Bird breeder sold me the wrong macaw hybrid?

[Greenclaws]

Conures also have a rep for being nippy. If I had a dime for every time someone told me they don't want a green cheek because they are biters... Well I could buy a nice meal for myself! I have five tame GCCs. Guess how many are biters? None. Guess how many came to me as biters? Two. Training is training, there is no way around it. You mention she bites when she is scared and you try to put her down - don't you think that sounds normal? In my opinion most bites are rooted in fear or hormones at least when the habit starts, but if we are not careful we can reinforce it into a habit that is hard to break. Also, you said she bites when you are petting her, when you are petting her how? Does she do it when you touch a certain place, or spend too long in one place? Are you carefully watching her body language and eyes to see if she is asking politely for you to stop before she has to ask a bit more rudely by biting you? Also, if a chick is terrified with by humans and comes from a breeder who doesn't know how to deal with that, that is a huge red flag and there could be a LOT more than "too much scarlet macaw" going on with her and in her past, which you need to consider. I posted recently about my rescue who is sweet as pie, unless you forget to tuck your thumb when you pick her up., and then she attacks! Why? Because of something that happened to her in her last home. So be patient and consistent we her. Decide now if you are going to keep her. If you cannot get your mind to a place of being glad she is the one you got, and over being disappointed with her or unhappy with the bird you purchased, return her. No bird deserves to be the source of disappointment like that, and I wholeheartedly believe they'd will feel it. If you do return her, DO NOT get your next bird from this breeder. She sounds utterly irresponsible. If she can be that careless, I hate to think what else goes on with her birds and customers! Yes, every bird deserves a home, but every time you pay someone who is doing the wrong thing you are incentivizing them to keep doing the wrong thing, which harms more and more birds. My suggestion is to work on the training, and eliminate "scarlet nippiness" from your thoughts. A parrot is a parrot, and while species can very much dictate tendencies, a bird that smart can be taught to behave as long as the owner is smart enough to pay attention. Remember, communication goes BOTH WAYS. You need to learn how she asks you to stop doing something, and then respect it so she no longer feels the need to bite. Once a bird realizes that the only way to stop you is to bite you, they often start to skip the warning and go straight to the bite, and that is hard to deal with.

I think I pay very close attention to her body language. A rule I've set is I never ever walk toward my bird or follow her around. I make her come toward me. I think it works because she flies off her perch of I leave the room and walks on the floor and follows me wherever I go. If she's on her perch and I stand on the other end, and say "come here" she always comes and lets me pet her. There isn't any certain thing I do that triggers the nips. And they aren't a chomp and quick release. She whips her head around, grabs me, (since I've started bite pressure training, she doesn't grab hard), and then she just slowly releases and just starts chewing and lucking me usually. I see her do it to her own wings sometimes. Maybe she's just irritable because feathers are coming in? I don't flinch or react when she does it, unless its a hard bite, and then I use my bite pressure training technique. She lets go immediately and stares back at me when I give her my stern stare.

Like I said, I'm attached and committed to her so I'm not considering getting rid of her. Only if she constantly tries to tear my fingers off or disfigures my face and acts like she just hates me. Then: maybe. Lol. But the way she reacts when she sees my face from around the corner, I know she loves me and wants to spend every moment with me. It's like her beak has a mind of its own. I haven't gotten a hard bite since her second day with me though. The lady who took care of her said she has a scarlet and that Raja acts nothing like it. Her scarlet never wants to come out unless it says "step up" to them on the days it does want out. Hearing that, I feel a million times better about her nips. At least she clearly wants to spend time with me!

 

[Greenclaws]

Zoe's latest antics are too go from mush mac to lunging at my face/eyes. She's completely comfortable with us now, so I've been expecting this. She's testing her boundaries. Birdman gives good advice.

How do you react in those instances? Raja never goes for my face (so far.) I'm a petite person and she's a huge bird so even with my arms held at a low 90 degree angle, the top of her head reaches my chin. If she lunged, she could definitely get my face. I hope she doesn't develop that habit :/

 

[Greenclaws]

Mark- sounds like a typical toddler lol does "terrible twos" ring a bell???? lol

EVERY macaw goes through the testing phase. With the good ones, it doesn't last long - 6 months or less. And it isn't that bad.

