Need help with macaw aggression

[Cinnyluver]

Skye, my blue and gold, was pretty well behaved when I first brought her home last September. She obviously disliked everyone except for me so I've been the only person to handle her. Every once in a while she would get spooked or stressed and bite me. But lately she has been attacking me more and more frequently. She is very sweet with me and begs for attention but as soon as she sees another person in the room or I move the wrong way she bites me hard. I can't walk around the house with her anymore or she gets aggressive. And this is making it so I can't spend as much time with her because I have a lot of family members and I used to let her watch movies with me and sit upstairs while we ate. Now I can't do any of those things. And she used to give warning signs before she attacked but now she just does it out of the blue. How can I fix this? Ideally I would like her to get to the point where she can be handled by other people but even if that never happens, I need her to be ok at least being around other people without attacking me. Any advice?

 

[Heather F]

This may help:

Sex and the Psittacine | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[macawpower58]

I think you're having a problem that many macaw owners run into. I know I did.

I am not sure how old your bird is, but age and maturity IMO has much to do with behavioral changes. My GW was a sweet baby for 10+ years, then almost overnight turned into an aggressive, threatening bird towards me. It was very hard.

Now though a year or so down the line, things are slowly getting better.

I feel it's part of owning a wild animal. It's something you'll have to learn to live around for the time being, I do believe behavior changes like this, will pass. I know my macaw is now settling down into a bird I can once again lie on the couch with without getting attacked for no reason.

The way you say Skye is behaving is the exact same way Chaos behaved for about a year. He's threaten me if I just walked into the room his cage was in. It was a year for me that was fraught with sadness and difficulty.

You like me will get through this. I had to learn to deal with him in a different way. From using blankets to cover my arms (from bites), to making sure I wasn't asking him to do something that I knew would anger him and cause him to bite. I kept my distance, and yes sadly at first he did have more cage time until I put my big girl panties on. He was SCARY!

Once I stopped demanding he be my baby, and started really looking and seeing, things slowly started getting better. I gave him space, allowed him out with no interaction from me. He went his way, and I just kept an eye on him. I knew he'd come to me in his own good time. He took a while doing it too!

But now it's been way over a year, maybe even two. Things are so much better, I haven't been bitten in quite some time. Perhaps his hormones finally started calming down? Perhaps I started listening to what he needed? Perhaps it's a combination of things that he and I worked out?

We have a different relationship now, I almost never try and cuddle with him. I have cheated though while on the couch. I'll have a blanket over me, wrap him in it and give him a hug! He'll give me that wide eyed macaw look and laugh.

Give Skye some space. Learn to handle her differently, and do everything in your power so no more bites happen. You will have your baby back again, it just may not be exactly what you envisioned.

As to other people handling her. By listening to her, you'll learn if that will ever be possible. For now though I'd not advise it.

 

[Lady Jane]

Excellent advise Becky.

 

[msplantladi]

Becky thank-you so much for taking the time to reply-your response to Cinnyluver reassured me I am on the right thinking path with one of my macaws. I have had this scarlett since july and last night she gave me a kiss through the cage bars after 10 mins of me just sweet talking to her. It was bedtime (she was covered) and she could see me sitting in my chair crocheting and she kept making the sweetest low noises, I went & stood next to her & just starting talking to her, telling her what a sweet girl she is ( she isn't really-lol) and when I asked for a kiss she responded by putting her head down...for me it was a break through as she is a nasty biter & very nervous. So again thank-you

 

[JLcribber]

On top of what Becky said. You could do well to start conditioning Skye to accept a T stick. A bird can only bite you if you provide the opportunity. Using a T stick to handle him will allow you to handle him with control, more confidence but more importantly less/no fear. The fear has to go because they can smell that like stink on poo.

For the time being you need to keep your meat out of harms way.

 

[Macawnutz]

When she bites, what do you do?

