Novice Wants B/G

[Birdman666]

I. I offered my arm and she stepped up. When I became tired I offered the other and she moved to it. I lowered it she moved to my shoulder and began rubbing her head on my neck and giving me kisses on the lips with her tongue. With her on my shoulder we walk through the house to view the 2nd cage and while I was looking at it she quickly moved her head in front of my face and took quite a bit on my upper lip. It bled for over an hour before it stopped. I left with out the bird. I feel really sorry for her. The only thing she said (repeatedly) was shut up! That said a lot to me about her treatment. Should I consider making an offer and bring her home? Will kindness, patience and a lot of caution turn her around. I have no experience with big birds.

NEVER put a big mac you don't know on your shoulder. You can't control them, and boy don't they know it.

Generally speaking, you don't want to lose eye contact with a big mac until you are sufficiently bonded... that's when bad things happen.

The also "displacement bite" which may have been responsible for the bite on your lip.

There may have also been a little bit of "Too much, too soon" going on here.

If the bird was not at least somewhat docile, you would never have been able to pick it up. You certainly would not have wanted it on your shoulder. So my guess is this is a decent bird, that needs the basics reinforced because it doesn't get handled much anymore.

 

[Birdman666]

Rebeca's poor feather was about hiegene.

So was the infection...

 

[Birdman666]

I'm hoping to get them to share the same cage so I can purchase a Harlequin Macaw I say advertised on Craigslist. Same story as Rebeca. Owners too busy. Bird needs grooming and personal attention. If this one works out it will be the last. I have the time but no more room.

I would seriously slow down before bringing in a 3rd mac. You need to get these two re-trained first!

 

[Birdman666]

Oh, and phone books make great big mac shredder toys... best of all, they are FREE!

 

[Gene]

The rolled up news paper has worked really well. Sammy spends hours tearing at it and has slowed down on the plucking. I haven't been able to find phone books yet but I keep asking friends if they have any. Last night Rebeca the "rescue" allowed me to scratch her head and move down her back. After that she raised each wing and allowed me to scratch under them. I went back to her about 20 minutes later and tried to scratch her head and she gave me what seemed to be a warning with her beak. Opened her beak and gave a squeal. She seems to have a personality like a cat. One minute she wants attention and the next she wants to be left alone.
At least we seem to be making progress.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I agree, just focus on the two birds you have now.

 

[Sarah13]

Good luck and be careful. Rules and affection balanced out with a dash of time and the bird will begin to bond with you. She obviously trusts you to an extent now from stepping up. you should have no problem earning more once you get her in a safe environment. She will show her appreciation. They are intelligent and socially attuned enough to their owners to do so. The feathers should come in especially the tail feathers. Have fun!

 

[Gene]

Both Sammy and Rebeca are riding on my forearm now. I try to walk so I don't bounce them around too much but they both seem fearful of falling off. Sammy holds on to my shirt with his beak and Rebeca tries to use her wings to balance. In a parrot training video I saw a woman wearing a quilted/padded covering over her forarm. This would help my guys get a better ride. I take blood thinners and I have bruses where they are gripping to hold on. Does anyone know what these are called or where I can buy one?

 

[dialupslim]

I finally saw a Green wing in person and was amazed with how huge they are... B&G are pretty cool as well.

 

[Chesphoto]

I finally saw a Green wing in person and was amazed with how huge they are... B&G are pretty cool as well.

I finally saw a Hyacinth in person and was amazed with how huge they are.

Just when I was getting use to the big beaks of the B&G, Scarlets and Green wings... They all are beautiful though.

 

[Birdman666]

Yep. Hyacinths have a head like a rottweiller!

But they sure are fun to play with!

Wouldn't want to have to pay for a stainless steel cage, or palm nuts, or macadamia nuts, or the sheer volume of toys that go with them... (unless I was rich.) BUT...

My Greenwing is every bit as mushy and playful as any Hyacinth I've ever met!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Yep. Hyacinths have a head like a rottweiller!

 

[Birdman666]

My introduction to Hy-Hy's was my first day down at the rescue. The woman that ran the place also bred Hy's and this particular Hy was her personal pet and went everywhere with her... I had never even seen one before that. He was huge, and gorgeous, and fascinating.

He was hanging by his beak on a swing, and swinging back and forth, and I was too dumb at the time to realize that was code for "PICK ME UP, RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW..."

So...

With me naively standing too close to the swing, he latches on to my shirt with both feet, let's go of his swing, and is now perched on my chest, nose to beak, with that big old beak staring down at me...

