How to handle aggressive macaws

[kme3388]

Does anyone here have advice on how to handle aggressive macaws? Mine has a past of severe abuse. He was beaten with a broom, and had his wing broken by a previous owner. I have no idea if that’s what has made Blue aggressive. He was okay to handle at first but his demeanor changed after he settled into our home. I don’t know if it’s just hormones. He has been at the bottom of his cage lately. It appears he’s searching for a dark place. He attacked me yesterday, and got ahold of my lip when I was handling him. I’ll post a photo below. I was informed I got lucky. He attacked the back of my head today when I was trying to clean his cage bars. He wasn’t handled a lot in the past. Any advice is appreciated. He’s also trying to attack my hands, and my husbands when feeding him. I can’t even get into his cage today to put in new toys for the day for him to forage.

 

[Thechoplady]

Im sorry i dont have first hand macaw experience but i want to say im sorry that happened to you. Sophie did the same exact thing to my lip one time and I was just so upset and devastated. Can you go back to target training? I use a portable T stand to transport sophie from room to room as she is just too unpredictable to have her on my hand. I shower her alot and that seems to take out some of her energy, i also take her on car rides occasionally.. and i dont let her have alot of grains, fruit, carbs, seed etc as the sugar and fat really amps her up. She also sleeps in a dark room by herself for 14 hours a night. You might already be doing all these things. Even with all the above Sophie can be okay some days and a absolute terror on other days. Im sorry I dont have better advice.

 

[kme3388]

Im sorry i dont have first hand macaw experience but i want to say im sorry that happened to you. Sophie did the same exact thing to my lip one time and I was just so upset and devastated. Can you go back to target training? I use a portable T stand to transport sophie from room to room as she is just too unpredictable to have her on my hand. I shower her alot and that seems to take out some of her energy, i also take her on car rides occasionally.. and i dont let her have alot of grains, fruit, carbs, seed etc as the sugar and fat really amps her up. She also sleeps in a dark room by herself for 14 hours a night. You might already be doing all these things. Even with all the above Sophie can be okay some days and an absolute terror on other days. Im sorry I dont have better advice.

Thank you, I do have a stand. He is not safe to transport. Well today anyway. I am in the process of signing him up for some classes for aggressive macaws. I really want to see him work through this. Any advice is helpful if someone has experience with an aggressive parrot, and if something may have worked for them that I haven’t tried.

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

My Macaw Max is incredilbly aggressive towords me.
And with him it is a big joke.

His lifelong dream is to get a hold of my nose or my lip.
I keep my face well away from him at all times.

He bonded to the other parront in my household -who can have max on his shoulder, sleep with him, kiss him, pet him.

Max is only affectionate when his daddy is out of the country, otherwise I am only just most awesome caregiver.

So sorry about your lip.
Max cracks a walnut every morining for breakfast, I know what he could do to my lip.
I am of no help to you, but I do sympathize!

 

[kme3388]

Thursday I got bit in the face, Friday the back of my head got attacked, and now today Blue wants head scratches & snuggle time. This parrots mood swings are unbelievable.

 

[smwboxer]

Macaws are not for the faint at heart. You are likely going through past trauma and hormones at the same time. Best to step back and let the bird do its thing until the hormones wain, then start working on trust.

 

[wrench13]

SO just a note here - this years mating season has been OFF-THE-CHARTS with most parrots in the Northern Hemisphere. I know my Avian vet told me that every one of her avian patients is suffering from one type of intense hormonal behavior or another. Salty's has been plucking, whereas in the 9 years he has been alive and in my care, he's never done that before. Earlier this season it was biting and screaming, and he is usually not one for that. Thankfully, those and the plucking seem to be over, or fading out. smwboxer's opinion is likely to be the best advice here. Like all hormone behavior, always remember - "This Too Shall Pass".

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

SO just a note here - this years mating season has been OFF-THE-CHARTS with most parrots in the Northern Hemisphere. I know my Avian vet told me that every one of her avian patients is suffering from one type of intense hormonal behavior or another. Salty's has been plucking, whereas in the 9 years he has been alive and in my care, he's never done that before. Earlier this season it was biting and screaming, and he is usually not one for that. Thankfully, those and the plucking seem to be over, or fading out. smwboxer's opinion is likely to be the best advice here. Like all hormone behavior, always remember - "This Too Shall Pass".

I can confirm your vet’s observation. I took my macaw in for a nail trim last month. Right out of the gate my vet asked me, “Is your bird hormonal? They all seem to be crazy!” Nope. He must be missing the hormonal chip. He has never exhibited crazy hormonal behavior outside of shredding the paper in his cage from time to time.

Fingers crossed that hormonal season dies down soon for all the horn dog birdies out there. It is driving avian vets and bird owners insane!

 

[rheashard2]

My avian vet agrees. I even scheduled a special appointment for labs 'in case something was missed'. My CAG is more aggressive. She used to tolerate dogs near and cats on her cage. Now no one except me is allowed within 2 feet of her cage. The poor dogs look at her in confusion. It's aggravating and depressing for owners. I've been forced to find different ways to keep her distracted. I remembered when she hit puberty a Kong was her frustration relief. She eventually abandoned it. So I got another one.

 

[SailBoat]

Yes, I am not sure why, but the Parrots in the Northern Hemisphere and especially those in North America are suffering a much extended Hormonal Season!

Our DYHA, Julio past his full spectrum blood tests with flying colors and his aggressive test with strong efforts of playing a bloodsucker.

