Your thoughts on cuddling

[chad246emr]

Hello everyone,

I’ve got a severe macaw named Pickle which I adopted from a rescue, and he’s recently finally started to trust me enough to let me cuddle with him. I make sure to go no lower than his neck to avoid stimulating him too much, but it seems he’s already becoming more hormonal from this.

Since I’ve been cuddling him (it’s only been about a week) he has started regurgitating. I’ve seen him bob his head and start to when he’s sitting somewhere, but he doesn’t really do it when he’s on my lap or I’m holding him.

He has also started screaming WAY more, and acting a lot more “wild” if you know what I mean. He gets so worked up sometimes and I see that look in his eye and I know it’s not the time to try and give the step up command, or else I might end up bleeding.

Honestly this is all typical macaw behavior that I was expecting when I adopted him. I know they’re opinionated, demanding, energetic, and stubborn birds, and the fact that he’s a severe macaw only exacerbates all of those features, but that’s honestly why I love macaws so much.

I guess my long question is did I bring on this behavior by cuddling him the last week or so? What are your thoughts on cuddling with macaws?

 

[Flboy]

Of no help! Bumping you up

 

[clark_conure]

I'm kind of in the same boat as flyboy but I noticed something looking back...

I found this in another post that you posted:


"
Congrats!

I have a severe macaw that I adopted from a rescue last spring. His name is pickle. Before the rescue took him in, he was kept with a hoarder who had 15 other bids and 10 Afghan hounds in a house that was quite literally falling apart. His tail feathers had been pulled out from one of the dogs. (They’ve since grown back)

What I can tell you I’ve learned from him is do not underestimate how much they understand!! If you are mad at her, she will pick up on it and act different. If you are nervous to handle her, she will pick up on it and act pushy. If she thinks you have an ulterior motive for picking her up (putting her back in her cage when she doesn’t want to go back, putting her in a carrier, etc.) she will probably either refuse to step up, or bite. Understand that parrots are wild animals and far from domesticated and that they can, and will bite. Parrots do not love unconditionally. You have to earn (and most importantly) keep their trust and respect.

Pickle was a bit bitey when I first got him, but he’s gotten a lot better now that he trusts me. If I ever have to put him in a carrier or force him to do something that he doesn’t like, he’ll act different for days. This probably has a lot to do with his shaky history, but overall he now trusts me enough to scratch his head and give him kisses on the back of his neck.

I was told he was five years old which is just about the time severe macaws finish puberty, but I’m not sold on the fact he’s gone through it yet. He definitely has bonded with me and wants to be out of his cage and with me any chance he gets, but he has no problem being held by my fiancé or friends (the ones that are brave enough) if they ask him to step up. I have others hold him any chance I can get to avoid the over bonding issues mentioned in this thread. I just don’t see too many signs of him being hormonal, though because of his background he doesn’t act like a cuddly little baby either. Be ready for that shift from cuddly baby to hormonal ball of feathers in five years! It’s different for all birds but it happens and it can be a dramatic shift.


SO I guess

He can be loud when he wants to, but to be honest my sun conure’s screams bug me more than when pickle is at his loudest. He has a deeper scream that’s loud but doesn’t really hurt my ears. Whenever he screams I just leave the room immediately and I don’t go back until he calms down. He might have a slight bought of screaming once a day tops.

Over all I adore my severe, and I wouldn’t trade him for anything. I actually love the fact that he’s so smart and that I need to earn his respect, but I think that’s what draws a lot of bird lovers to macaws in general. Keep yours as socialized as possible, and make sure everything you do is clear and understandable to your macaw so she doesn’t get confused and lose trust at any point. There isn’t much a macaw won’t comprehend as long as you do things in a way they understand. Always respect her as a wild animal with her own urges, desires, and wishes and remember that she will not love you unconditionally like a dog, and she will love you so much that it FEELS unconditional.

"""""

I'm bumping this up too, but the items in bold, I'd like you to consider, you seem to know quite a bit already especially about this species. And I'd recommend the last bolded item most of all, keep him socialized, give him time to figure out his place in the flock. I hope your own words help and a macaw person should be around sometime today to assist.

 

[wrench13]

Go to the macaw sub forum. Read every single post you can find from Birdman666, the resident Macaw expert. Me- an Amazon snob, but I would stick to the top if the head or jawline for scratchies. Could be he's getting a bit hormonal, but try to keep up your interactions with him, even if its only thru the bars. I remember Birdman666 saying Severe Macaws amoung the most frequently surrendered Macaws, for various reasons. Stick with him, though, he sounds promising. Good luck.

 

[LordTriggs]

there is one thing here I'm thinking

he could very well be becoming more confident and aware you're there for his benefit. A head bob and regurgitate is affection as well as mating behaviour, he could very well be thanking you and telling you he loves you right there, they do also get infatuated with any number of objects they just have too much love to give! Then the more boisterous behaviour very simply could be him becoming settled and prepared to push his boundaries a bit more.

establish the clear-cut line, the result of bad behaviour such as a short shunning session and of course the results of good behaviour like treats and cuddles

Apart from this "hiccup" so to speak how is Pickle A.K.A Duckbutt doing?

 

[Birdman666]

I don't think this is hormonally driven at all.

Macaws feed all sorts of things. Each other. You. Favorite toys. They love to love... and are exhuberant about it.