He says, "Hello. Head scratch?!" Then poofed up his head feathers.

That was not a request.

It was an order.

I spent about two hours playing with him that day, and eventually became something of a favorite bird toy!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Oh my gosh Birdman, I LOVE your stories and reading about your experiences. J

I have a funny story about a GW Macaw, and how I ended up face to face with one for the very first time. 12 or 13 years ago, when my GF was still breeding birds, she told me she needed my help one day. She needed help clipping a GW’s wings to be exact. I literally had NO big mac experience at that time. So I happily drove on over there, with a smile on my face, and as excited as one can get, knowing they are going to come face to face with a GW macaw for the first time.

Well….just as soon as she brought him into the kitchen, and I laid eyes on this massive bird with an even more massive beak, I turned as white as a ghost. “Ahem, you want me to do WHAT with him?” I asked her. “Hold him while I clip his wings”, my GF replied. “Over my dead body.” “But he’s a sweetheart, he really is, he’s so mellow and gentle,” my GF tried to convince me. I VERY reluctantly stepped closer and closer, shaking like a leaf.

I extended my arm and asked him to step up, and when his feet clenched my arm, I realized I should have worn adult diapers.

To make a long story short, my GF clipped him with ease, while this ginormous red bird perched on my arm, and he was completely unphased by the whole process.

I, on the other hand, needed to get home and change my underwear. :54:

 

[Birdman666]

Showing fear to a large macaw... oooohh! Bad idea... You're lucky that bird was that tame, because otherwise he would have owned you...

It's funny, for years I have said that there is a macaw gene. And the birds themselves know who has it and who doesn't. If you have it, they will step up nice and be wonderful, and if you don't, it doesn't matter what you do, they will lunge, and bluff, and chase you around the room...

 

[JerseyWendy]

Showing fear to a large macaw... oooohh! Bad idea... You're lucky that bird was that tame, because otherwise he would have owned you...

It's funny, for years I have said that there is a macaw gene. And the birds themselves know who has it and who doesn't. If you have it, they will step up nice and be wonderful, and if you don't, it doesn't matter what you do, they will lunge, and bluff, and chase you around the room...

Nah, I'm not lucky...the GW was just a baby, a little over 6 months old. BAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!!!

NOW I'm the crazy one. When I got Ripley, the people in the store told me he was NOT a friendly bird at all, and that if I wanted to take him out of his cage, it would be at my own risk. Well, I took him out all right...and 3 days later I relocated him to my house.

Now Ripley and my husband...that's an entirely different story.... :54:

 

[JerseyWendy]

BEAUTIFULLY said!!!!!

....but I can't teach an old horse new tricks (referring to the hubster)...he is just simply PETRIFIED of Ripley. :52:...and Ripley is taking FULL advantage (to say the least). (<--I'm not smirking or laughing at my husband...well, maybe I am... :54: )

 

[kendrafitz]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your first meeting a Hy story Birdman!!! What an absolutely awesome visual!! Hys are such puppy like birds. Anytime I see one I just want to cuddle them in and sniff their yummy scent.

When we went to TN to Parrot Mountain, they had two Hys. You were able to handle any of the birds but the Hys. They said they were the meanest type they had. Made me scratch my head knowing what I know. I prefer the big beaks to the small ones. To me it seems like generally the bigger the beak the gentler with it they are. Of course, I could be a bit biased...

 

[JerseyWendy]

...... Of course, I could be a bit biased...

Nah, Kendra...not in the least.

AND, Kendra, we can always go to BP and snuggle with those vivid blue Wildebeast. (IF they still have them...haven't been there in a few months...)

 

[Birdman666]

Well, the thing about Hys is probably not that they were mean, but with the kind of bite pressure they have, if some idiot member of the public did something stupid... whoops! there goes an arm! So my guess is this is probably as much a liability thing as anything... A pissed off Hy would be no joke!

But yeah, Big Macs sense fear a mile away, and they know exactly who can and cannot, or will not, control them. If you can't or won't... THE BIRD IS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW D@MNED WELL WHO IS IN CHARGE AROUND HERE...

I've seen dominant greenwings chase grown adults around the room because they were stupid enough to run.

A lot of that lunging stuff, is just to see how you react. Flinch or freak out, and this bird knows he owns you...

Big macs that did that to me got either no reaction, or got a reaction of two fingers on the beak, push and then pull to get the bird off balance and get him to take a step forward, and then swipe the other hand under the feet when he takes that step...

Now you have him on your hand, and you have that big old beak under control.

That's none of your nonsense, step up nice....