Thanks again for your valued advice. He is very responsive to the sound of my voice. If he is in another room that isn't parrot-proofed, and goes near an electrical cable, all I need to do is say "aah aaah" and he comes running out looking guilty. He is smart. Equally if he starts chewing something he shouldn't, he takes no for an answer and stops. There have been many times that I have had to go out. Quite often I come back to find him sitting in his cage peacefully. There have been times when he has overestimated the strength of his beak when playing. I just made the same kind of annoyed sound that he makes if I am breaking the cover of a pin feather and I get too close to the shaft. I tell him he has over stepped the mark, and so does he with me. We have evolved this understanding.
I have known birds that love to carry a favourite piece of wood or trinket up to a perch to play with and chew. If they drop it ( which they usually do), they just lost interest. Sultan chases it down to the floor and actively searches until he finds it. This for me is new.
Like you, I don't have too many visitors. I would also like to get him socialised. However, the few people that have brought to the house have been well accepted. He checks them out, (male and female) then lands on them and targets their buttons, rings and shoes. He also nibbles ears and hair. After establishing contact, he gets bored and usually flies back to me where he demands a cuddle by placing his head under my chin. Sometimes he will show off to visitors by doing some of his acrobatic aerial dances. In all, he has been extremely well-behaved with the few visitors I have had.
He has limited patience to step up. He does, but if I repeat it to try and take control, he just flies off. He can read my thoughts and anticipate my actions. I think I may have some difficulty in confining him to his cage at present, even if I wanted to. For sure that time will come. There will be times when he must be caged. I also am aware than I need to get him used to the cat carrier that I have bought to transport him. I don't drive, but travel everywhere by train. When I picked him up from the breeder, (a two hour train journey involving several changes of train) he seemed quite calm in his carrier. But I must do this more often. I have also thought about a harness. I recently saw an alternative. This was a guy who had a Hahns macaw, who travelled with him on the end of an elastic cord which was attached to the bird's leg ring. The bird was seemed happy with the arrangement. If he attempted to fly off, there was no shock as the elastic absorbed the pull of the bird. I think I will try a harness first. He enjoys playing with new things. I think the trick would be to allow him to familiarise himself with the harness before I slip it over him.
I am in the UK. I took a real chance, using my gut instinct. I saw him advertised on the internet. He was advertised as a Hahns, but I wasn't born yesterday and recognised him as an Illiger. I jumped at the chance, if I am honest. I travelled to the seller's home. There were cages of small birds (finches, canaries and the like) in the back yard, but no sounds of adult macaws coming from anywhere. I surmised that, like many people in the UK, he wasn't the actual breeder, but acquired the chick and hand-fed it until it was ready to sell. His wife was obviously the person who did the actual spade-work. She was very knowleagable, very kind and obviously had a way with large birds. However the bird was very shy. When I approached the cage, he would shrink to the back. When the door was opened, he was reluctant to come out. I was told that they didn't have many visitors.
Eventually he climbed onto the cage top. I let him get used to me. When I cautiously approached the cage, he wouldn't step up, and acted very fearfully. I was really having second thoughts about buying him. I have tamed down wild birds before, but it takes time and patience, as you will know. I needed a companion. I had just lost my mother, and there was a big emotional gap in my life. I actually said to the seller that I wasn't convinced that he had been properly hand-reared and was as tame as had been advertised. At that point, he flew on to my shoulder! I think he read my thoughts and decided to make my mind up for me. It sealed the deal.
Although the wife asked me to keep in touch with progress (it was clear she loved that bird) and send photos, when I attempted to communicate later with the seller, I was ignored. Although Sultan took a week to overcome his shyness, I noticed that he sometimes has a fear of hands and fingers. I suspect that the husband used the traditional method that is used with small cage birds of grabbing them rapidly to avoid fluttering. Possibly he had done this a few times to get hold of Sultan. This would imprint the fear of hands, so common in our hand-reared avian friends. From my own experience, this will be a long term fear that will take time and trust to totally dispel.
I think I have been exceptionally lucky. My gut instinct proved right. He is shaping up to be the companion that I was hoping for, and is reacting well to the time that I have spent with him. I intend to keep this up. Having made him feel special, welcome and part of my life, I am fortunate in having the lifestyle that I can maintain this level of support. Here are some photos as you requested.
bolendo1 | Flickr
