Help with My B&G

[Lolashuman0574]

Lola is a rescue and she is very sweet and loving. I have no history on her except that except that she's been living with a wonderful couple for the last 2 years that had rescued her from a chain smoking asthmatic. The lady that rescued her already had a macaw and there was a power struggle with the her current macaw and she got bit and was afraid of getting bitten again so hadn't really handled Lola. Lola craves attention. She has been on me since I brought her home 3 weeks ago. She is finally choosing to spend time on her perch as long as it's next to me and likes to be on the floor playing with things, which isn't so much a problem when we're home alone, but a problem when everyone is home.

My biggest concern right now is getting her to step up when I need her to and being moved when I need to move her. She steps up wonderfully when she wants to step up, but if she doesn't want to, she's nippy and certainly has some issues with her belly being touched. I'm getting the feeling that she was forced with pressure.

I've tried approaching her with touch training, but the stick just makes her more aggressive and the clicker scares her. I can get her to walk down my arm to my hand with a treat, holding it out and saying hand. Of course, this only works when she's hungry and wanting the treats.

I'm not getting the feeling that it's a fear of hands per se, lack of training, or she just doesn't trust me enough yet. She lets me scratch her head, her cheeks, under her wings. She will hook my hand with her beak and shake it playfully and she doesn't mind me grabbing her beak in play so I don't think it's fear of hands.

I just don't know how to go about training her successfully. When I hold the treat, position my other hand for step up and try to get her to step up for the treat, she usually just gets nippy because I'm not giving her the treat or acts like I'm teasing her with the treat.

It's my intention for her to be my emotional support animal and she loves going out with me, but I need to get control, be the boss, be able to pick her up off the floor or have her step up when I need her too and certainly be able to get her to step up off my shoulder when it's time for her to do so.

Any help or suggestions would be so gratefully appreciated.

 

[wrench13]

Set a training time, 20 minutes, each day for training. Use her most favorite treat ONLY for training.
Be consistent in asking for the action
Be immediate in giving the treat. Have it ready! Reward even the slightest positive action.
Be patient - birds rate of change can be glacial compared to our quick monkey brains.

Stop touching anywhere besides the head and neck. Anywhere else is promoting mating behavior. Beak wrestling too. Be prepared for 1 step forward 2 steps back.
B&G;s in particular like to bluff, gotta call them on it, especially now when she is scoping things out.

Read all the threads at the top of our Macaw forum. There is GOLD in there.

 

[Lolashuman0574]

I've been trying. Finding a time when she is in the mood to train is challenging. I'm still trying to figure out her eating schedule. She isn't hungry first thing in the morning so isn't interested in food. I'm trying to not do anything to encourage mating behavior, especially since I don't know if she's a girl or a boy. We call her lola because that's the name she says but she hasn't been tested or the people I got her from never got that information. She likes to hold my hand and Bob her head up and down against it and will sometimes regurgitate. She also regurgitates for a snack like a cow chewing cud.

My main issue with her is just getting her to step up when I need her too. I'm pretty sure she's been pressure forced in the past since she's pretty sensitive to my hand placed, even though I don't touch her belly, for her to step up on.

We're still getting used to each other, for only 3 weeks, I think we're doing very well, but I don't want bad habits to continue and need to establish boundaries and who's actually the boss around here. She can be dangerous and I want to make sure we all have a wonderful life together.

 

[SailBoat]

Rescued Parrots are on a very different schedule than others. It can take weeks to months to be where you are today! Celebrate, where you are and enjoy with praise for any tiny improvement or acceptances.

Move at the rate that your Parrot accepts you and what you are working on. Your Parrot has another 70+ years to get it right. Slow down and drop the expectations!

 

[jeffisme]

I just wanted to say it sounds like Lola has a pretty great new owner but also as a Kinks fan, a bird whose gender is unknown, named Lola, is kind of funny.