Macaws--Are they truly a "family bird" or do they choose one "person"?

[Holiday]

I agree with most of what's been said. Training and socialization are great, but I really prefer to think in terms of what's natural for the parrot and how we can reasonably accommodate those natural behaviors in our homes, and I think we set them up for failure if we expect them to go completely against nature. Sure, we can learn body language, learn about hormones, do positive reinforcement training, etc. But, in the end, the parrot is going to be itself, and we need to understand that.

Elvis is not overbonded to me like she was with her previous owner, who clearly didn't understand about hormones or mating urges and was shocked when she started becoming territorial and nesty; he didn't know she'd bite anyone until she did. I don't encourage her to see me as a mate: I'm affectionate with her within certain bounds, and I don't let things get out of hand. I reinforce her acceptably tolerant behavior when we have visitors, and she will take treats from most males when she's not hormonal. She always gives my mom the stink eye, but for years now, we've been working on her behavior with women. She's a little better. A little--when she's not hormonal. But I'd be an idiot if I expected her to be anything other than a hormonal macaw when she's nesty. And when she's nesty, she's dangerous to others, including her usually favored males, like my father. She normally likes him, but when she's nesty, she'd sooner break his fingers than not. And that's just the way it is. I accept it. It doesn't mean she's not a wonderful companion to me, and a reasonably well behaved "hostess" most of the time. She's a little on the extreme side, of course, but not by much. The classifieds are full of sweethearts just like her

 

[Zeb]

My response will be a short one; I think they pick a favorite person.

At best, they will tolerate others and allow some types of interaction but only one person gets to truly be in sync with the bird. Of my 4, 3 of them are mine....one was mine, and is mine when we are alone, but as soon as "she" comes in I can forget it.

 

[Cephus]

They certainly have preferences. All the birds in the house love me. They all enjoy the rest of the family to one degree or another, but for some reason, I'm the one that every animal in the house can't stop hanging all over.

 

[Leza]

Scooter is totally a one person bird. I am his handler/friend(we are not at a lovey dovey bond yet, he treats me like his little sister ) and no one else is to touch him PERIOD!! He makes it very clear with some silly lunging.

although if you are firm with him he knows to step up from behind. trouble is he usually gets any one that tries scared from the first time they see him lunge. silly chicken butt.

 

[waterfaller1]

Holly is very shy towards Troy or just about anyone else really. Sheba adores Troy{but I am the bird person!}, and our relationship is MUCH closer now than it used to be. Sheba does not like strangers at all,unless they really know birds. Sheba was 7 when she came into our life. I am working with Troy so he understands birds better, so as not to give the wrong signal.{like petting in the wrong place}

 

[Big Blues]

Interesting thread. In my experience with macaws in our household, it depends on the amount of time and ability the household family has to interact with them. My husband enjoys playing with them and I feed and interact with more skirches and cuddles. We both can handle any of the species and individual birds. As I have mentioned several times, patience and "no fear" is a must to do that. Once a macaw bites and the owner backs off and reacts out of fear, the relationship is lessened and it appears that they are not favorites. Although we both have a different relationship with them all, they have their buddies to fulfill their flock need and we are not their mate. At times when they regurgitate, we calmly put them in a neutral place or give them a toy to occupy them until that desire subsides. During their hormonal times, we try to read their body language and don't force anything that will cause them anger. I will say that your personal time with your macaw shouldn't be shared at the same time with other family. My husband's play time with them and my skirches and cuddles are at different times, not together. Another point that I feel is important; to prevent jealousy with a flock of more than one, personal time with each one should be out of the sight of the others family members and flock.

 

[Birdy_in_VT]

Our Military is just over a year old and is for sure a one person bird. Our breeder is female and the male in the business is standoffish around big birds. So she seemed to naturally pick my wife.

She tolerates me at times, not at others. But the most intriguing part is that she tests me a lot. The other interesting point is that so far, when distressed or scared, she will immediately come to me. I've rescued her from a wing caught in the cage bars and she immediately came to me for comfort. When she saw my wife, she immediately wanted her.

I work with her daily to gain trust but will never have the trust she has with my wife.

 

[NikkiCat]

Interesting thread. In my experience with macaws in our household, it depends on the amount of time and ability the household family has to interact with them. My husband enjoys playing with them and I feed and interact with more skirches and cuddles. We both can handle any of the species and individual birds. As I have mentioned several times, patience and "no fear" is a must to do that. Once a macaw bites and the owner backs off and reacts out of fear, the relationship is lessened and it appears that they are not favorites. Although we both have a different relationship with them all, they have their buddies to fulfill their flock need and we are not their mate. At times when they regurgitate, we calmly put them in a neutral place or give them a toy to occupy them until that desire subsides. During their hormonal times, we try to read their body language and don't force anything that will cause them anger. I will say that your personal time with your macaw shouldn't be shared at the same time with other family. My husband's play time with them and my skirches and cuddles are at different times, not together. Another point that I feel is important; to prevent jealousy with a flock of more than one, personal time with each one should be out of the sight of the others family members and flock.

