Problems with Julio's adjustment need some input

[noblemacaw]

In all my years with Noble macaw experience still has not prepared me for the issues we are facing with Julio our adopted Noble macaw.

He was hatched in 2004. I am not sure if the people that surrendered him to the rescue had him for 6 months or they got him from the breeder when he was 6 months old. What I do know is the damage done to this bird is way deeper than I thought. Julio has some behavior issues that I have never had to deal with before. Also Julio is the first bird I ever adopted from a rescue.

I have learned and believe that it is going to take a LONG time for Julio to settle in with us. He is doing well with eating, drinking, playing in his cage and is NOT stressed out. He is still preening his feathers by shredding them and until he passes quarantine and is placed downstairs I have not started with the fresh food lessons and exposure (It is too hot in my office with the air vents being sealed to have the wet food sitting out. I am too afraid of the temperature affecting spoiling too quickly.) Julio is on a diet of pellets and a quality seed/pellet mix the foster fed him for now until I can convert him to more fresh quality foods.

Lupe is making progress with him but for me he will draw blood with his bites. I don't know if it is because he gets too "worked up" and hormonal with my voice and presence. In my attempts to work with step up I have been bitten several times all times drawing blood. He is the most savage biter I have ever had to deal with. To be honest it is not the bites or even when he draws blood but the wounds he caused me seem to get infected even with proper care (I wash the bites with antibacterial soap right away) When he drew blood on Lupe and messed up her finger pretty good he bruised her really bad but her wound did NOT get infected. Even the other blood bites healed quickly for Lupe. For me Julio's wounds do not heal quickly and they seem to get infected before healing. As you can imagine I have backed off working with him for now where Lupe has made progress with him.

I would like to put up a video link to youtube of Julio's behavior. It is four and half mins long but is a good show of his weird and what I think is hormonal behavior. If you don't mind watching a 4 1/2 min video of a naked Noble macaw in his cage I would love to hear input from people that have more experience with adopting older birds.

What do you think of Julio's behavior?
Do you think it is hormonal behavior?
Any advise to help Julio learn to accept other people and help him break the habit of just bonding to one person and biting savagely any other person? (This biting behavior is not Noble macaw behavior but I believe the result of being abused)

Thank you so much for watching the long video. The video was shot between 9 and 10PM and I was NOT present in the room. Lupe works with him every evening between 7pm and 10pm.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMRWe7hMFj4&feature=youtu.be"]Julio's behavior - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Peeker]

I couldn't wait to watch a four and a half min. video of Julio. I think he's stinkin' adorable! I get the impression he is interested in the attention but fearful about the step up. He comes to the side of the cage and doesn't flinch much about the beak touches.

I know nothing about Nobles but general bird behavior tells me it will take time and patience for him to develop trust. He looks like a happy little bird to me. Lupe is doing well with him and since he is to be her bird I would say leave them to it until he is less fearful. Once he is feeling safer with her you should be able to start working with him too--maybe a handoff to you where Lupe rewards him with a treat to start.

 

[SandyBee]

He looks really cute

I have never worked with a macaw, but I have Bosley the amazon.
I don't think Julios behaviour is all that strange really, he seems a bit excited and fearful.

Not sure if it is related to hormones, possibly.

Bosley was from a rescue and the biggest thing I did was let him come to me, I did not try and "work" with him right away. Julio needs time to get to know you and trust you. Also food went a long way, handing him treats.
I avoided being bitten, they say the best bite is the one you don't get. I did not stick my hands in his cage or demand any behaviour from him in the beginning. It took Bosley over 2 months before he would step up but that was fine with me. He would crawl down his cage and come sit on my lap and also step onto a t-stand I had for him. He learned that he wasn't going to be forced by me and learned trust. I can pretty much do anything with him now.

I would give him fresh food,I would just take it away within half an hour or so if you are worried about it spoiling. Also hand feeding treats goes a long way to strengthen relationships.

The barbering/plucking shows that he is not a calm bird in some ways so he does need patience and calmness. Our African Brown head was very snappy at first, it was fear based. She hated her last owner because the lady used to towel her and do her wings and nails. It has taken her 6 months to trust me and is now finally letting me scritch her and is stepping up for me. She did it first day with hubby.

I would just take it slow and have both of you interact and talk with Julio, he will be with you a long time. Build trust first and then train is my advice.

 

[ShellyBorg]

You guys are working with him pretty late in the day. I have found the best time to work my rescues is morning or early afternoon. Is he getting 10 hours a sleep a night? If he is hormonal at all you want him to have this.
I saw him ask for a couple head scratches, vary shyly and fast.
I think I would back off to just sitting next to the open cage and talking. Let him come out to you if he wants. As this is a new place let him have his cage as a safe zone. I can see he really wants to play , love the jumping. Letting him choose to come to you may work faster. One of the fastest way I get a bird to come out of a cage is to sit and play with a toy, talking but never looking at the bird. I am working with a CAG That was so interested by what I was playing with that he came out on to my knee all on his own. Once he saw where he was he panicked and ran back to his cage

 

[sodakat]

I agree with what the others have said. He looks like a nice boy who is a bit nervous about a hand coming at him.