With the bad ones? They'll keep it up until someone puts a stop to it...

Abso-friggin-lutely!

Sweepea went through a testing phase that drove me nuts for 3-4 months.

Maggie was already an adult when I got her. All I had to do was set the boundaries. 4 days... total! And frankly, after 8 years in solitary she was so relieved to finally be out of her cage, and played with that she was somewhere beyond simple to work with. She has an amazing tempernment. Pea Pod occasionally pitches a fit. Maggie never has.

But my rehabs that were permissive parented?! Some of those were HUGE behavior mod projects... That Ruby macaw rehab took 8 months it had been so poorly raised! ZERO discipline...

Had a greenwing that was chasing people around the house.

Woody, also would chase people around the house with intent to maim...

So, yeah. Discipline!

I'm trying to five Raja lots of structure. She is getting much better at stepping up consistently. But on the occasion where she refuses to step up and wants to do her own thing, I just wrap my hands around her wings and pick up her whole body. I always do it with her head facing away from me. She never tries to bite when I do this and I pick her up and go straight to the cage. Is this ok? I hope so cause I think its working. She's stepping up more and more consistently every day. Probably because she's thinking "well, I either do it willingly or she's gonna pick me up anyways..."

She tried to climb up my shirt and get on my shoulders when I first for her. I would drop my arm and throw her off balance. It only two two times of this awkward half-falling dance before she realized it was pointless. Now, three weeks later, she hasn't tried to climb up since the third or fourth day I've had her.

Other than that, I say "no bite" and push into her mouth and give her a stern look. I used to step away or gold her away but realized she might use that knowledge on people she actually doesn't want around to keep them away. So now I just do the stern stare for 5 seconds and then resume what I was doing, saying "gentle" if she reaches for me. It seems to work. She definitely stops and freezes when I say "no bite" with authority.

That's the extent of her discipline right now. Am I doing everything right? I'm not sure i want to use a towel for discipline. I thought I'd teach her to enjoy being handled with a towel, to make future maintenance less stressful and not seem like punishment. How do you discipline with a towel anyways?

 

[Greenclaws]

Also, minor soap box here, ravensgryf mentioned that every breeder has to start somewhere. I know this is a little off topic, but that is the WORST excuse ever for this kind of nonsense. I am relatively new to breeding, but you know what I do? I RESEARCH ALL THE TIME! Even last night in bed, husband asleep by my side, reading up on my Maxis. Yes, I have read it a lot before, but I like to remind myself, and find new things. I research nutrition, behavior, developmental stages, origin, everything I can think of I read about, so when I do something wrong (which is not all that rare) it is not because I wasn't trying. I also keep records, practice good customer service, and I KNOW WHICH SPECIES I AM BREEDING. If you lack the basic knowledge of a species, or breeding that species that Google could tell you in 10 minutes, you are not ready to be breeding. Yes you "start somewhere" but there is a reason the written drivers test is taken before the road test. This breeder cannot hide behind that excuse. Some people can, people who are digging up every scrap they can on he heir species and doing their best for them, not people who are careless with their birds and customers.

End rant.

To be clear ravensgryf, I know you were not defending this breeder.

EXACTLY!! I couldn't have said it better myself. I was so upset because a jubilee macaw was my DREAM BIRD! I researched and researched and chose that hybrid because it was exactly what I wanted. It was going to be my one and only macaw, a bird I would have for the rest of my life. So for someone to be so scatter brained and clueless is so frustrating! I'm over it though, as there's nothing I can do. My baby loves me and I love her. Ill take what I'm given and built from there to raise my dream bird But the support on here means so much to me. I can't thank you all enough. The macaw owner community is so small and its hard to find good first hand experience and sound advice. Just knowing that others have gone through what I'm going through with my baby testing her boundaries, that's a huge comfort

 

[Greenclaws]

Sorry about all the typos, I can speak English I swear! Lol. I'm typing on my iPhone and the autocorrect scrambles my words often. Hopefully its all coherent though.

