Bad Macaw bite please help

[Kalidasa]

You could try this...hold him against your chest and place the spray nozzle directly on his back, squirting so it splashes down his skin and feathers, and moving the nozzle downwards, then flip him so he's facing you (but still against the chest) and doing the front, from neck down. It's less like getting sprayed, and more like a water massage and all the dirt and stuff will roll right off. If you do it the same time every morning, he'll settle down and get into it, because it will be part if the routine.

 

[_LB]

I wonder if he got his favorite treat or something every time he was misted he'd start coming around to water? If you have a t-stand or something with a food bowl with some tasty treats, if he'd be content to sit and eat through a few sprays, and eventually start to like it? Or perhaps recruit a volunteer (person) and have the bird watch while you spray the volunteer and the volunteer gets all your attention and affection?

I always thought we had one of the strangest macaws (most macs seem to LOVE water), but I bet others have experienced the issue. There's probably a fear/dislike of water thread out there, but I'm not seeing it. Maybe if you made a separate post others would chime in on what they've done.

 

[Jett424]

At least you didn't need stitches. Could have been a lot worse. Good to hear everything is well.

 

[MacawLoverOf3]

Kalea nailed me on the upper arm, close to the arm pit and she was just hanging on and I am in pain of coarse, trying to get her to let go. Don't know how I got her off me, she did not fall to the ground but later I was thinking how stupid I was, I should have put my other hand under her feet at least because she was totally hanging onto my skin and if I put a hand for her to stand up onto she might have let go sooner.

 

[sprince]

I edited out the animal abuse suggestion from your post that was made by another member.

I hope this was an attempt at humor!

 

[Sterling1113]

I love my animals and would defend my animals with all of my being, however and that is a big HOWEVER, any animal under my care, will only one time, inflict damage like that upon myself or my loved ones.

In 25 years of owning parrots and German Shepherd Dogs, it has never happened - once.

You needn't worry about my animals.

That's like only having a child until it becomes a toddler and starts being able to inflict damage or throwing things.. people and animals alike cause damage and harm accidentally. Even if you get EXTREMELY lucky and get a bird that doesn't nip too hard by accident or get scared and bite.. Yeah sometimes it's on purpose, but like how us women get PMS every month birds get a hormonal phase that's pretty much unavoidable.. and it's not cause they hate you, it's cause their bodies are changing and they're not sure how to take it. And that's only ONE reason a bird may bite.. sometimes there seems to be no reason at all!
I don't understand your thought process but making a comment about KILLING a parrot, a pet that pretty much EVERYBODY on this forum considers to be a part of their respective families, and then not expecting the harsh feedback, and then telling us NOT TO WORRY about your animals.. I just can't process that thought. It doesn't click.

Birds can't lash out at people vocally like people can. They can scream, but that just doesn't do it sometimes. It's like a ticking time bomb with a beak.. It's a matter of WHEN, not IF you get bit..

 

[Kiwibird]

Terry.

To each his own. My GSD's are world class kept and majestic animals. My birds are meticulously maintained and bring great joy to myself, my wife and my children.

I have high expectations for all of my animals, as I know they do of me to provide them food, love, well being and most importantly, structure and discipline.

My dogs need the support of their pack - us - and our birds are not different needing the support of their flock - us.

People on forums can blame themselves all they want when and animal mars a face or rips a finger off.

I love my animals and would defend my animals with all of my being, however and that is a big HOWEVER, any animal under my care, will only one time, inflict damage like that upon myself or my loved ones.

In 25 years of owning parrots and German Shepherd Dogs, it has never happened - once.

You needn't worry about my animals.

Myself and my husband have extremely high behavioral expectations of Kiwi too. We've spent countless hours working with him, and do not accept him shredding random things around the house, flinging food, excessively loud screaming, behaving in a menacing manner ext... He is, overall, an exceptionally well behaved parrot. However, I also never forget that he is still an ANIMAL at the end of the day, and that we CHOSE to have him in our home, not the other way around. While his relative intelligence and ability to learn OUR desired behaviors (which are not his natural behaviors) is a blessing, he still comes no where close to my intelligence and still has a instinctual drive that can occasionally negate any amount of training he gets.

A couple years ago, I woke him with kisses like I do every morning and he took a huge chunk out of my nose. It was the worst parrot bite I've ever had (and I grew up around them, been bitten hundreds of times in my life). NEVER did it cross my mind to "snap his neck", or to injure him in any way. My first thought was what happened that triggered the bite and my next thought was how to prevent the behavior in the future (starting by calmly placing the covers back on the cage while I treated the wound and he calmed down). I don't blame myself for him biting me, it's not like I was abusing him. But I also don't hold a grudge against my bird either. His level of comprehension between right and wrong is so minimal, and what good does it do for myself to get mad at an animal for behaving like one?

