Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HELP

[MelanieAnn]

Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HELP

Hello! I am getting a 10 yr old BG Macaw in a few hours!I have never owned a bird before,:52: and he has been with this family since he was born, he is 10 now. The previous owner is moving and cannot take him along.
3 people have brought him back to her because he wouldn't bond with them..but when i went to visit we had a real MOMENT together. after a while of talking to him he turned his head upside down and looked into my eyes, i felt like he was looking into my soul! we stayed eye locked for about 11 second and the owner almost cried, it was a good sign, he put his foot out but when i out my arm out he got scared and bit his foot. I KNOW this relationship is going to be a lot of work, and time, i am prepared for it, but i ask how can i make this day easier on him? He is leaving his home environment and entering a new one and i do not want him to stress anymore, any advice? Thank you, and please no comments on how he should go with someone more experienced, you cannot sway me from my choice, he is going to be my companion and i am getting him in a few hours, THANK YOU!

 

[mtdoramike]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Your Kidding?? What in the world made you consider a Blue & Gold Macaw or any Macaw as a first bird or starter bird? Macaws are very tempermental and don't adjust to change very well or easily. Macaws are for experienced bird owners mainly because of their dominant behavior. "3 people have brought him back to her because he wouldn't bond with them"



I would guess it was one of two things that caused them to bring him back and that was either they got intimidated by him or the noise was too much for them to handle and like YOU, and please no comments on how he should go with someone more experienced, you cannot sway me from my choice they probably felt the same way. Shelters are full of birds like macaws because owners bought birds they had no knowledge on how to handle them or just what owning one would intail.

I also see that you have a Toddler, well guess what, now you will have TWO. A Macaw is a perpetual two year old child that will NEVER GROW UP! They are expensive to own. Macaws can cost hundreds of dollars a month just in food and toys. A typical macaw toy can run $50.00 and up depending on where you get them. This doesn't include vet visits. I have $1000.00 set aside that is not to be touched just for those emergency vet visits to make sure the cost is covered.

Also, do you realize that a Macaw beak is one of the largest and most powerful in the bird world and can snap a small finger of a toddler off with one bite? I would feel a tad more comfortable about this if you had owned a medium sized bird before or some bird experience OR if you had started with a hed fed baby from a breeder that has been weaned so that you and your family can grow with the bird.

Also, have you been around a screaming squawking Macaw? I don't mean those little chirps or periodic squawks to get your attention, I mean those hellish tempertantrum screams & screeches which macaws can and will do quite often. What is your living arrangements, apartment or house? How close are your neighbors? They will also be living with this bird, how are they about noise?

If you haven't taken possession of this bird, I would back out quick, fast and in a hurry.

So if my above posting hasn't scared you off and your bound and determined to go through with this, GOOD LUCK. I don't mean to sound negative here, but I don't think this is a good idea.

But if you get the bird, give him a little space for a few days. put him in the center of traffic like the living area so that he can see the every day goings on and feel part of it. Sit by his cage, read, sing or just talk to him. DON'T ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO POKE THOSE LITTLE FINGERS INSIDE HIS CAGE because most macaws and other birds for that matter are cage aggressive. Feed him treats through the bars and once you feel comfortable with this, open his door and allow him out to explore.

One thing you better remember, macaws like to intimidate you. They will lundge at you like they want to bite you. Once a macaw knows he has intimidated you, you have lost the battle. You have to be forceful with them. By the way, they live to be 70 years and older.

 

[mtdoramike]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

By the way, did you read this post? It's in a thread a few threads below yours.

"i've heard macaws before, at pet stores, at the zoo, at a friends house. i heard them do the loud high pitch quick call. i thought thats what people meant when they say macaws are loud. it is loud, but i didnt think it was too bad. aparantly macaws have another sound with is a low piched EAR DRUM BLOWING. had never heard this one before. i'm expecting a 30 day notice within the next 48 hours. i have no idea why he is screaming like that. he does it when im paying attention to him, when i'm not, wether he's hungry or not, and he seems ok on toys and he has a good diet which includes alot of fruits and veggies a small amount of shelled almonds and walnuts and those expensive biscuit pellet things. why is he screaming he does it at all hours of the day. what should i do?
if anyone googles macaw/apartment and you're reading this, don't get a macaw if you live in apartment it doesnt seem doableat all. ive had him a week and i know for sure im going to get kicked out of here any second. that scream/yell is louder than anything i have ever heard in my whole intire life and the sheer pitch of it is mind shattering"

 

[roxynoodle]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

I have to say, my conure is a fraction of the size, and I would be worried having her around a toddler. Even she is capable of ripping a finger open. I would highly recommend you do not consider a bird this size and temperament until your child is quite a bit older. And yes, it's going to be like chasing 2 toddlers around your house. Worse really because your human one probably won't eat the dishwasher or the couch!