 

[Greenclaws]

I have personal experience with this breeder she is in her 70's, old school and in WAY over her head with too many pairs, she has multiple hand feeders and they lie back and forth to cover themselves, one blaming the other with NO resolution!
She actually told me to chew up some egg and feed the baby with it after the food had been in MY MOUTH! Along with many other things that just had me shaking my head, had I not been as experienced in hand feeding, many years and many species this could have ended very badly. I let her know I was NOT happy, she asked if I would give her a good rating and I declined.

Honestly, if it wasnt for the lady who handfed her and turned her from a terrified baby into a baby who wants to be with people: I NEVER would have bought from this breeder!! Her reviews on birdbreeders and Facebook are all glowing and she's very good at speaking highly of herself and saying people drive across the country to be repeat customers of hers. But she is very loud and cuts you off and yeah... She knows nothing about her individual babies. She gave me the handfeeder's number, who had a great relationship with Raja and loved her and had great things to say about her. That lady was the sole reason I wanted to buy Raja. I also text her often and ask her questions and she always answers me and talks to me on the phone when its needed. She cares greatly for her babies and told me she couldn't have asked for a better home for Raja and said she would have turned around and not let me keep the bird if she felt I was I'll fit. It meant a lot to hear that. Anyways, long story short: at least one of the breeders' handfeeders is a good person. As for the rest, I can't speak for them. I'm just surprised there aren't any bad reviews of her online

 

[Birdman666]

Okay I looked at the pic.

NOT a ruby. Some sort of 3rd gen hybrid but the black facial feathers says not a GW Scarlet cross. Close though. Blue & Gold & Scarlet plus greenwing would be my guess. I have no idea what the hybrid breeders are calling those these days, but behavior wise, I would expect something close to greenwing. The dominant traits would be greenwing. The size and body language is pure gw. WHICH IS GOOD in my opinion. You iust have to focus your behavior mods on training out any of those GW dominance issues. Which, actually, is pretty friggin' easy. Two fingers on the beak when picking up and setting down, and be the dominant bird in the pair bond relationship. Done.

Some breeder! What kind of a cross it is I cannot tell you. It was an egg, it hatched, we fed it, we sold it. You bought it. It's yours now. It's healthy. It's all good. You love him, right?

Real helpful.

So, back to the original premise, this is a young bird in the testing phase. Pass the test, and this goes away. Focus on GW dominance issues. Read my bird bites post.

And, really, for everyone else if you're looking for a big mac, call eomeone like Wendy first... Her birds get socialized to the NTH degree... You get a bird that is, abundance weaned, fledged, and for the most part, already trained in the basics, and is trusting.

No, she did not pay me to say that. But good breeders make all the difference in the world!!!

 

[brianlinkles]

I'm not sure what the mix is but she is very pretty. She has very sparse facial feathering. I know that many green wing babies start with black facial feathering that then turn to red. I had one it took awhile but then totally turned red. She has the yellow on her wings so obviously scarlet in her. Birdman has worked with lots of difficult macaws and would be a good resource.

 

[Birdman666]

I'm not sure what the mix is but she is very pretty. She has very sparse facial feathering. I know that many green wing babies start with black facial feathering that then turn to red. I had one it took awhile but then totally turned red. She has the yellow on her wings so obviously scarlet in her. Birdman has worked with lots of difficult macaws and would be a good resource.

Very sparse facial feathers + yellow band = scarlet
black facial feathers = either B&G or military, probably B&G (with the dominant bird in the pair being the Scarlet.)
Red facial feathers + size + beak shape + dominant coloring = Greenwing.

50% Greenwing + Catalina (B&G/Scarlett) = what ever they call them now. (Flame. I looked it up.)

OR your garden variety Ruby with the GW being the dominant bird in the pair.

If the black goes away, and it's all red facial feathers, then it's a Ruby.
If not, it's probably a Flame.

Either way, this bird has a whole lotta mush and goofy in him. You just have to find it, and nurture it!

 

[Timothy]

IMHO Scarelets have a bad reputation. I have worked with many scarlets of many ages and YES they can be beaky, it is in their nature, but some of the sweetest birds i have ever worked with were scarlets. If well trained they are highly intelligent animals. They just need extra beak activities!! The fact that it is a hybrid will reduce this tendancy.

