Hi everyone :)

[MattMalta]

my name is Matthew and i live on the island of Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
after a lot of research i finally bought a pair of red shouldered macaws and all i've read about training was in vain as i didn't buy hand tamed birds, so my search for advice and help brought me here on this site
hope to get to know you in the future and i wish you all well

 

[antoinette]

Hi Matthew and welcome

Enjoy the forum

 

[critterman]

MattMalta welcome to the forum. You will meet a lot of wonderful, knowledgeable people here who will always be willing to help as needed. How old are your parrots please? If they are young you have a better chance of working with them and taming them, if they are older it may take a little longer time. Patience is key with training. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[weco]

Hello Matt...welcome to the forum.....

You didn't mention how old your new friends are, but hopefully they're relatively young. Often, birds that are already paired up tend to want to stay by themselves rather than human company.

If you've a mind to try and work with them, give them some time to get used to and comfortable with you and their new surroundings. When you can get them to take food from your hand, they may be ready to start working with. In the mean time, read up on clicker training, while you have the time.

Once they have stopped running from you/your hands, hopefully you can get them out of their cage individually. You will want to take them to a different room, one they're not familiar with, to start their training. Also if they are not clipped, iy would be advisable to have someone clip their wings.....they will grow back with their next molt, but it will also make them less independent & easier to work with, but the key will be to working with them individually, so, you have some more research & learning to do yourself.....

 

[aliray]

Hi and welcome to the forum

 

[Parrotdise]

Welcome =)

 

[MattMalta]

thanks everyone, first of all
the male is 3 and the female is 4 years old and i have dna certificates that provides this info.
i do have more to learn as mentioned above and lately i'm finding real good tips on youtube. there are a lot of training sessions and how to's.
as far as clipping goes i'm not at all comfortable doing it as it would create a lot of what i think is unnecessary stress. if they tame down a little i definitely would but they get scared if i even enter their cage slowly, let alone being handled.
i got them from a breeder about 3 months ago and they were held together in smaller cage, less than half the size they are in now and didn't have a lot of things to play with, while now they have plenty and i keep replacing with what seems to be more of their liking. so they are better and much happier with me for sure.
i notice them, specially her, taking a lot of interest in me and what i'm doing and comes closest to me in her cage just as long as i'm sitting a couple of meters away. now i just started to stand up and make a slow pace or two before she goes back in defensive mode. but i always leave a peanut before going back as a reward for her courage.
i just love these birds and if he could scream a little less i would be much happier

 

[MonicaMc]

I've started gathering some websites based on training and behavior. You may enjoy them as well.

Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books / Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk
Lara Joseph | An avid avian training, behavior, and enrichment enthusiast.
Natural Encounters, Inc.
Written Works: Learning and Behavior - BehaviorWorks.com
Learning Parrots | Empowering the learners in our households
Carly Lu's Flight Blog: Parrot Training, Flight & Recall
Best in Flock - Parrot Blog | Updates and Musings About Life with Parrots
Living With Parrots Cage Free


I haven't found too many videos on Youtube that are good in regards to training since many of them suggest using force. Even if it doesn't look like force to you, it can be for the bird if the bird didn't choose to do the behavior.


As for screaming, it may help to see if he's getting enough sleep, enough exercise and has opportunities for foraging.

 

[abirdtoy]

Welcome, Matt! There are lots of folks here who I'm sure can lend their advice and knowledge. Good luck!