New B&G Macaw

Phill · Mar 8, 2018

Hi everyone, I have just brought home my new blue and gold macaw, Douglas! He is now roughly 15 weeks old.

I picked him up from the airport yesterday. He was bred by a fantastic breeder in Sydney, Australia who has been great in providing guidance and advice.

I have been keeping birds for 12+ years but Douglas is my first macaw.

I understand that they are very smart and take time to adjust to their new homes. So far, he is eating his fruit and veg, nuts and pellets fine and is settling in his cage.

He is still very unsure of me and if I do attempt to take him out for a bit, he becomes very anxious and starts to blush. He then becomes flighty and panics which I assume is because he in unsure of his surroundings.

I give him lots of positive re-enforcement and lots of treats every time I walk by his cage so he knows I’m a good guy he can trust.

His breeder is quite shocked as she hasn’t really experienced any of her babies being this standish when going to a new home and his siblings have settled in fine.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help him transition?

This is a photo of him playing on his swing.

itzjbean · Mar 8, 2018

My best guess is that your new baby possibly has a gender preference of some kind, is the breeder male or female? Sometimes when a bird is raised by, say, a woman, they are less inclined to trust a male companion.

Other then that, it is not unheard of for a newly weaned macaw to be wary of new surroundings and people as his life has just been completely upheaved and changed. How long has it been? Give him a few weeks to settle in, may take more than a few days.

LordTriggs · Mar 8, 2018

Ditto above

Also the flight may have upset her a bit more than her siblings just as a thought. I find planes kinda scary even as an adult human who understands what's happening

WakaWaka · Mar 8, 2018

Yes, give Douglas time to settle in. Patience and positive reinforcement is the key.

When Arika came home, we left her in her condo (cage is too harsh

), spent time in her room, opened the posts from Birdman666 on a laptop and read them softly to her.
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/56384-big-beak-o-phobes-guide-understanding-macaw-beaks.html

Most here consider Birdman666 as the expert with Macaws and he has many years experience with them. His shared knowledge is greatly appreciated here. Also all the others with Macaw are more than happy to share their knowledge.

By reading his posts and words of wisdom softly to your new feathered friend, you will absorb the knowledge of the posts and spend time with him so he gets used to you and his new surroundings.

It's educational for you and the time spent with Douglas will promote friendship and help develop a bond.

To quote another member, "Talk to your Blue, you will be rewarded"
They were right on the money with that statement.

We look forward to hearing updates on Douglas and more pictures of course.

Thanks
Kelly, Karl, and Arika

Phill · Mar 8, 2018

Thank you for the comments.

He was raised by a husband and wife so he is use to and was comfortable with both men and women.

I will keep praising him and offering lots of treats. I’m sure he’ll come around.

wrench13 · Mar 8, 2018

Welcome and be Welcomed. Work at Douglas' pace , not yours. Dont rush him, he will be around for 60-70 years, so it's important to get it right. He has beautiful coloring!
You said you take him out? I would wait on that, because how do you get him back in? I'd do a lot of sitting close by the cage, reading Birdman666 to him in a nice voice, offer a treat occasionally, and after a few days leave the door open and begin Step Up training when he wants to come out. Worst thing you can do is let him out and have to bird wrestle or towel him to get him back inside. With parrots you always want to build trust, dont do things that destroy trust. Good luck with you and Douglas.

Phill · Mar 8, 2018

Hi Wrench,

Thanks for your advice.

He will voluntarily step up on to my hand for me to take him out. It’s after a couple of minutes where he starts to get anxiety and panics. That is when I put him back in his cage.

I think he is just overwhelmed with the plane trip, new faces, new house, etc.

He is very good orientated so I offer him a treat every time I wal past his cage.

I’m going to leave him alone for most of the day today and see how he goes in the afternoon when I am back from work.

wrench13 · Mar 8, 2018

Oh thats good news that he steps up already. And yep, if he is showing signs of distress return him back to the cage, in fact if you can anticipate it return him before he shws the signs, that way he will WANT to come out more often. Same thing with scratchies. Give him a scratch but stop before he pulls away. Always leave them wanting more. Just like a Jummy Buffet concert - LOL. I dont know about a treat EVERY time you pass the cage, but certainly a nice warm Hello Douglas, how is your day going, is fine.

You aso want othermembers of the family to start to interact with him too. Sit down with the family units, and discuss how they will act and react around Douglas. The idea is to have consistency, so Mom does what you and what any kids are doing. This not only shows the bird who is in the flock, but how he wiill be treated within the flock. Once he is more comfy being out for longer periods, start to play warm potato with you family members, gently passing Dougie around and each gives him a treat at that time. But that might be weeks away.

