Toy Recommendations

[Abu Colo]

Colocolo our newly won B&G has of late been showing some lunging and charging behavior. As we like our toes, we're trying to understand why he feels compelled to charge at us. It might be because we were teaching him to be a Targaryen dragon, but he might need some toys to keep him busy during the day while we are unattended (he is cage-free). My apologies if I missed a thread on the subject already, but what are your recommendations for macaw toys and which have you found are the most essential?

 

[wrench13]

Mac toys need to be sturdy first off. Try getting one of each general type of toys=, and notice which ones get his attention,more than the others, it give you a clue to what he likes to destroy. No one wants to see $$ just sittin the corner of his cage, untuched, THat is hat our toy exchange is for. Maybe some one elses mACAW ADORES THAT KIND OF TOY, BUT $$OR AVAILABILITY PEVENTS THEM FROM GETTING MORE. . I find I enjoy seeing the toy used rather than just gathering dust somewhere,

 

[Kentuckienne]

Our B&G doesn't like any toys. If a toy has rings that hang down, he will grab them and shake them now and then. If a toy has a bell or is loose, he will pick it up and slam it on the cage top for a while then pitch it off the side. He will play catch and toss with balled-up socks. He doesn't care about chewing any wood toy we give him. What he wants is PHONE BOOKS, or paper bags, he gets totally excited and sets to ripping them into pieces, then ripping the pieces into confetti. It's what he loves more than anything on earth.

Do a search for all posts by Birdman666, he's the resident Macaw Swami, lots of great advice to handle the lunging. He will tell you don't be scared and let the macaw be boss because they will take advantage of it. They need boundaries.

 

[Birdman666]

BUT FINGERS AND TOES ARE MACAW TOYS!!!

And yeah, phone books are a favorite macaw toy around here too.

That is probably a game! (Probably.) If he isn't bite pressure trained, it's a game where you really could lose a few toes... I've never seen a big mac that didn't like to play that game at least some. My Maggie used to chase Sarah all over the living room - difference being that Sarah could turn around and sit down at any given moment, and have a big red bird plop down on her lap... AND IF MAGGIE CAUGHT YOUR TOES SHE DIDN'T BITE THEM, SHE'D REGURGE... SO YEAH, BIRD PUKE SQUISHING BETWEEN YOUR TOES... Yuck! (But not at all painful, or dangerous...)

Bite pressure training is one key. Just letting them know not to play too rough...

IF IT IS TERRITORIAL AGGRESSION, with intent to maim... and that DOES happen. There is a simple way to stop this one... For starters DON'T RUN! Don't allow the bird to pull the big bad bird routine. I've done interventions where the bird (dominant male greenwing) was going after feet. He charged me, intending to take my toes off. (Owners were terrified of him and ran around screaming. The drama reward trained him to keep doing it. The fact that they did NOTHING to prevent it, made the behavior worse.) I grabbed a cushion off the couch, which was bigger than him and didn't give him anything to latch onto, and slowly marched his little butt back into a corner.... where he was trapped and vulnerable, and panic set in. And I let him sit there all compressed in his little corner, with the cushion blocking his escape, and he had to think about what he did...

You don't get out of the corner until you step up nice!

No! No biting! Knock it off! Step up!

GOOD BIRD! See how easy that was? Here is a treat. Let me scratch your head... GOOD BIRD!

Owner approached? Bird lunged at the owners nose. Why? The bird knew the owner was afraid of him, and wouldn't do anything about it.

Didn't even try to bite me after that. Why?! I'd drop his little butt to the floor and put him back in the corner if he even thought about it, and he knew I'd do it!

IT'S CALLED DISCIPLINE. You don't let your toddler run the household.

Macaws are like toddlers that way.

Macaws also sense fear a mile away. That's what the "made you jump" game is all about. It's the "macaw test." Pass the test they stop doing it. Don't pass the test?! I'll have more of that please...

Again, chances are it's a game. Not anything more than that. But if it isn't, you need to set the boundaries. If he is actually territorially aggressive and biting... (the territory is the trigger. Anyone getting within XXX distance of usually the cage, or the playstand gets chased off... "THAT'S MINE! BACK OFF!" Is the dynamic. That ISN'T macaw play. That's territorial aggression, and that's the difference.)

Play is just play. If he's playing, that isn't necessary, and I wouldn't do it. Just teach him not to use bite pressure on flesh... (which you should do anyway.) And enjoy the game.

 

[Birdman666]

Push pull method for handling a lunging macaw...

A big mac who lunges will be off balance. Make a closed bent fist so that the bird has noting to grab onto, and PUSH on the bird's beak. He will be expecting you to be moving away, not coming towards him, so that will put him off...