It frightens me, truly, that someone like yourself has animals with that mentality. Especially such non-domesticated, highly intelligent, behaviorally complex and frequently misunderstood animals such as parrots. They don't ever bite for no reason, we just don't always recognize or understand their reasoning. It is the human with superior intelligence who chose to bring the animal into their home to figure out A. why the animal bit them and B. what actions (besides reverting to a sadistic and ignorant reaction themselves) to take to not have a biting incident occur in the future. BTW, parrots aren't domesticated like cats and dogs, and biting is a NATURAL behavior you can only "train out of them" so much. SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR VIEWPOINT!

 

[Buzz2537]

I edited out the offending quote.

I agree 100 percent Terry and if I was an SPCA officer and read that post I would be sure checking in on his animals!

 

[MikeyTN]

Damicodric,

I get what your saying and I have owned dogs for over 21 years and have owned birds for over 17 years. Yes they need discipline and train properly. That doesn't give you the right to do harm to any of thr animals cause you see yourself as the almighty disciplinarian to cause harm to them just because you don't see what they do fit in the way you see them or think they should act like. They're life's creations and nothing gives you the right to punish them as you see fit. Killing them is not right to do! If you see it that way maybe you shouldn't own any animals. They're like people, they have their bad days as well. They need to be taught cause they're like little toddlers that never grows up. You have just been fortunate rhat none of your birds acts up but every bird is different, no two is alike. I don't treat my animals that way and I never will.

 

[MJ01]

everyone on this forum has so much love and concern for each other its like 1 big family respect to everyone here <3

 

[MikeyTN]

Talking about macaw bites, Willie just bit me....He's been hateful towards me lately, his hormone is a bit late this time around. Which I think that's what's going on right now. He bit me Sunday night while just sitting on my arm, he went down and chomp down my hand, although he didn't break skin, it hurts bad for days and it still hurts right now. Tonight he broke skin though....He's been with me for 10 years and I've been bitten less then 10 times so it's nothing bad. But I did show him of my dismay after he bit me, I held down his head with my hand while my palms down pushing his beaks closed. He knew I mean business so he calmed down and started yapping away calling the dogs.....I just got the bleeding to stop.....

 

[mrgoogls]

I edited out the quote you attached to your post due to it's offending graphic nature and suggestion of animal abuse which this forum does not condone.

wow, i cant believe i just read that. most people who actually love their parrots(or any other animal) see them as a member of you family. parrots are like 3 year old. if you had a couple a toddlers, and they got into a little fight, would you "break his neck" because they weren't perfect? no, you wouldn't. what happened was either an accident, or there was a reason. maybe the bird was spooked by something, or jut didn't know how hard he was biting at the time. but "breaking his neck" is never a good answer.

 

[goalerjones]

Okay, not gonna get into the flame war part, but I will address the bite.

It looks like a crushed soft tissue injury. Lots of swelling and bruising.

1) Circulation is to be observed. If it begins to darken and become increasingly painful seek immediate medical attention.
2) Neosporin or other topical antibiotics will help keep any infection under control.
3) keep it elevated, this will help minimize the swelling.
4) you can use ibuprofen to also combat the pain and swelling.
5) keep it wrapped during the day, unwrap it at night to allow the air to heal the broken skin.
6) if it gets hot, starts weeping, drains pus you have an infection and will most likely need oral antibiotics.

 

[Kinny]

Damicodric, do you not know that parrots, especially Macaws are like toddlers? They WILL test the boundaries, sometimes aggressively. It is something each parrot owner is aware of. Parrots are amazing, however they do have their downsides at times - like anything.

Actually, I take parrots/animals in yes, for mine and my families pleasure. But also for the pleasure and benefit of the animal. There is always a reason for bites, no matter how silly or small. Now if my dog viciously bit me i would be considering rehoming it, but never would i think of snapping it's neck! My husband has been that angry with a parrot of ours once that he wanted to chop off its head, but he knew he never could because it would be wrong and cruel. Yes, it certainly would stop the biting, but thats the easy way out. When someone harms themselves, we try to do all we can to find out why and help them overcome it.. We don't just say "Oh just break your neck, that'll solve it." Yes people are more important than animals, but animals are still extremely important, and deserve and require our love and kindness. My parrots help me so much in so many ways, often the ones with biting ir aggressive issues help me to become a better person by figuring out the issue, and coming up with a unique personal/parrotal way of helping/training the bird. It is a very rewarding experience.

ALL animals have that potential! Its our job as animal owners to ensure that the animal is trained well, and even then we know that its still a possibility. Many things trigger it, and before we go deciding to end an innocent life, we must figure out WHAT triggered it and HOW to train the animal out of it etc.

I think you need to do a lot of thinking and perhaps rehome your parrots if you truly believe once it bites it should be killed. Parrots don't have that same 'taste for blood' that dogs and cats do. I pray you learn to respect animals, as it will help you have more respect for your family. How? I'll let you figure that out for yourself.