Are you and Lupe of the mind that you MUST have him step up already? I don't think he's ready to have a hand in his cage judging by his behavior. He seems like he would be the type to pace in front of the cage door when he's ready to come out or do something quite obvious that indicates, "hey, let me out!". I didn't see that at all.

He definitely was not agressive. How are you getting bit?

Sandy really explained things perfectly in my mind. Is there any way Lupe would considering giving him a few weeks before trying to touch and especially hold him?

 

[SandyBee]

Here's an article regarding stepping up, it is a bit long but does explain how it's better not to force a parrot and why they bite.

What?s Wrong with the Step Up Command? | Greyhaven

I also wanted to add that with Bosley he had not stepped up and had not been handled at the rescue because of it (over a year). It took time and I gave him the respect and space he needed. He is now just wonderful for me, always steps up and flies to my shoulder if asked.

 

[tlfisher]

Aww. He does appear nervous at having a hand reaching in the cage. Wylie does not like anyone reaching in her cage either. We leave the door open and when she wants to interact she climbs on the door or on top of her cage. After she finally agreed to step up.. it had to be her decision.

Good Luck Julio is in good hands and just needs some time to adjust and feel safe in his new forever home.

Tracey

 

[noblemacaw]

Thank you all for your input and links. I showed all of them to Lupe as well and we have adjusted some of the ways we interact with Julio.

I also changed his vet appointment to next week to give him more time to adjust. My hope is that taking him to the vet will not set him back but I HAVE to get him in. I really don't want to put it off any longer.

Julio will step up for Lupe if I am not in the room. If I am in the room, even sitting down away from them he will not step up for her. He will let her rub the side of his face and pet him a little bit but that sends him into regurgitation mode and Lupe will then slowly take her hand away from him.

I can see he so wants to interact with us but still seems a bit afraid of how to.

We will have two more huge adjustment hurtles to go though. The first is the vet visit. This might set him back but we need to get him in.

Second is when he is done with quarantine and we move his cage downstairs to be beside Valentino's cage. That will enable him to be in the same room with another bird and hopefully will be better for him.

We have all the time in the world to help Julio and for him to learn to trust us and be more happy.

 

[Merlee]

I watched the whole video and compared my blue and gold's hormonal behavior with what you have posted and see nothing close to what I go through annually. Consider yourself lucky. lol.

 

[PicklesParrot]

Maybe you could try stick training him first? By having him step up on a smaller perch or stick first and then eventually hands?

 

[MonicaMc]

I can't say I see any hormonal behavior. He doesn't appear afraid, either. Anxious, perhaps, but not afraid. He's not trying to make himself smaller in a corner and he's "ok" with interaction through the cage bars. I don't know if he'd be more comfortable if he had a corner or something to "hide" in, but could try it... i.e. cover a part of the cage and see if he likes it or not.

 

[MikeyTN]

I was gonna post what PicklesParrot posted, use a stick! It saves you from being bit!

Personally I start working with the new bird from day one! Constant interaction, it needs to be multiple times per day. If you can get him out of the cage to go onto a play stand or just stay on the stick it would be easier to train then inside the cage. He is a bit nervous like others have mentioned, and I don't see him doing anything hormonal. If you can hold him on the stick and use another stick to practice step up, it would be easier. Just say step up or up, don't say would you like to step up, it confuses the bird. The other day I went to visit Keiko at Heather's house, she doesn't know me nor will she let me touch her. I asked Heather for a stick and I asked Keiko to step up, she hesitated for a bit then step up afterwards. I held her for a bit on the stick as she seems curious towards me. Took a few steps towards my hand and use one foot to touch my hand and a few seconds later she was on my arms. Heather handed me some almonds to give her, she took them from my other hand and I managed to give her a head scratch. I just met her for the first time! She still needs a bit of work but I'll manage as I'm used to how macaws are. I train ALL my birds from day one and I do it multiple times per day everyday. I like to sit with them alone, no cameras, video recording equipment, etc. It makes them nervous! Just my hands and perches alone in a enclosed room. You want them to concentrate on you, not something that's going to catch their attention. My birds wants to kill any recording equipment if they see it except Willie who poses for pictures....lol

 

[noblemacaw]

Julio is afraid of stepping up on a stick. His foster mom had tried to train him to the stick but he is too afraid of one. We had tried but he is too afraid. Using the stick stressed him out. I know eventually he will step up for us as he has done for his foster mom and her daughter.

His vet visit might set him back but we have all the time in the world to get him through that set back as well.