 

[Kiwibird]

a jubilee macaw was my DREAM BIRD! I researched and researched and chose that hybrid because it was exactly what I wanted. It was going to be my one and only macaw, a bird I would have for the rest of my life. So for someone to be so scatter brained and clueless is so frustrating! I'm over it though, as there's nothing I can do. My baby loves me and I love her. Ill take what I'm given and built from there to raise my dream bird But the support on here means so much to me. I can't thank you all enough. The macaw owner community is so small and its hard to find good first hand experience and sound advice. Just knowing that others have gone through what I'm going through with my baby testing her boundaries, that's a huge comfort

Sometimes we have an idea of what our "dream" bird is, but you end up finding your ACTUAL "dream" bird is everything you never knew you wanted. I never thought much about BFAs (not even a remote consideration, they have a bad rap too), wanted a cuddly bird and I preferred a female. I ended up with Kiwi, a big, male BFA with an attitude, surging hormones and touch-phobia. While not the species, gender or personality type I initially thought I wanted, he is absolutely *perfect* for me. About the only thing he has in common with my original "dream bird" is he's an amazon. We have worked with him and while not cuddly, he is really very sweet and mild mannered. Not at all like the BFA horror stories (though he came home as one!).

I'm sure under your care, Raja will be a WONDERFUL companion. I wouldn't look at it so much as the breeder tricked you, as the universe knew what you didn't at the time and brought beautiful Raja to you Always remember, you get what you put in to these birds! The "horror" stories you hear don't come from people like you who put in the effort to build a good bond with their bird and work to have a friendly and well trained bird. They come from those who put in minimal effort, and get minimal return. Some species are known for being "beaky/nippy" others get "bad hormones" or "are screamers", but the severity of these issues greatly depends on how much crap the owner allows the bird to get away with I'm sure you will be a loving, but firm leader for Raja so even if she has some natural nippiness, it will quickly be corrected and a more appropriate way to express herself encouraged

 

[Birdman666]

IMHO Scarelets have a bad reputation. I have worked with many scarlets of many ages and YES they can be beaky, it is in their nature, but some of the sweetest birds i have ever worked with were scarlets. If well trained they are highly intelligent animals. They just need extra beak activities!! The fact that it is a hybrid will reduce this tendancy.

Exactly! Well said.

 

[Birdman666]

is this ok? I hope so cause i think its working. She's stepping up more and more consistently every day. Probably because she's thinking "well, i either do it willingly or she's gonna pick me up anyways..."

Exactly! Good progress.

She tried to climb up my shirt and get on my shoulders when i first for her. I would drop my arm and throw her off balance. It only two two times of this awkward half-falling dance before she realized it was pointless. Now, three weeks later, she hasn't tried to climb up since the third or fourth day i've had her.

And it sounds like it worked, and she gets it, so that's really good progress.

Other than that, i say "no bite" and push into her mouth and give her a stern look. I used to step away or gold her away but realized she might use that knowledge on people she actually doesn't want around to keep them away. So now i just do the stern stare for 5 seconds and then resume what i was doing, saying "gentle" if she reaches for me. It seems to work. She definitely stops and freezes when i say "no bite" with authority.

Exactly. And they respond to that.

That's the extent of her discipline right now. Am i doing everything right? I'm not sure i want to use a towel for discipline.

With most, two fingers pushing the beak away is all you really need. The towel is only used for tantrums, and severe blood draw variety biting... The kind of stuff that gets progressively worse if you don't put a stop to it.

If she's not doing that then it simply isn't necessary. With most it isn't. Drop them to the floor, or push the beak away.

I was working with the "out of control" biters. The tantrum throwers. The ones that could not be handled at all, without drawing blood. You don't stop that stuff by letting them bite you. You stop that stuff by preventing them from doing it.

I thought i'd teach her to enjoy being handled with a towel, to make future maintenance less stressful and not seem like punishment. How do you discipline with a towel anyways?

The towel is used when the bird is throwing a major hissy fit, going after people, and blood draw biting... "we don't do that ever!" it is not necessary for garden variety behaviors. I physically restrain the bird and hold him there, on his back, and make him sit there for a second and realize that even though he's biting, i still can, and will control him.

For the record, i have NEVER toweled Maggie or Lila... It simply has never been necessary.

I think I toweled Sweepea twice in what 12+ years, and that was very early on in her "testing phase." pass the test and they stop. (Which is the reason you do it...)

