New member

[djarzy]

Hi mi name is Roy im fron jersey and i just bougth a blue and gold macaw two days ago . He will be 2 in may and hes very good and social everybody pet him with no problem.
Im new on this planet of macaws . Hes name is Gustave

 

[djarzy]

One more thing hes tame no biting norhing like that not biting history with previous owner either . But he wont step up .. i have to like pick him up with my hands .. he run away from me but once i grab him hes just fine. He starts the dancing and showimg off his wings .. also he has very sharp nails omg he scratch me everytime i put it on my arm ( painful)

 

[djarzy]

Some more pics

 

[TessieB]

Hello! Glad you joined. Congratulations on your new family member.

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum!!!

You can take him to the vet and have his nails filed so they won't be so sharp. I would suggest you getting some more perches within his cage. Start practicing step up over and over, he will catch on eventually! Another thing you can do is pick him up by his beak, hook the beak onto your hand and pull upwards to pick up. A lot of macaw owners/breeders picks them up by the beak. I do that with Lola. I don't do that with Willie cause he's not used to it as I've never done that with him for the past 10 years and I don't plan to start.

 

[riddick07]

Congrads on the new macaw! Definitely take him to a vet to get the nails clipped! Those things can be killer even on the small birds can't imagine the hurt they can bring on a macaw.

I never knew hooking the beak was a thing! Loki my sun conure started doing this tonight. He seemed to think it was a much better way to step up! Nice to know he isn't just a weird bird

 

[antoinette]

Congrats your Macaw is stunning
Great advise from members above
Thanks for sharing pic's

 

[broxi3781]

He's beautiful. I think I'd find him a perch with bark as well. He'll probably rip it off, but it is meant to help their nails. I've bought a few toys with bark for my Quaker, but they would be too small for yours. In the mean time I suppose you'll need long sleeves.

 

[Dude589]

He may not step up because he needs to trust you more. Does he have trust in you?

 

[Girl4Jesus83]

Congrats on you new feathered baby! For the nails I have used just a simple emery board nail file just to take off the tip and that should help a lot. Getting thick bark/wood perches that cause that nail to touch will help too. I actually went out and purchased my own dremel tool and file them that way, all though it takes some time for the bird to trust such a noisy/vibrating thing.
I'm sure you will get the step up thing down in no time. He seems to be a pretty easy going bird and not fearful so Im sure he will learn to trust you soon. Is it possible that he was taught to step up with a perch? Ive seen birds that were trained that way and end up scared of the hand.
Keep us updated on his progess