What happens under the blanket macaw

[Aerein]

Hello all! It's been crazy but I thought i would update on the velociraptor macaw, (I say that with love lol). I have been keeping a journal, and the latest strange thing i thought i would share. First, there have been improvements, I look back and some are huge. I can actually sweep next to the cage now and not have panicked macaw. Yay! When out Harvey is still snappy so we do other stuff like peekaboo, dancing, and lots of bananna chips. My boyfriend came down to visit......guess what (most people who have had birds just went yep lol) twerp macaw jumped right on my boyfriend. Months and he just decided oh I like you,lol. Well he was raised by a man. He still was not all sweetness and light, poor jon (boyfriend) got bit once when Harvey slipped and he was never taught anything that a baby should have been. So he was agressive immediately and wanted to run to the shoulder. Poor jon, had handled my prior macaws and they were cuddle types......so he was not quite sure when he passed by and suddenly had a macaw hanging on his shirt. Harvey however I feel thought it was a great joke. I am convinced that birds have huge senses of humor. Lol. So onward, he liked Jon's kids. I was afraid that would be scary since the prior had 2 kids that sprayed him. These two and I had huge discussions about how and what they were even allowed to do and say in the living room. Amazing that Harvey was fascinated with them.
Onward, Harvey is now jumping around for his bath when he sees the bottle. Awesome, since he would sit in the corner and shake and scream if he saw it. Another yay! Peekaboo has opened doors lol. He loves his satin sheet that his grandma gave him. He will pull it to cover the cage top when he is out, then when he goes in and we play peekaboo, I noticed he had started to ruffle feathers and put his back to the cage. This is cage covered with me under the sheet.I was not trusting him since before he would put his back up, look then squeal and snap. This was a much different stance. I usually can say where's your tickle foot and he puts his foot up, so he then started putting it very high and scratching his own head. Eventually we worked to ok I will touch you and we have gotten to where he is actually not snapping and wanting to get scratches. If I say do you want scritches he will put his head down or back up with ruffled feathers and let me scratch him. We have to polish his beak and play tickle foot too. Only under the blanket.
Never had that behavior. If he is out, nope. Snappy macaw. He still won't step up if offered. My conclusion so far is he feels safer I the cage, under the blanket. Maybe because no one but me has ever played with him like that?
On a side note, we can feel a little satisfaction as Harvey sort of got his day in court. It's sad but He says no, stop it. Stop it davey. I cant take it anymore. I hate you.
Davey is one of the abusive wretches kids. Poor little guy is 4. His dad ended up getting custody as she was apparently abusive to the dog too, someone caught her and she was caught cutting herself. Okay it's sad and she needs mental help but Harvey helped that little boy since the grandmas attorney had proof of what was said. A good end for child and bird.
The world is an amazing and sometimes strange place.
Let me know your thoughts on the blanket!

 

[Marvel_ous]

Sky was a bit like that. Maybe your Harvey is hand-shy because of something in his past. Don't really have a ton of advice besides keep doing whatever is making progress! Pretty sure you know this, being a Macaw owner, but male macaws are two hands full! Best of luck to you!

 

[faislaq]

What wonderful developments you've had with Harvey & thank Harvey for saving that little boy. Your Harvey is a hero!

 

[Shezbug]

So great to hear that there have been some positive changes with Harvey. So happy to hear you are both making some marvelous changes for him

The blanket thing is something I have no idea about. I do know that just recently Burt (my B&G baby) has started playing with his head inside my jumper and seems to think it is great fun, he will also roll around or run around under the doona on the bed if I lift it up for him....usually he gets rather excited when he can hide under the blanket or in my jackets. I am still trying to work out why he finds it so much fun, he has nothing with him when he plays this way.....just likes to hide his head sometimes for some reason.
I am just hoping I will not be told that it could be a nesting type thing, I know for now that my bird is too young for hormones but that will change.

 

[Aerein]

CrowCall, yes he was abused. If you want his story it's under velociraptor macaw on here, lol. But he has come a long way.
Shezbug, lol. I used to have a cockatoo that would get under the blanket and snuggle, she was a goofball. I hear you on no toys, must be fun, as he keeps doing it!
Thanks for the replies!

 

[Hankmacaw]

Harvey is coming right along. Sometimes it feels like you are running in knee deep mud - but you are always making progress. Time and patience. Time and patience.

 

[Nikomania]

Love reading about his progress! This is great news!

