A plucking macaw?

A three year old...with a box of crayons...and a white wall?! Oh dear god! I've got a three year old.... that's a scary idea!
We did give her a bit of out of cage time today. We just opened up her cage door and she came out for a few minutes at a time, then eventually would go back in herself.
I did also try her with step up today, and while she didn't inch away from me, I kep my hand about 6 minches away to see if she would come to me to step up. When I got my hand a little closer, she lunged at it.
Maybe that's a step in the right direction, at least, she's not moving away, right?

Its a step ... in a direction. Time will tell if its the right one.

Keep track of how you approach her when asking her to step up - is the hand/perch at her eye level, above, below, etc.

Generally it's best to start the perch/hand in front (of course) and a bit below them if possible though they should be able to clearly see you coming. It it is at beak level or above not only is it more likely to be seen as a threat but it is also easier to bite.

I usually approach her from the side, since she perches at the side of her cage, I put my hand about six inches away, allowing for her to move away if she feels like I'm invading her space. And the hand is at her foot level.
Last night when I got home, my husband was eating peanuts, and she looked over at him and said "Hello". So I got a peanut from him and gave it to her. She adores peanuts.
This morning I opened her cage, and asked her to come out for a peanut (Holding it outside the cage on the door frame), and she did! We were within inches of one another! That was so exciting. Then I asked her to go to cage for a piece of my waffle (of course, holding it near her favorite perch) and she went back in.
I haven't done step up with her this morning yet. I'll tell you, her beak intimidates me now.

It should! She's a macaw. Even little Auggie's beak intimidates me to a degree - if he really wanted to do damage he could turn my hand into ground beef pretty quickly.

But once you understand their individual signals and behavior there is very little to be afraid of per se, but we bird owners should never get to complacent. I went through a really bad period of getting bit by Auggie - the solution was only partly training him, a lot though was me learning to react appropriately to the warning signs; now the last real bite is a fading memory (knock on wood).

It sounds like the warning about food from the previous owner was most likely bogus - perhaps they were otherwise foolish: if you stick food through the cage every day then one day you stick your finger through the cage.... well it shouldn't take to much thought to figure out what will happen there.

Overall this sounds like great news - you can find a few good rewards that will motivate her and I suspect training will go well. Be wary though of peanuts; they were not on my previously mentioned list of no-no foods but they can be problematic. They have nothing toxic per se, and the peanut itself is actually a great and healthy treat; however peanuts tend to foster fungi which is allegedly dangerous for birds. As always I'm a bit skeptical - there are differences between birds and people which make one of the other more susceptible to particular pathogens, but I know of no such difference which would account for a higher susceptibility of parrots to aspergillus. No one claims peanuts are dangerous for humans (aside from a recent recall for other reasons).

One page recommends if you give peanuts you should use "human grade" peanuts (Aspergillus Peanuts and Parrots). Again I'm skeptical, but after being advised by my own vet who is pretty down to earth I have stopped using peanuts for Auggie.

Well, my husband got a wooden perch for a medium sized bird....too small for her I know, but we tried step up with her with it. She just ended up biting it and pushing it away. Actually took out a good hunk of the wood at one point. When I continued to try, she ignored the wood, and pecked my hand. As if to say, "I keep saying no, why won't you listen to me?"
I did get her a toy for a large bird today, something with these bright wood pieces and ropes. She's supposed to be able to hang on it, and helps withplay and preening, and beak play. I think next week I'll get her a foraging toy.

Today she's doing well, she's taking less time to come out of her cage on her own. Earlier this morning, she was perched on the door and flapping her wings.

I wonder how long it will take her to recognise the new toy and play with it. How long will her feathers take to grow in?

That can really vary depending on a number of variables. The biggest one being whether or not she continues to pluck - if she has quit plucking completely then it still depends when in her molting cycles she last plucked. Once new feathers "sprout" for lack of a better terms they grow in fairly quickly, but it may be a bit before they start to grow. Given all the unknowns I'd guestimate between a couple weeks and a couple months. If the feathers do start coming in you will see the little pin feathers growing... then she will REALLY be touchy. Make sure she gets regular baths or spritzes of water and try to avoid touching the pin feathers much.

Hi! I just watched a great video called "Captive Foraging" that my aviary vet rented out. It was very informative and I plan on making some foraging devices that were described in the video for my African Gray that used to pluck his chest and back feathers. But once I got more activities for him to play with while my husband and I were at work all day, he looks MUCH better. In the video they used a very "plucked" macaw as a role model (although there's a picture of an African Gray on the cover) and how she really had to work to get her food from all sorts of foraging tools. After awhile, you could clearly see her feathers beginning to grow back. In the video they showed simple foraging tools you can make by taking your birds favorite non perishable treat like an almond, for example, and crumpling it up in a piece of paper (coffee filters work great!). Make sure your bird sees you with the treat so he/she will know what to do. Then he/she has to work at getting it and keeps him/her occupied. Make several of these and place them strategically throughout the cage. It may take awhile, but worth the effort in the long run for the overall health of your parrot. This is just one suggestion that I hope works for your bird.
Good luck!

Wow, Desmo's mom...I'm going to do that right now!! I've got a ton of coffe filters.

Editted later....is she supposed to eat the coffee filter too?! I hope she doesn't get sick!

Did you actually ever see the previous owner handle her? The fact that she isn't stepping on a stick would make me think that she was not handled. I had a bird that was given to me ( they initally wanted to sell me the bird ) and the owners told me that they handled him ALL THE TIME. So... when I went to go get the bird I saw that his nails were like daggers. Seeing that I felt they maybe were not telling me the whole story. I asked them if they could take the bird out for me and they replied with "oh he's not in a good mood today". The truth was they never handled the bird and it has never been picked up. Just food for thought. Some pet sites also have sections on shredding type toys. My congo's like the Jungle talk candy cane and the jungle talk preening toy. Good luck.