9 Reasons Why Your Macaw Is So Aggressive
Macaws are perfect companions when raised and tamed in an appropriate environment. You should be aware of your pet’s behavioral changes as a pet owner. Don’t worry if your macaw shows aggression and uncommon behavior because it’s completely normal.
As we all know, parrots are social and friendly animals that love to bond with their owners. But sometimes, some factors can affect their behavior due to various reasons. Even though macaws are popular for their vibrant color and humorous personality, they won’t mingle with everyone.Â
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Is It Very Difficult To Handle An Aggressive Macaw?
It is hard to find the exact reason behind their aggression if you fail to communicate with your bird effectively. The first thing you have to consider is that every bird is not the same. They have various mental states and behaviors. Some are rude and aggressive by nature while some are calm and quiet.Â
Some macaws are very peculiar birds, and some are one-person birds that won’t play with others. Remember that there will be some reason for the aggression in your birds. Let’s discuss some reasons why your macaws become aggressive.
Why are macaws so aggressive?
The most common causes of aggression in pet birds are fear or previous bad experience. This reason is enough to make them aggressive and angry. Your bird often develops fear in them when they are miss-handled by people. So, they respond negatively to everyone who comes near them. But before concluding that your macaw is aggressive, consider their situation and what changes have happened. Several other reasons are;
1. Stress
Macaws become aggressive when they are stressed. The stress element of your macaws can be many, like an unsatisfactory diet, the position of the cage, noise, temperature changes, and an unsafe environment. You should make them realize that they are safe with you. So, avoid everything which stresses them out.
2. Lack of understanding from the owner
Your bird’s behavior changes depending on how you treat them in captivity. Understanding your bird is mandatory to read its emotions and movements. You cannot help them if you are not aware of their problems. If macaws are aggressive, remember that they are trying to say something they don’t like. You can spend more time with your macaw to know its body language well, it will be easy to understand what they are trying to communicate.Â
Generally, macaws need a lot of caring and taming to build good behavior. Lack of socialization results in many defects in your parrot. Birds need time to develop their patience and emotional stability. For that, they need grooming and stimulation. If your macaws are not properly socialized, they can become aggressive and show a territorial behavior.
To avoid this, train them in different methods and observe their changes. One of the best tricks to tame them is using the stick method and target training. One of the birds started responding to the stick and their level of aggression became low. At this time, try different tricks to create a feeling of belongingness.Â
4. If they are bored
Your macaws need social interaction and companionship. If they are not accompanied by what they want your parrot becomes bored. Which can negatively affect the mood of the macaws and the tendency to be aggressive is high. When the birds are in the wild they spend more of their time looking for food and roaming around the environment.
But, in the case of birds in captivity, they depend on their owners for everything. So no wonder when they often get bored while their owners are away. In this situation, they will become aggressive and respond in the form of feather picking, screaming, biting, and other behavior changes.
5. Scarcity of food
Diet plays an important role which helps in physical and mental development. The diet of the macaws included different varieties of fruits, vegetables, pellets, nuts, and seeds. Moreover, they love treats. If you are not feeding them properly, they will become aggressive. Try to include your bird’s favorite food items to make them cool.Â
6. Hormonal changes
Like humans, birds also undergo hormonal changes during their teenage years. Bluffing is known as the teenage period of parrots. During this period, they will be so aggressive. It lasts from a couple of weeks to months. During this period, they will not have control over their actions. Your macaws behave rudely to you and everyone. which is quite normal, and we cannot do anything to sort this situation out. All you have to do is wait and stick to your daily routine.Â
7. Mishandling them
Your macaw can become frightened so easily. if you don’t know how to handle them properly, they keep their distance from you and show aggressive behavior. Treat them like a professional caretaker by handling them with patience. If they trust you that you won’t hurt them, they will be more comfortable with you. Unless they try to escape from you all the time.Â
8. Previous bad experience
It can happen if your macaw is rescued or bought from a feeder. As we know, parrots are very intelligent species, they will remember everything that happened to them. If your parrots have a previous traumatic experience, they could become aggressive. We can often see this situation when the parrots are abused, abandoned, and neglected.
9. Cage issues
Macaws will be well attached to their surroundings and quickly become close to their cage. Macaws need a lot of space to roam. If your bird’s cage is too small and congested, it will be easily agitated. So, you have to make the required arrangements to keep them comfortable. Also, if you suddenly change their cage or place, the bird will take some time to adjust to the new environment.Â
How do I make my macaw happy?
They need to be stimulated to keep them happy and healthy. As per psychology, a bored parrot can get depressed and develop mental changes quickly. They are like small children which need constant interaction, entertainment, and caring. You can make them happy in various ways such as
🔶Your bird’s cage needs to be clean, and spacious and should have the fun element. To make them engaged, provide them with enough mentally stimulating toys. Puzzles and foraging toys are popular choices for macaws.
🔶Allow to stretch and exercise
When your birds are in captivity, they cannot fly freely in the sky and explore the world around them. You can keep your bird happy by providing them the same freedom in captivity. Try to keep your macaws out of the cage at least once a day.
🔶Feed them their favorite food
Feeding them healthy food can help to maintain the mental and physical health of your bird. Try to identify your bird’s favorite food and feed them as a treat.
🔶Spend quality time with them
They need the right amount of companionship and bonding with the owners. If you don’t spend enough time with your macaws, it can lead to depression and boredom. So set a routine of playing with your bird.
Let’s Conclude!
All birds are different and show different behavioral changes. Macaws are the perfect fit for pet birds. Even though they are very gorgeous and intelligent, in certain situations they become so aggressive. As a loving and responsible pet parent, you can help them in their worst situations. All you have to do is, try to understand the reason behind their behavioral changes.
You can avoid such situations by taming them effectively from a young age. And I’m sure that the information provided in this article will help you so your macaw can grow up without unwanted behaviors.
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