Treys macaw rescue attempt - intro

[Tgsplano]

Hi everyone. I'm going to look at a female macaw today in need of a new home. I'll update this post as I make progress - or not, but I thought it was a good idea to do an introduction on here and ask a couple of questions. If you have done this please follow me for a month or so. I need confidence in my decisions.

I'm a single guy in a house with a 3 lb Yorkshire terroir. I work from home most days and I've had a Amazon and Minah before. Well my dad did but teens spend all the time wit the pets. I wasn't afraid of the Amazon but he would bite and this is a much bigger gal.

The owner of the macaw died and the family that has it is wing scared of it due to biting and new fears of letting it out while kids are around (it but a 5 year old recently).

Please no negative comments about me being new to this size bird. I may fail but I'll work with the bird so please stick with positive reinforcement. I'm going to try to spend some time with the macaw today to prepare for move to my house. I expect to be bit at, but I need to assess if I think I can work with her or if she really needs someone with more experience - ie. If I'm too scared. Wish me luck.

My first question. Holidays are here - she has plucked feathers but not overly bad and she is in feather now. Is it ok to transition her to my house and give her a day alone in the new surroundings or is it better for a stranger to be with her on the first day? I cannot find anything in books or online about which is best. I kind of think so much is new that a day alone might be a better thing. But I would like to know which is best.

Second - she is a glutton. She only is interested in food. She doesn't play with toys etc. I plan on doing savaging toys in every room I frequent. I think this is a good thing for helping me use food for bonding, but she has learned to make noise and she gets fed. I need to know if my plan is the best way to go about this. My goal is to get her interested in playing, chewing toys, etc. She doesn't attack outside of her space but she is territorial. I think keeping her on a gym will break that at least to the point I can work with her. There will be much hand feeding to help us bond, but I want to encourage her curious side that has to in there somewhere. Making scavenging toys is the only idea I'm finding.

Again I know I'm not the best choice for this bird, but I want her and no one else is fixing the situation. I'm here to get help and advice (sorry-some of the posts on here seem very judgemental of newbies to bigger birds). I know I can get her where I want her to be, I just am afraid it'll take me years without some guidance.

She is about 9 yrs old and only has developed issues since her owner died earlier this year. She is a mix between blue and gold and green wing. She has always been in house and unclipped. I'm going to try to keep her flighted unless I can't manage her any other way.

Thanks in advance for eharing your experience.

Is there an app for this forum? Or website the only option?

 

[getwozzy]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sure some macaw parronts will be along shortly to help you out...

IMHO I think it may be easier if you were around to keep an eye on her on her first day in a new home- going to a new home can be really stressful, and being completely alone may be more stressful...

As for the forum app, if you have an iPhone/iPad you can download "tapatalk" and access it that way (I do virtually all of my forum business via TT). I'm not sure if it's available for Android though...

 

[Pinkbirdy]

I just took in a very plucked 10 year old GW Macaw. They said she didnt play with toys [she only had wood ones]. I filled her cage with all different types of toys to see what interested her. I want her to be busy also. I would take your new bird in and visit her throughout the day [the first day]. Macaws are very social [she might bond to you quickly] Im happy to say my new bird likes all her new toys and is adjusting well. Im sure things will be great with your new bird [you will teach each other].I have to say as your worried about having a big bird . Owning an amazon can be a challenge and have might have gotten you ready for this . I think Macaws are great

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Sounds to me like you DO have parrot experience. You may have been a teenager and they may have been your parents parrots, but you were there and helped take care of them and interacted with them.

IMO if you can give the bird a better home than it has now and you are willing to learn and put in the time and effort to care for and bond with it...go get it.

Keep coming here and asking questions...reading older threads that relate to what you are wanting to know (there is a search feature at the top of the page)

I think by reading your post that you already know you can do it, you just need a boost of confidence, so here take this one from me and go save a parrot from a bad situation.

 

[sonja]

Hi Trey - Welcome to the forum. Good that you are reaching out for help to make things work. My biggest advice is to GO SLOW. Don't expect things to be "fixed" within days, or even months. We often get people on here who say they've had the bird 3 days already and he still doesn't like them. That's not how it works, even for a well-adjusted bird. It is a long slow process with times when you think you aren't moving forward.

You must earn her trust. And, you must also realize she is missing her owner. I took in a macaw from someone who had a medical catastrophe and he and the bird were extremely bonded. It all happened so fast and after a year with me I swear that bird still mourns his original owner.

So, how to start: simply sit by the bird's cage. Read a book, occasionally talk to her, maybe put an almond in her bowl. She's fine not getting out of her cage for the short term if it's just going to end up in drama.

