First Macaw

[BruceV]

So this Friday, Nov. 8, I will be getting my first Macaw. He's a 16 year old B&G and he's a sweetheart. We hit it off right away when I went to meet him. But I'm a little nervous that I'm going to mess something up somehow. I guess the foster mom will have plenty of advice, since she's had him for 18 months, but do I leave him in the cage for a few days? Try to take him out right away? Talk to him? Ignore him? I have a Blue Crown conure but I knew her for over a year before she came to my house. And this is a MUCH bigger bird! Different ball game altogether!

Any words of advice for a first time Macaw owner? I really want to make him and the rest of the family happy.

 

[Birdman666]

A conure is really just a shrunken macaw....

A lot of the same behaviors apply. Pair bond birds. Goofy. Playahaulics.

One thing you DO NOT do with macaws is ignore them. They don't let you!

Wishy washy doesn't work with macaws. Handle him with confidence.

All macaws test, even the sweet ones. The test is exactly that - to see how you will react. Turn it into a game, and the bird will play with you. Jump and cower, and the bird will generally act more dominant around you.

 

[BruceV]

Good advice, thank you! I'll try to remember that the first time he bites me. He's already seen me not flinch when he was testing me the first time I saw him. Not that he'll remember that, but as long as I do...

 

[Birdman666]

He's already seen me not flinch when he was testing me the first time I saw him. Not that he'll remember that, but as long as I do...

What makes you think he won't?!

Why do you think they do that?! To see who will, and who won't.

Next time don't. Then he will remember it. Okay, startled him the first time, but he's not falling for it...

And remember, the beak may be all powerful, but the scrawny little neck that weilds it is not. You can control a macaw's beak with two fingers by grabbing it at the fat part below the nares.

You can also push the beak away with two fingers.

If he starts to get the upper hand, drop him to the floor. If he goes after your feet, get something between you and your feet, and back him up...

He doesn't get back up until he steps up nice and behaves.

You have to be big bird with a macaw if he shows dominance.

Let him know from the get go in no uncertain terms, that you are not going to hurt him, but you are also not going to sit there and let him bully you.

I've done this dance a few times...

 

[BruceV]

I've done this dance a few times...

So it would seem! Thank you for the advice. I probably wouldn't have thought of it on my own.

 

[JerseyWendy]

AWESOME advice, Birdman!!!

:worship2: :emoticonc :worship2: :emoticonc

 

[Birdman666]

There has only been one macaw that I did not succeed in taming down in all my years of rehabbing them, and that was because he was so severely psychologically damaged he was somewhat mentally unstable... the birdie equivalent of "Borderline Personality Disorder."

Mind you, I did have two trips to the ER for stitches, and both were from macaws...

But overall, I prefer working with the Big Macs.

 

[BruceV]

I'm so looking forward to getting this big guy! My gf's brother in law has a B&G and a GW and neither one is friendly to anyone but him. So I don't get to handle/pet/love them at all. Kinda' stinks. I'm hoping I can make sure this guy maintains his friendly nature.

 

[Birdman666]

I'll try to remember that the first time he bites me.

I try not to let them bite me.

Again, two fingers, keep your eyes on the bird at all times until you absolutely know you can trust them.

No shoulders until you know the bird doesn't bite. (Or at all if the bird's name is Tyson!)

BOTH my stitches came when I broke eye contact.

The first was an evil Severe Macaw that was just waiting for his chance to get me... I got distracted for a moment, and he got my thumb! Beak like a friggin' scalpel!

The second was a very friendly Shamrock macaw, that didn't want me to leave. I took my eyes off him and turned to go change water dishes. He grabbed my finger just to keep me from leaving, unfortunately, even though he was friendly, he was not bite pressure trained, and it very nearly took my finger clean off!

So, maintaining eye contact at first is VERY important. And anticipating what he is going to do with the beak, and beating him to it with two fingers, will save you a few scars...

 

[Birdman666]

I'm so looking forward to getting this big guy! My gf's brother in law has a B&G and a GW and neither one is friendly to anyone but him. So I don't get to handle/pet/love them at all. Kinda' stinks. I'm hoping I can make sure this guy maintains his friendly nature.

These two are pair bond birds that have been allowed to overbond. They need to be handled by more than one person. Or they won't be. EVER!

 

[BruceV]

I'm so looking forward to getting this big guy! My gf's brother in law has a B&G and a GW and neither one is friendly to anyone but him. So I don't get to handle/pet/love them at all. Kinda' stinks. I'm hoping I can make sure this guy maintains his friendly nature.

