military macaws

Question
is it common for a military macaw to become mean and very aggressive after a certain age? i have a macaw who laid 3 eggs over the past several weeks they were not fertile and broke on the cage floor.she has now become very aggressive and quite angry to the point where she almost took my finger off. She is a handfed bird and has always been sweet until recently. will she eventually get nice again or do i need to find her a new home before she hurts someone other than me?

Answer
hi. thank you for your question.
i am sorry to hear about your issues with your military macaw. the behavior that you are describing is not necessarily unique to military macaws. certain situations and conditions can lead a parrot to become aggressive suddenly however it does not have to be a permanent situation.
the situation that you are describing to me indicates that she may be aggressive because she has come in to sexual maturity and has laid eggs. normally, when a hen lays eggs (unfertilized or otherwise) they will begin displaying aggressive behavior. this is because their hormones are essentially "telling" them that they have laid eggs and it is time for them to be aggressive in order to "protect" their "nest". so regardless of whether or not the eggs are fertilized and/or she is actually sitting on them, the act of egg laying itself will cause a female bird of any type to display aggression.  thus, even the sweetest of birds can turn aggressive at this time.  this link is to a fantastic article on this very issue:

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-diet-and-health/bird-care/egg-laying.aspx?cm_sp=...

Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for female bird owners who just want their sweet little girl back.  the best way to keep this behavior from occurring would be to prevent her from laying eggs at all. the article suggests various ways of manipulating your bird's environment in order to curb the environmental cues that cause her to lay.
however, even following these instructions to a tee may still not keep mother nature from doing her "thing".  i would suggest being patient and understanding in that she is only following her instinct and does not intend to harm you.  i would give her some time and continue attempting to interact with her. eventually, her post egg laying hormones will wear off and behaviorally, she will realize she does not have a "nest" to defend. i strongly advise against automatically jumping to the decision to find her a new home.  this behavior is not permanent and in some ways, is beyond her control. finding her a new home will only serve to cause her more stress in having to adapt to a new place with a new family where she will only continue the behavior during her next lay cycle. this is why, unfortunately, so many female parrots end up going from home to home simply because they are following their instincts. please try and be patient and understanding with her. also, it would help to try some of the techniques to curb future egg laying to keep these behaviors from occurring again.  i hope this helps. alicia