With a child her age, you should strongly consider a budgie or cockatiel. They are gentle souls and nowhere near as complex personality wise. Male budgies can learn up to 600 words so if talking is important to you, they talk! They talk a lot!

If you are totally set on this idea, you need to learn everything you can about parrot behavior as quickly as you can. A parrot rescue in your area may even have classes you can take free or cheaply. And please make sure you protect your child. Imagine how you will hate yourself if you are rushing him or her to the ER to have a finger reattached. Or worse, several surgeries to try to fix his or her face. You'll never be able to forgive yourself :-( In the wild, macaws chew through entire trees, laying the top 1/3 of the forest on the ground to provide food for other animals. They have one of the strongest bite forces of anything on the planet. And unlike many dogs or cats who may very well never bite anyone their entire lives, birds bite. They bite because they are frightened by something, to exert control, because they are excited, because they are hormonal, because they are defending territory, because they are tired, and even to create drama to liven up the moment. And a macaw ranks near the very top of pets that can cause horrendous damage with a bite. They literally can rip half your face off in one shot!

Please understand those of us who have responded are doing so in your best interest. It's not because we are jealous and don't want you to have it, or anything like that.

Oh, and $1000 set aside for vet bills? Merlin has cost me $2000 in less than 3 months of owning her. Had she been a macaw. well, even $2000 wouldn't have been enough! Yes, she has been a bit exceptional on that front, but I now realize, I don't have enough set aside for medical emergencies for my animals.

 

[Enjru]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

For those of you who do not know, Medtner's Night Wind Sonata in E minor is one of the hardest pieces in the piano repertoire. It is 30 minutes plus of non-stop demands on the pianist's technique, including long, sustained, polyphonic passages where multiple, different melodic lines are played simultaneously, but brought out to sound distinct and separate in volume, tone, and expression; unusual and complex polyrhythms where the right and left hands have to count different numbers of beats in each bar; not to mention the basic difficulties of traversing the keyboard to play the right notes.

I have played the piano since I was 4 years old, under the cruel and sadistic disciplinarianism of a Tiger Mom who never suffered defeat in her relentless demands for L---O---N---G and compulsory practice sessions every single day upon me.

I studied piano seriously up until the first few years at university. Even after I stopped my formal studies in piano, I continued to play and expanded my repertoire by learning new, difficult concert pieces on my own. I only stopped playing for a year here and a year there at times when I was both working AND doing my postgraduate studies. My repertoire includes a lot of the usual Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Debussy concert pieces.

I want to learn Medtner's Night Wind Sonata. I can start doing some work on my own by trying to build up my stamina while avoiding the build-up of tension, until I can do 30 minutes plus of non-stop piano playing. I can start work on learning the correct polyrhythms for both hands together by tapping the polyrhythms out on a desk. But, I know that anything more than that, I will need professional tuition from an advanced piano teacher, who knows how to teach this piece of music properly. I consider the learning of Medtner's Night Wind Sonata to be a project that will take me at least 4 years, and that is only providing that I can keep up with serious piano practice of around 6 to 8 hours per day.

Now, if some noob pianist wanna-be logged onto a piano forum and said that they haven't actually played the piano before, but wants to play Medtner's Night Wind Sonata in 3 hours' time and needs to learn how to do it pronto because the people who have bought the concert tickets will start arriving in 3 hours’ time, do you really think I will start teaching them do-re-mi and take them on a Sound Of Music tour around Salzburg, or do you think I will give them a message that what they want has no relevance to reality?

 

[Safira]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

I don't want to keep repeating what those above have already said, please take their advice to heart and really think about this commitment before you step in to it.

We don't want to scare you away from the forum, so if you do (or don't) take this bird, please continue to ask questions here so you can learn and keep yourself and the bird healthy and happy.

It can take a very very long time for a bird to trust you. I've had a pair of Congo African Grey's for over a month and they don't trust me yet, and I don't really trust them completely either. This bird you're taking has had 10 years to develop habits and a personality. He will test you, and he will try to intimidate you no matter how nice he might have been when you met him. "Bonding" with him can take a year or more, and you may never really get that close-close relationship some owners have with their birds. Are you prepared to be more of a caretaker, then a friend?

