New macaw owner

I have just recently acquired a guesstimation 10 year old military/royal macaw am new to the macaws.Not new to birds.Was told by the people we got him from that he was severely abused and owners I got from was going to kill the bird as they where afraid of it and it put 6 stitches in there young boys finger.My question is this is there any hope for the bird it's a biter,lunges at the cage and several other bad habits like cussing the bird will take crackers,fruits,vegetables out of my hand very easily.I am not afraid of the bird but also respect the beak it has any helpful tips or thoughts ,suggestions on how to tone down the biting is toweling this bird gonna help I've come from lunging to stepping up on my hand but once on the hand it takes a chunk of flesh with no warning signs like pinning eyes or ruffed up feathers

Will also try to take wife's finger off while being given a treat

IF you have no actually training back ground with a macaw, you'll have your hands full. Since you guys just got him, just give it time and patience. Also be stern when you train! There's always hope with any bird, he just wasn't trained or handled properly to begin with for him to develop such bad habit, it wasn't their fault, it was people's fault!

I'm not a macaw expert, but I looked at clicker training with parrots, and I wonder if that would help. I heard it helps when you have an aggressive bird. I would research clicker training videos on youtube.

You may need to give him time to acclimate to his surroundings before you start it.

I hope someone comments about it here, especially in regard to macaws.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw-7iSLf0Hc]info on parrots with clicker training a macaw - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCAWRDygbh0&feature=c4-overview&list=UU38qUlY8hhtK0ASOTDEKo6A"]clicker training rainbow hybrid macaw after he started biting - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfkwVvT9NHY&list=UU38qUlY8hhtK0ASOTDEKo6A"]prat 2 clicker training rainbow the hybrid macaw - YouTube[/ame]

If he bites your hand when you give him the treat, you can put the treat on the end of a long fork.

http://birds.about.com/od/birdtricks/a/Use-Clicker-Training-To-Teach-Your-Bird-Fun-Tricks.htm

Ive taken in 3 birds [that have wanted to eat me ] . Two being Macaws .I don't clicker train but I think the right environment and time can work. I do believe Macaws are very social [and want "Their person". I took a step back and let them be curious about me [no pressure \. Took a couple months [but I can handle all of them ]. Be really positive around them [and treat them like stars!!}. I think it helped having them watch the interaction of my other birds. Don't give up on him [and be willing to think outside the box and try whatever works]

Stretchurbeaver, I have experience with rehabbing large birds that have been severely abused. Please PM me. I'm more than happy to help if you're willing to put in the time and effort.

In the meantime, here are a couple of tips:

Birdy has been abused. He doesn't trust humans. Give him a treats and let him settle in.

If you must cage him, then keep the door of the cage open.

It's very important to change his water and keep his food bowls clean. The act of providing him with fresh food and water consistently will show him you're taking care of him.

Move slowly when around him. No sudden hand movements! Always approach the birdy from front or top if you must handle him. Slow, fluid movements. Always talk to him in a kind voice when approaching him and working around him.

What's his diet like? If it's just seed, change it and start giving him veggies, fruits, and nuts. As his diet changes for the better, so will his demeanor.

Put him by a window so he can see outside.

Here's a post from my blog: How to get a bird to trust you

Read it; live it.

Sounds like birdy is going to be a tough case. It's going to take a few months before he starts to come around, although, it can happen in as short as a few days IF you interact with him regularly. Interaction doesn't mean forcing him out of his cage and onto your arm. Just let him see that you're trying to do good by him. Show him kindness.

If you have the room and are willing to try it, cageless rehabilitation is a great way to go and it cuts down on the biting significantly.

Don't towel him at all! It's a surefire way to make him feel threatened.

Has he gone to the vet for a full checkup yet? If not, he needs to. Birds are notorious for hiding illness and as we all know, sick animals are nippy / bitey / dangerous / overly-aggressive.

