Hello all. I've joined this group today because I'm in desperate need of help for a biting situation. Millie, my Macaw, will be 3 years old this month. I've had her since she was a little over a 1 year old. She integrated into our home with a smooth transition. She is loved by all 4 family members and her primary caretakers are #1 myself and my#2 my husband. She has been happy and well adjusted. The first bite happened out of nowhere (this past July) and caught me completely off guard. There wasn't any noticeable warnings. She was playing on her large swing (which is 3' off the ground) As I was passing her, she lunged out quickly and caught my index finger and bit with enough pressure to cause a gash deep enough to need stiches. My response was minimal; no screaming, just a loud NO. I did double over in pain and take hold of my hand to see if I even had a finger left and to keep the blood from spilling down. She remained outside playing, while I went inside to clean up and my husband took care of her while I kept my distance for a few days and just chalked it up as a demand for attention? I truly had no clue. My husband's job keeps him away much of the time, so he is only home a few days a month. Life went back to the typical routine after that first bite without any further attempts, but I did notice that she wasn't as interested in me handling her as much. She would push my hand away when I would initiate a head scratch etc. and I didn't insist, but just respected her disinterest, thinking maybe she's just becoming more mature. Fast forward to this past week. I went on a 2 day trip and upon returning, I was happy and excited to see her. She seemed excited to see me too. She came out of her cage and when I offered her my arm, she stepped up easily. I spent several minutes sitting with her and walking around with her. The second I made an attempt to replace her onto her portable perch, she bit the finger of my other hand, not just once, like 4-5 times. My finger was literally being mangled. Not pretty. So once again I was dealing with the why's and trying to read in retrospect what I did to prompt her aggression. That occurred on Oct. 31st. Since that time, I continued to allow her come out of her cage and play, but haven't made any attempts to pet her of hold her.Today, I opened her cage and rolled her portable perch over for her to come out and socialize a bit and when offering her my arm to step up, she chumped down so hard on my wrist, I have internal bleeding from the vein that was damaged under the skin. So I thought (big mistake) If I give her her favorite snack, (yogurt on a spoon) she will ease up. Wrong! She lunged forward, grabbed the spoon and bit the spoon so aggressively that I heard her beak crack or split. I'm heartbroken here. I love this bird, but I'm not willing to lose an extremity. If I didn't know better, I would suspect this bird had rabies. Can anyone offer any advice or at least offer me a few words of sympathy for my injuries? Seriously, someone, anyone, help me out here; Please. Thanks for listening.
Torrie Torn Up.
Torrie Torn Up.