I edited out the quote you attached to your post due to it's offending graphic nature and suggestion of animal abuse which this forum does not condone.

 

[Birdbrain91]

I guess this will teach me not to miss a day on the forum. There is nothing I can add to the post about breaking my birds neck. I just hope they don't post on here again.

Mikey thanks for bringing it back around to the topic. I'm sorry to hear Willie bit you. I got it again today thankfully not nearly as bad.

He was on my lap and I was giving him head scratches and tried to preen a pin feather next to his bare patch. I just said in a firm voice "Wesley no". He stopped and then stepped up and I told him no bite and up to his cage he went. I showed him the bite and said "No bite oucheee" in his sweet voice he said "Good Boy" I said " No good boy ouchee, no bite". He knows how to suck up. I think next time I'll try your approach.

 

[Kinny]

I guess this will teach me not to miss a day on the forum. There is nothing I can add to the post about breaking my birds neck. I just hope they don't post on here again.

Mikey thanks for bringing it back around to the topic. I'm sorry to hear Willie bit you. I got it again today thankfully not nearly as bad.

He was on my lap and I was giving him head scratches and tried to preen a pin feather next to his bare patch. I just said in a firm voice "Wesley no". He stopped and then stepped up and I told him no bite and up to his cage he went. I showed him the bite and said "No bite oucheee" in his sweet voice he said "Good Boy" I said " No good boy ouchee, no bite". He knows how to suck up. I think next time I'll try your approach.

LOL! The "Good Boy" part made me laugh! Such a cheeky boy.

 

[Damicodric]

This forum provides far greater benefits than wasting time on "perspective" wars. I deleted my two posts and apologize for my tone and a poor choice of words.

However, I will not apologize for my thoughts in the aggregate. If any animal, dog, bird, cat, varmint ..... is in the midst of hurting you, so badly that you think "I might lose a finger" (and that animal will not let go), in MY view, you do whatever you need to do to terminate the immediate situation. Positive Reinforcement does not come to mind as an immediate fix.

We've all been through the bites, nips, scrapes, rough play, etc that comes with owning parrots, dogs, et al - that comes with the territory.

This was not one of those situations.

Again, I apologize for my tone and choice of words and hope that type situation never arises for anybody.

 

[JerseyWendy]

You absolutely cannot and must never compare dogs to parrots. Dogs have been domesticated, and parrots are WILD animals, whether they were raised in captivity or not.

 

[Kiwibird]

This forum provides far greater benefits than wasting time on "perspective" wars. I deleted my two posts and apologize for my tone and a poor choice of words.

However, I will not apologize for my thoughts in the aggregate. If any animal, dog, bird, cat, varmint ..... is in the midst of hurting you, so badly that you think "I might lose a finger" (and that animal will not let go), in MY view, you do whatever you need to do to terminate the immediate situation. Positive Reinforcement does not come to mind as an immediate fix.

We've all been through the bites, nips, scrapes, rough play, etc that comes with owning parrots, dogs, et al - that comes with the territory.

This was not one of those situations.

Again, I apologize for my tone and choice of words and hope that type situation never arises for anybody.

Thank you for being a big enough person to apologize. I know Kiwi was essentially feral and absolutely vicious when we first adopted him. Maybe I have a high tolerance for pain, or maybe it's all the times I've been bit by birds, but I'm glad I was able to keep my composure and not encourage it instead of having regrettable split second reactions. He is an absolute sweetheart who just needed someone to give him a chance and reason to be nice. My guess is you have probably never dealt with rescues before, and imagining your own, well cared for all their lives birds doing that kind of damage is hard. Rescues aren't like curious little hand-fed babies or even well cared for rehomes, where a bad bite comes form seemingly nowhere. Rescues (especially big ones like macaws) have been abused and misused in god knows what terrible ways, and come with all kinds of anger, mental and health issues. The challenge of training and socializing one certainly isn't for everyone. Hopefully, you can gain some insight on this forum of the many different situations people find themselves in with birds.

 

[getwozzy]

Positive reinforcement is not an immediate fix, but over time using CONSTANT positive reinforcement to overcome undesired behaviors is the way to go with parrots. BITING IS PART OF HOW THEY COMMUNICATE!!! There is ***ALWAYS*** a reason for them biting (regardless of how severe the bite!!) and it's usually because WE FAIL to read the signs. It's up to the owner to put aside their pride and admit they did something wrong, and then work to correct the mistakes so it's avoided in the future.

And the risk of "I might lose a finger" goes with the territory of owning an animal who's capable of such an act- and then you learn how to read their behavior and implement positive reinforcement with training and you LEARN how to deal with those "I might lose a finger" situations....or how to avoid them in the first place. And if it DOES happen- then I hope you learn your lesson and you're happy you didn't lose anything else.

Causing physical harm to your bird is far from an acceptable method of "terminating the immediate situation".... I hope you stick around to find out how to properly deal with biting issues.