New Macaw

Hi,

My daughter and I just added a Rubylina macaw to our family. His name is Sammy and he is 4.5 months old. We fell in love with him when we visited him a month ago. He is missing a wing tip on one wing but he is otherwise doing good. He had his 1st vet visit last week and everything looked good. I will be scheduling a blood test soon to check for liver, kidney problems etc.

He is so different from my amazon. He's like a puppy and absolutely adores my 12yr old daughter. The only issue I have is Sammy not liking my 9yr old son and 14yr old daughter. My daughter had Sammy on the floor playing with him and my son was on his knees about 5ft away and Sammy runs toward my son wings open and bobbing like he was going to bite him. It scared my son so he jumped up and left and Sammy turned around and ran into my daughter's lap. I was at work so I did not see it happen. What is the best way to handle this situation? He does not do that to me or my husband.

Better advisors will come along, but I'd recommend never allowing the kids to interact with your mac without close supervision.

Lunging macs are pretty normal and it's not necessarily a sign of aggression (though it can be.)

I've seen my macaw do the same behavior once in aggression, after getting his wings clipped. I've also seen him do it in play, when he goes after my feet. without knowing your macaw's temperament and body language it is hard to say for sure if it was aggression or play. If the behavior was to meant to intimidate your son, it work. That is one thing you don't want him learning. If he learns that he can intimidate with that big beak and can lead to bigger problems down the road.
I agree with thekarens, I wouldn let your children interact with him with out adult supervision. I would guess your son isn't that comfortable around Sammy. I would suggest that you learn Sammy's body language and teach it to your children. Let your son offer Sammy treats and praise but don't force the two of the on each other.