These two are pair bond birds that have been allowed to overbond. They need to be handled by more than one person. Or they won't be. EVER!

They've apparently been in the same cage together with only one person handling them since they were newborns. Odds are very slim that anyone else will ever handle them. I can almost touch the B&G, but the GW is downright mean.

Thank you for the conversation here. I really am learning a lot today. My gf might be a little frightened of the new bird, but I need to make sure she handles him too, so that if she HAS to someday, she can.

 

[Birdman666]

I'm so looking forward to getting this big guy! My gf's brother in law has a B&G and a GW and neither one is friendly to anyone but him. So I don't get to handle/pet/love them at all. Kinda' stinks. I'm hoping I can make sure this guy maintains his friendly nature.

These two are pair bond birds that have been allowed to overbond. They need to be handled by more than one person. Or they won't be. EVER!

They've apparently been in the same cage together with only one person handling them since they were newborns. Odds are very slim that anyone else will ever handle them. I can almost touch the B&G, but the GW is downright mean.

Thank you for the conversation here. I really am learning a lot today. My gf might be a little frightened of the new bird, but I need to make sure she handles him too, so that if she HAS to someday, she can.

Oh, they will eventually allow touching, but it takes a LOT of time when there is a pair bond involved, and it almost always involves taking a few blood draws at first. I've done this one too... It's not fun! Learn from this mistake, and don't repeat it!

And I'm betting the greenwing isn't mean, just a dominant male, protecting his territory.

A dominant male greenwing in "protect the nest" mode is no joke! I've seen them chase full grown adults around a room.

(Here's a hint. Don't run. Grab a cushion off the couch and push back. Who's the dominant bird in the flock now, Mr. Big Beak? You gonna step up nice and behave? Or do you need to sit here on the floor in the corner a little while, and think about it first?)

It isn't cruel. No one, neither bird nor person gets hurt. But the bird learns immediately that there are consequences for misbehavior, and an overblown sense of territorial aggression. Plus it doesn't hurt to occasionally remind them that, even though it may not seem that way when you're sitting up high, yes, I am bigger than you...

 

[Birdman666]

What you are dealing with, with your brother in law's birds...

If they are mushy with him, then they still have that "mush mac" inside of them.

If he is around they will be difficult if not impossible to handle. However, at first, if he is holding the bird, and has two fingers on the beak, and allows you to scratch the head, and preen the tail, you at least have a chance to touch... and don't go into the greenwing's territory. Have the owner bring the greenwing to you. (If you go into his territory, he starts off on the defensive, and things are not likely to improve until you leave his territory.)

If the owner is in the room, I would not try to pick them up, because the reaction you will most likely get every time is "You're not my person."

Unless of course, you get, "You're not my person and you don't belong here..."

If you try handling them, have the favorite person take the bird into a training perch in another room, and then leave. Do the basic step up and touching exercises. Reward the bird with treats and praise when he does good. Then leave the room, and let the owner take the bird back.

(If you take the bird back, and he sees the owner, he is likely to bite.)

Then, when he allows you to handle him, have a group of brave volunteers go into the room, and play a game of pass the bird around and give him a treat. Same deal, outside the presence of the owner.

It's not easy, but it is do-able.

Like I said, I've done this dance a few times...

And if you want to learn about macaws, and macaw behavior, handle the "Evil" ones. The mushy ones are a piece of cake... and mush mac beaks won't seem nearly as scary!

 

[nyspy]

Macaws are definitely birds you need to socialize with many people if you want them to be social. I take him to the park on a weekly basis to meet the kids. It seems to keep him social, but he will only behave if I'm around.

I once had a *girlfriend* (I say once). He decided he would be very nice to her around me and not allow me to touch him, but as soon as I walked out of the room, he'd attack her. Once she was out of the picture, he let me know I was his "mate". The regurgitation thing sort of gave it away.

So long story short, my macaw is good with people as long as I'm near him. He won't take his eyes off me when others are around. He will join in on the conversation by repeating some fragments of a conversation and give the evil laugh. If that doesn't work, he hangs upside down and starts screaming at the top of his lungs until we all stop and talk to him.

Little birds with BIG personalities.