I toweled tusk, my CAG, on 3 occasions, because he would "fight and bite" on bath day. "i'm not gonna!!!" after that, when he poofed up, and did his refusal to cooperate dance - i went and got my towel, held it up, and showed it to him. That's "yes, you are. You just don't want to." Then I set it down and gave the step up command. The poofy bird dance immediately stopped, and he lifted his foot without biting.

Haven't had to do it since...

My red lored amazon came to me as one of the worst biters the rescue ever had. She degloved a former owner's Thumb - down to the bone! She degloved a finger on a person who tried to work with her down at the rescue. THE ONLY WAY THAT BIRD COULD BE SAFELY HANDLED WAS TOWELED.
I only took her to keep her from getting destroyed as a vicious animal...

TWO MONTHS LATER that same bird was curling up into a ball, and using my cheek for a pillow and getting extended head scratches...

I lost track of the number of times I had to towel her. The entirety of the first two or three weeks, I believe. And several times a day, through six weeks... BUT IT FRIGGIN' WORKED! And along the way she became one of my most bonded birds. She's been with me now for about 15 years or so... still preens my eyebrows every day.



Teach them to pinch, and you probably will never need to towel them because they won't draw blood.

 

[Greenclaws]

I'm not sure what the mix is but she is very pretty. She has very sparse facial feathering. I know that many green wing babies start with black facial feathering that then turn to red. I had one it took awhile but then totally turned red. She has the yellow on her wings so obviously scarlet in her. Birdman has worked with lots of difficult macaws and would be a good resource.

Very sparse facial feathers + yellow band = scarlet
black facial feathers = either B&G or military, probably B&G (with the dominant bird in the pair being the Scarlet.)
Red facial feathers + size + beak shape + dominant coloring = Greenwing.

50% Greenwing + Catalina (B&G/Scarlett) = what ever they call them now. (Flame. I looked it up.)

OR your garden variety Ruby with the GW being the dominant bird in the pair.

If the black goes away, and it's all red facial feathers, then it's a Ruby.
If not, it's probably a Flame.

Either way, this bird has a whole lotta mush and goofy in him. You just have to find it, and nurture it!

That was my guess too (up in an earlier comment.) Catalina's and harlequins look very alike sometimes so maybe the breeder doesn't know what she has.

Another person mentioned they've seen baby greenwings with black bands that turn red with age. If that's the case, maybe she could still be a ruby? I thought the dark feathers under her beak on her throat were definitely blue and gold genes, but now I'm seeing several greenwing babies on google have that darker throat.

Here's another pic that shows the discolored brownish feathers on her head and some of her neck. Ssooo... Maybe that's the blue and gold genes? Lol I give up! I love her regardless

 

[Greenclaws]

a jubilee macaw was my DREAM BIRD! I researched and researched and chose that hybrid because it was exactly what I wanted. It was going to be my one and only macaw, a bird I would have for the rest of my life. So for someone to be so scatter brained and clueless is so frustrating! I'm over it though, as there's nothing I can do. My baby loves me and I love her. Ill take what I'm given and built from there to raise my dream bird But the support on here means so much to me. I can't thank you all enough. The macaw owner community is so small and its hard to find good first hand experience and sound advice. Just knowing that others have gone through what I'm going through with my baby testing her boundaries, that's a huge comfort

Sometimes we have an idea of what our "dream" bird is, but you end up finding your ACTUAL "dream" bird is everything you never knew you wanted. I never thought much about BFAs (not even a remote consideration, they have a bad rap too), wanted a cuddly bird and I preferred a female. I ended up with Kiwi, a big, male BFA with an attitude, surging hormones and touch-phobia. While not the species, gender or personality type I initially thought I wanted, he is absolutely *perfect* for me. About the only thing he has in common with my original "dream bird" is he's an amazon. We have worked with him and while not cuddly, he is really very sweet and mild mannered. Not at all like the BFA horror stories (though he came home as one!).

