There should be a warning label.......

[musiclady420]

Is it just me or should there be warning label that comes with every new macaw and most other parrots! I have a Severe Macaw who is only 3 years old and he has already had four homes! That's more than one per year! Hello?!?!? I know the Ara Severa is quite difficult to train and you have to accept the fact that when you rescue a bird they are going to have problems but no one ever realizes what has to go into training such smart, inquisitive, and bull-headed birds. Thank goodness I'm a Taurus! LOL But seriously, I think there ought to be some type of warning label given to perspective macaw owners! Especially, when I have heard of people getting these birds as a first time pet. They get these birds and then think that by some magic they are going to be the perfectly trained bird like you see on TV and with other bird owners. I used to rehabilitate large birds when I was in High School and I remember thinking to myself of the descriptions given to people online about birds and how much they don't include about the time and effort it takes to train a bird of this magnitude! They have permits for tigers and lions and bears, oh my! But why not a bird who can cause a lot of damage! Or at least you should have to go through some type of required pre-training when making a purchase of a bird if you have never had one before.
Lord knows I have trained African Greys, Lories, Caiques(both kinds), Cockatiels, and Cockatoos. But in all those years I had never trained a macaw! This is my first one and I think that they are the most subborn bird of all to get them to not be a one person bird! The worst part is I accidently found out that if you tap a Severe Macaw on the beak and tell him no it is the only way he will listen! That is complete opposite of any parrot I have trained. And if you look on other forums about Macaws (and mostly Severe Group) they always don't show improvement with positive reinforcement???? I'm dumbfounded????
Since doing the beak tap, AND JUST TO CLARIFY BEFORE SOMEONE SAYS I'M ABUSING MY BIRD-IT IS NOT BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF HIM OR HITTING HIM SO HARD TO WHERE HE GETS KNOCKED OFF OF HIS PERCH IT IS A TAP ON THE BEAK WITH MY INDEX FINGER WITH A STERN "NO":64:, he has shown much improvement. My fiance,who is a dog person, was going to pick him up one day and he went to bite him and he tapped him on the beak and in a stern voice said "no!" Since that day he has not had a problem with him biting???? Now, I have been having my guy give Tyson treats like crazy and you know what Tyson kept biting him! But since the beak tap no bites! We even tried the whole series of Chet Wolmac's series and no improvement! They are such a different bird to train! I think there needs to be some better training guides and warnings out there for macaws, because I had an actual bird trainer tell me to never hit a bird(number one rule) and that it was just in my birds nature but my fiance took the idea from Caesar Milan. Who knows maybe I should ask him to be the Bird Whisperer! LOL And Still no bites to this day, maybe it's a pecking order thing?

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Severe macaws are one of the biggest jokes on potential macaw owners....

The small size fools people.

Severes are like a greenwing with the grudge level of a military.

They do well only in homes where the human owner is a clear alpha. (The best macaw owners in my opinion or horse owners and trainers). I have Severes, and in our aviary I am the cockatoo person, and my husband is the macaw guy. We train the nasty out of macaws using the "floor technique". We put them on the floor whenever they act up and wait for them to ask nicely to step up. After a while they stop testing us. Good luck with your Severe, and remember that the bird will start to hold a grudge, so be careful and make sure not to make him extra hostile.

 

[Tammy]

I hold my OWA's beak with my index & middle finger when he tries to bite someone. Like when you're playing with a child & pretending to steal their nose. I don't pinch or hold close or anything, just my fingers touching the upper beak. He allows it & submits to it because he knows I don't want him biting. I tell him that biting are not what beaks are for & then tell him I love him & give me a kiss. Then he makes kissy noises & behaves.

 

[Pedro]

There shouldn't be warning lables on parrots at all however there should be on some humans that want to keep parrots & don't have a clue or worse don't want to educate themselves on parrot behavior. That is where the problem lies & why so many birds are rehomed. Lack of understanding.

IMO there is never a parrot behaving badly, it's the stupid owner behaving badly. Lets face it if more breeders took an interrest in how their babies were going to spend the rest of their lives & really screened the potential carer before the bird was sold, I am sure most of the parrots would go to happy homes.

I will not sell one of my babies until i am happy the customer is going to take the best of care of them.

Not long ago i had someone drop in wanting a green parrot for his 5 year old son because he fancied he wanted to look like a pirate, the father thought he would like to take home a male eclectus needless to say I wouldn't sell him the bird.

 

[cockatielfan17]

pedro do u sell sun conures?

yes my cousin owns one of those severe macaws(my familyis filled with bird lovers) i went to his house one day we played video games he took his bird out and it was nice at first let me pet him then out of nowhere unges at me bits my shirt and wouldnt let go i almost peed in my pants i was so scared ripped a huge whole in my pants and i swore never to go near that bird ever again im still scared of him lol

 

[Molcan2]

Coming from the world of Toos I completely agree with the warning label. There needs to be serious thought of bird behavior and their longevity before bringing a bird home. Unfortunately we live in a world where everyone wants it now, thinks about it later and if it doesn't fit then its disposable.