 

[Sassysmom]

I too am a newbie here. When I first was given my Sassy bird my biggest fear was inadvertently teaching her bad behavior. She was caged all her life with very little attention. She was extremely aggressive and barely said hello once in awhile. So, I built her a cage that I could get into with her and I slowly, patiently let her come to me. A year later she is a sweet, loving bird that cuddles, never bites, although occasionally she will still use her beak to kind of push my finger away if she's not in the mood for petting, She talks up a storm and seems to know what she's saying, for example she says thank you when I feed her, bye bye when I am walking out the door, that sort of thing. She is very entertaining and lovable. I couldn't be happier.
My advice... kind but firm! I don't allow her the opportunity to be bad and she responds by being good.
Enjoy your new bird. Be confident, you can do it!

 

[MikeyTN]

There's nothing left for me to say, Birdman covers all of it pretty good...
I'm like him as well prefer holding a big mac, I didn't think I would be long ago until Lola came around. I'm actually pretty good with macs then I realized....lol....But after having Willie for 10 years helps too. Then playing with different macaws at the bird fair makes me enjoy them even more. I help out at the bird fair with my breeder friends to play with their big birds and to show people on how to handle them. And I also do a quick training with them at the same time. I think lots of people took my pictures this time at the bird fair when I was holding the big macs loving on me....

 

[MenomaMinx]

I've got a macaw cheat sheet of behaviors back on my laptop(postng from my cell).If don't remember to get back here on my own tonorrow,PM me for it.

BTW,purring and being beakbanged are gamechangers....nothing like handling other parrots in the best ways possible

 

[MenomaMinx]

Bad news, I can't find the current version of the cheat sheet.

Good news, I can find older versions that were integrated into other documents – I'll give you those, and then rewrite the cheat sheet sometime in the next couple of days. Give me a minute to grab the appropriate sentences out of the documents

 

[MenomaMinx]

"If I recall right,Vada's your blue and gold? This is one of the species I know can co-conspire with other birds from personal experience. Think of them as oversized cute ringleaders, who never get blamed because they're cute. If the other bird's not cooperating, that's part of the crankiness right there – not all your fault, and probably to your advantage depending on what the bird was planning ;-) "

"Kumiko often combs her own "hair". She didn't do this at the pet store while I was there, so I didn't get why bird that was never handled had no pin feathers on the head. Believe me, I get it now! What she does is wrap one wing around a hanging cage ceiling toy, 1 foot grasping the cage ceiling, and uses her other foot to comb her hair. I've never seen this before. No one I've talked to has seen this before. There is no particular contortion involved--it's the movement that's strange, as it should be physically impossible without inherent hyper flexibility(one of my own diagnosis, which in the ER is called "connective tissue disorder, not otherwise specified"}. I'll bring it up with vet during the yearly(fortunately, her vet is my pre-existing avian vet; otherwise I would have dragged her there no matter what the pet store claimed her bill of health was – Dr. Kupersmith is ranked usually the top five avian vets in the country, so I'm not particularly worried.}

So there's that, and other uses of her wings as arms that grip {almost always from her back while she's facing front}."
^the hyperflexability has been since confirmed as a macaw thing--just not all of them.

"She's actually an incredibly quiet bird by the standards of any species. She's got the standard head shake for "no"going on, along with incredibly slow eye pinning(very rare), the aforementioned hand fed bird posturing, some macaw specific behaviors I was completely unfamiliar with until I met her {I'll get to those in the moment}, several different intonations of short quiet bursts of sound with consistent specific meaning, and two complete human sentences that I've heard – both context appropriate and demonstrating the use the proper pronouns {that last one really threw me for a loop, and I'm still having problems figuring out why she understands that particular area of speech}.
"

"The aforementioned blue and gold, Hummus, is a parakeet eater and I had to pull him off the budgie cage myself-- unacceptable in the household that frequently has a budgie in it even if he and I did get along(we don't)"
^Kumiko wants amazons on the diner menu--so don't think this is a aspersion against your species a macaw. In the wild, the small animals on rare occasions. I personally heard about frogs from someone who had seen it.

"My friend Jackie spent some time with Kumiko, and actually experienced her first expression of typical macaw behavior: Kumiko lunged at her like she was going to take a chunk out of her, but deliberately stop short of actually touching her and went back to just sitting there and hanging out. We wrote it off as "traumatized bird"thing when my later research turned up it's actually a very macaw thing. Apparently all macaws do it. It's a test of sorts, to determine if your worth their time. If you flinch or jump back, they lose interest and write you off. It took me a while to dig up the information, so I'm guessing most people seeing this that aren't avian behaviorists write this off as aggression – so not what's going on, and I really hope nobody blames a perfectly good bird for expressing innate behavior like this. It's a one time only thing;but considering the size of the bird, I can see how it would be frightening to the uninitiated.