 

[Rain Bow]

I have a game similar w/ my Buddy... Hes' a Amazon not a McCaw. When we play I try to find him under the blanket before bed every night but, I almost never do & then he has to come to me. I was worried if he ever broke loose from him cage he may not come to me as a new Parront. He's away from the cage more now then at it!

I still think & do it because he enjoys the game & if... god forbid... He somehow got out of my home, he would hear distress Mom screaming her fool head off... Buddy would hopefully come to me immediately.

I'm not sure about Harvey but Buddy was in the room where my Dad was passed away for 4 days (they guessed). How we got Buddy. Buddy was looking down on him. Then the house where he lived w/ no visitors for 20 yrs was suddenly broken into & filled w/ cops as the mailman asked the neighbor to call them for a wellness check. After all that stress, I think it was a comfort to have his new family below him vrs. what he had to witness. Something he was learning to love, unfamiliar as we were.

I have had fur babys my entire life. Some were abused. Almost all had been abandoned. My hubby & I have a thing about adopting hard luck babys. It sounds like Harvey may have had both (abuse & the sense of abandonment), during his life. I think (like Buddy) as time goes on & you prove again & again that he's safe & protected w/ your family, he'll get much better. The proof is every time he looks past that blanket your booing on the other side. Your there! Plain & simple!

I have been trying to think of things like Buddy might.

@JLcribber who wrote his perspective in his article (which is awesome by the way)
Connecting and Communicating with your Highly Intelligent Parrot. | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

So as an example we see:

A cage + a blanket = peekaboo

maybe what they see is:

My house + she wants me to go to sleep (now?)
= Cool! Fun? (Not sleep)

or maybe its just the comfort of you being in his (home, alone). Your attention has no distractions as your under the blanket. You belong to Harvey & Harvey only, under that blanket.

Nice to meet you, BTW!

Rain

 

[TikiMyn]

Awesome progress! But what a sad story... sooo glad it has a happy ending! Thank you for helping your little velicaraptor!

 

[macawpower58]

I think macaws have blanket fetishes. My GW also is sweeter under a blanket.
Perhaps the blankets hide the hands? Chaos loves his, snuggles, peek a boos, and 'other stuff' while the blanket is around.

 

[Aerein]

I think I had an ah ah moment last night.....I will give a careful kiss on the beak and say night night, usually under the blanket. I did not really think about it until just after when last night Harvey regurgitated right after.....I wonder if he thinks that's what I am trying to do so now he is responding with positive behaviours. And the blanket has become part of that? Its an interesting theory anyway! In direct opposite, today has been a blood curdling shriek day. Argh, lol. Not a macaw yell but a woman's scream he learned from the first wife. He has started to follow it with "stop that, that's enough, or today it was I can't take it!" Smarty beak replied to my hi Harvey with how are you doing bird bird.....
Macawpower58, you could be right on the hands. I will roll with it, lol! Thank you Tikimyn, I couldn't bear to see him go to someone and then repeat the "mean bird" cycle of homes where people think they have an instant cure, then find outwhat they can't handle the time and effort [and sometimes frustration] that we know it takes to get a bird back to being a bird!
Nice to meet you Rain! One never knows, lol. But I do think the blanket is safe territory, no one but me has ever done that so it has no connotation or relation to anything that happened before. I could be wrong too, but its working so I am happy. I also haven't ha d to avoid any recent aggression so yay blankie!
HankMacaw, you've gota that right! Some days its 5 steps forward, then next is 3 backward,.....but you really gained 2.
I started to keep the journal so I could go back and see our progress. That helps when there's moments of frustration. I also hear Harvey saying more words, a lot of those are things I say- so they are recently learned, his brain is finally processing and learning. Always a good thing!

 

[Macawnutz]

In a year he will be a different bird.

 

[Rain Bow]

@Aerein .
It sounds like you're doing well. Sorry for delayed response, been crazy busy! I think your right about that safe thing. It seems to a thing that started pretty immediately after I figured out how Buddy seemed to prefer his blankets after we moved him here from my Dads. My Dad was not an overly affectionate person, but you knew he loved you. My guess was it was like that for Buddy too! I also guess other than @ bedtime Buddy wasn't covered. There didn't seem to be more than a covering up & he'd immediately state a frank Goodnight! Within the week we were runnin & playing trying to find each other from that blanketed area. Even during the day. It sounds similar for the 2 of you.

