Last Updated on February 16, 2023 by Catherine Tobsing

Charles S. is concerned with feeding his macaw,

I have had Cookie since a baby for 15 years. Every day for years she/he regurgitation food that is barely if at all digested. I feed her the best parrot food Zupreem and a few nuts and sometimes a little table food.

 

It looks like she regurgitates as much as I feed her. It’s a lot.

 

Otherwise, she is very healthy. I have taken her to the vet a couple of times and am told it may be a mating thing. She does this year-round!

 

Maybe I feed her too much? I feed her about 1 cup of Zupreem a day with a few snacks. Normally, she is very affectionate with me. Hates my wife!

 

Any suggestions?

 

Charles S

 

Dear Charles

It is definitely a mating thing. She has chosen you as her mate and she is trying to feed you. She has developed a loving, but undesirable relationship with you that you really need to try to change some.

 

Are you handling her improperly?

 

Meaning if you are holding, touching her in any other place than her head from the neck up, then you should stop it.

 

 

Yes, her feathers are soft and she is warm to hold but it is wrong.

 

In the wild, birds do NOT touch each other below the neck unless they are preparing to mate.

 

They are perfectly capable of preening and fixing up their feathers below the neck because they can reach them just fine.

 

Also, how is the lighting over your bird’s cage?

 

If it is dim, she likely is constantly in a breeding mode and ready to build a nest.

 

The cage should be well lit with a strong daylight bulb hanging as close as possible to the top of the cage on a timer of 12 hours on and 12 hours off.

 

If it is a play top and you have the metal tray in the top then it has to come out, forever.

 

If there are nesting or bedding areas, and materials, loose balls at the bottom, they have to be removed.

 

All toys need to be hanging along the inside top and walls of the cage.

 

Nothing that she can sit directly under that can lay on her back.

 

Click to Learn ~ How Pet Bird Keepers Get The Lighting Thing Wrong.

 

How about her dishes? Are they full to the top with seeds/pellets, etc?

 

You should only fill them 1/4 to 1/3 full as excess food can also create or encourage breeding behavior.

 

Before I go further, have I hit upon things that are going on? I would appreciate your comments and feedback as well as more information about her cage, pictures are welcome.

 

Please get back to me and we can talk more.

Catherine