutie Petrie :P

 

He is still very needy but so awesome! He only says "what??!!" still but is experimenting on some noises. I have been whistling constantly to work on my skills and he did pick up on some already!

 

I am gone all day 4 days a week and leave the radio on for him. He always makes an excited whistling noise or "What!" when I open the door. :silly:

 

We have been extremely close these days. When I took him to get groomed, they brought out a towel and of course he freaked and flew to me and ran down my back to hide! He knows for sure I'm his protector. I have been working on his fear of towels/blankets and got him to at least chew on the label and the corner a bit.

 

He also is eating pellets! but we are far from done yet... When I leave for work I need to give him a treat so he doesn't get upset (he wouldn't let me leave a few times)so I leave a small handful of seeds. I have a couple times not given him seeds but he will beg to no end! It doesn't help I am running out of pellets and can't get anymore for a bit (no one sells them in Yuma). No one except bird stores(none here..) sells raw nuts either. I want to get a dehydrator so I can make more foods for him like banana chips.

 

oh! and we moved to a newer quieter place and he gets his own room!!!!!B)

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she or he, I don't know,but I think Petrie must be a he since he seems to not like his reflection much... I figure it's territorial like some of the wild birds do on mirrors.

 

I am giving him scratches and birdy massages all the time, I can touch him anywhere! I love it! My mom's amazon Bing gets feisty if your hand comes anywhere near her! lol.. I'm scared of losing a few fingers everytime I visit lol.

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I agree, that 2nd picture sure is cute!

 

btw- I'm thinking about getting a buddy for him since I'm gone so much during the week. (If the bird costs more than a cockatiel, it will be like like a year or more....) I am wondering what kind of bird would he get along with? The store said to get other S. Amer birds and same size or bigger... When I took him to get groomed I took him around to the diff birds and every single one was either scared or attempted to bite(even all 3 macaws) except the hawkhead which could care less but Petrie wanted to bite him! So I am not sure if he could even handle a friend... I want like a cockatiel or something b/c it's cheap but I was told Petrie would have him for dinner... lol

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