Macaws also blush. It's usually described as a sexualized behavior or a bonding one."

"
Honestly, given these birds are one rung below cockatoos concerning the"me, me, me"thing, I don't think there's enough adequate hours in the day if you were personally interacting with the bird out of the cage the entire day to make up for that – if the bird can amuse themselves and be content with "flock calls"back and forth to you wherever you are in the home, just leave the bird out and check up occasionally or if you hear anything. BJ's wholesale sells cheap($50 US I think) black and white wireless surveillance cameras and you just take the monitor to what part of the house you're going to be in.... Assuming they still carry the item. Should keep your mind at ease and let your bird play unfettered at the same time."

"Because she has balance issues, Dr. Kupersmith has insisted on growing out her wings, and she's had flight for about four days now. That's a game changer. She's probably going to have to be harnessed indoors now when something's being cooked or she'll have to be caged. She seems trustworthy enough the few times I've passed out to stay out of trouble, but I've caught her wandering off onto furniture she knows she's not supposed to be on after coming out of the bathroom. If I already wasn't looking into moving, I would've started major bird proofing: as it is, I'm just going to pack up what I think she can get in trouble with for now.
^macaws are notorious for leaving their assigned spot you've left them and making a run for the nearest destructible human possession--not my problem....yet;-)

"
The other thing you might be dealing with is the concept of whoever's nearest gets it. That's a very risk with pretty much all parrots – regardless of species. If they're perturbed they will lash out at the nearest person, even though that person may have had nothing to do with what they're upset about. I won't bother to tell you about the implications of allowing a macaw on your shoulder giving this is universal parrot behavior acknowledged by just about anyone who has experience on the subject {this because it never happened to you, doesn't mean it will never happen}

On the hormonal thing, look online for things that are suggested to encourage macaws to breed – then don't do them. There's also antidotal evidence that feeding them animal protein makes the problem hundred percent worse, so don't give your bird meat if you want a smoother transition.
"

"
You need two free hands pick up bird who doesn't want to be picked up and a collection of birdie towels(which you wrap around your hand, not around the bird). One hand goes in front of the bird and the other goes to the back under the tail. Because the beak can't be in both places at once, and turning around is ineffective, this usually works. If it doesn't, get the birdie towel and wrapped it around the hand you expect to pick up the bird with. I use distinctly patterned dollar store washcloths myself, but anything that will wrap around the hand will do provided you only use that particular pattern of towel for that particular purpose. Just make sure you say you're going to get get the birdie towel right before you get it, simply because you want the bird to associate this as your last straw – as opposed to a punishment. It's just too dangerous not to have a bird step up immediately if something goes wrong – especially since you said you take them outside(me too, and the aforementioned birdie towel is always in my purse)."

"The cheaper way to deal with it is to understand that macaws have an inherent genetic fear of the ground(if you believe the science journals) and if the blue and gold is on the highest point, the natural instinct of the green wing is going to be to try to crowd to that same highest point. Also, you might want to take into consideration the green wing probably does want all the attention. Find some way to reward the green wing every time you are able to pick up the blue and gold without incident(I'm thinking treat). Which means, of course, you have to give the other bird the exact same treat as soon as your out of sight of the first bird , or else risking a whole other type of mess on your hands.

As a very last resort, mostly because I hate automaton parrots, buy a clicker and train what you actually want the birds do in day-to-day situations – they're not just for tricks. They are, however, an option."

 

[MenomaMinx]

"Getting back to my point, there was a blue and gold up for consignment from

somewhere else at the same store. He was bullying my bird. So was the military

macaw directly to her right {which obviously would of been my left}. Now I've seen

different species gang up together before for various tasks - I've had up to five

birds in the house before - but this is the first time I've ever seen it without a

Congo African grey to organize it.

Here's how it worked: my bird would calm down to the point she could be removed

from the cage. She has a balance issue due to previously constantly inhaling her

own feces and becoming infected from such - the infection's gone but the balance

issue and insecurity remain. The other birds picked up on this one. Hummus, the

blue and gold in question would start with a very loud"ark" squawk pretty much

everyone is familiar with who has ever seen a macaw at a pet store.Cos, the

military macaw, would quickly echo it. My girl would jump back to clinging to the

side of the cage, completely unwilling to come out and sometimes shaking.