Try to give him calm stimulation. No TV if you can help it around him. Serenity works.. make a serene environment around him.. Let him grow accustomed to seeing you interact with him. Have your wife do the same with the treats.

Get yourself a "perch stick" for handling him, but if he shows fear or aggression towards the stick, keep it away from him until there's a basic level of trust.

Establishing trust is the hardest part of owning a bird. Once you have it, the rest is easy in comparison.

STOP ME IF YOU'VE FRIGGIN' HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE!!!

IT'S LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN...

There is more than just hope. I've done it lots of times!

This is what happens when you don't bite pressure train a macaw when it is young. The bird doesn't know when to stop applying bite pressure, and then gets blamed when a human gets hurt... And, really, a small child has no business sticking his hand in a macaw cage... this is a parental supervision thing! Not just a dangerous bird thing... Even tame friendly birds will bite if agitated, or spooked by something.

I would start with a bird that is clipped. If he is not clipped he will be difficult, if not impossible to control.

The first order of business is boundary setting, no biting, and establishing trust. Do not break eye contact when working with him. He needs a firm hand. When working with really aggressive macaws the first few times, I used to wrap a thick beach towel around my "perch arm" just in case. And if the bird acted up, I would towel him if need be. (Some folks disagree with this practice. I think it's necessary at times, just not as a first resort.)

The beak may be powerful, but the bird's neck is not. You can prevent him from latching on to you by making your hand into a fist and turning your wrist up, making it hard for the bird to grab ahold of any loose finger. You can control the beak by grabbing ahold of it with two fingers in the fat part below the nares as you step him up.

Once he steps up you let go, but be prepared with those same two fingers to push the beak away if he tries to latch on. If he continues to do this, simply drop him to the floor, and let him sit there and think about it a minute. He doesn't get off the floor until he steps up nice... If you have to drop him to the floor ten times, then he goes to the floor ten times....

If he goes after your feet, then get a big pillow or a couch cushion, and back his little birdie butt up...

The lesson here, is that I am not going to hurt you, but I will not permit you to hurt me. I will do what is necessary to prevent it if you become aggressive with me. THAT is setting the boundary. When a dominant macaw backs down, that's generally a turning point.

Step two is step up practice and touching exercises.

Step three is, training him not to apply bite pressure. This is done with beak play games while sitting on your lap. Communicating to the bird when he is starting to use too much pressure.

Step four, once the boundaries are set, you socialize him with other people, and expose him to more and more.

Birds that are biting simply need to be handled MORE not less! They are not completely tame, and have to get used to it. THE MORE OUT TIME AND HANDLING HE GETS, THE TAMER HE BECOMES. THE MORE ISOLATED AND LOCKED UP HE IS, THE ANGRIER HE GETS.

If you let him get away with stuff, he will do it. If you stop him from doing it, he won't do it anymore. It's pretty basic. You raise a macaw the same way you raise a human toddler, with nurturing guidance, positive reinforcement, patience, and love. They respond to love, just as they respond in a negative way to abuse.

Give it time, and this bird will most likely amaze you...

Right now, this bird is probably very angry at being mistreated.

Lesson number one, is don't hate all humans, hate the one's who did this to you. We are different. Demonstrate this one over time.

Lesson Two, I know you're mad, but that doesn't mean you get to misbehave in my house. We have rules here... Everyone is nice to one another. This gets reinforced immediately. YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT BIRD, BUT IT'S GONNA HAPPEN THIS WAY EVERY TIME. YOU ARE NOT THE ONE IN CHARGE...

For all the species of macaws out there, there are basically just two varieties...

Mush macs, and NOT mush macs. This one is a NOT. As in NOT YET anyway. But their base nature is mush... they just need to know they are safe, loved, and won't be allowed to get away with murder! Once he "gets" those three things, he will be on his way to "lap bird" land...

Most macaw rehabs take about 6-8 weeks to get the basics down. But macaw training is an ongoing, life long process..

+++infinity ==> Birdman666's comments.

Thanks for all replies lots if good info here.

