new rescue blue and gold

[SweetPeasFriend]

My husband and I got a blue and gold macaw a week ago. We were told she is at least 20 years old. She is a rescue.We don't know she is female, but she refers to herself as a girl. She likes to hold my hand, but rarely listens when asked to step up. I think she is testing me. Any advice? I respect the beak. She tells me to stop it if I ask too much, but don't let her out. She has to step up to get out of her extremely large walk in enclosure. She has a blast when she finally does step up. I think she is attracted to me, but also likes my husband. He is working on target training with her. It's going well. It's just not condistent for stepping up yet.

 

[Scott]

Congratulations, kudos for rescuing! Macaws tend to be bluffers, noticed you found the "Big Beak O Phobes" thread! Consistency, lots of love, and rewards for good behavior help forge a great relationship.

Macaws are not necessarily "one person" birds, but working with her in conjunction with your husband helps ensure a well socialized companion.

 

[chris-md]

Well said Scott. The thing with step up that people forget is that it’s a TRICK, it’s not some innate behavior they know. It’s a trick that needs to be practiced and rewarded.

As with any behavior, if you want more if it, reward it! Give lots of rewards to increase the occurrence of step up. Use targeting to target her onto your hand if she needs clarification on what step up means.

Have you taken her to the vet, or otherwise have an appointment set? If not, you’ll want to set up a full check up with a certified avian vet, including full blood panel and DNA sexing (knowing the sex is important as there could be behavioral and health implications).

 

[SweetPeasFriend]

So far things are going well. She is doing targeting for my husband, and she steps up for me sometimes without a bribe. She is still hormonal, but I have found that I can discourage it with me. I only reward for what I ask her to do.
She went to the Vet, but the scale had no perch. She didn't get on it. They said perch scale is on the way.
The Vet played peek a boo with her to get her comfortable with a towel. They took a poop sample, but didn't want to stress her.
We are to go back in a month or two after working with her more on being used to being wrapped in a towel.
Now... while I agree towels should be part of life and enjoyable, playing peek a boo with the towel gets her very excited. I do enjoy pkaying with her, encouraging foraging, exercise, etc. I don't think it's wise to handle any animal when they are excited.
I left a message with the vet for suggestions on how to get her used to towels, without getting her so over stimulated about towels.
Bloodwork next visit I hope. I am going to order a scale for at home with a perch.
The vet also wants her to forage for all of her food. I started more foraging with her today. The bowl of food I take out (veggies from earlier) and replace with Harrison's and a few nut pieces, I left empty. I put that stuff in a toy cardboard taco. She coukd have only eaten the Zupreem in her other dish, but once she discovered her taco had her evening food, she got so excited to forage. She even said, "taco," three times. No cardboard consumed, but I will remove it tonight. I have a metal cage foraging toy that she watched me stuff tonight. I think she may deal with that one too. So far she hasn't been frightened of any toys or the curtains in our house.
Wish me luck! and thank you for your comments. Towel time needs to be calm I really think, but how haha.