You mention she's a screamer - do you live in a single family home? A large macaw's scream can really bother your neighbors.

The fact that she's very food motivated will be helpful in training her and making friends. Just be sure you don't reenforce the screaming for food - only give her treats when she's quiet.

Let us know how things are going and we'd love to see pics! What is her name?

 

[thekarens]

I might have missed it, but what kind of macaw?

 

[RavensGryf]

Hi Trey, welcome. As others have said, I think you DO have large bird experience. I'm sure you've seen enough as a teen if even through osmosis . There are some people who don't have previous bird experience at all, and get a large bird as their first bird. It's fine as long as the owner understands all that is involved, and is eager to learn .

Btw, we do our best to keep the 'negative' comments (for the sake of negativity) at bay, to keep the forum a positive experience for everyone. Sometimes you'll see an opinion strongly expressed, but the idea behind it is usually one of genuine concern, and having the bird's (or persons) best interest in mind.

Very loud noise is definitely a factor to keep in mind. Keep reading, learning, and asking questions. That's what the forum is for .

 

[RavensGryf]

I might have missed it, but what kind of macaw?

He said B&G and GW. Harlequin

 

[Christinenc2000]

People here are not the type to try and talk you out of anything. They just help. BUT then again they do tell it like it is. I adopted a BG Macaw and had NO experience. Thank God for the people on this forum. No matter how silly I thought the question was they would help . Its going slow with mine because of my lack of experience and the birds lack of interaction but we love each other. Boyfriend said I love it so much because BB keeps telling him to Shut the hell up LOL Yeah sorry I do enjoy that.

If mine does the SCREEM he gets no attention. if every time he yells you run and give a treat or food he will continue to do so. At least that is my experience. Mine also had trouble with fresh veggies. Macaws are funny they think you are interested they want to be part of it. Stand near them and eat anything and they want some

To be honest the biggest toy my Macaw uses is a 2x4 I had cut , drilled and hang in blocks on a chain. When I got him I spent $ 80 on toys that lasted about a day and half LOL News paper for shredding. Also a cheap scavenger toy Take a cardboard egg carton and attach it to something . Let him see you put nuts in it and he will go crazy for it. Also a box with some nuts in it. I know Birdman uses phone books . Drill a hole and attach it to something. They love to chew rip

Mine was not a plucker so can't help you there. If he is scared of taking food from your hand use a skewer with food on the end and every time move your hand closer and closer.

 

[Tgsplano]

Thanks for all the encouraging feedback. It is much appreciated.

She is a harlequin, yes. I was considering a cockatoo but every personality thing showed green wing as my match for a bird. I was going to get a young one originally and saw a post on YouTube about one that was "rehabilitated" and I really feel I can do that and something makes me want to get an unhappy one and try to turn her life around. In either case, that is how my search began.

-update
In either case, I met "Chloe" this afternoon. The person I was emailing with was not there, but two of the grown daughters and the husband of the woman who owned Chloe was there. The bird is actually better than the emails made me believe she would be. All 3 handled the macaw but I don't think any of them truly enjoy handling her. All 3 were more confident than I was, but not by much. Chloe did get on my arm and actually got calm enough to preen some while there. I never could get her to take peanuts from my hand and she leaned away from me the entire time. I balled my fist (attempt not to allow bite hold - tho I'm not sure that will work with this big of beak) and moved ever so slowly into her space, but she didn't give me signs of relaxing ever. She never lunged at me the entire time either. I took all of these as good signs that given time we would be good as gold. She really likes to be scratched (by them, not me) so I'm sure at my house if no one else is available she'll offer soon enough. I think it's way too soon to force the issue.

I didn't check this until getting home a bit ago - but I made arrangements to bring her home the day after Christmas. I'm off til the new year so with luck, I'll be to the point I can get her from cage to stand and back again.

The husband told me she has never plucked and there were no signs of it, so I'm not sure the answer to that now. Also she had wooden toys in her cage that were chewed up and they made the comment I needed to make sure I got some new ones - so I think maybe she just needs to be offered things to play with.

Unless I'm overlooking something, I think the bird is as good as one can find/expect second hand. There are some biting issues but WAY less than I expected. Nothing I don't think I can break her from. I do think she would turn into what I imagined in my head, given time sitting in the cage. maybe I'm misreading her, but I tried to include how I was reading signs so if anything sounds wrong let me know. She did other stuff I couldn't make sense of but it may have just been movement.

I haven't commented on her talking much because I'm not caring about it at the moment, but she says some typical words and I think all parrots must chuckle. She purred when petted.

