Thanks again Birdman. This is the first bite that I know of. He has been eating from her hand. He took the peanut cracked it and dropped it. She was looking at me and put the pumpkin seed toward him that's when he got her. I can't wait for Friday. Like I said I was a little nervous about this . I am really excited after reading all day on these forums. Thanks again
It's okay to be nervous BUT DON'T SHOW FEAR! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SHOW FEAR TO A MACAW!
Birds are empathic. If you are afraid and defensive, they become defensive and afraid.
If you are calm, and confident, and in control, and deliberate in your movements, the bird will be calm, and confident and know what you are going to do, and generally won't react in a negative way to it.
Quick wishy washy movements?! A macaw will tolerate that for all of about ten seconds (okay, more like three seconds. Chomp! We're done here.) Then it will lunge, and back you right up... and handling them becomes harder at that point. BE CALM, DELIBERATE AND DECISIVE. MACAWS REQUIRE A FIRM, CONFIDENT HAND. AND THEY RESPOND TO THAT!
If he knows what you are doing before you do it, he won't react. (She's not grabbing at my feet, she wants me to step up. She's not trying to strangle me, she's just going to scratch my head.)
If he doesn't know what you are doing, or isn't sure, that's when he gets frustrated, doesn't trust you, and simply and won't deal with it. (i.e. Lunging, biting, defensive.) There is nothing even the slightest bit wishy-washy about a macaw.
They don't tolerate those fast in and out movements. You provoke bites that way. Ask the bird to step up, pull your hand away, put it out again... That's like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. I want to kick that ball, but you're going to pull it away at the last second, and I'll fall down. So, NO! (Hard pinch on the arm when you offer it!)
Same with head scratches. It's not in, and back, and in, and back. Oh, I'm nervous.
It's I'm going to try and scratch your head. My hand comes forward at a normal speed. If the bird reaches out to grab it or bite, just calmly deflect the beak, don't make any movements that the bird can intepret as aggressive, keep going in a single motion, and watch for the headfeathers go up. If they don't he's annoyed. Back off. If they do, that's you have my permission to do this...
AND if a macaw figures out that you are afraid of him, you just sent a message that he might be top bird in his new home. Not a contest you want to start, believe me!
And finally, macaws above all else are playahaulics! Make it a game, make it fun, and you have their undivided attention. (and ultimately, their love and devotion.)