A few of my birds will bite me if someone gets to close to me. I feel they are warning me to move away from that person as they dislike them. If I feel that tension I move accordingly before the bite to give them comfort. Sometimes just reacting to their feelings helps them to calm down and I can still have a conversation with that person in the room. Depending on the bird... sometimes I think they want me between the person I am talking to and some birds want to be between us. My BG Kailua very much has a problem with sharing me, we work on it everyday.

She also used to be uneasy with walking places. We took slow fun trips around the room stopping to talk about everything. Lots of rewards during this time kept her mind off things, she also loved to look out the windows.

You have been given great advice, it's all depending on what type of behavior she is displaying and why she is displaying it.

 

[macawpower58]

Becky thank-you so much for taking the time to reply-your response to Cinnyluver reassured me I am on the right thinking path with one of my macaws. I have had this scarlett since july and last night she gave me a kiss through the cage bars after 10 mins of me just sweet talking to her. It was bedtime (she was covered) and she could see me sitting in my chair crocheting and she kept making the sweetest low noises, I went & stood next to her & just starting talking to her, telling her what a sweet girl she is ( she isn't really-lol) and when I asked for a kiss she responded by putting her head down...for me it was a break through as she is a nasty biter & very nervous. So again thank-you

I'm so glad my words gave you some hope. I know the members here on AA gave me lots of comfort and advice when Chaos first started his aggressive behavior. I even understood it, but it still was a heartbreaking thing for me to see.

If you're having troubles, why not start a thread. There are so many experienced macaw folk here, I know you'll hear lots of wisdom that you'll find a use for. I know I did.

 

[Cinnyluver]

Thank you for the advice. The last few days I've just been spending time with her in quiet rooms with little stimulation and she hasn't bit me in a few days now. I've figured out she is very aggressive on the floor and when there is noise (people talking, music, etc.) Her eyes pin and she puts her wings out and yells "HI!" right before she bites. She is still very bonded to me though and wants to spend time with me which makes me happy

 

[Monica]

A great way to potentially help to reduce aggression is to socialize them! That may mean getting them out of the house and taking them to bird-safe places! Not only is getting them out of the house mentally stimulating, it can also help to get them accustomed to new and changing environments. It may help to take her to quiet places at first, such as a small outside cafe or a small park, before going to busier places. You can bring along some of her favorite treats for training - i.e. if she remains calm, reward her, or have strangers give her treats by setting them down on a table from a distance (instead of handing the treat directly to her - thus avoiding any potential bites). Over time, especially if you have any friends who aren't afraid of getting bitten, you can then have them start trying to feed her directly, and later on, handling her.


Instead of other people asking her to step up, ask her to step up onto their arms, reward her, then take her back off - if she's willing. Repeat a few times so she learns that interacting with other people isn't all that bad!


Also, it can be great to teach her behaviors such as target training, wave, shake, "hi-four", "big eagle", turn around, etc. If she learns these behaviors, you can have other people cue her to do these behaviors and reward her for it!

 

[pajarita]

I think that the honeymoom is over and you will have to rethink your interaction with her. Hormones also play a large part in B&G aggression because, going by my VERY limited experience (only one bird), they are the sweetest and most laid-back birds when they are happy and comfortable.

I don't agree with the new-fangled 'socializing' fad of taking birds out among strangers.

 

[Monica]

Although parrots are not dogs, many behavior problems seen in dogs is often due to a lack of training, exercise and socialization. Parrots, like dogs, are very social animals, if not more so!

Not socializing and training an animal can result in "one person animals" (or "one family" animals) and aggression towards anyone who is not that person/family is more likely to occur.



I can understand the worries of taking an exotic animal such as a parrot out in public, because you could be exposing the bird to toxins or harmful bacteria, and you never know what thief might be interested in taking an exotic animal from you.... saying that, it's possible that all those toxins, bacteria and such can come home with you on your clothes, in your hair and especially on your shoes! And unless the birds don't make a noise, any random stranger walking by the house could potentially hear a bird and decide to investigate!

 

[Cinnyluver]

Update on Skye! I have not been bit in over two months and I can now take her outside and around the house without her getting upset! She has made a lot of progress!

 

[macawpower58]

That's wonderful news!!