The aforementioned hummus is a parakeet eater by the way: I had to pull him myself

off the parakeet cages. He was very impatient. He had previously been tricked

trained to at least the extent to wave hello with one wing. If he was

representative of the species, I would consider blue and golds my personal

nightmare. I was probably his. After all, I quite firmly told her that parakeets

were not on the menu ;-)

His only vocalization was the aforementioned "ark" squawk - occasionally divided

into two syllables. I made 4 multihour visit time trips with my Kumiko, so I saw

quite a bit him. The last time I saw him, will probably be no different than the

next time I see him {Kumiko needs bird food Sunday}. I'm not saying he's

unadoptable, but rather he lacks the psychological ability to adapt his

vocalizations in the time span it would take someone to decide whether or not he's

worth the time and effort - as clearly some people just see a pretty piece of

furniture which for many people is entirely affordable cash wise. Some of these

people aren't the wisest in the world ;-)

I've never heard personally a blue and gold that exhibited that it understood what

they were saying. Then again, let's make the assumption ones that I've handled were

very young to about 10 years old, that the subspecies vocalization behavior

observation is transferable between subspecies. My calico macaw understands the use

of pronouns, and used them appropriately twice during my first visit. Since coming

home, she's rarely bothered with more than two words of human speech at a time, and

much less clearly she did the pet store-- which wasn't very clear at all, as the

cadence and syllable spacing was all wrong during the 2 complete sentences she gave

me. She's figured out that I can figure out what she wants without her having to

talk a lot in human - and she prefers it that way from what I've seen. All of her

vocalizations I've heard thus far that weren't human speech are quiet to human

average conversation voice range loudness - exception being the

aforementioned"arc", which she designates for someone leaving her visual range or

an uncooperative toy that pokes her the wrong way under her wings {yes, she is a

very weird bird.... Even by weird bird standards - I am not completely unaware ;-)

"
^Kumiko now speaks in 5 different distinct voices.The one which I presume is the

former owner is CD quality clearness--which happened once and I hope never to hear

again.

"temperament = macaw

Blue and gold are known for being friendly. They've got great PR. Really, the

Scarlet's need to find out who's doing the blue and gold PR and hire these people,

because it's mostly crap.

Remember hummus the parakeet eater? Well my calico macaw has a thing for eating

Amazons, to the point she climbed over the Congo African grey cages to get to them.

Once again, I had to give the menu to yet another bird: Amazons are not dinner!

These are not bird friendly birds. The Green Cheek Conure, the Quaker parakeets,

and anything else you have in your flock is definitely on the menu unless you go

out of your way to make otherwise.

I've handled other blue and golds before without these problems, but they were

infants comparatively speaking. There's a big difference between being the only

human family you've ever had your bird know and a hand-me-down bird that's going to

need some work over what will probably be a major long-term period. You have to add

size to the equation too. For example: Basically only a macaw thing from what I've

been able to research after it happened, a macaw will lunge at you as a test to see

if you will flinch. If you do, you're written off as not worthy of that macaw's

attention. Also, if this is not a test, you're getting a big chunk of you taken

out. Did this to my friend Jackie the first visit at the store as she held my bird

while I went back into the consignment to give the other birds a fair chance. We

wrote it off as traumatized birdie backlash until I started my research after

breaking her home.

There is actually a list of Macaw specific behaviors that I had to put together

just to figure out how weird my bird really is behavior wise. Unlike Congo African

grays, or at least mine in particular, macaws like chronological schedules that

repeat. My macaw prefers to set her own schedule, and can be cranky if it's

disrupted. More specifically, she likes being talked to with words she doesn't know

in complete sentences and fed exactly 830 or so in the morning. About half an hour

later, she wants to be removed from the cage(but absolutely not with your bare

hands, or suddenly she won't want to come out anymore) and be put on top of the

hardwood natural tree play stand that was designed for the Congo African grey. I

bought her a macaw size play stand she picked out herself - it's still in the box.

She prefers his, so I'm going to set hers up somewhere else out of sight of his,

but back to the schedule.... She doesn't actually want to be physically cuddled

with until about early afternoon..... After cuddle time she goes quiet until

nighttime talk time. You can add to the schedule, but you absolutely cannot deviate

from it without birdie consequences. I currently have a bruise on my collarbone

from deviating from the schedule - she rammed me with her beak, charging full speed

like a slightly drunken off-balance bull as I innocently lay back in the recliner

for what I thought was going to be birdie cuddle time. That internal bleeding is

the closest she ever came to drawing blood. I've gotten a couple of bruises from

both species clamping down, but this is the first time I've ever been beak

bludgeoned!"