I have a 47 year old Blue and Gold Macaw. For some history, I adopted her from a reputable rescue 2 years ago. She had been taken from a hoarding situation from an elderly man with 10 other birds. He had had her for her entire life, so she had been closely bonded to him. At first, the woman who ran the rescue thought that Mirabella was not going to be able to form a bond with a female. But, when I met her, while it wasn't an instant bond (it never is) she really wasn't wary with me and the rescue owner could tell it would be a good match. And I had "big bird" experience. Mirabella also has scissor beak, so we do have to have that dealt with on a regular basis.
Mirabella is an amazing bird. It took us time, as expected. She will now step up onto me fairly easily. Sometimes she will prefer to step up onto a rope and then to my arm. She loves treats. She has overcome her fear of climbing off of her cage and onto my chair and she will sit with me. She is very much a one-person bird as she lunges at other family members and my dogs. My issue is that, when she is sitting with me, she likes to try to nip my arms. She doesn't seem to be aggressive when she is doing this. My African Grey will "taste" me sometimes too, but she is very gentle and never actually hurts. Mirabella actually pinches and leaves bruises when she nips.
I can say that these little nips are so different from when I first adopted her. When I first brought her home and it was time to put her back in her cage for bedtime, she would fly around the room to other birds' cages. When I would have her step up to me, she would try to nip me then. With her beak the way it is, she can't truly bite, but it can still break the skin and hurt! These are very different. She is calm, and just rubbing her beak on me and nipping.
Any thoughts?
Mirabella is an amazing bird. It took us time, as expected. She will now step up onto me fairly easily. Sometimes she will prefer to step up onto a rope and then to my arm. She loves treats. She has overcome her fear of climbing off of her cage and onto my chair and she will sit with me. She is very much a one-person bird as she lunges at other family members and my dogs. My issue is that, when she is sitting with me, she likes to try to nip my arms. She doesn't seem to be aggressive when she is doing this. My African Grey will "taste" me sometimes too, but she is very gentle and never actually hurts. Mirabella actually pinches and leaves bruises when she nips.
I can say that these little nips are so different from when I first adopted her. When I first brought her home and it was time to put her back in her cage for bedtime, she would fly around the room to other birds' cages. When I would have her step up to me, she would try to nip me then. With her beak the way it is, she can't truly bite, but it can still break the skin and hurt! These are very different. She is calm, and just rubbing her beak on me and nipping.
Any thoughts?
