Hi there and welcome!

Suggest getting him checked out medically for starters. Bean's dad, Jim, would probably be able to tell you more about this. Bean is a military mac.

My B&G boy, Zazu, does like to beat up a toy when he's frustrated, or just in a rowdy mood. He's also grabbed at his own feet occasionally. i assume it's part of a body-handling game we play - as in "gimme that beak! gimme those toes!" etc, especially since he says "gimme that!" when he does it.

Sorry if you know all this stuff, here goes:

i wonder if maybe it would help to supply Shakespeare with more toys and especially stuff for him to chew, rip up, and destroy, should you decide it's a behavioral thing. Doesn't have to be expensive. Paper bags stuffed with more paper or other shred-stuff, safe untreated wood, pine cones, old phone books and catalogs, old clothes, short lengths of knotted rope. Hiding treats in an item will help if he doesn't seem interested (let him watch you do this). Lots of toys meant for bigger dogs are appropriate for macaws, attractive to them, and much less expensive than bird toys. He might also enjoy big stainless steel wingnuts and bolts and similar items from the hardware store - make good foot toys, and are absorbing to learn to manipulate for the mechanically-minded macaw. Zaz loves these so much i'm thinking of getting him a socket wrench set for his b-day... maybe he'll be willing to tune up my car instead of just unhinging all the cage and cabinet doors :)

It's normal for these guys to have the whole range of emotions including "aggressive" ones, and you'd be doing him a favor finding him safe and acceptable ways to vent. Just my opinion.

Encourage him to develope a relationship with your husband by making your spouse the keeper of, and only source of, his extra-favorite treat, toy, and/or game. It sounds like he's merely expressing a preference right now, just be alert to the possibility of it's evolving into outright hostility toward your h. i would gently but firmly discourage him from regurging for you or otherwise "romancing" you, by putting him down if you're holding him, and walking away briefly. Thinking of himself as a rival suitor would really be an ongoing frustration for him.

Lots of exercise helps. You don't say whether Shakespeare is flighted but you might want to find out more about that. Don't know if you were given a playgym for him but getting to climb around is really fun for them and will improve his strength, balance, and agility.

Also, giving them opportunities to stretch their minds through training makes a big difference. You can use simple tricks they enjoy performing (and get rewarded for) to distract them from less desirable behaviors. You can learn more about living with flyers and training here at Feather Forum.

Hope you find something useful here,


lisa
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement."

I'm interested to know if you've found out any more information about Shakespears "foot biting" behaviour?
I've adopted a 5 yr old B&G (Oliver) and he does this also.
Sometimes it looks almost like a "Tourettes-like tick" because he will hit the heal of his foot on the side of his face then grab his foot and then pull on his beak with his foot to regurgitate. He makes a "crabby" sound when he does this. Sometimes he does this a few times in a row and other times he'll just do it once then continue playing.

I've also wondered if the pulling on his beak with his foot to regurgitate was normal? I met another family with a B&G that does this as well so I'm now thinking that it's just one of his foibles???

The bird club I belong to recently had Mattie Sue Athan as a guest speaker and she met my Oliver. She saw him doing the foot grabbing/pulling behaviour and said he was feeding his feet. She felt that this was an indication that he'd been molested at a younger age.
The family that had Ollie before me had him since he was a baby and loved him dearly so I'm a bit surprised by this assessment of the behaviour!
Ollie came from a breeder that gives the babies over to the new owners to finish the hand feeding at around 4-5 months and I wondered if maybe the behaviour stems from that - anxiety from being moved before he was completely weaned???

Ollie also came to my home as a "nipper". The man that owned him was surprised that Ollie bonded with me and not my husband since it was his wife that Ollie had nipped at all the time.
She was afraid of him as a result.

Ollie did nip at me for the first while (left some good sized bruises)but I've just about put a stop to that by letting him know that I don't like being nipped. If he's on me and nips, I put him down and turn my back saying "I don't like that".
If he's on the back of the couch and does it, I turn my back and say "I don't like that".
When I sence he's understood my displeasure (usually a few seconds)then I turn around again and tell him "be gentle" and return to our interactions. I give him lots of praise when he's gentle with his beaking.
I still get the occasional pinch but it's nothing like when he first came to live with us.

Barb