I cuddle with mine all the time, complete with rolling around on my lap, face in my hands, lifting the wings, preening the tail feathers.

I think this is the macaw testing stage. The novelty of a new place has worn off, let's see what I can get away with now...

Macaws take a firm hand when they act up. "Knock it off!" is one of those phrases all my birds know in context, and one of the things they pick up during the initial training sessions.

Boundary setting with a macaw is a critical factor. If they don't recognize boundaries, they will do what ever, when ever. You raise them very much the same way you raise toddlers. Tantrums don't get you anywhere, except put in time out. These are acceptable behaviors. These are not.

 

[chad246emr]

Thanks for the awesome advice bird man!

Looking at how he’s been acting, I think that’s a perfect explanation. I wouldn’t have thought that everything would have stayed novel to him for so long but that really makes a lot of sense.

One question though: How do I make sure that he doesn’t consider any negative attention (scolding, etc.) positive attention and then act out for that negative attention? This is something I read that can happen a lot with birds because they don’t know the difference. I’ve been trying to just completely leave the situation when he’s acting up and not saying a word because I know my leaving the room entirely is exactly the opposite of what he wants when he acts up. (aside from him protesting having to do something he doesn’t want to do. When that happens I just find a way to make him do it as swiftly and peacefully as possible while avoiding bites)

Does saying “knock it off” and immediately placing him in time out sound like a plan? I feel like that way make him associate that phrase with “I better stop doing what I’m doing or I’m going to go back in the cage”. What do you think?

 

[Birdman666]

Put it this way, the phrase "knock it off" in my house, since I use it as a universal "out of bounds" makes every bird in the household stop what they are doing and look up at me.

My CAG uses this phrase, in context, on the macaws when they are doing something he doesn't like... (He also uses "that's too loud!" on the other birds, usually before I do.)

The deal with the positive/negative attention thing is that the bird has to get enough positive attention period! The negative attention thing starts up when the bird isn't getting enough positive attention. They are attention oriented and any attention is better than no attention...

WHAT YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT is birdie manipulation. Don't under estimate how smart (and manipulative) these birds can be. Sometimes you train the bird, sometimes the bird is actually training YOU.

If he screams incessantly, and you go let him out, and pick him up and cuddle him.... Guess what?! You've just been trained to come when he calls.

If he has had enough of that and wants to go back to his cage, and he BITES you, because he knows he will go time out if he does... YOU'VE JUST TRAINED THE BIRD TO BITE YOU.

THEN WHEN HE WANTS TO GET OUT AGAIN, HE SCREAMS UNTIL YOU COME PICK HIM UP AGAIN... and you do, so the bird has now been trained to scream.

Another classic "macaw training trick" favorite food in the bowl... picks out his favorite. Then does the "beak swipe" trick. (You can see this one coming by the way they put their beaks in the bowl.) Swipe! Swipe! Remaining food goes everywhere. But the bird is still hungry, so he screams for more... SO HE CAN PICK OUT HIS FAVORITES AGAIN... (Repeat until the owner either goes broke buying bird food, or catches on to what he is doing, and the bowl stays empty long enough to send a message about "eat it, don't throw it.")

Yeah. It's like that.

Very much like that sometimes.

Don't get me started on disassembling cages, or taking playstands apart...

 

[chad246emr]

Okay the attention thing makes a lot of sense.

How do you suggest making sure that going into a timeout isn’t exactly what he wants when he acts up? Typically, when he starts screaming too much I just leave the room and that stops immediately because it’s the opposite of what he wants regardless. But how do I tell the difference between a “i don’t feel like getting touched right now” bite, which deserves a time out since he might not want to get touched but still wants to be outside of his cage, and a “I’m biting because I want to go back to my cage” bite? I definitely don’t want to put him back in that instance because that’s what he wants, but he still needs to be discouraged. What are your thoughts?

Thanks a ton for all this info! I’m very bird experienced but my little guys aren’t so manipulative so these tricks help a ton! I generally know what to look out for and how to manage it, but it’s very different in practice vs theory haha

 

[wrench13]

For Salty a time out is not back to the cage time. I put him aside ( chairback or where ever, and turn my back to him for a minute or 2. Putting them back in their cage can have the result that Birdman666 described,ie biting to back into the cage. A T stand in a corner makes a good time out place. Their cage is their home, I dont like to put negative connotations to it. Make sure time outs are done immediately after the offending action, so the bird associates it correctly. ANd no scolding - you may as well scold the doorknob. Some parrots like the excitement of a good scolding !

 

[hnb]

When Joey is acting up I take a similiar approach to Wrench. If he is getting a bit too nippy when we play I put him on top of his spare cage and just turn around for a bit.

Joey is also super cuddly, more so hormonal. LOTS of regurgitating which he follows up with some finger nipping. He also regurgitates when I give him a new toy, instead of actually chewing the toy he just knocks his head on it while regurgitating... haha birds are a goofy bunch!

I'd love to see pics of your boy!

 

[hnb]

ANd no scolding - you may as well scold the doorknob. Some parrots like the excitement of a good scolding !

AMEN. My dad would jump and dance when Joey would get on the floor and chase his feet, and I swear for the next week Joey would chase him around LAUGHING.

 

[Jaime1215]

ANd no scolding - you may as well scold the doorknob. Some parrots like the excitement of a good scolding !

I don’t have anything to add because I don’t know Macaws, but this just made my day!! I’m rotfl