He has long selected his own bedtime and commonly targets around ten hours this time of year. But we have shifted him to 12+ hours. He has long acted as the over-night home protector, and as a result sleeps lightly. Possible too lightly as the slightest noise and he is responding with a soft contact call.

It is very important to remember that a silence and dark environment helps greatly. NOTE: LED Daylight bulbs can change the biological clock in both humans and parrots. take care to back them down as the sum goes down.

 

[kme3388]

Thank you everyone for the kind words. This is very challenging for me. I really enjoy training with parrots. I’m usually good at it. Blue has challenged that. His private training with a more experienced macaw handler takes place tomorrow. Maybe they can educate me better on how to look for hormones in Blue, and how to deal with an aggressive macaw so I don’t get a worse bite in the face. Simple things like asking him to step up with a treat can go wrong. If he doesn’t want to step up to go back to his cage, or go for a walk I get an eye pin, and the beak starts to open. If I don’t back down he is biting. Before he was showing me wings so I had a better warning before he strikes. Now I get minimal warning, and I need to get better about reading him.

 

[rheashard2]

Please share tips. Parrots seem to have a yes but personality. Yes, I know what to do. But, do I want to do it now? A combination of techniques, even an altered sequence can have positive or negative impact. So having a good base can help.

 

[PrimorandMoxi]

unlike my Amazon who has absolutely clear signals and I NEVER get bit by him. (knock on wood)

Max our Macaw is expert at the fake out: drawing you in, then striking and laughing it up.

Max will also raise his wings in warning -then watch out.


My advice to you is absolutely do not let your Macaw anywhere near your face.

 

[HarleY 06]

My Harlequin boy, Harley, is a handfull, or should I say has a behavioral problem. Being the oldest of my flock ( 4 B&G's + 2 Harlequins) he is always asserting himself as the flock boss and always come first. He seems to resent the others on occassion which means I walk around with my eyes at the back of my head. He has bitten on few occasions, but mainly lets forth in no uncertain terms what he thinks. I try interacting moreso with him in the presence of the flock But when he shows signs to become uncontrollable; I try the quiet time/or lights out early.
My flock roost inside my house at night, coming in just before sunset, and go out, at dawn, to one of my communial aviaries.
At the moment my vet has suggested that most of my problems with Harley is hormonal- he has plucked himself silly and one of the younger B&G hens he has had a go at manicuring her too!!
I must say we in the Southern Hemisphere are no different to you in the northern Hemisphere , just the timing of nature and severity of climate.
Birds are Birds . . . just be more wary of the problem ones

 

[kme3388]

Blue is doing a little better with his aggression.

I cannot ask for a step up if he’s up high. He has to be at waist level or lower. We use a dowel if he is up high.

He still argues with me, and threatens to bite if I remove him from his stand to go back to his cage. He likes to listen to gospel music, and dance. He really doesn’t like to be disrupted so one of the other parrots can come out.

I’ve been keeping his training sessions short, and sweet. Instead of time frames of how long he can be out. He needs to be out for a purpose. He doesn’t do well just sitting there for whatever reason.

 

[rheashard2]

He looks so handsome.

 

[onamom]

Great work! He’s beautiful

 

[HarleY 06]

Don't expect results overnight, tomorrow , next week or next year, - your only expectation should be that results will come only by your perseverance.
George ( and kme3388's Blue)will try in every way (and in ways you don't know) to make you conform to him feeling at ease with whatever you want to do with him. If he lags in any performance required like sharing his space with other parrots, then thats something they learn fast, within the pecking order of birds. I assume he is to be a companion parrot, and all your efforts are, and should be, in that direction.

 

[kme3388]

Don't expect results overnight, tomorrow , next week or next year, - your only expectation should be that results will come only by your perseverance.
George ( and kme3388's Blue)will try in every way (and in ways you don't know) to make you conform to him feeling at ease with whatever you want to do with him. If he lags in any performance required like sharing his space with other parrots, then thats something they learn fast, within the pecking order of birds. I assume he is to be a companion parrot, and all your efforts are, and should be, in that direction.

Yes, I would love nothing more for Blue to be a companion parrot. He unfortunately has had bad experiences with humans. On top of not being handled for years on end. He is coming out of his shell bit by bit but he draws lines way before any other parrot I’ve worked with consistently. He always goes to aggression too. When my conures get done training they fly back to their cage. My Ekkie will just stop training. Blue will become aggressive. He wants everything on his terms. Which I’m fine with. I don’t think me trying to take a dominant stance will help this. I always just walk away, and reproach later if he declines to step up. That or I have him step up on a dowel, and bring him to a lower level to request a step up. I can tell he thrives off human attention. He comes out of his shell momentarily. I always describe it as he just tolerates me. He can be very food aggressive towards others and will bite at peoples fingers touching his cage. He isn’t that bad to me is an example of how he tolerates me. I can handle Blue at times. He would honestly without a doubt or hesitation bite someone else guaranteed. He is not great with strangers.

 

[rheashard2]

It's 1000% normal for birds to refuse to accept, tolerate strangers! The behavior varies with parrot temperament, history and training. My first CAG would go into dragon mode. Hissing, growling, fluffed feathers and more. My current CAG, watches and stays in silent mode. Person or animal gets into her sphere of control she goes into attack mode. She decreases sphere in carrier. Don't waste time trying to change this personality trait. Introduce the stranger then both of you ignore him. At random intervals talk to him then ignore. Eventually he'll decrease threat levels to watch. But parrots and other birds have fantastic memories. They simply don't forget much if anything. His memories are triggering negative behaviors. You're trying to create positive for positive behavior. It's gonna be slow with lots of ups/downs.