Confusing Behavior.

So, i'm getting some mixed signals from conan, or at least I think they are mixed signals. Conan is mostly okay about me reaching in to has cage to pet him, and every once in a while will step up for me, but he also sends a lot of "back off" signals, like stretching out his neck, clicking his beak and hissing.


Well, non of that was really confusing until about 15 minutes ago. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I wanted to see if conan would give me a warning bite, or if I would need to go buy more band-aids, so I decided the next time he made an attempt to bite, I wouldn't dodge it. Turns out, neither.

I was petting his head, he seemed fine, then suddenly whiped his head around and grabbed my hand. But, he used almost *no* pressure, he just kind of kept my hand in his mouth for about a minute. The entire time his eyes were pinning, and he was hissing, but he just held my hand there. Then out of nowhere, he drooled on me and let me go.

It was just kind of Bizarre, all the body language and signals would have meant a definite bite from any of the others in the flock, but he was all bluster.

Is there another birdy meaning for the extended neck beak click hissing fits other than "you are a threat, or an invader"?

How long have you had him? I am no macaw expert and could be wrong but it sounds to me like he's just posturing and testing your reactions, seeing who's boss, what he can get away with, whether he scares you. if that's the case you probably did the right thing sticking with it and letting him know he can't frighten you off...

Oh, not long at all. Yesterday was the 1 week mark.

Rickeybirds used to be called mini-macaws, so does that count?
Well, sad to admit, but... my hand is not allowed in the cage, even after all these years. I have to use a perch to get him up and out, and then he safely and happily steps up on my hand. He made that decision at around 2-3 years of age, and just started pinning and expelling air out of his nostrils (sounded like a hiss; is that a form of hiss?) and chomping until I learned (once or twice, and I got it; I've retried it over the years...nope, not gonna happen).
So I guess you could keep standing your ground and see where it goes, or you could give in, as I did.
I think your bird is showing an amazing array of subtleties in communication, whatever the nature or intent. Wow!
My dear Rickeybird is not so complex or complicated a fellow.

You are a brave man, Chris. Lol!

With a macaw, or any bird for that matter, you don't want to give off the vibe that you are afraid of him. But at the same time, you should demonstrate a respect for his feelings and preferences... when possible.

IMO, Conan was indicating that he wasn't in the mood for interaction at that moment. So, especially given that it's only been a week, I'd have given him his space just then. He seems to be coming around to you rather swiftly, but he's still learning to trust you. Might be a little early to push beyond his comfort level.

It's a great sign, though, that he didn't take the opportunity to go to town on your hand. At the very least, you know that he has some degree of bite pressure awareness, as well as the discipline to stop at a painless warning. Chances are, there might be some more subtle body language warnings that preceded all the hissing and such.

I know there is so much debate about posturing and bluffing with macaws. Hopefully this won't break down into that, but just speaking from my experience (not stating fact or anything, just my experience)... Macaws constantly test boundaries, literally all the time, almost everyday and its not always the same thing.

I would have to say Conan was testing who was gonna be leader of the flock, and you just showed you were not leaving the tree. Max has been with me for couple years now and he still has moments of testing, and he's really bonded and a big momma's boy, but every so often he pulls a macaw bluff and usually I just use tone and tilt my head (kinda like doing my own eye pinning) and its all over.

Congrats, sounds like you are well on your way to an amazing relationship with Conan

He is a character that's for sure, and that makes 2 of us Steven! I had a little internal debate about that one, it's a big beak lol.

And thanks Jennifer, certainly what we are working toward! I'll be thrilled when he is out of Quarantine, I think he will love being more central to everything in the house. The busier we can keep him, the less time he has to get bored and start plucking! lol.

SirEdwin89 said:

So, i'm getting some mixed signals from conan, or at least I think they are mixed signals. Conan is mostly okay about me reaching in to has cage to pet him, and every once in a while will step up for me, but he also sends a lot of "back off" signals, like stretching out his neck, clicking his beak and hissing.

Click to expand...

Beak clicking is generally a happy noise... Stretching out the neck is not necessarily a back off signal. Hissing is as often a play noise as anything...

SirEdwin89 said:

Well, non of that was really confusing until about 15 minutes ago. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I wanted to see if conan would give me a warning bite, or if I would need to go buy more band-aids, so I decided the next time he made an attempt to bite, I wouldn't dodge it. Turns out, neither.

I was petting his head, he seemed fine, then suddenly whiped his head around and grabbed my hand. But, he used almost *no* pressure, he just kind of kept my hand in his mouth for about a minute. The entire time his eyes were pinning, and he was hissing, but he just held my hand there. Then out of nowhere, he drooled on me and let me go.

Click to expand...

That's called "you got the spot. Scratch right there." That was a contentment thing.

SirEdwin89 said:

It was just kind of Bizarre, all the body language and signals would have meant a definite bite from any of the others in the flock, but he was all bluster.

Is there another birdy meaning for the extended neck beak click hissing fits other than "you are a threat, or an invader"?

Click to expand...

Those aren't threatening things at all...

Just to make sure I'm not using wrong terminology, when I say clicking, it's not at all like clicking I get from my 2's or gray when they are content. It's a single loud sharp click, repeated every 4 or 5 seconds, and he always has his neck extended when he does it. Sometimes he starts hissing in-between the clicks but that's less common than just the clicking. Oh, and in my original post, when I say stretching out his neck, clicking and hissing, I mean in unison not as individual behaviors.

