help with macaw

[tilly1]

Hi everyone I'm new to this site and I'm desperate for some help please. I've bought a blue and gold macaw not sure off age the people I bought him off said he was 4 and a half? Not sure on sex but he is called George. I've had him for 4 weeks now he hates my partner and has hung off his lip and attacks him all the time. He screams and screams and its deafaning. I can stroke him and feed him from my hand but he has bit me which hurt so now I'm a nervous wreck around him. How do I train him???? He says hello and bye bye and laughs I know I haven't had him long but he is well cute but I need to stop this biting and screaming and lunging at my partner and me. Can anyone help me????

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi Tilly, welcome to the forum.

Here, please look at this thread, it's a discussion on training methods: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/43631-old-vs-modern-techniques-8.html#post391830 I know it's a long read, but there are some helpful links attached there as well.

 

[Birdbrain91]

Welcome to the form.

I know what you are going thru I adopted a B&G almost 6 months ago and we are sill working thru his lunging. It takes time for him to settle in and you can't show fear or he will take advantage of it. Parrots are very smart and are in tune to us.

Wesley hates my husband and becomes aggressive when he is around. At times the only way I can get him to step up off the floor is to wrap a towel around my arm. I try it first with a treat (twice) then I get the towel he knows I mean business with the towel, he just steps up then I give him a treat. The big difference is with the towel I have the confidence and if he bites I'm not going to get hurt.

I think you have to look at every situation and see what is best so no one gets hurt. IMO I think we need both New and Old training techniques. Every relationship need a compromise and this is no different.

The thread that Wendy posted is a good place to start.

Sorry about my rant and rave.

 

[MonicaMc]

Screaming - What do you want him to do instead of that?

Screaming is a tough one to deal with. Most people will recommend to ignore the screaming, then when the bird gets quiet, to immediately go in and reward the bird. When I say the bird is quiet, I mean you reward that bird for 3-5 seconds of being quiet. If a bird screams, you want to be absolutely quiet until the bird stops. If the bird hears you making noises in the rest of the house, this could result in even more screaming.

However, this method can potentially backfire as the bird may also learn that it needs to scream more for you to show up.

You could try reinforcing sounds that are incompatible to screaming - such as rewarding him every time he says a word or phrase, rewarding every time he makes a non-screaming sound. Maybe reward him every single time he rings a bell!

Use your words: Conditioning Sam to a new environment | Learning Parrots

Screaming | Lara Joseph

Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Happy Parrot Sounds!
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Stop your Parrot from Screaming for Attention



As far as the "one person bird" thing goes... here's one that might help.

Why does my parrot love me and attack my husband?


It would be good if both you and your husband worked on training George separately and get a good history of reinforcement down. Once George is well trained, it may be easier to work with him once you are both in the room.




The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs. This means one of two things. 1. Don't give him the opportunity to bite. 2. Don't put him in a situation that will result in a bite.

This doesn't mean to stop handling him and not to touch him at all, but rather, change the way you are interacting with him. Target training can be a good behavior to teach, and you can teach him to move around his cage or outside of his cage without giving him the opportunity to bite. Through the use of target training, you can also teach him to step up. In this thread, I have four videos of target training two macaws, although the two macaws are being trained for separate reasons so the end result is different, the basic concept to start the behavior is the same.

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/44390-parrot-training-workshop-barbara-heidenreich.html




In regards to lunging, you may want to determine why George is lunging. Is he lunging because you walk up behind him? Does he lunge when you walk up in front of him? Is it the speed at which you are walking that causes him to lunge? Try walking faster, or walking slower. Is there a point at which he doesn't lunge?

If you can find a way to approach him that doesn't result in a lunge, then always approach him in that manner, and when you do so, drop a treat in his cup or dish as you walk by. That way, he can learn that each time you approach something good is going to happen, and thus you teach him not to lunge.

Here's a blog by Lara Joseph that goes into more detail about lunging.

Putting Behaviors on Cue?Knowingly or Unknowingly | Lara Joseph

 

[tilly1]

Ar thanks guys all info been help full x

 

[MonicaMc]

Sorry, it seems one of my links is dead.... Here's the videos I was trying to reference.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4DjiRJu5gQ"]Part 1 - Target Training B&G Macaw with Barbara Heidenreich at Rodies Feed & Pet Supply - YouTube[/ame]


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnlHAHKmP5c"]Part 2 - Target Training B&G Macaw with Barbara Heidenreich at Rodies Feed & Pet Supply - YouTube[/ame]





[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEPmNtrZkXg"]Part 1 - Syringe Training Scarlet Macaw with Barbara Heidenreich at Rodies Feed & Pet Supply - YouTube[/ame]


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQNvJBvuVY"]Part 2 - Syringe Training Scarlet Macaw with Barbara Heidenreich at Rodies Feed & Pet Supply - YouTube[/ame]

 

[GW.Joe]

Hi Tilly, welcome to the forum.

Here, please look at this thread, it's a discussion on training methods: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/43631-old-vs-modern-techniques-8.html#post391830 I know it's a long read, but there are some helpful links attached there as well.

Do I feel a Sticky Thread in that read?

 

[GW.Joe]

Hi everyone I'm new to this site and I'm desperate for some help please. I've bought a blue and gold macaw not sure off age the people I bought him off said he was 4 and a half? Not sure on sex but he is called George. I've had him for 4 weeks now he hates my partner and has hung off his lip and attacks him all the time. He screams and screams and its deafaning. I can stroke him and feed him from my hand but he has bit me which hurt so now I'm a nervous wreck around him. How do I train him???? He says hello and bye bye and laughs I know I haven't had him long but he is well cute but I need to stop this biting and screaming and lunging at my partner and me. Can anyone help me????

I wanted to mention something I did to curb a bird screaming

I found if I put a TV on with a very low volume (and in a quiet home of course) the bird would quiet down to hear the people talking on the TV

After a few minutes I would then go to the bird and say "quiet" and give him his favorite treat
then turn off TV and repeat "quiet" and give him his favorite treata few more times

Seemed to work for me, But I am no expert !!

Joe