Help me figure out a behavior issue?

[Chew]

hello! i made a post before about my B&G macaw and his hand feeding issues. well he's healthy! and the hand feeding is finished and he's perfectly fine health/eating wise.

we officially named him Benji.

my issue now is his behavior. he is the opposite of a territorial bird. in the cage, he is the sweetest, he'll press his face up against my cheek and do a cooing sound, he'll reach his foot out and hold onto my finger, he'll let me pet him, push my finger into his beak, hug him, anything i want. now usually i don't take him out when he's sweet like this, i'll usually take him out when he's in a more "play" mood. when i do take him out, he'll play on top of the cage, he'll come over to me and lean his head down for me.

NOW sometimes i'll go to my bed, watch tv or go on my phone, and he'll watch me a bit. then i'd stop and just watch him for a while to see if he wants to "fly" or glide down to my bed. when he does, this is where his behavior just isn't the same when he's in the cage. he lunges at me, bites me, i had to start using a towel to cover my hands since he gave me a big bad bruise on my arm, and if i cover my legs, he'll literally look for skin that's uncovered, which is usually by my elbows, and if not there, my neck and face. he climbs on me and bites onto my shirt to stay on, and i have to pry him off without hurting him. if i try to get his feet off he "fights" with me.

my training is usually to press on the upper part of his beak and say no firmly and ignore him for a bit. i'll come back and he bites again, and i repeat the process. there has not been a single ounce of improvement with this in the last week. he isn't afraid of the towel, the last time i had him here when he was a baby, he loved being pat dry by the towel after a shower. the store hasn't used a towel on him to cut his nails or beak.

i tried putting my hand into a fist so he can't grab on, but he'll give up and go for my arm or any part he can grab on. it's gone to the point where i can't touch him out of the cage without some sort of aggression. i tried just going with it, and making it into a game, but he still does this hissing/gasp sound and lunges. he IS molting but that still won't explain, in my opinion, why he's so nice in the cage instead. he's aggressive on perches that aren't attached to his cage either. i even tried letting him get used to the room but it still isn't working.

has anyone seen this kind of behavior before? i can answer questions too, i just need some advice on how to fix this.

 

[Mindy]

Oh my! I wish I had something useful to say, I'm sure someone will chime in soon.

 

[SailBoat]

The MAC forum as a number of excellent Threads that cover much of what you are experiencing.

Remember MAC's are hands on Parrots. They commonly do better when you are working and being with them. Lots of possible reasons, but one that comes to mind is that you're in the room and your MAC is in the cage. Possible that he is unset that you are so willing to leave him in the cage when you are simply watching TV?

 

[Sunnybirb]

The big question I would ask, is how are you responding to those times he nips or bites you? Do you make any sound, like "ouch", or yanking away really fast? I also agree with SailBoat that it might be that he's upset you're not focused on him and watching tv/on your phone. I have our macaw Sunny in the bedroom where I spend most of my time, so she's fairly used to me watching tv, being on my phone, ect.. But if I let her out and she's moody, she will get upset if I'm ignoring her. Instead of screaming when she's upset, she waits until I do approach her or try to give her a snack, she will go for my fingers. She thankfully seems to no longer bite me hard, but she will pinch, almost like a reprimand for ignoring her. She'll be particularly bratty until I spend some time talking to her/interacting.

Have you read the Birdman666 posts? The other one I would suggest is the ace bandage advice. You put a towel over your arm and then wrap it with ace bandage, then put a sweatshirt over that. If he approaches you and is bitey, he won't be able to do much with the bandage in the way. You won't respond and therefore not reinforce the behavior. It will also help you feel more confident with him when he's in that headspace. My macaw hates men and she still gets very temperamental with my boyfriend. He's able to get her to step up with it on, even when she is biting him. When he doesn't respond, she stops biting and settles on his arm. It works really well, and I definitely recommend it. He can now occasionally pick her up bare-armed, provided she's in a good mood.