New GW Macaw

[melasia]

Hello, I am new here and 4 months ago I bought my first Macaw Megi. I haven't done proper research about them before I bought her. On her papers is said that she is 3.5 year old but I think that She is older-about 5-6 years old.
The lady from who I bought her did not take her on hand. I tried 4 days after we brought her to our home and she step up on my hand and was sitting on my shoulder. Megi seemed to be really happy about that.
After two days she scratched my neck with her beak so I decided to do not allow her to go on my shoulder any more but she was still trying to get there and she nipped me quite hard.
Now is 4 momths from this time and I am still scared to take her on my hands. She was quite aggresive in the cage from the begining but when she is outside ahe allows me touch her everywhere. Should I still try to take her on my arm? I am scared that she may not be trained well.
If she is 5-6 years old is it still possible to train her and make her a good pet?

Please help me
Thank you

 

[MikeyTN]

You can train them at any age just depending on you! Sometimes they are set in their own ways after no interaction for so long. But some loving and care would cure that issue. You should not be scared to train, but you just need to be careful to watch for the beak. They can sense it when your scared of them. You need to act tougher then her! Why do you think she's older? I do not allow my macaw to sit on my shoulders! He loves to, but I don't allow him to. Especially with you being inexperienced, you should never allow her on your shoulders. What kind of diet is she on? You can persuade macaws to do things with a treat. You can use sunflower seeds to train. Everytime she steps up, you would praise her by saying good girl or good Megi and give her a treat. When she tries to bite, tell her no biting and push down from the top of her beak. When she does what she's supposed to do, tell her good Megi and give her another treat.

 

[melasia]

Thank you for your advices My friend bought a GW Macaw too and he is 2,5 year old and his beak and feathers are nicer and less damaged so I tought that she might be older. I give her seeds mix for tropical parrots as well as bananas, oranges, grapes, carrots, pineapple and pomegranate seeds. I will start to train her from tomorrow and will write how it is going.

 

[WingedVictory]

The age of he macaw does not make a difference. It sounds to me like you are a bit scared of your friend and she knows it. If you are scared to pick her up, wrap your forearm in an ace bandage for protection and start picking her up. Once she is used to your actions you can remove the ace bandage. Keep your wrist cocked when doing the step up action, that way if she tries to bite she will not get a beak full of skin.

Patience, patience, patience, is the way to train your macaw.


Gary

 

[mtdoramike]

Also, you need to be a little bit forceful with a louder than normal voice telling her to "STEP UP". Macaw's are very head strong and will test you to see how far they can go and how far you will let them go. They are great at intimidation. This is why Macaw's should only be owned by experienced bird owners who understand this and know that you can't show that you are intimidated. You MUST show your Macaw whose boss right away and maintain this dominence at all times. If not, your Macaw will wind up becoming cage bound and eventually re-homed. Rescue centers are full of Macaw's because the previous owners didn't do this.

Also, Try stick training her. This might be easier for you and it helps when you have to load them up in a carrier for vet visits. There are videos on YouTube that helps explain how this is done.

 

[mtdoramike]

Also, have you had your bird groomed? If not, I would suggest getting her wings clipped and nails done. One thing that I have found, is that at least 45 minutes to an hour after having my birds groomed, they become very passive and easier than usual to handle.

Once the bird groomer releases them from the towel that they have them wrapped in for their protection, the birds will come running over to me for protection and to be consoled. So if there is any bit of bond built between you two, your bird will seek you out after the grooming to be consoled.

 

[JJones1719]

Melasia, Welcome to the board and being a new owner of Megi. The advise given here is really good for training your new Macaw.
One way to tell the age of your Macaw is through the eyes and feathers. If her eyes are darker and less pale yellow, she is a very young Macaw, if her eyes are pale yellow in full, she is older. Macaw's feathers tend to be brighter when the Macaws are young and darken a little as they get older.
I would advise you to interact with your Macaw in everyway possible. This mean, eat, play, walk around the house, do chors, If she is clipped, take her for a drive, to pet stores and so on. She will depend on you for everything and the bond you will have with her will become very strong.
I agree, have your Macaw's wings clipped, nails trimmed. I would go one step further, when having her clipped, leave the room, don't let her see you when something unpleasant is happening to her, once it is over, reenter the room before they release her and let her come running to you for safty.
Reward her ASAP.
Stepping up is one of the easiest lessons for Macaws as they are very smart and will do just about anything for an Almond.
I agree, no should perching while training until she can be fully trusted and you feel that you can trust her.
To keep her nails and beak more round at the tips instead of needle sharp, I would advise you to have plenty of wooden toys in her cage. At least 3 concrete perches, Macaws love to grind their nails and beak after eating on the concrete perch.
While watching T.V, lay a blanket on the floor, buy plenty of hard plastic or wood foot toys as you would play with a small child and play with her, allow her to jump into your arms, play with your feet and legs. allow her to climb on you. Get crazy with her. When I do this with both my boys, I swear sometimes it sounds as if they laugh. Playing in this manner does two things, 1st this is the fastest way to bond with your Macaw, 2nd this makes the Macaw really tired so I try to play everynight with my boys so when they are returned to their cage, they just want to get a drink and off to bed, they normally sleep late the next day too. so this is a win win for everyone. Best of luck with Megi. Keep us posted. Joe

 

[mehdi]

