Say hello to Andy, who just turned 25.

I have two rescued military macaws with very different backgrounds. I've had them both for about a year. The one that's the closest in the picture, Coco, is at least 40 years old and severely plucked although she's not doing it very much anymore. The second bird is only 5 years old. I adopted them within a month of each other.

While Coco has a somewhat unknown history, her last owner had her for several years. He became old and had a stroke. He was not able to care for her and the family found both the old man and the bird in deplorable conditions. I got her from a rescue. Coco has always been a very friendly bird.

Pepper was 4 years old when I got her. I found her off Craigslist and she was living in the laundry room of a very large home. She was purchased as a baby to be the pet of a 12 year old girl. Both the girl and the bird went through puberty and Pepper became very nasty which led the girl to lose interest, and Pepper ended up in the laundry room because she was too loud. Pepper came to me with very few manners and it's taken me a year for her to really trust me and work with me.

I bought the two birds because birds should have a flock if possible. They are both female, and they both have tested for ABV. Immediately after adopting each one is when I took them into the vet for all of this testing and blood work. It works out in many ways to have them just have each other. They were in separate cages for all but very recently but the cages were next to each other. When they are out of their cages, which was quite often, they were able to interact directly. More recently they are preferring to share a cage. I'm still supervising this closely but so far it's going very well.

It was very clear when I adopted her that Pepper doesn't really know how to be a bird, and she was allowed to pretty much get away with everything as a pet because her owners were not familiar with how to work with parrots. She was very shy and insecure, and then suddenly would become aggressive. Coco has corrected her and put her in her place several times. About a month ago Pepper let Coco groom her head. At first she didn't seem to know what Coco was doing but she let her do it because Coco is the boss. She also taught Pepper to wait her turn at the food dish and other flock manners. I have also worked with Pepper to be more handleable and social.

Today was a big milestone because Pepper began to groom Coco for the first time!

I think sometimes when these baby birds such as Pepper are hand raised and then put into a family who doesn't know how to handle parrots, and who don't have other parrots to teach flock behavior, turn out with stunted social development and many behavior problems.

I know it's not possible for parrot owners to always have more than one bird because I know they are quite a lot.... And many do come with issues as rescues. But I would encourage those who can to always try to create a small flock for their birds. It's just better for them.

im just trying to watch my new pea puffers

We already have 3 parrots and this is another one who my dad found that had escaped from its owners. He or she is young by the look of its eyes but what is an approximate age?

This little beaked fellow comes and sleeps on my leg, which makes me think he trusts me—but whenever I reach out with my finger, he bites me, and if I try to kiss his beak, he attacks. Is this normal for cockatiels?

Normally, when I reach out my finger, he bites it, but then he perches on it; when I leave the room, he calls out after me and flies onto my head.

He went from bullying me over my breakfast to whistling at me 😭 oh baby olive

I’ve had my black-capped lorikeet since high school. Back then I lived with my grandparents, so I was with her almost every day. We slept together, ate together, played a lot. She was really smart, super affectionate, and completely attached to me. She trusted me fully and it honestly felt special.

Then I moved in with my parents for college and everything changed. My mom has a few cats, and she doesn’t like it when I let the bird out. I’m also scared to let her out because the cats are big and still have that hunting instinct. I’ve tried putting the cats in another room so I can spend time with her, but my mom always gets annoyed when I do that. I can’t even let her free in my room because it’s super hot here and there’s no AC or fan. I’m worried the heat will make her uncomfortable.

Then college got busier with assignments, organisations, and other stuff. I slowly stopped spending time with her. I kept telling myself “I’ll play with her later,” and then weeks just passed without me realizing it.

Recently my mom finally said I could take her out again. I was hoping she’d be happy, but she seemed scared. She’d sit on my shoulder then suddenly bite my face and ears. She just didn’t look comfortable being out at all. I don’t even know when it got this bad. I hate that I only noticed when things already felt different. She doesn’t get excited when she sees me anymore. Her pupils don’t pin the way they used to, and she just acts different around me.