I'm sure under your care, Raja will be a WONDERFUL companion. I wouldn't look at it so much as the breeder tricked you, as the universe knew what you didn't at the time and brought beautiful Raja to you Always remember, you get what you put in to these birds! The "horror" stories you hear don't come from people like you who put in the effort to build a good bond with their bird and work to have a friendly and well trained bird. They come from those who put in minimal effort, and get minimal return. Some species are known for being "beaky/nippy" others get "bad hormones" or "are screamers", but the severity of these issues greatly depends on how much crap the owner allows the bird to get away with I'm sure you will be a loving, but firm leader for Raja so even if she has some natural nippiness, it will quickly be corrected and a more appropriate way to express herself encouraged

Thanks for keeping the faith! After reading everyone's responses, I'm not so concerned about the scarlet in her anymore. She really is a lover and clearly craves human attention which, in the end, is the number one thing I wanted in a bird she's still weary of strangers and I'm still trying to figure out how to get her to like them. Right now, if I'm outside and a friend or neigh or walks up, I ask them to stop several feet away from us and explain she's still in her early phase of socialization. In the house, she's much more confident and I can have people walk to her stand and say "want a treat?" And she will walk over to them and streeeeettch her neck out to get it from them. And then quickly retreat to the far side of her perch to enjoy it! Haha. Outside though, I don't want to push her as the outdoors is still strange and scary to her, my plan is to desensitize her to strange people being around, get her carrier trained and take her to Home Depot and push her around on a cart, slowly decrease the distance between her and other people, at her own pace. Eventually let strangers come up and offer treats. And THEN, here's where we take the plunge. I saw the bird wizard guy (Michael?) say he starts petting his birds with people standing close by. When they relax, he gently holds their beak and then lets the other person start petting them. He does that repetitively until he can just hold their beak and the other person can pet them and they enjoy it.

Is that a good technique? From that point, I don't know how to transition to her being ok with petting without me holding her beak, and especially don't know how to teach her to step up to strangers. Some people say they just have the bird on their arm and tell it to step down onto another persons arm. I know she pinches HARD when she's scared and forced to step up. She did it probably 10 times during our first two days together until she trusted me. I don't want her to do that to a friend or especially a total stranger and them try to take legal action for my attack macaw. Lol!

Anyways, those days are probably a long ways off. Right now she's even wigged out by the fact that I raise my voice slightly to speak to people because they're standing fifteen feet away

Ok, I know this is getting long but one last thing. When her handfeeder dropped her off at my house three weeks ago, the lady just picked her up and set her on my arm! Did the same thing to my boyfriend. Raja was fine with me holding her close to my body and even started falling asleep on my chest. After the lady left, she chomped down hard every time I tried to get her to step up. HUGE difference in just a five minute window. In hindsight, the lady brought her over a half hour after her usual bedtime. Maybe she was just sleepy? Except I've noticed that when she's sleepy, she gets very fussy. Maybe she just trusted her old owner a great deal and was a sweet baby with her around?

Finally, how should I have my boyfriend respond when she's out and he reaches to pet her and she turns around and shows him her beak? its not a lunge, she just open it and slowly reaches toward him. If she does it twice, he just walks away and leaves her alone. If she's on my arm or on my lap though, she lets him pet her. Is him walking away when she does that the best way to react? I dont want to put him in any position where she does a hard fear bite. He's already unsure about her so id rather avoid any situation where he decides he's just giving up all hope on being her friend. This is probably the most important socialization to me. My boyfriend and I live together and he would be her caregiver when im out of town.

 

[Birdman666]

She's either a Flame or a Ruby. Hard to tell really this young, and some of those hybrids look pretty close to the same.

If the black stays around the eyes, then Flame. If they're red then there is no doubt in my mind she's a Ruby. That's the only thing it could be with all red eye coloring. (Ruby's coloring is actually my favorite.)

Overall, like I say, this bird should behave primarily like a greenwing. And your first year or two you have the hyper-rambunctious, stage. This bird is probably just discovering bite pressure right now, and doesn't know how to control it very well. So, working on those issues will reduce any problems.

I would just push the beak away if she starts the lunging stuff, and if she tries again, down she goes...

A friend of mine has a young (2 year old) greenwing in the testing phase, and he's so hyper and grabby even though he knows me, I had to put him on the floor about 8 times last time I was over. But after going to the floor, stepping up, back to the floor, etc.

He finally got it. Behaved the rest of the night. And I played with him for 3-4 hours after that, no blood. (Went through a half dozen ABC blocks though!)

