a couple things...

[joshuaben15]

There are couple things our macaw is doing that im curious about. First off, it seems like she regurgitates her food once in a while. Is that normal? She also likes butting her head against her cage or our arms when someone is holding her. Is this normal too? So far she has been pretty friendly most of the time, she likes alot of attention, and she always wants to be held. Usually the only time she bites is when we try to put her down or in her cage. Which leads me to another small issue, sometimes it takes 20 minutes to finally get her put away in her cage or on her perch because she wont get offf of my shoulder! When i pick her up half the time she runs straight to my shoulder and stays up there. It can get kind of annoying when its time to put her away. Any advice is great!

 

[Enjru]

It sounds like she is really loving her new home and you! For a moment, though, I thought I picked up something in your post that suggested to me that, maybe, she is more in love with you than you are in love with her...but what a silly idea that would be, LOL!! I'm sure that's not it...but, maybe, erm, I hope you're not falling out of love with her already?!? Heh, just kidding, no offence! That idea is absurd!

Oh, by the way, what did you mean by "regurgitate"? Sorry, I get scared of long words like that, HAHAH! Not sure what it means, exactly...do you mean that she is sick?!?

 

[roxynoodle]

Regurgitation is a way of showing affection towards you. She is only 2 if I recall? So it shouldn't be hormone related yet. But, in the future it sounds like you will have to watch for her trying to choose you as a mate. My understanding is that even baby macaws will regurgitate sometimes. It is different from vomiting. When a bird vomits, it looks more violent. They will fling their head and send it flying all over. Regurgitation is slower with a lot of head bobbing up and down.

The butting you with her beak and rubbing it on you is also a sign of affection. Make sure she can't hit you in the eye with it though; my Grey has come close, lol!

I would not let her on your shoulder. Once they are up there, they can be hard to get off without being bitten. It gives them a greater sense of dominance. I think you've already figured that out It can also allow for a serious facial bite that could do horrible damage to you.

 

[Enjru]

Your macaw just wants to stay out of its cage so that she can perch on your shoulder to be closer to you and love you more. I'd hate for you to send her some mixed message that, all of a sudden, you now find her love for you to be annoying!! I certainly wouldn't blame her for biting you VERY HARD if you were to be so fickle as to brush her off just like that!!

 

[nikket3000]

My Blue Fronted Amazon is less than one year old and started last month to regurgitate for my fiance when my fiance sings to him or goes to feed him a treat. Only for him though, and never for me and usually when he is very excited.
Oh bird love.

 

[lizardsmells]

I don't know if any of this will help or not but I'll tell you my thoughts on allowing her on your shoulder:

My belief (after a lot of reading on the issue) is that birds like to climb up on our shoulder because our shoulder is about the highest perch we have in the eyes of a bird and birds who are insecure like to be as high as possible because it makes them feel safer.

Kazi was a champion shoulder climber when he first came here. I tried all the tricks of keeping my upper arms tight against my body but it did no good. He might be part goat, he climbs so well. He did it because he was insecure and I found if I held my hand at shoulder level or even a few inches higher, he was perfectly fine with that. So for the first few weeks he was here we did that. When he was determined to be on my shoulder he had to settle for my hand at shoulder height instead.

Once he was secure and settled in we were able to work on permission. Now he gets on my shoulder with a command and he knows if I say no I mean he has to wait. He doesn't always want to cooperate, but the most argument I get out of him is his moving my hand with his beak (which is cuter than it has a right to be) or a grumble.

Now, I am taking a HUGE risk here. I want to make that crystal clear. Every time I allow Kazi on my shoulder I am risking a severe facial bite, vision loss or permanent disfigurement. Captive bred or not, parrots are still wild animals and that instinct is strong and there are times it will overcome any training. He has nipped my ears before because he wants something (usually head scratches or for me to lean back so he can nap on my chest) but that just got him removed from me immediately and he caught on really fast so that hasn't happened in quite a while. But one time he got startled by a cat jumping up in my lap and nailed me on the side of the face just in front of my ear. It bled, not much, but he did break the skin and leave a couple of crescent shaped scabs behind, and had my head been turned when that happened he would have hit my eye, so be aware of what it is you're risking when you let her up there.

 

[Safira]

I have a 10 month old Macaw and she regurgitates sometimes, though thankfully not so much when she is on me.

I also don't let her up on my shoulder. I know it can be hard to get them to stop trying to climb up there once they know how, and I'm thankful she hasn't figured it out yet. My CAGS try to climb that way and I usually have to keep transfering them from one arm to the other.

Safira doesn't like to go back in her cage when i'm done with her either. She's very good at standing on my arm and pretending I'm not trying to 'shove' her feet onto the perch. After one or two trys of telling her to step down on to something else, if she doesn't do it, I make her. Its not that easy to do but I have a low enough perch that I can slide my arm under and 'force' her to step up on to the perch. Though she hasn't figured out how to climb up my arm to avoid that yet, I'm waiting for it.

The head bumping just sounds like asking for attention to me. Nothing to be worried about. Though if she is becomming a bit 'clingy' make sure you have a playstand and work on getting her to be a bit more independant.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, I agree with lizardsmells that if you hold the bird on your hand or arm up high, it will help keep it from trying to get on your shoulder. However, they do get heavy after a few minutes, lol! So I have taught mine the command, "Switch hands", so I can get a break.

It's also generally safer for the bird to be on your shoulder IF you are the only one home. When an owner gets bitten, it is often because someone (or something like a dog) has approached you.

 

[RescueMe]

A great way to prevent a bird from climbing to your shoulder is to block them with the opposite arm. example: the bird is perched on your right arm and begins to climb, cross your left arm over your chest and upper right arm while holding your right arm away from your body. This is effective in preventing the climbing and will soon teach your bird that the shoulder is not the place to be.

As for the refusal to go the her cage, begin making a game out of her cage, give treats in her bowl to encourage her to want to go in, don't always shut her in when she goes to her cage. Work with her to go in, praise, treat, allow her to come out, and repeat.

As for the regurgitation, thank her for the attention, but don't make a big deal out of it. This may be an indication that she is getting the wrong (stimulating) kind of touch from you. Avoid full body petting or tail touching. Under wing petting should also be limited. This may be even more evident n the spring and summer, so pay special attention during these times.

 

[goalerjones]

Your macaw just wants to stay out of its cage so that she can perch on your shoulder to be closer to you and love you more. I'd hate for you to send her some mixed message that, all of a sudden, you now find her love for you to be annoying!! I certainly wouldn't blame her for biting you VERY HARD if you were to be so fickle as to brush her off just like that!!

I hafta say this, maybe the intent isn't as it sounds but you actually seem to think you know what his thoughts are, and not only that you seem to be meting out your own form of bird-justice for it.