New member - First bird - Scarlet Macaw

[Walshii]

Hi team ! New member here - Stephen - all the way from Scotland

Just got myself my very first bird - not parrot - bird - A scarlet macaw

Before anyone says OMG what are you doing, start small etc etc i have done ever so well thus far. Scarlet is 13 month old & i have had her 4 weeks. She was obviously unsure of me (biting etc ) and maybe associated me with taking her away from where she was.

However, I’ve won her over. She is trying to repeat my words and has learned to step up and off while also " high fiving". Eats out my hands and enjoys my company ( enough to scream when i leave )

One little thing i have noticed is that she wants to play fight! She rolls on her side and uses her feet - then sneaks in a (medium strengthen)bite ! I was wondering if this is common? She gets excited when she’s out and about resulting in trying to bite my feet before rolling on her back and wanting a finger nibble. She steps up no problem as well and goes from hand to hand then every so often gets a little excited and nibbles my neck or finger - nothing hard although i don’t want to encourage it.

Any advice? Thanks

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. Her "Playing" all sounds pretty normal. be careful about her getting too excited and biting too hard. Tell her NO and don't get too rough with her. If she starts to get too excited try calming her with soft talk and gentle pets. If she bites too hard tell her so and calm her before continuing. She will have a tendency to get carried away because she's so young and rough/tumble , she's needs you to teach her boundaries before it becomes an issue later in life.

 

[Walshii]

Thanks for the reply,

If she is too rough i just place her back on here cage or stand. I also say no and point at her. Then if she behaves ill give her a little scratch of the head.

Shes just being a diva but i want to make sure it is something i can control and not allow her to get in the routine of testing the boundries as it were lol

Other than that shes fine ...except if a stranger wants to say hi and hang about with her :54:

 

[Birdman666]

That's correct. And beak play is useful for bite pressure training.

It's entirely normal. Especially for Scarlett's which are probably the "beakiest" macaw out there. (Meaning they are more prone to express themselves with their beaks...) which is some of what you are experiencing right now, and will with a Scarlett, more so than with some other species.

What needs to be done with these birds especially, since they are so beaky, is to socialize them with strangers.

Macaws are pair bond birds. They are prone to overbonding. If that happens, you will be the only person who will be able to handle this bird, and it will be prone to bite others. The answer is training the bird not to do this from a young age. If you don't, there will be hell to pay when this bird gets to be 2 or 3 and starts asserting itself more and more.

You don't want him chasing people around the room. Right now it's a game. Keep it a game. Make sure the bird knows this is play, and be prepared to stop it immediately if the bird becomes too rough. Otherwise, it could turn serious later on. That's all there is to this one...

Pick the bird up at that point, and no means no! If you want to play, you have to behave. No biting!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Sometimes if you place them on their stand or cage when they bite it can train them, they'll learn that biting = going back which they sometimes might want. But it all depends on the bird. Macaws are parrots! And very beautiful parrots indeed

It sounds like your pretty confident, that's fantastic. About starting with a smaller bird, many people on this forum recommend starting the bird you want, not a smaller bird you may not be as interested in. Smaller birds are very awesome though. I LOVE agree cheek conures!

The forum is a incredible resource to use, lots of experienced members who can help answer questions.

 

[Birdman666]

I second that. It's such bad advice to - get a bird you don't even want, and experiment on that. Then, once you've made your mistakes on that bird, get the one you really wanted, and forget it ever existed...

DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME AS A CONCEPT.

Better advice would be do your research, and learn about the species you want to keep, then GO FOR WHAT YOU WANT, AND WORK WITH THEM THE RIGHT WAY.

My advice would have been Greenwing instead of Scarlett, as Scarlett's tend to be one of the most "behaviorally challenged" macaws out there... BUT... to each his own.

BITE PRESSURE TRAINING, SOCIALIZATION, SOCIALIZATION, AND MORE SOCIALIZATION... That's the key to a well behaved macaw. They are attention oriented. If they get it from everyone, and are handled a lot by everyone, they will enjoy it and become "mush macs."

If allowed to overbond, and choose not to interact with anyone other than their person, they will do that too...

 

[Walshii]

Excellent feedback thanks very much !

At first she wouldnt even accept me and my nephew wats the only one who could get a step up etc. But shes since switched alliances and will only come to me lol probably because im with her every day. She gets excited when my sister is in the house and wants to be around her ( though the sister isnt willing to take a little bite or two just yet ).

Iv dont all my research and had my mind on a scarlet for a few year not and when i got my own place thats when i decided to go for it. Dont regret it one bit , even her little diva challenges are something i like to make sure i can over come !

Really appreciate the socializing comments the big beak can be quite daunting to first time visiters but my friends / family are getting used to her - brother in law will quite happily take a little nibble or two then go back 10 minutes later and just re introduce himself . This led to him being accepted so ill keep that in mind with others.

 

[Birdman666]

My old girlfriend had a Scarlett that was about the smartest, and mushiest lap bird out there...

Still beaky, i.e. very tactile with the beak and tongue and put it on everything and everbody, but sweet... and relatively gentle for a Scarlett...

But she had a tremendous amount of experience raising them.

Unfortunately, I've also seen the opposite situation... where an overbonded Scarlett decided the owner's wife was the third wheel in her relationship with her person, and had to go... chased the woman around the house relentlessly, and ended up inflicting a severe de-gloving injury (i.e. removal of flesh) to a couple of toes...

So, YEAH, that's why socialization (and bite pressure training) is so important, especially with the beakier macs!