Hello all! I hope to get some much needed advice from all you experienced parrot owners! I am a new macaw owner myself and I am working hard to be a great owner. I love the bird but this is all new to me so I welcome advice. I have a harleyquinn(?) macaw that was abused and mistreated. He has aggressive moments, doesn't like to be touched and tries to bite. He has his really good days too though. Sings, talks, mimics. I just want him to have a good quality of life!
Hi Miss Melanie, first of all let me say I'm new here and unknown, I'll state my opinion, and it may not be shared by anyone, and let you decide, because I've been where you are. "Love" goes a long way with a bird or any pet, Pets can feel it. I often tell people if my dog doesn't like you, then I probably don't either, animals as well as birds can sense this. Next I
wouldn't try to approach the macaw to handle him/ in any way. I would personally work on him getting acquainted with you and building some form of trust. To accomplish this I would try several different treats in your macaws food dish, try to figure out which one he grabs first, the one he grabs first will more than likely be his favorite, unless he's unfamiliar with the others, so try this a few times. Then every time I walked past his cage, I would drop that treat in his food dish. Let him see good associated with you. Thats how I would start the process, and again this is just my opinion from being in your shoe's and may not be shared by anyone else.
I'm not sure how you came about taking in this abused and mistreated baby, but I will say it may have only taken a very short time to abuse and mistreat this baby, and you may spend years trying to reverse the damage done, if it can ever be undone. I would keep my expectations low, and take whatever you can as a victory, and know in your heart this babies in a much better place now than he ever was before. Again just my opinion, But Thank You for taking this baby in, and sharing your heart and love with him.
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