If that is what you were thinking when I said clicking, thanks for the clarification as I had read otherwise, though not from a necessarily reputable source.

Mark is quite adept at reading bird body language, but I don't know if I can cosign with him on this one. Hissing, coupled with grabbing the hand and holding it in place seems to me quite likely to be a clear indication that Conan wanted you to stop.

Don't get me wrong. I know that grabbing with the beak can also be a sign of affection and play, and sometimes the difference is so subtle that it's hard to say which unless you can actually see it. Jolly, for instance, loves to reach out and grab my thumb while I'm petting him with the other four fingers as his way of showing affection. But there are other times when he grabs my hand, every bit as gently, in such a way that it effectively stops me from continuing petting him. This is his way of letting me know he's had enough. The difference is subtle, but at this point I could differentiate between the two with my eyes closed.

From what I'm reading in your post, Chris, Conan's actions seem more in line with the latter scenario than the former. Especially given the hissing and the fact that the clicking you describe seems more like a snapping sound. Now again, with aggressive beak wrestling there is definitely lunging as well. Jolly also plays that game, as did Bixby, complete with the eye-pinning that you describe. (Maya has played that game as well, but she gets over-stimulated far too quickly, causing the game to escalate into something less than comfortable. So I don't encourage rough-housing with her.) But I've never experienced hissing during play with any of the birds I've ever had.

Though, to be fair, every bird is unique. So is it possible that Conan gets into play enough that he hisses as well? Sure. But I do think you have to seriously consider the likelihood that he was simply telling you he'd had enough just then.

Can Conan take treats from your hand? If so, I would find out what he really likes and when you want him to step up, I would show him the treat first. Make sure he's interested in the treat and then present your arm to him. Let the treat be so close he can nearly get it, but so far, that he can only get it, once he's stepped up. Pretty soon you will see, that he doesn't just step up once in a while

As for the body language, I agree with Anansi.

But good job for not pulling your hand away These intelligent birds are quite good at training us humans with their behavior :S If you are not sure if he will chomp down on your hand, I would handle him with thick gloves for a while. It still hurts if they really bite, but usually avoid the big holes in your hand :O

In time you and Conan will establish a communication, where he will tell you, please pet me here or please don't pet me right now.

My Sugar will take hold of my fingers and move them to where she wants to be petted, but she will also move my fingers, if she's had enough.

You're lucky that Conan already seems to have some of those communication skills Your job is now to read his language.

Good luck with your long future with your lovely bird

SilleIN said:

Can Conan take treats from your hand? If so, I would find out what he really likes and when you want him to step up, I would show him the treat first. Make sure he's interested in the treat and then present your arm to him. Let the treat be so close he can nearly get it, but so far, that he can only get it, once he's stepped up. Pretty soon you will see, that he doesn't just step up once in a while

As for the body language, I agree with Anansi.

But good job for not pulling your hand away These intelligent birds are quite good at training us humans with their behavior :S If you are not sure if he will chomp down on your hand, I would handle him with thick gloves for a while. It still hurts if they really bite, but usually avoid the big holes in your hand :O

In time you and Conan will establish a communication, where he will tell you, please pet me here or please don't pet me right now.

My Sugar will take hold of my fingers and move them to where she wants to be petted, but she will also move my fingers, if she's had enough.

You're lucky that Conan already seems to have some of those communication skills Your job is now to read his language.

Good luck with your long future with your lovely bird

Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah Conan was a very loved bird by his original family so I'm fortunate that for the most part he has good people skills. I've actually been working on bribing the step-ups, he still doesn't trust me quite enough though. Not that i'm worried, just a matter of time. He has a great personality, but I'd be on edge still if I got up-rooted after 26 years and didn't know what was going on also.

SirEdwin89 said:

SilleIN said:

Can Conan take treats from your hand? If so, I would find out what he really likes and when you want him to step up, I would show him the treat first. Make sure he's interested in the treat and then present your arm to him. Let the treat be so close he can nearly get it, but so far, that he can only get it, once he's stepped up. Pretty soon you will see, that he doesn't just step up once in a while

As for the body language, I agree with Anansi.

But good job for not pulling your hand away These intelligent birds are quite good at training us humans with their behavior :S If you are not sure if he will chomp down on your hand, I would handle him with thick gloves for a while. It still hurts if they really bite, but usually avoid the big holes in your hand :O

In time you and Conan will establish a communication, where he will tell you, please pet me here or please don't pet me right now.

My Sugar will take hold of my fingers and move them to where she wants to be petted, but she will also move my fingers, if she's had enough.

You're lucky that Conan already seems to have some of those communication skills Your job is now to read his language.

Good luck with your long future with your lovely bird

Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah Conan was a very loved bird by his original family so I'm fortunate that for the most part he has good people skills. I've actually been working on bribing the step-ups, he still doesn't trust me quite enough though. Not that i'm worried, just a matter of time. He has a great personality, but I'd be on edge still if I got up-rooted after 26 years and didn't know what was going on also.

Click to expand...

I have a photo of my first step up from Sugar. As you can see I had protected myself, so if she bit me, it wouldn't be too bad

Congratulations!

I like that wall clock.

GaleriaGila said:

Congratulations!

I like that wall clock.

Click to expand...

Thank you, it's an old photo now

The clock is a lot less fancy than it looks It's just the inner workings of a regular clock with longer dials. The numbers are just plastic numbers glued to the wall