TexDot33
Bird poop and baby poop
- Dec 26, 2006
- 2,576
- 10
- Parrots
- 15 year-old Sun Conure: Hamlet &
14 year-old Green-Cheeked Conure: Mac
I am also going to post a post from another board - this member has 2 macaws and has helped in rescues for like 10 years ... this guy knows his stuff when it comes to bit birds (macs and 'zons) ... this is your basic bite pressure training how to AND WHY!
birdman660 from another forum said:Step one, teach them to communicate with something other than their beaks. Give them outlets for their "wants" so they don't get used to using their beaks to make a point... [cuz by that point I am getting both mad and frustrated, and am liable to use too much force and injure you.]
Step two, beak play. With macaws beak play is essential both psychologically and otherwise. It is a bonding thing. During beak play, you must:
(1) play gently and not "latch on" yourself. If you grab and hold, your bird will grab and hold.
(2) Constantly reinforce to your bird when he is applying too much pressure, and have your other hand at the ready to "pry" the beak off if necessary, and preferably to anticipate the clamp down, and deflect the beak away from flesh.
Gentle cues: that's too hard, not so hard, that hurts, take it easy... and again, don't get them so excited that they loose control. When they get too hard, you stop, and back off. Too keep playing this game, they have to be gentle.
When he is being beaky, don't give him anything to hit and latch onto. The back of a hand on a closed fist, with your thumb safely inside your fingers. If he is up high and lunging, lower your head, and give him the top of your head. Okay, he may pull hair, but he won't rip your nose off...
Thumbs, forearms, cheeks & lips (occasionally noses), ears, and especially the back of your neck (trapezious area) are favorite targets of opportunity... DON'T GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY!
Back off, step him up, with a stick if necessary, and reinforce discipline with a little laddering...
All macaws, like all amazons, should be stick trained as well as arm trained.
Large macaws should be primarily arm candy, not shoulder birds. Forearm train them. These limits have to be set and reinforced or your bird will begin going down the path of "training you." He will run up your shoulder and begin latching on with his beak when you go to get him down.
This is cured by putting the bird on the floor, and making him sit there a moment, ignored... to think about what he just did. NOW STEP UP NICE AND GO TO YOUR SPOT!
Being a stable perch also discourages beakiness. A lot of times they aren't biting. They are trying to hold on.
Go at the macaw's pace. If you try to rush it, they will be less inclined to trust you. Macaws test the perch...
Well, macaws pretty much test everything. Negative reactions result in an increased bite pressure. Let them bob on your hand and test the perch, and be goofy to their hearts content. If you pull away, they will increase pressure. Don't react. Don't make a fuss. Push the beak away.
Are you beginning to understand that half of the bite pressure training is training the bird, and the other half of the bite pressure training is about how you handle the bird so that he doesn't apply pressure? THAT, and an absence of fear, is the secret... [if there is a secret] to handling big macs.
Macs smell fear a mile away, and they know who they can dominate. If they can, they will...
Fortunately, even the beak on a lunging mac comes in a convenient handle shape. If he is leaning forward, he is off balance and extended.
As powerful as their beak is, their scrawny little necks are no match for your arm. Grab the top part of the beak with your thumb, index and middle finger, push in towards the bird, then pull towards you. The bird just lost his balance...
As he loses his balance, your hand goes under the feet and lifts him up.
Now he's on your hand. (Birdie said no. That's yes!) That little hissy fit didn't work...
If he continues with the hissy fit, the hand lets go and he's on the floor, and can sit there and think about it a minute... (That's NO!!!)
No fuss. No drama. Nothing abusive. No time to react. Just do it. Boom! Message received. If this happens when he throws a hissy, he'll stop throwing them...
If he gets his way when he throws a hissy, you have just taught the bird to throw hissys and use his beak to get what he wants.
It's just that simple, and just that complicated...