Can't say it's a species thing w/Buddy being a zon. & Harvey being a McCaw...

Whew, so I agree. An safe/secure somewhat of an intimacy thing.

Rain

 

[Aerein]

My apologies right back at everyone for lack of posts. Moving from Alabama to new Mexico in October so I have been furiously getting stuff straight. Now for the updates! Lets see we went through a ton of talking and just getting Harvey more comfortable, oh and I do believe he is actually a girl.....still Harvey and I still use good boy. While on the cage door one night he started turning his back, fluffing feathers, wings slightly down and tail up at me. He did train my roommate to run when he screamed......so I had to train my roommate, then work on that issue. A few weeks ago Harvey started to be non aggressive as I put his bowls in and changed out toys, this lead to him grabbing fingers, putting his head in my hand and grabbing me with his feet. I still was not allowed to scratch or let his head, lol. Sure put your head in my hand but don't try to pet me, lol. This was all without biting. I interprete signs of aggression or excitement verymuch well......my arms and fingers appreciate this. So this has been the level of touching until recently. We worked a lot first with sweeping in the same room, then closer until now I can sweep under his cage without him being afraid. Then I started talking to a t stick everyday. This eventually led to the stick hanging out nearby, until one day he decided to jump on it. One foot One day, then eventually both. We now have a game with it. And yes I talked to the stick, I petted it, gave it scritches and I would have offered it a treat if it would have worked,lol.
One night again from cage door, smart beak grabs my hand and pushed off from the door, hanging from my hand with his back on my front. So I grabbed his feet, then just casually let him get back on hiscage cage.
he is going to get his health certificate in 3 weeks so I have his travel cage in the room now too and now that's part of the nightly, walk from the bird ladder to the cage, toss anything that dares be on thephone cage onto the floor routine. Then yesterday he decided to casually walk over and get on my hand. He shocked me so much that he managed to get on my shoulder. I wear glasses so this is almost always a no for me, haven't met a bird that can resist trying to grab them.plus Harvey seems to want to snatch me bald, I like my long hair thank you and at my age and with my luck what he pulls out will come back white instead of red! I played the grabby finger and grrrr noise game until he decided to walk back down and get back on the cage.
Tonight he did the same thing, however I did get some definite anger at the no shoulder rule. How does a mad as with a large-scale manage to grab just a tiny bit of skin? And twist, not bite, twist. Twerp. I am a redhead so I look like I stuck myhand arm in a weedwacker. Lol.
There were small victories in between all of that but those are the highlights. Tonight when he stuck his head in my hand it was for longer and there was almost some scratching involved, lol. More of a swipe but its better than velociraptor mad as that I started with.
We still have moments of the crazy scream and shriek. Can't figure out the trigger yet. a lot less than it was. Last week he had one of those conversations that make me want to go flatten someone. This one was scream, shut up. I hate you d...bird. F bird. Scream. I can't take it! I hear you, stop it. There was a lot more. It puts me in a hard spot, but these call it a fit, are getting less often.
His new cage and play gym will bethere here next week, yay! If anyone needs one, call kings. They were awesome. I worked with a lady named concetta and she was great! She also is an avian behaviorist so she had great knowledge on cages, and toys.
I am off, thanks in advance fora letting me brag!

 

[macawpower58]

Awe, great update!

You sound quite normal to me, talking to a stick.
If it helps your relationship along, go for it.
You'd not believe some of the behavior I've engaged in to be able to happily exist with my red feathered tyrant.

 

[Rain Bow]

@Aerein & @Hankmacaw ,

Hiya! Been a long summer & so much going on I've been Mia. Aerin I'm so glad that you 2 are doing so well! The most important thing that I read here was from (JLCribber I think) with being new to birdy parronting. Make sure you have fun! Talking to a stick. Kissing it etc... Yep, if not fun doing it then reflecting on what someone not being a parront would think.

Sounds like great strides me too. Maybe Hank can comment on this having a Macaw. It's my understanding that having a Sex Dna test is important in the event that there's a vet emergency. I paid for one w/ Buddy (Zon) because I was pretty sure he was a boy but wanted to be sure because my vets office is almost an hour a way in good weather even though there's an emergency office closer (shes supposed to be 1 of the 2 best birdy vets near me). If I had to rush him & I could not get to her, I wanted to be sure. There are other reasons, but I can't think of them right now (fighting a migraine).

Rain