Thank you for taking on this challenge, and not letting them kill this bird.

I did one of those exact same things with a blue and gold about five or six years ago now... (Get this bird outta my house before I kill it.) The guy did something stupid, got bit, and then wanted the bird out of his house by the time he got back from the hospital...

Turns out the bird was just not properly socialized or bite pressure trained. Six weeks later, doing the basic step up, touching, no biting, and socialization training, HE WAS A PERFECTLY WELL BEHAVED BIRD and was adopted out to a loving family environment.

They just never did the basics with him, and the guy paid for that mistake in blood...

My guess is that once he calms down, you'll see the same pattern here. They usually turn right around with proper care, a little love, and discipline...

If the bird is never taught how to behave in captivity, you can hardly blame him for being a bird. The kid intruded on his nest after all... and you just don't do that!

Birdman666:I believe like you stated things will change in time i knew it was gonna be a challenge after seeing what the birds conditions were and being my first macaw but the owners I got him from was going to kill him in the next hour I drove 40 miles into town like a bat out of hell to get there the wife and I get there and the previous owners poking a stick at him to get him out the cage

Been there. Done that. More than once. Actually, there are quite a few people on this forum that have experience in rehabing. So if you run into problems we can help talk you through it.

Jabbing a perch in the cage makes almost as much sense as sticking fingers in there. If you want to train the bird to attack, that is!!! IDIOTS!!!

Frankly, the biters are easy.

It's the pluckers that are hard!

We figure part of the problem was when we picked up the bird the cage was filthy there was no food or water and we're told the bird had been locked in cage for 2 months straight after prior owners (original) had caged in basement for a year straight. There is definitely cage aggression

Stretchurbeaver said:

We figure part of the problem was when we picked up the bird the cage was filthy there was no food or water and we're told the bird had been locked in cage for 2 months straight after prior owners (original) had caged in basement for a year straight. There is definitely cage aggression

Click to expand...

And macaws generally HATE to be caged... So can you blame them. They really are super attention oriented birds, so this is a form of slow torture for them...

My greenwing did 8 years in solitary when I got her. First thing she did when I opened the door was to pry the latches off her cage, and her treat cup doors, so that she couldn't get locked up again. (Doors in my house don't close.)

Getting him out of the cage, and onto a playstand away from it... preferably in an area where he can see and interact with people as they come and go will do wonders for this bird's attitude.

If you don't have the right sized playstand now, it's pretty easy to make one from PVC (for around five bucks!), and then just stick either a desk chair plastic, or sheet linoleum under it to catch poop.

Thanks for the info bird has made huge steps today I let bird out of cage daily today he crawled off of the cage and came to the back of the couch where I sit but still Leary about ears being bit but it's a huge step

Stretchurbeaver said:

Thanks for the info bird has made huge steps today I let bird out of cage daily today he crawled off of the cage and came to the back of the couch where I sit but still Leary about ears being bit but it's a huge step

Click to expand...

Too soon to be a shoulder bird, but he's already revealing the mush mac in his soul... I WANNA BE WITH YOU.

My guess is it's just a matter of the basics with this one. If he's seeking you out.

Aggressive and angry macaws only seek you out to take fingers and toes off... and they will chase you around the room if you're dumb enough to run. If he's seeking out attention from you this soon, there is NOTHING wrong with this bird. His problems were human!

Just watch out for the over bonding/clingy bird thing which is what macaws who are starved for attention, and then suddenly get it are prone to do...

"My greenwing did 8 years in solitary when I got her. First thing she did when I opened the door was to pry the latches off her cage, and her treat cup doors, so that she couldn't get locked up again. (Doors in my house don't close.)"


Stuff like this just kills me.

Birdman666 said:

Step three is, training him not to apply bite pressure. This is done with beak play games while sitting on your lap. Communicating to the bird when he is starting to use too much pressure.

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on "beak play games?" I'm sure that would be very helpful to the OP and many of us with "biting" birds. Thanks!!

Your posts are great.