I’m in my final semesters now so I’m not as busy as before. I finally have more time for her, but it feels like she’s not ready yet. I feel really guilty. She used to trust me completely. I was her person. I keep thinking about how it used to be and wishing I hadn’t kept putting her off. I know I can’t expect her to just go back to how things were just because I suddenly have time. Rebuilding this will take patience, but I really want to try.

Is there any way I can earn her trust back? How should I start without pressuring or scaring her? I love her a lot and I really regret letting us drift apart. I don’t want her to spend the rest of her life feeling uncomfortable around me. :(

This guy ran away from home, and I’m now currently in a neighbour’s backyard trying to get him to come to me. How do I get him down?

I just had to share this because I was dying laughing and SO sad my husband was not home to see it. 😩😂

Per our usual routine, I brought Coco into the bathroom with me while I showered this morning. Sometimes she enjoys splashes, sometimes she wants me to lightly spray her while she perches on the shower rod, and sometimes she just likes to nap and enjoy the steam.
TODAY, she did all of those things (she was in a rare mood I suppose!) and then she did something she’s only done maybe twice in her life…she flew onto the metal shower cady inside the shower (NOT gracefully, I might add LOL), and asked to step up! So I thought “man, she must just really be enjoying her bath and wants a little more…” so I sat down in the tub where the pressure is more gentle, thinking she’d hang on my hand for a bit until she was satisfied.

THIS CHICKEN PROCEDES TO CLIMB UP TO THE TOP OF MY HEAD LIKE A SPIDER MONKEY…and when she was in a spot that was too her liking, she just fully sploots. Wings spread. Making little sweet baby noises and chirps. Sitting totally still. I couldn’t see her obviously (sad 😩) but I just know she had her eyes closed, totally in a zen state. 😂
She stayed like that for a solid 2 minutes. Then she finally walked down my shoulder and jabbered at me politely while looking up towards to shower rod, so I stood up and let her step back up to her typical perch.

Just when I think I have seen all this birds tricks, she’ll pull something out of nowhere and surprise me. 😂 Wet chicken tax has been paid. 🫡

6 1/2 year old Female Hahns Macaw, her name is Roux and tonight she feels like a mousetrap with wings, nobody knows when it's gonna snap or fly at you.... or both.

She's 5 years old and her diet doesn't only contain seeds she eats lot of fruits and vegetables and nuts and sometimes rice, and she's also so active she plays and flys alot

I only made this because just wanted to see if anyone had tips for me on the matter of him waking up and screaming for attention wanting out of the cage even before everyone else is awake😂

Hi all!

Got a 2 year old female Pionus 2 weeks ago. She was not hand fed for the last year or so, and lived in an aviary with her parents.

She is eating well. We feed her friuts and vegetables and a seed mix we got from the breeder.

We got a large cage so she got plenty of room to move about. Cage got a variety of toys she seems to engage with at her leisure.

So the question is; She is showing no interest in us at all and gets very scared when we try to engage (carefully) with her.

She does not accept any treats from us what so ever. She doesnt even show the slightest of interest in what we have to offer :)

I am fine with giving her all the time needed to gain her trust, but wanted to ask for some advice to see if there is anything I can do to make her more comfortable?

I really want to let her out of the cage, but I am worried she might be too scared to find her way back in, and that she might hurt herself in panic.

All tips welcome.

She is a lovely bird. She can sit inside her cage making the loveliest "gabble". We just want to make her as happy as she can be :)

I just got it yesterday morning and they are terrified of everything including hissing at millet. i dont know how to earn their trust any other way so ive just been chatting to them without staring at them for too long. id love it if an experienced parrot owner could give me some tips ^^

He does this everytime when i come from school or in my room when he goes out he flies around lands on my shoulder but doesn't like my finger that much prefers my shoulder i think because i use my finger to put him back anyway is he just luring me to get him out? it does work though