How should I go about holding him?

[dknight8919]

How should I go about having my GW Macaw get on my hand, what are ways to take it slow and make it seem like it is a good thing for him to get on my hand. i have bought a pair of thick weling gloves just incase he trys to bite,

Input appreciated

 

[henpecked]

We need some more background on you and your GWM before ican give you real ,usable advice.My knee jerk reaction is , practice with a smaller bird and throw away the welding gloves .I know that not much help at this point and time.Most large parrots need a confident,trustworthy and outgoing owner, otherwise they tend to dominate the relationship.Being afraid of getting bit is not going to help you with your macaw,.and neither is the welding gloves.Start by earning his trust and show him you are a trustworthy friend.Talk and interact daily,feed him treats,and make him part of your household.His natural desire is to be part of the flock and you need to show him you are a leader (confident,trustworthy,outgoing,fun) other wise he'll be the leader and train you.Please give us more history (your's and his) as things are different for babies and rehomes.

 

[dknight8919]

He is a rehome, ive had him around 5 days, ive been feeding him, ive let him out of his cage once and he climbed on top and seemed to enjoy it, he came to me to get food and he eats through the bars and if i have something he really likes he comes down and gets it from me and eats it, i havent tried to touch him or rub him yet but im figuring if he is letting me feed him and coming to mee were doing fairly well.. his old owner said he was trained on the blue welding gloves,thats why i purchased some of my own, to make it like his old home., thanks for ur assistance. hope this helps

 

[henpecked]

Are you afraid of him? Overcome it if that's an issue.Jerking away because your afraid of getting bit will not instill trust.Have him out of the cage (on top) offer treats in aconfident manner for many days, until you and him become comfortable with each other.Talk ,play, interact without having him step up or removing him from cage top.Maybe try resting your arm on the cage while giving him treats with the other hand,after you feel confident in each other have him step up on your arm to get a treat and allow him to step off again with out taking him away. I would suggest "clicker Training" as another method of doing much the same thing.Remember what it takes to be a good flock leader and practice that when dealing with him.

 

[roxynoodle]

Most birds are terrified of gloves, but maybe if he was raised with an owner using them, he isn't? Also a large macaw like he is may not feel comfortable on your hand so much as your arm. I would offer my wrist. My amazon wants to get on my wrist as well, not my hand. Once I figured that out, he stepped right up. At first we were having a bit of trouble though because I didn't get it. He would climb down to me and want to get on me, I'd offer my hand and he would climb back up the cage. I figured it out maybe the fourth time we tried that he wanted my arm, not my hand.

Yes, you need to be confident, but not aggressive. Approach him with the attitude that you know what you're doing, which will instill confidence. Otherwise if he is fearful and sees you are as well, he will think there is something to be fearful about. And if he's bold and assertive he will try to run the show.

 

[dknight8919]

How will I know when he is ready

 

[roxynoodle]

Offer him your arm, say "step up" and see what happens. Put your arm above the level of his feet though as most birds like to step up, not down. Be prepared that he may beak you a bit. This is his testing to see if it is a safe, sturdy surface. It is not a bite. Even if you do get a bite it is important to try not to react. Unless he is grinding away, try not to pull back or yell. If he is grinding away push your arm toward his beak to force him to let go, don't pull away. Pulling away could cause more serious injury as skin will be ripped.

If he isn't ready he will show fear reactions, or back away. That's ok, continue interacting with him by talking, singing, sitting near him, flirting coyly with him by keeping your head sideways and acting bashful. Give him food from your hand. Then try again in a couple of days. Once he trusts you things should move right along.

 

[dknight8919]

I hve heard it is better to be higher than the bird, so wouldnt havign him step up be kind of difficult? Is this just folk lore or is it true

 

[suncon97]

The bird is dominant (or thinks it is) when above you such as on your shoulder.Once you get the bird on your hand lower it down to chest level.

 

[MikeyTN]

IF he was trained with a glove, give it a try. Believe it or not, my macaw steps downwards asiI put my arm under him from behind. That's the way he was brought up with his previous family. I would keep things the same for now then change later. Once you get used to holding him, then remove the glove to see what he does. And yes most birds are terrified of gloves, if he shows any hesitation I would try without gloves.

 

[dknight8919]

should i give him a little bit longer, like a couple of more days of just being out of the cage and getting use to being out of the cage in his new house?

 

[dknight8919]

I went to stroke his tailfeathers and he didnt seem like he liked it, he turned his head and looked like he was about to bite me, i dint jerk away but i stopped.

 

[lene1949]

Why would the previous owner use welding gloves on a bird he handraised?

I don't know of any birds, who likes to get their tail feathers touched, unless you start from the head and moving your hand all the way down, and that is not a good idea... Don't touch the bird below the neck.

Good luck with him.