Phill · Mar 8, 2018

Thanks for the advice.

My wife and I will do everything you guys have suggested and see how we goi few bad that he has reacted this way. His 2 siblings who went to their homes the same day have settled in perfectly fine and are demanding attention already. Hopefully Douglas comes around in due time.

WakaWaka · Mar 8, 2018

Every bird has their own unique personality. Arika is less than a year old and is developing her personality more every day.
Some birds will adjust to different surroundings and even toys at different times, just like they will start talking at different ages.

You have a long wonderful road ahead of you with Douglas and the rest of your family. Savor every second of it.

I like the wording of the "warm potato" idea

Kelly and I pass Arika to each other and sometime she just decided who she wants to go to.
You will never get a feathered friend to do what you want them to do, but if you make it fun and rewarding, they will want to do it themselves. Treats also help. LOL.

Hmmm, do they offer Avian psychology at college

Thanks
Kelly, Karl, and Arika

happy410 · Mar 8, 2018

Georgous macaw. Enjoy those dark baby eyes because they change fast. I love looking back at pictures of Tesla when he had those dark eyes.

Phill · Mar 8, 2018

Well I got home from work and things haven’t progressed too well.

He wouldn’t step up and seemed more scared of me.

He will take treats from me but won’t step up.

I will let him keep settling in and hopefully he comes around. I’ll keep talking to him gently and try to get him more confident.

itzjbean · Mar 9, 2018

Phill said:
Well I got home from work and things haven’t progressed too well.

He wouldn’t step up and seemed more scared of me.

He will take treats from me but won’t step up.

I will let him keep settling in and hopefully he comes around. I’ll keep talking to him gently and try to get him more confident.

Yep I believe he'll just need some time to get used to you. Taking treats from you is a good sign. Don't lose hope, I have faith that one day he will trust you and your bond will grow strong.

Kentuckienne · Mar 9, 2018

Welcome and congrats! Yes, give him time to get comfortable with his new home. Parrots are prey animals, so they know in their DNA that others will eat them. Try to look around the place from that perspective. Can he look out a window and see a hawk, crow, dog, scary clothesline, anything unfamiliar that moves? Some parrots are frightened by a certain color, like a red painting hanging too close. Are there any other animals around? Are you wearing dangerous-color clothing? Some parrots hate shoes. Hats. Gloves. Purple. Go figure.

Watch his eyes. Parrots turn their heads to the side to get a good look at things because they don’t see as well looking straight ahead. Is he turning an eye to the window? We had a parrot that would go on instant alert if he saw a plane way high in the sky, a vulture or crow, a spider on the ceiling, a bug on the floor, you get the idea. Just watch him to see if you can figure out what’s spooking him. It can help if you look at him sideways and not straight on in the beginning because that’s what a predator would do.

happy410 · Mar 9, 2018

Don't get frustrated. With a little more time he will start to trust you. Once you gain his trust and have a bond with him it will be worth the wait. Tesla loves all of the family, although hubby is his favorite. He loves me because I'm the goofy one with him. I'll sing, dance, play peek a boo. He loves just being goofy sometimes. They are just like 3 year olds. We have figured out now that Tesla is talking ALOT, he picks up and says more of the things that I say to him or the things he hears me saying around the house. For instance, I call my son Wyatt Earp everyone else just says Wyatt. Tesla calls him Wyatt Earp too.
Once the two of you learn each other you will have the time of your life. He will make you laugh everyday. Just take one step at a time. Talk to him, read books, spend as much time as you can figuring each other out.

Phill · Mar 10, 2018

Thanks for all the advise guys. It’s much appreciated.

He’s still taking treats but today gave me a good bite on the thumb!

We’ll keep progressing and see how we go.

Tami2 · Mar 10, 2018

Welcome to the Parrot Forums & Congratulations! :heart:

He is gorgeous!

Here is a link that is very helpful:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html

Best of luck to you both! :blue1:

Phill · Mar 11, 2018

Look at the progress we have made guys!

https://ufile.io/dzarw

https://ufile.io/6j1rn

Sorry about the links, I don't know how else to share the videos here !

GaleriaGila · Mar 11, 2018

Welcome! I'm so excited for you. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you're here.

Phill · Mar 13, 2018

Unfortunately we’ve gone a bit backwards again. He was great for 2 day straight. Today I got home from work and tried to get him out of his cage by asking him to step up. He wouldn’t and was being very aggressive trying to bite my hand. I’m not sure what would have caused him to react like this now after we done so good for 2 days!

The only thing I can think of is that today is the first day I had to go back to work after I’ve got him, so obviously I wasn’t able to go to him during the day and pay him attention and give him treats. Maybe he is annoyed with me ?

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