What species do you have besides Emerald, your Buffons/Hy hybrid?

 

[TheBeesKnees]

Thank you all for the great advice!!!

 

[Onyxena]

In my experience, most do tend to solidly favor one person as well. Wehn younger they were much more tolerant of other people. Our nine year old female GW used to be accepting of both my hubby and I as a youngster. Once she began maturing around age 4-5, sahe started becoming more moody with my husband. Now, she will only allow myselft to handle her. She is great with me, not overly clingy or possessive, I can have her out around him, but he must give her her space! I can do pretty much anything with her, including flipping her on her back in my arms and she has yet to bite me....

Our scarlet is decidedly MY bird as well. He enjoys interacting with pretty much everyone, including husband and daughter, but only wants to be held by me. He is also 9 years. He does love women though, and will normally be very eager to be held by females. Of course I am very carefull about who I hand him off to. Fortunately he is very easy to read and so far has not been unpredictable!

Our BG is still quite young at 18 months, but he is great with people he knows. My 6 year old daughter plays with him daily. He is very sweet natured and easy going, much more so than most other macawsI have known at that age. So we will see what happens as he matures, I certainly was not counting on having him be accepting and very gentle of our daughter handling him at this age, so I think he does have a great temperament. I am fully aware that his hormones may begin to affect his behavior and we will adapt accordingly. But it is really wonderful to have a macaw that truley IS a family pet for now!

Generally though, I would definately not get a macaw as a family pet in the sense of a dog or cat. They are just not really wired to accept a close relationship with more than one person. I am sure some are, but Iwouldn't count on it!

 

[Bokkapooh]

I often wonder where the term that macaws are like dogs, came from? I think it can mislead people..

 

[Holiday]

I often wonder where the term that macaws are like dogs, came from? I think it can mislead people..

I agree. The whole "golden retriever" comparison is a bad one. But, I do understand when someone compares their loyalty to dog loyalty. But, the whole "family pet" idea is usually a misconception, at least for many macaws.

 

[NikkiCat]

Cabo sounds like a sweetie!
And I too agree with the dog comparison. When I first heard it I thought it was strange.

 

[Onyxena]

Yes, Cabo is indeed a very sweet boy! Our family completely adores him. He has not yet discovered that he can use his beak to bully people.....shhhhhhhhh! He is very gentle at all times, and has yet to be in a bad mood. H e is very jolly and affectionate, alternating from silly play on his back or running around to laying down in the nearest lap or shoulder for snuggles. So far is equally happy to go to any of us. I am very curious how he will be once he is mature! We really enjoy his sweet/silly personality. He is just sooooo silly too! Alwasy flipping over, making crazy sounds, sticking his head into things, laughing, stealing things. Hilarious! Just little things I have noticed with other macaws I have been around at this age, he is much slower to react negatively to anything he dislikes. Doesn't get "offended" easily at all. I have raised him from 5 weeks, with all of us handling him daily, so that may have something to do with it. Far more kid friendly than I would expect a macaw to be once past the baby stage!

My husband probably could handle Max and Maitai if he spent more time with them. But, he is fine with things the way they are. Both birds will interact with him and he does offer them little treats, but he sees no reason to risk a bite when he is happy now. So it really isn't a problem here. Plus he loves Cabo so much he would rather just enjoy him I think!
They don't seem over bonded to me, they don't scream when I leave the room or behave jelously if I hold or pet another bird so I am pretty happy with them really. I am careful to avoid too much petting or playing with their beaks particularly when they are experiencing their breeding mode. Having dealt with a BG that I owned for many years that was extremely jealous, moody, aggressive I learned alot about what to NOT do to trigger much of the aggressive/hormonal behaviors, b ut still she was very easily agitated. I did eventually rehome her to a better situation for her. When she was not "in a mood" she could be quite nice, but her tolerance kept getting less as she aged. I had her from a young age also, and the difference between her and Cabo is dramatic. Almost complete opposites really.

I guess the dog comparisons are maybe how non-bird people tryt o make sense of bird behaviors. So totally different though! I cringe every time I see a breeder site comparing BG macaw to the labradors and goldens of the bird world. Try explaining that to someone dealing witha very aggressive, jealous, hormonally affected BG that has no hesitation in protecting "her" territory. Maybe as youngsters, but they all grow up!

 

[melissasparrots]

I often wonder where the term that macaws are like dogs, came from? I think it can mislead people..

I compare Cosmo to a labrador puppy in her play style. Limbs and body parts flailing all over the place. No clue if a beak or toenail is headed for my face and getting completely carried away. I don't think of it as a family pet comparrison though. I agree, the family pet implication is a bad one.