If you take him, and I strongly suggest you head the advice of the other members and rethink it, give him plenty of time to adjust to his new surroundings and do as much research as you can. Read over the old posts in this forum on Macaws and any issues they have had. Look up their diet, things like that.

Make sure your child knows not to put her finger anywhere near the cage. Macaws will lunge to get a reaction and could grab ahold of your kids finger very quickly if he wants to.

But please, if you do take this bird and have more questions ask them here. I think all of us would want to help the bird and you, even if it means you may have to hear a few "I told you not to.."

Oh Oh, and PS.. LARGE BRIGHT PINK font is hard to read easily. As much as I like color I think the font size was just a little too large.

 

[Mozzie]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Congrats on your new baby (if you do indeed get him). It sounds like he chose you to bond with. It is a big commitment, but as long as you have done your homework I am sure you will be fine. You will have to be very careful with him around your child for sure. But everybody has let you know that already. I have to agree with them that it would be better if your child was old enough to understand the dangers. As far as advice on how to make his day home easier, just take your time with him. Don't rush him. Give him time to adjust to his new surroundings. Keep things a little on the quiet side for him at first. Offer him treats, talk to him, sing to him. Like I said before do your homework before you bring him home so that you know what you are getting into. You don't want to bring him home and then have to return him. That would be too hard on him. You never want to buy a bird on an impulse. So just make sure it is the right thing for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Enjru]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

I KNOW this relationship is going to be a lot of work, and time, i am prepared for it

Well, let's find out how prepared you are for it...

It's past 3 hours time since you've posted, so this B&G macaw is home with you. Oh, you just want to look into its eyes and this time you can stare for even longer! You find you can look into its eyes and find true love this time for a full on 11 minutes! Wow! You log onto another Parrot Forum because the people on this one don't indulge your impulsivities very well, and you boast about what a deep relationship you have with this bird. Tomorrow morning, you wake up to find its cage bottom covered in big messy dumps of orange colored poo, and urine and green slimy poo on the floor outside its cage, two and a half blue feathers caught in the bottom grate and a dozen bits of fluffy white down caught on the cage bars. Would you be concerned and why?

 

[Enjru]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

...but as long as you have done your homework...Like I said before do your homework before you bring him home so that you know what you are getting into.

This person has not done her homework on parrots. Hands up who else here would meet a parrot for the first time and "lock eyes" with it to stare into each other's souls? The macaw raised its foot but it wasn't to step up or to wave a "Hello!" The macaw decided to use its beak for something, but got scared (she got THAT right!) and bit its own foot instead. What was the macaw originally going to bite?

 

[Molcan2]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

I wish you luck on your new family member. I would take in consideration what everyone has said above but please don't take offense to it. I hope that you have really looked into what it takes to own a parrot and have done some research. Everyone is just concerned about the bird. More often than not people get them because they are pretty and then they end up in rescues. They make a lot of mess, a lot of noise, take up a lot of time, and cost a lot of money. However they are a joy to have (or none of us would have them).

Since you are so new at this, you may be jumping in over your head or everything may turn out just fine. There is sooooo much information to know before taking in a re-home. Here is some basics: don't expect anything from the bird for the first month (if he wants to sit in his cage and doesn't want to come out then let him just sit there). Macaws are very sensitive when transitioning into a new home. Expect to have him for a FULL year before seeing him really get comfortable (this first year usually entails a lot screaming and testing you). No matter how intolerable he is for the first year don't give up. It takes time, lots of time. Dont push him, this will result in a bite if he feels threatened. Allow his cage to be his safe haven that he can retreat to, don't reach in and try to pick him up inside his cage. Allow him to come out on his own (if he doesn't feel like coming out let him decide when he is comfortable enough). If he does come out and you pick him up, if he seems nervous, then return him to his cage. These aren't like having other pets, they are extremely intelligent. They are also a prey animal and need to feel safe. Hes got to get to know you first, you will build trust with him over time.

One thing that I would do is get in touch with a behaviorist to help you (also can do bird clubs, talk to rescues etc.). Also, if you can, keep close contact with his previous owners they may be able to help you out as well.

My first bird I ever had was a U2. He was just handed to me when I was a teenager. Everything with that bird turned out fine. I don't ever recommend large parrots as a first bird but that doesn't mean that it cant work. Do your research, ask questions, consult professionals, and goo luck. Update us and let us know how it goes.