 

[MikeyTN]

There's a big difference with macaws as they're super stubborn! Taping on the beak does work as I've mentioned it before. But when you put up with a full hormonal macaw, watch out....in order to even get my macaw out of his cage is by using my dog as the bait, he's bonded with one of my dogs over me. But once he is out, still have to becareful, they do keep you on your toes....one pf the more stubborn birds I have dealt with so far....but I love him very much even after he peel my hand open twice since October when he becomes fully hormonal as he reached his 10 year b-day back in may...I am moving him into the bird room that im re-finishing next week. We'll see if he calms down.

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, I think all of us here wish people would find out what they are getting into first before adding a bird (or any animal) to their life, but especially with birds.

I agree that many horse people also do well with birds. Many of the horse people I've known have been bird owners as well. And I've noticed there are several other horse owners on this forum, too.

I've always joked with my mom that it's a good thing she doesn't want a horse because she has trouble taking control of her dog. She wouldn't do well with many parrots either. With horses you do learn to be patient and sensitive while being firm at the same time. And yes, the same attitude seems to work with birds.

I also think it would help if larger birds weren't sold in pet stores. There wouldn't be spontaneous buys so much by people who don't know what to expect from a bird.

 

[BillsBirds]

In my work rescuing birds, I have often said that I do not work with problem birds, I work with problem owners. The average person does not realize what is involved in caring for, training, and owning a bird. Especially a larger bird.

 

[Remy]

4 homes in 3 years! Poor baby! I'd be mad too. Good for you for taking care of him!

 

[little1al]

There's a big difference with macaws as they're super stubborn! Taping on the beak does work as I've mentioned it before. But when you put up with a full hormonal macaw, watch out....in order to even get my macaw out of his cage is by using my dog as the bait, he's bonded with one of my dogs over me. But once he is out, still have to becareful, they do keep you on your toes....one pf the more stubborn birds I have dealt with so far....but I love him very much even after he peel my hand open twice since October when he becomes fully hormonal as he reached his 10 year b-day back in may...I am moving him into the bird room that im re-finishing next week. We'll see if he calms down.

I have a B&G which will be 10 years old in August. I adopted him nearly 8 months ago but he is still biting. Not all of the time but he seems to go through stages of being grumpy. Do you think this is because of his age?

Thanks

 

[retdpd]

Well my Elmo (Hahn's Macaw)adopted me in August he is 21/2 yrs old. He is my very first bird ever.

He taught me to accept him as he learns.

He was at a shelter marked as unadoptable because he was so nippy in fact they named him Nippy I changed it to Elmo. His original owner died of cancer, so he was caged quite a bit.

He now does not bite he'll grab and then lick. We fully understand each other. I would never even consider tapping his beak or any part of his body in any way. I think it just takes time especially if he has been passed off 3 X's to different owners.

My Elmo now talks he'll yell Daddy, Daddy if I leave the room and says good boy, and what ya doing.

He's my boy I wouldn't trade him just my 2 cents

 

[Amber]

Well, I think all of us here wish people would find out what they are getting into first before adding a bird (or any animal) to their life, but especially with birds.

I agree that many horse people also do well with birds. Many of the horse people I've known have been bird owners as well. And I've noticed there are several other horse owners on this forum, too.

I've always joked with my mom that it's a good thing she doesn't want a horse because she has trouble taking control of her dog. She wouldn't do well with many parrots either. With horses you do learn to be patient and sensitive while being firm at the same time. And yes, the same attitude seems to work with birds.

I also think it would help if larger birds weren't sold in pet stores. There wouldn't be spontaneous buys so much by people who don't know what to expect from a bird.

I agree on the horse thing. I used to do a lot of riding and it's not so much the training (as in, how to train) that transfers over, more the patience and receptiveness to how other creatures feel that does. And the whole 'working as partners' thing. You have to lead, but you have to work together.

But yeah, my jenday should have come with a warning label. I do not think I would do well with macaws! (At this stage at least, maybe in the future!)

 

[roxynoodle]

Ok, by training, I don't just mean from the time the horse is a foal. I also mean riding and working on your goals together. It is a partnership, like what a pair of ice skaters have together. Or dance partners.

I do have to say Rowdy was a huge step up from budgies. I wasn't completely prepared either. I had to do more research right after obtaining her. After our 11 years together though I felt I was ready for larger birds and so far everything is going well. In some ways they are quite a bit more mellow than she is. But, they are also birds in their 20s and I'm sure that makes a big difference.

And there are certain species I seem to get along with better than others. I thought this week I had finally met a Quaker that liked me. The vet's people told me no, she doesn't like you, she just wants to stalk you! And she definitely stalked me! So I don't think I should have a Quaker, lol!

Macaws seem to be the bird that always like me. I was reluctant to get one due to it's long lifespan. I did search for awhile for an older one, but none of the rescues had one. And now I'm not 100% convinced I could provide for it financially due to being on disability. So I don't think I will ever have one.