 

[triordan]

thats one of the problems with owning these big birds, its best to pet them from the neck up,yes very close to the beak, otherwise it could be too sexual for them

 

[roxynoodle]

I hve heard it is better to be higher than the bird, so wouldnt havign him step up be kind of difficult? Is this just folk lore or is it true

This is a hard one because it's not true at all for some birds and it's very true for others. I'm not tall so yes, a macaw on the top of it's cage could be a problem with me. I would probably build something I could step up on to put me taller than the bird.

 

[henpecked]

It's more of a security issue, why step down ? it's safer up high.If your fid is well socialized then stepping down is not an issue.But it's safer to be up high.Trust is what is involved.That's why decoys work when hunting, if it's safe for them it's safe for me.If your fid is well socialized it won't matter what "level" your on, if your fid has "trust" issues ,it will.

 

[MikeyTN]

should i give him a little bit longer, like a couple of more days of just being out of the cage and getting use to being out of the cage in his new house?

I start handling ALL my birds the very day they came home with me. I don't handle the Parakeets or the Finches though as I let them do as they please. I handled Willie the very day he came home with me. You should never show them any fear towards them, they will know!!!

 

[lene1949]

I start handling ALL my birds the very day they came home with me. I don't handle the Parakeets or the Finches though as I let them do as they please. I handled Willie the very day he came home with me. You should never show them any fear towards them, they will know!!!

Yes, I have always done that as well...

 

[suebee]

I start handling ALL my birds the very day they came home with me. I don't handle the Parakeets or the Finches though as I let them do as they please. I handled Willie the very day he came home with me. You should never show them any fear towards them, they will know!!![/QUOTE] this is very true, especially with my nut, she is currently on my lap, under the keyboard ledge, and darting out an making a beak for my wrist as i type, but i can tell from her actions and body language, she is just being a bully, rather then in kill mode


ok if your nervous, and i don't blame you, try giving his beak a quick rub, these are uber smart and social creatures, so if you give a simple but always the same hand gesture and words for what you want they pick up the meaning very fast, and also you must read his reaction before proceeding, when you learn your birds body language, you will be less nervous and confidance will grow

with nut, when i go to give her a head rub i always do a waggly tickle finger, finger pointing down and say head squichey?? she will either bow an pin her eyes which means i better get on with intended head scratch as she really wants one
or
she just leans her head for ward, which means *oh if you must, but i aint gonna enjoy it, so she get a very quick rub
or
she intentionally turns either head or body, which means *really?? i dare you to feel how i have sharpened my beak!!! and i will put my hand down an say *ok nut no head squitches and walk away
0r
nut will call me over to give her a head squitch, really cute, she starts bowing where ever she is perched, and if i didn't see it or no up to her fast enough, she bangs her beak on perch

i never put my face near her beak, i never really ask her to do anything she is not wanting to, she only steps up for me when she wants to anyway, she is flighted, so she'll either fly after me or i go back for her when she realises that i am moving rooms an then she'll step up or down from the doors

nut is now, burrowing under my son's safety blanket as she wants his toes!!

oh an toys are uber important too nut has a range of anger release toys, so any fraustrations she has, she can take out on them

 

[roxynoodle]

For me it depended on the bird and it's reaction to moving in with me. My Nanday chose me, and I had her out within an hour of being here. She had zero fear of me or my house. She acted like she's lived here her whole life.

My BC was a bit scared. She was a shy girl and not only was she suddenly in a new place with a new owner (though she had met me several times from the time she hatched), but there was a jealous Nanday screaming at her. I let her have a few days before I brought her out. She wasn't really frightened of me having interacted with me several times, but she was definitely scared of the other bird. She was afraid of the dogs, too.

Pete wasn't immediately thrilled with me. He did step up for me at his previous owner's house, but we didn't have the spark. I took him anyway knowing I have something of animal magic. He did spend most of the first 2 days growling at me when I came anywhere near him. But, then he suddenly came around on the second day after I spent some time outside for a few hours. He missed my not sitting there talking to him. Then he suddenly became vocal in a good way, started showing off for me, stretching, wagging his tail, and all the good signs of a bird that is happy. Then I brought him out.

The new Grey I'm getting has been very well socialized with a lot of people. She will be traveling a long way to get to me though and by the time we get back it will be kind of late in the evening. She may need at least a day to recover from her trip, let alone meet me and the other birds and the cat. I will let her decide when she would like to come out.

I'm very intuitive about animals so I will know I'm sure. I've shocked many people over the years by getting on their supposedly "untrainable" horses within half an hour of meeting the horse. They even ran to get their camera.

You just have to remember animals are living things. They think, they have emotions and no two are alike. They are very capable of letting you know how they feel but you have to understand their body language. Most of them don't have faces as capable of expression as people do.