While he is still off balance, and you are doing the unexpected. TWO FINGERS - THUMB AND FOREFINGER on the upper portion of the beak, to control it, and give a slight tug forward. THE BIRD WILL HAVE TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD TO AVOID LOSING HIS BALANCE. You swipe your arm under his foot and lift up, while continuing to hold onto the beak with two fingers...

Now the bird is standing on your arm. You have control of his beak. The bird is wondering what in the hell just happened. And you just reminded him who is in charge... that's STEP UP NICE! It's also, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU BIRD, YOU'RE NOT SCARING ANYBODY. It's also, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

If the bird goes for it again when you let go of his beak, he immediately gets dropped to the floor... and doesn't get off the floor until he steps up nice.
Again, reinforcing the "KNOCK IT OFF!" portion of the lesson.

Three lessons your bird will probably get fairly readily if the same thing happens consistently...

That's essentially macaw training 101.

 

[Flboy]

From what I understand, they thoroughly enjoy shredding credit cards!

 

[ChristaNL]

Push pull method for handling a lunging macaw...

A big mac who lunges will be off balance. Make a closed bent fist so that the bird has noting to grab onto, and PUSH on the bird's beak. He will be expecting you to be moving away, not coming towards him, so that will put him off...

While he is still off balance, and you are doing the unexpected. TWO FINGERS - THUMB AND FOREFINGER on the upper portion of the beak, to control it, and give a slight tug forward. THE BIRD WILL HAVE TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD TO AVOID LOSING HIS BALANCE. You swipe your arm under his foot and lift up, while continuing to hold onto the beak with two fingers...

Now the bird is standing on your arm. You have control of his beak. The bird is wondering what in the hell just happened. And you just reminded him who is in charge... that's STEP UP NICE! It's also, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU BIRD, YOU'RE NOT SCARING ANYBODY. It's also, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

If the bird goes for it again when you let go of his beak, he immediately gets dropped to the floor... and doesn't get off the floor until he steps up nice.
Again, reinforcing the "KNOCK IT OFF!" portion of the lesson.

Three lessons your bird will probably get fairly readily if the same thing happens consistently...

That's essentially macaw training 101.

LOL I needed this one months ago!! Why isn't this (in) a sticky too?

 

[GaleriaGila]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd, THERE's our Birdman!

 

[noodles123]

Well, I hope the "mother of dragons" is hanging out nearby...even then, ya never know lol...at least "historically" (lol?!)



Don't just assume it is toys. Do an ABC chart, but YES, toys are important...
Try some wood, some plastic, some shreddable and see where the bird takes most interest.

I wrote this advice for some people on a different website, but it applies to you too, SO I am pasting (not for lack of love, but for lack of time):


Parrots take a LONG time to adjust to new people and routines (a human week is like 2 hours to them). There are at least 4 reasons for behavior: 1)tangibles, 2) sensory, 3) attention and 4) escape
A reinforcer is anything that increases a behavior. Negative reinforcement isn't bad---it simply means that you are removing something and the removal of that item/task increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated. Positive reinforcement means that you are presenting something that meets one of the 4 functions of behavior as a reinforcer (attention, tangibles, escape, or sensory). Just because you think of something as rewarding, does not mean your parrot will do the same. In order for a reinforcer to be a reinforcer, it must INCREASE some sort of behavior (good or bad). Once you figure out what is reinforcing a particular behavior, you can use that to come up with a more socially acceptable replacement behavior that meets the same function as the less-desired behaviors OR trumps them entirely.

Do not shove sticks in to get him to step up right away. Wait wait wait. Slowly, work on target training your bird. If he bites, do not react by leaving, as this will make him believe that biting solves his problem. At the same time, read his body cues to prevent him from getting into a behavioral loop of biting (you don't want him getting daily biting practice). Basically, present a preferred item/food (if that works for him) and see how eagerly he approaches. If he comes closer then you have found a good start...but this only will work if motivated by food. If motivated by food, slowly increase the distance between the bird and the item until his comfort zone is stretched. Then see if you can change your hand positions until he steps up there (I am talking WEEKS of training...months are more likely).


Also, BEWARE of satiation! Birds and people get sick of favorite foods (or food in general) if they are presented in excess or if the bird isn't hungry. For this reason, I would try starting training sessions in the morning when the bird is most hungry and only use the best treats in small doses. DO NOT GIVE THE TREAT UNLESS HE MAKES SOME VISIBLE PROGRESS TOWARD YOUR GOAL. Depending on your bird, this could be as small as a step towards your hand, or coming all the way out onto the door (I don't know his comfort zone, so it is hard to say).

I hope that helps some....I also hope I didn't ramble too much and confuse things further.