About my feathered friends

Question
QUESTION: Well i do have a few things maybe you can help me with , one is i have a macaw that was inlove with her old owner and would do anything for her and now she is nippy all the time and wont let me pick her up as i go to she puts her foot up and then when she gets her foot on you she bites you , she is a green winged macaw about 10 years old i was wondering if there was a way i can work with her to over come that because she takes a good chunk out of you when she does nip, as well as i have a pair of alexandriens and i want to mate them but i want some instuctions or simpilizing on how to mkae a breeding box for them and anything i might need to get or do for breeding them , i was "told" that when she starts to chew wood ALOT then she is ready normally around july , Aug , the lady said but i mean i dont trust her as far as i can throw her they were not very happy with her and as i have had them for 7 months they are now great and fully feathered as well as talk and mimic some words and sounds , but i want to breed them atleast once and have a baby or 2 and then no more breeding just cause i think every female animal needs to have one clutch or baby before cutting her right off so she can experience mother hood atleast once , is there anything you can help me with on this stuff and helping me get ready and set up for this stuff as well as getting me and my macaw to be good friends ?

ANSWER: Hello Chuck and thank you for your post.
You can try wearing some leather gloves when you are handling the Macaw, but the gloves might scare her.  How long have you had her and when was she last involved with her previous owner.  Birds actually "PICK THEIR PEOPLE", and once a bond is formed, it's almost, if not impossible to break.  Take your time with her, and work slowly.  She needs to be able to trust you, and it may take a long time (even a year or more) for the trust to begin.
You can also try using a perch to get her to step up.  This way, she may bite, but she won't get you, she'll get the perch.
As for the breeding of your Alexandrines, the former owner is probably right.  Breeding season does start around May, and you'll notice changes in the female.  That's not to say that she won't breed before then, but you'll have to get a Breeding Cage and a Breeding  (Nesting) Box.  Once they get used to the Nesting Box, they might be stimulated enough to breed before the season begins (I have two female Cockatiels, one is an incessive egg layer and the other will lay up to 6 clutches a year).

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna

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QUESTION: Dianna thanks alot , well i am looking on how to build a breeding box for them and what size it should be and all the stuff i would need to make one and as well do i put shavings in it as well and anything else i will need in it? and how do i get the dimentions as well as what it should look like and all can you help me out with that and do i only put it in there in start of april and take it out on june / julyish ?

Answer
Hello again Chuck.
I am sending you a few links that might help you out with the deminsions and so forth.
I have a nesting box for my one female Cockatiel and I leave it up almost all year around (if I don't, she'll lay eggs while sitting on her perch).  If your female is not an incessive egg layer (like me female Cockatiel), then I would put it up around May/June and then again around Oct./Nov. (as it is possible for her to lay fertile eggs more than once a year).

www.lincstrust.org.uk/factsheets/nestbox.php

animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/parakeets/AlexandrineParakeet.php

www.birdsetc.com/nestbox.htm

The third link may be the best for you, but I have included all three just in case.

God Bless.
Dianna