Advice is Needed for my blue and gold macaw issue please any answers are welcome

[crazyaboutbirds20]

My Name Is Breanna and i'm 20 years old i have had my blue and gold macaw Vini for 2 years now i got him when i was 18 he was six months old then. i love him so much but since he is 2 now he has been taking to running up to me and latching on to my fingers hard! he always wants to eat my eyes and he always gets tangled in my hair no matter how many times i pull him off he keeps coming back he is good most of the time im going to enroll in community college this year but even when i went to high school i was always with him for more than 4 hours and i've been off for a year now and ive been with him all day as well as my grandpa and grandma he likes all of us but sometimes i take long naps and vini sleeps on my face so that's not a problem but i want him to stop getting in my hair and biting my fingers for fun and sometimes but not always he screams like someone is killing him like he'll be quiet all day then out nowhere he lets out an endless scream for no reason for like 30 seconds then stops and goes back to being quiet and when he does scream how do i get him to stop other than putting him in the cage cause hes never in his cage hes always playing with us or on the perch or table playing with toys we only put him in the cage for sleeping or if we have to leave which doesn't always happen so if you have answers please tell me cuz he caused a scratch on my face when he ran up to me i don't want this to happen again

 

[weco]

Vini is probably entering puberty & the screaming is flock calling it may or may not increase to another vocalization...

Since you will be going to school, you need to start weaning him from your company or your grand parents will have to contend with him screaming for you in your absence.....get him interested in chew toys, foraging toys, anything to keep him from getting bored during your absence.....looks like you've got some B&G training homework to read up on & start practicing before going back to school.....

The hair thing can be handled several ways.....cut your hair short, tell him NO & put him back in his cage/on his perch when he does it, or add that to your training routine & train him not to do it.....

The latching on to fingers is testing his limits...seeing what he can get away with & if your response is interpreted as favorable, it's likely to become a game for Vini.....maybe, to get you back into the study & application routine, today would be a good time to start learning how to train a blue & gold macaw.....

Good luck.....in training Vini & with school.....


Since he's started grabbing fingers, watch out for toes, some birds find human toes enticing & will start grabbing then.....instead of just being a friend to Vini, you have to start acting like a parent & set limits for your unruly child.....

 

[crazyaboutbirds20]

the thing is when i put him in the cage he screams and my grandpa starts yelling and saying the neighbors will call animal control and take him from me and i don't want that either buts its not like the neighbors have complained or anything and when he latches on to my fingers i say in a strict voice no and his eyes dilate so he probably does think its a game. he has many toys but they keep him busy for an hour and a half as for training im not sure where to start hes become spoiled with attention and head scratches and i have this stool in my room that i put him on when im charcoal drawing because the charcoal breaks easy and he likes to eat my stuff he gets mad and starts screaming cause he wants to be on the bed with me if you or anyone could tell me where to start first with the training it would be great but im not sure he'll listen he doesn't take me seriously

 

[goalerjones]

I agree with Weco.

No changes are going to be easy. Changes are always going to come though.
If you have never worked with children then it is going to be hard to have a frame of reference when looking to the future.

If you don't take this time seriously the problems will not stop but grow worse. Macaws are very loving, playful and energetic birds. But you don't want one in charge of your house. And as smart as they are they know how to manipulate if given the chance.

Start small. Pick a command to work on and make that happen. Don't look at how many things need to change all at once, it can be demoralizing.

As for animal control, my guess is that it bothers your grandfather most of all but it would be a good idea to step outside and test the noise level for yourself to see what your neighbors have to deal with.

And one trick I have learned when my guy gets really noisy is to whisper to him or sing softly to him. My wife does this with our Hahns and he quiets down for a bit. Afterwards we can usually keep him distracted enough to halt the honking.