 

[Mare Miller]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

My first bird was also a U2, and like Molcan2, just handed to me. I didn't know anything about anything when it came to parrots but learned along the way. Luckily, I didn't have small children living at home, at the time.

My niece came to live with us shortly after we acquired Amigo and it suddenly became super stressful having her and her small 2yr. old daughter in the same home, they stayed with us for around 7 months and everyday we were on 'red alert' about her getting near Amigo's cage. Amigo's cage is very tall and wide, he would climb down to 2yr. old height level, stick his foot out towards my grand-niece and in this very creepy old man voice say, "Hiii, therrre"!, while his talons slowly opened and closed. It sounded like he was trying to lure her in. It was scary! Amigo has grabbed my fingers through the bars before and if he wanted to do damage I would have been in real trouble because his grip is like a vice grip.

If it wasn't for you having a young child in the home, I would not try and discourage you for wanting to try and give this bird a good home.

 

[roxynoodle]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Yes, it's the small child who is my biggest concern.

I am the sort who bought an untrained, difficult, 5 year old mare as my first horse and broke and trained her. She turned out to be an awesome horse, who had no fear, so she never spooked at shows or on trails.

I've owned quite a few other animals as well that I probably could have been better prepared for upon bringing them home, but it always worked out.

If you are an intuitive animal person, you will do what is right for your new bird. You will get to understand it quickly and find out how to properly care for it.

But, I would be leery of a lot of birds with a toddler in my home. Even adults stick their fingers in the cages and don't understand how to interact with birds.

And yes, some will lure you in like Mare Miller's bird! I had that with an amazon once. All his body language said "I want nothing more than to rip you into little pieces, bruhahaha". What he was actually saying to me was, "Come here! I won't bite you!" But, I was an adult and had enough parrot experience to know that wasn't true.

 

[Spiritbird]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Suggest you read the articles on this site https://companionparrotonline.com/Member_Articles.html

 

[Spiritbird]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

FYI Making direct eye contact with a new bird is a threat to that bird and you will not bond successfully. I gave you a good link to study. Please no more bright pink colors. It hurts our eyes.

 

[sssaucey]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Like everyone else here I'm worried about the situation you are putting the bird and yourself in. I don't think many people are prepared for a macaw as their first time bird. I too want a macaw in the future, that's one of the reasons I joined this forum.

Now I can't give you much info as people who actually own macaws or other large parrots, but I do know how aggressive my tiny lovebird can be and also the bites that her little beak can give me when she's in a mood. This macaw is larger and he's going to be stressed and most likely angry at being removed from his home of ten years. You might think there was a instant bond(and maybe there was)but birds are smart they often show you kindness to lure you in for a bite

I think you should think more on your reasoning for taking in this macaw, and make sure your prepared for the possibility of nasty bites or a bird that does not want anything to do with you

good luck

 

[Joeyx]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

this thread's hilarious, sorry to say.

still, i don't think you guys should be bashing her like that. i agree that her decision to
get a blue and gold macaw as a first bird because of an 11 second eye contact moment
sounds kinda ridiculous, but let's see what happens first. if she says she's "prepared,"
then just wait and see if she actually was or if she was just saying that because she's
excited about the bird.

anyway, congrats on your new bird, MelanieAnn. i hope it bonds with you and you can
provide it with a good home.

 

[roxynoodle]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

I don't think anyone here was trying to bash her, Joey. At least I think I've gotten to know everyone who posted well enough from their other posts that I don't think anyone meant to. I do agree we may have come off too strong, and gotten her upset. Hopefully not, and hopefully she will be back.

If I did, I apologize. It is hard to understand inflection from writing instead of speaking to someone one on one.

 

[luvmytooo]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

Absolutely , many tones can be taken when reading emails.
I hope she wasnt too put off either , but maybe she is second guessing herself too.

 

[luvmytooo]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

And I forgot to mention in my last post, that this girl can get really hurt too if she isnt careful and experienced to handle such a bird. I would hate to hear she has gotten hurt and the bird re homed AGAIN. That would be two disasters.

 

[mtdoramike]

Re: Getting my "second hand" B&G Macaw tommarrow, how do i get him to trust me!?? HEL

It's not really my intent to come across harsh at times, but when I see a bunch of red flags flying I can't just sit back and do nothing. There is a reason why this bird has been rehomed three different times and brought back to the original owner. I'm sure all three homes felt the same way she does that they could make it work, but they found out that they couldn't.

I hope she changes her mind, but if not, I hope she sticks around so that we can try and help her through this. There are a lot of experienced bird owners here who can help.