Hello to all
I'm from Iran.
Sorry if the post is incorrect.
Who is the expert on this forum?
Thank you

 

[mtdoramike]

Hello to all
I'm from Iran.
Sorry if the post is incorrect.
Who is the expert on this forum?
Thank you

The post above yours is from an expert " JJ"

Mike

 

[JJones1719]

Mehdi, I don't know about expert but I grew up with many types of parrots. It seems my Family always had a Parrot of two at every stage of my life. I am from a family of five and 3 out of the five to date have birds. I currently own a Green Wing Macaw and SI Male Eclectus. I belong to the Baltimore Bird Fanciers bird club here in Maryland U S A. My club and it's members get together 1 time every third Sunday of every Month. All members bring their birds to all the meetings so this keeps all of our birds social. I would highly advise anyone with birds to join a local bird club if one is available in your area.
Mehdi, do you have birds? if so, what kind of birds do you have or do you have questions?
The members on this bird board are from owners who have birds and talk about their problems, give tips, or advise on what may work for them with their Parrots. Thanks Joe

 

[melasia]

Hello everyone, Thank you for your all advices. For the last 3 days I am takig Megi out of the cage she starts to react on come here and wing up. She will do everything for the almond like you said JJonest. I am still a bit scary to take her on hand but I will try in the next week. The problem is that the more time I spend with her the more louder she is at the mornings. She screames something like "MUUUUM"
We bought Magi for my partner because he alway dreams about Macaw but Megi seemed to does not like him, she is very aggressive in his presnet. At the begining hi wants to teach her something and when she was not litening he was shouting on her and I think that it is the reason that She does not like him now. Is there anything to do with that problem or he should juust strat from the begining?

 

[melasia]

Forgot to mention-I know that it might be silly but 2 days ago he bought another GW Macaw he is 2.5 year old and his name is BOB. The worst is that he think that a parrot is like a cat or dog and can use to him very quickly. Bob is more tamed than Megi. His previous owner took him on hands and give his finger to Bob's beak. So now Megi is mine and BoB is his child
When is the best time to try to take BOB on hand?Should we give him like about a month to use to us?
For know we keep Bob and Megi i separate rooms because on the first day they were quite noisy. If we will keep them in one room in two separate cages are they going to used to each other? and what about screaming and shouting-are they going to stop? Ofcourse I know that first we should to get them used to us.
Thank you and have a nice end of the weekend

 

[melasia]

I am also thinking that is it a good idea to have two Macaws if we do not have any experience with them? My partner had parrots during all his life but not so smart and big as Macaws are.

 

[JJones1719]

Melasia, Screaming at a Macaw is no way to teach nor train them. When training, you never want to yell at them. Yelling at the Macaw, hitting or anthing else like this will not work. You have to stay positive and reward the Macaw when they do something well.
Macaws and many Parrots are loud normally in the morning and evening before sun down.
Macaws do not scream just for the fun of it, they are trying to communicate with you. They may want out of their cage, they might be hungry or want fresh water, screaming could mean many things, they may just want your attention. Macaws who are not getting up to 12 hours of sleep tend to sream more the others. I cover both my boys at night with blankets, this does 2 things, they first will feel protected and the dark also stops the screaming. So during the day, if they scream and you want it to stop. Tell the Macaw time out, cover their cages with a blanket for 15 min or so until the screaming stops, them once they are quiet and calm down, remove the blanket and tell them how good they are for stopping the screaming and reward them.



I would never leave my Macaw in a cage for months at a time. I would advise you to get them out of the cage as soon as possible. This can be done in many ways, your can stick train them to step up onto a perch and carry them to a playstand or gym, offer your arm, not your hand or fingers. Once they step up remember to reward them so they will do this action again and tell they what a great Macaw they are.
I would advise you to keep both Macaws in seperate cages but not seperate rooms, allow them the chance to get to know one another.
If you place them in the same cage, they will bond with eachother and will not bond with you.
Please advise your partner to stop the yelling, this teaches your Macaws to yell or scream back at you.
Whenever I leave the room, I whisper to my boys and instead of them yelling for me whenever I am working out of their sight, they want my attn and will whisper for me.
Please do not be affraid of Megi or your new 2.5 Macaw, once you interact with them, they will see you as part of their flock and their leader and teacher. Best of luck Joe

 

[melasia]

JJones thank you one more time for advices. I took Magi out today and played with her-she was really great. She was checking how far she can go with me, can nipped me or touch with beak and when I said her NO she just step back saying HELLO!!

BOB was really nice today too. Hi tried to do a few bad thinks but when I said him NO-BAD BIRD he started to laugh and step back as well. He still does not want me to touch him to much but I undarstand him that he does not know me. He has got a lot of enery-he was on a stand all day in front of the mirror and fluttered with his wings almost all the time I will keep to write about my progress with Macows.
Thank you

 

[JJones1719]

Melasia, I'm so glad to hear that your Macaws are out of their cages. Stay positive around them and don't be afraid. Macaws will learn your body language and will see or test to see if you are afraid of them.
It sounds like you are now doing the right things and each day, your bond will get stronger and stronger with them. You may even one day be able to handle Bob.
The good thing here is, both of your Macaws are young and will learn very fast what is needed from you. The challendge is, what do they need from you.
Please keep us posted on your progress and please post pictures of your Macaws. Thanks Joe