Hymom
New member
Hi,My name is Rebecca and I am a new member, as of last night, to this forum. I came to the forum looking for tips on trust building for my Hyacinth Macaw. This is my second Hyacinth and my first one was a baby, so when he came to me, he was very easy.
This past Monday I purchased a 15 year old Hy female from a lady and now I am having to learn all about patience and trust building
From what I was told, this girl was owned for a long time by an elderly couple out of state. When the couple got too old to take care of her, she went to their daughter, who I don't believe knew how to, or wanted to, take care of her. When the older couple passed away, the bird was sold to pay for the funeral. This older lady purchased her with the plans of making her a breeder bird. When she came to her, which was less than a year ago, she decided that she would keep her a pet and then her life changed and she decided to place her with a family. The lady was awesome who had her and you could tell that she really cared about her and wanted her to go to a loving and FOREVER home. I just don't think she had much time for her. My girl was kind of described as a "lost soul" who had just kind of been forgotten.
When I was at her house, and from what she told me about her, I know that the girl does not like to (or doesn't understand) "Step Up". She says that she will do it from her perch in her cage but I did not witness it. When she was on the very large perch in the living room, the lady had to grab her by her feet to get her to let her hold her. Once she did, the girl would let her pet her all over and kiss her face and just tucked her face into her, but overall you can tell that she just wants to be on the perch. After she flew to the ground, I was able to hold her. She put one foot on me and then I was able to lift her other foot and pick her up and then also pet her.
We have her home and set up her cage (which is also new to her and not the cage she is used to). I would like to take her out to perch, but she won't step up, so she doesn't come out. If we try to push it, she will bite, but you can tell she doesn't want to. At this point, I am just sitting by her cage in the evening and letting her get to know me. She will come to the corner closest to me and just sit there. If I leave the room, she will do a low squawk until I come back. She will let me reach in and pet her but I only do it for about 10 seconds and then I close the cage.
From what I read this may take several weeks to several months. I don't want to push her or do anything to set her back but I also read about being confident and just telling her to do something also..so I am a little confused about when it crosses from "trust building" to "letting her win".
I apppreciate any all help on this. I love this girl already and feel so sorry for the sad life she has had. She no longer has to worry about that again!