That's probably all this is with yours too... Age and consistency eliminate those behaviors.

Of course, then the hormonal behaviors start... ! DOH!

 

[Birdman666]

One of the things I did was take mine on outings to the park. When my daughter was younger, we did picnics. We'd take the birds, and they'd play in the tree, while she played in the playground...

They got used to a million kids running around screaming, bicycles and skateboards, and little plastic cars whizzing by, Dogs running up to us...

I started with just stepping up for strangers, and then coming back to me.

The head scratch stuff came once they were 110% comfortable with stepping up for strangers. Same way you described. (I hold the beak with two fingers, which they got used to as young birds during basic training.) And strangers scratch the sweet spot on the back of the head.

First get her trained, and used to it. (It really doesn't take long. Three of mine EXPECT to go out.) Then socialize once he's 100% calm with it, otherwise he could spook, and fear bite someone...

Macaws are the most attention oriented and toddler like of the bunch. These are lap birds. And ATTENTION is the key to training. It's a powerful tool, love and attention... best training tool you can use.

 

[Birdman666]

All I have to do is tell someone to put there arm up and hold it there. And I physically show them how to hold a big mac.

Then I pick her up and set her down on the arm.

NOW I can pick her up and give her to someone. NO ONE can just walk up and pick her up and take her from me without my say so. That's the extent to which mine is trained...

 

[Greenclaws]

All I have to do is tell someone to put there arm up and hold it there. And I physically show them how to hold a big mac.

Then I pick her up and set her down on the arm.

NOW I can pick her up and give her to someone. NO ONE can just walk up and pick her up and take her from me without my say so. That's the extent to which mine is trained...

I know stepping up to a stranger is scary, so i don't expect it and am not holding my breath for it. I thought i would take your approach too (me just picking her up by her body and setting her down on someone's arm) but someone told me it would only work a few times before Raja started to not trust me and would bite the arm she was set on.

If it works for you though, ill take your advice and experience over any one else's! and of course ill only do this when she's 100% comfortable with people being around and isn't flashing her eyes or acting edgy and spooked.

Just to clarify, you pick your bird up by its body right? Like both hands wrapped around its wings? Or do you mean you have it standing on your arm and somehow set it down without it having to reach out with its beak to steady itself? You recommended holding her beak when i set her down on a perch in her cage to prevent the "no dont put me back in!" nipping. Can i do that when she's on my arm? Just hold her beak and make her step down onto another person's arm? (and then reward immediately with a treat)

 

[Greenclaws]

One of the things I did was take mine on outings to the park. When my daughter was younger, we did picnics. We'd take the birds, and they'd play in the tree, while she played in the playground...

They got used to a million kids running around screaming, bicycles and skateboards, and little plastic cars whizzing by, Dogs running up to us...

I started with just stepping up for strangers, and then coming back to me.

The head scratch stuff came once they were 110% comfortable with stepping up for strangers. Same way you described. (I hold the beak with two fingers, which they got used to as young birds during basic training.) And strangers scratch the sweet spot on the back of the head.

First get her trained, and used to it. (It really doesn't take long. Three of mine EXPECT to go out.) Then socialize once he's 100% calm with it, otherwise he could spook, and fear bite someone...

Macaws are the most attention oriented and toddler like of the bunch. These are lap birds. And ATTENTION is the key to training. It's a powerful tool, love and attention... best training tool you can use.

Two more questions and ill leave you alone!!!! lol!

1) can you see my previous post about how i should tell my boyfriend (or anyone) to react when she shows her beak? Just back off and leave her alone? I think it happens when he reaches for her from the front of her head. Maybe she wouldnt do it if he'd stand to her side and pet the back of her neck, since i assume they have better peripheral vision than being able to see straight ahead?

2) How exactly do you tell strangers to hold a big macaw? I know it sounds silly, but its because Raja feels most secure when i hold her up close to my body. But should i tell a stranger to do that? Would she be more comfortable up close to them or with their arm extended straight out? I usually only do that to her if she's trying to rip a button off my shirt. she's really uneasy far out on my arm.

Thank you SSOOOO SOOOO MUCH Birdman!! You are awesome for sharing all your great advice