All in all, I'm very excited. of course this is before knowing how hard she bites. Wish me luck. Photos in 2 days. Merry Christmas all.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

I think things went great !! She stepped up on your arm [that's big ] I do wish you luck [cant wait to see pictures]. One thing though,she will test you when you bring her home. You will go through some "Growing pains" too im sure .

 

[Birdman666]

Welcome to the wonderful world of big macs. They are amazing... (says the man typing this with a greenwing on his shoulder and a red front on his arm.)

In many respects they are actually easier to handle than amazons, in my opinion, and I've worked with plenty of both...

I have already posted the basics on taming and training here multiple times so I think you'll find all the information you need if you just check the macaw forum and look for newbies with questions...

Anything you need just ask. We're here to help.

 

[MikeyTN]

Just want to mention, tapatalk is available on android phones/tablet as well.

It sounds like a good sign when your able to hold her since she just met you. I was able to hold both of my macaws from day one. It makes it a lot easier to work and bond with them when your able to hold them from the get go. Give her time to settle as she will play, perhaps they weren't offering the right toys that she likes.

 

[Birdman666]

My personal take on the situation in the last home, is you need look no further than the owner the bird was bonded to suddenly wasn't there, and she was in a home where everyone was afraid of her...

They react to fear. It makes them ill at ease, and often makes them misbehave.

You stepped the bird up just fine.

"Thank you! Can we please get out of here?!"

If this bird was a cherished pet, with a bonded male owner. A new male owner who wants to bond with this bird will probably be most welcome... give it a week! (Maggie was my best buddy after 4 days!) The "issues" with this bird stem from missing her owner, and being in a place where she didn't get the same quality out time and interaction she was used to. Fearful people make them apprehensive...

 

[Dopey]

Congratulations - and welcome to the world of macaws. You will do fine. We can tell by the way you talk about her.

 

[Tgsplano]

View attachment 12990

Hopefully the photo will attach correctly. Here she is settled in at her new home. Well, I'm settled back in at my home - I don't think she has bought into the idea just yet.

When I showed up to get her, she was more talkative today. After she was put in a travel cage and in my car, she didn't make many sounds at all. She thoroughly inspected the cage until we got home and in the permanent cage , which she went very easily, she has made no noise.

I sat next to her a little over an hour and she was staring at me very intently. When first caged, she seemed sort of normal, but about 30 minutes later she shook a bit any time I looked directly at her. I looked up at her every 10 minutes or so with little change. I moved to another room to sit where she could see me. I didn't approach her for about 2 hours - she watched me take an unexpected nap. 8 pm seems like a good bedtime for her so I spent 15 minutes in front of her doing things and approaching cage often. She was much more comfortable at that point.

Chloe's first word in her new house? "Hello" after I turned out the light and walked away. All in all, I'd say we are doing fairly well thus far. As long as her temperament looks brave, I will try to get her to step up tomorrow so she can have some time on a stand.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[mh434]

Great news! Considering that Chloe has moved from what must have ended up being a rather stressful environment to a much calmer one, with one single person to bond with, I suspect that with gentle, calm attention she will bond to you quickly. After all, you now represent her entire flock, and she's going to seriously want flock attention.

Good for you for adopting her!! She's going to be a much happier, more contented bird now.

BTW, I'm afraid your pic attachment didn't work...

 

[Tgsplano]

Thanks for letting me know mh434. I'm using tapatap as suggested earlier. I may have to log into the site directly to add photos but I'll try on this once again.
Today has gone pretty well. She is taking treats from my hand and the only thing she has said is hello once softly when I first approached her this morning. I've stayed in her view all day and offered a treat every couple of hours. She likes peanuts and banana chips best I'd say. I'm not sure if she likes apples at all. That's going to be a shame because I bought a small bag of apples for us.
This morning I thought she might step up to get out of cage. Good news - she didn't bite at me when I tried to pick her up. I even touched her toe on the perch and she didn't move it. But if she wanted out I think she would have climbed on.
She seems ok with my hands around and in her cage some. There was something in the cage that I didn't know what was and I had to put my head in to get to it. That much of me in there seemed to change her attitude toward me for a few minutes, she didn't lurch or anything, but I could tell she wasn't as calm after so I left for a bit.
For all I've done around her today, she has only given me "I will bite" stances twice. Each time I freeze, tell her no. Once she closed her bill I complete what I was doing although a little slowly sometimes.
Tomorrow I have to be gone most of the day sadly. I really think she'll be out of the cage pretty soon. She really doesn't feel like a rescue to me at this point - just adopted.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

She is Gorgeous! and I'm sure you will be fast friends/flock mates in no time.

 

[Christinenc2000]

Wash the apple but don't peel it. Cut wedges out and give to her. My Macaw will not eat anything that has been peeled