44 YO BG Macaw rehired with me 1 month

[HeatherT]

Hi! My neighbor passed away a month or so ago and I ended up with her 3 birds. I could not find placement and the MSPCA was sort of vague as to what would happen to them. The 2 smaller birds (amazon and a n African Gray) are settled in . They allow themselves to be handled and get out time every day. The Macaw, Clyde is a closed book. He will not step up (I have been VERY respectful and have not pushed this) He will do this slow motion lunge and try and bite. He takes treats with door open and will come out to sit on top of his door, but he has started lunging at the bars of his cage. He leans in for treats and I have been hand feeding banana pieces and nuts. but he has started making this quiet high pithed funny little screech at me. Not like his other vocalizations which have been limited to RAAAAARR or HaHa. quiet though no volume. He grinds his beak now and then, his eyes do not look pinned but he is trying more and more to bite slow motion. I do not want to make a mistake and worsen this if it is negative. These are the first birds I have had. Not going to press him on much of anything as he came from a loving home that was pretty challenging. (elderly woman with bad rat infestation they ate several of her smaller birds and were in the cages at night). Trying to give Clyde the bat retirement he can have, Hoping to expand his world a little. Want to get to a step up at some point so he can be vetted or moved out of cage for cleaning. He tolerates me in his space while I am changing papers and litter

 

[Toy]

He's lunging because he's still afraid. He needs more time to settle in. Just keep trying things with him, but at a slow pace. You'll get there.

In the one photo you posted it showed he has a dowel rod for a perch. Not good! You should replace it with a 1.5-2 inch thick natural wood perch. Java, dragon, etc. wood. I think there may be vendors here that sell them. The main perch should have double ended bolts/nuts. Dowel rod perches are not good for their feet at all & can cause issues.

 

[Linwood]

Older birds are like older people - the older they are, the bigger the change, the longer it takes.

To the extent you can, avoid allowing the lunges to result in you drawing back. Obviously try not to get bit, but whenever you let the bird control your behavior they learn.

My amazon never bites, but whenever my (adult) son tried to pick her up, she would lung at him like she was going to. He would jerk his hand back. Not sure if it was a game to the bird or she was legitimately afraid but it just got worse and worse. I finally convinced him to just hold his hand there and let her know you were not giving up, and she had to step up. Once he did that, she did. Now I am NOT suggesting you blindly do that, as a Macaw bite is a lot more dangerous than an amazon, plus I was about 85% sure mine was not going to actually bite. It's harder for you. But do realize any attempts you make, and then give up, are a form of training.

Sadly, gloves tend to freak birds out, and are usually not a solution. Treat training to step onto a stick perhaps?

 

[BrianB]

Do you know whether she was his only home, or one of multiple owners? In either case, he's lost his human and his home, so everything is new and scary to him. Project calm yet confident energy to him. Speak softly and reassure him that he's ok. Offer whatever he will eat. Finding his favorite treat will go a long way toward building his trust. The poor guy looks really dull and dusty. Once you get him settled and he will reliably step up, you might consider getting him into the shower. He might not have ever had one, but birds do enjoy being clean, even if they act like being wet is the worst thing in the world. Who knows, it might help him blossom and feel more at home.

 

[Nostromo]

Hm, I would back off and stop doing anything that provokes the lunging. You don't want to be reinforcing the behavior. It's okay for him to spend a lot of time in his cage if that's where he's comfortable and it's a suitably sized and set up cage. Be sure he has a large enough cage - 48" x 36" or larger - with lots of large wood toys for him to chew on to wear down his beak. His perches, as another commenter noted, should be of natural material to help avoid giving him arthritis, like java wood or manzanita or rope, and be 1.5 - 2" in diameter.

If you want to start training him to be handled, I would start by teaching him to step up on a dowel/stick. I've never actually trained this (my birds are pretty friendly to hands) but I think you can just extend it from target training. So find a nice T-perch that would give your hand some distance from bird when he's on it, and then start target training to it, where you reward him for approaching the stick, then reward him for beaking it, then reward for putting one foot on it, etc, until he's stepping all the way onto it. In the beginning, if steps up, reward and immediately put him back in his cage, so he doesn't associate stepping up with being trapped going somewhere he doesn't want to be. If he's afraid of the stick initially, that's okay. Just reward him for any approach, even just a tiny step towards the stick, and ignore any lunging or aggression. Only remove the stick once the aggressive behavior has stopped.

You're doing a great thing! Good luck! Consulting with a parrot behavior expert may be worth the expense if you can swing it!

 

[HeatherT]

He's lunging because he's still afraid. He needs more time to settle in. Just keep trying things with him, but at a slow pace. You'll get there.

In the one photo you posted it showed he has a dowel rod for a perch. Not good! You should replace it with a 1.5-2 inch thick natural wood perch. Java, dragon, etc. wood. I think there may be vendors here that sell them. The main perch should have double ended bolts/nuts. Dowel rod perches are not good for their feet at all & can cause issues.

That photo was from a while ago. We got a few pieces of driftwood and sanitized them (took forever) and now he has natural wood of different thicknesses. Thanks for pointing that out though, it is just the type of direction I need

 

[HeatherT]

Older birds are like older people - the older they are, the bigger the change, the longer it takes.

To the extent you can, avoid allowing the lunges to result in you drawing back. Obviously try not to get bit, but whenever you let the bird control your behavior they learn.

My amazon never bites, but whenever my (adult) son tried to pick her up, she would lung at him like she was going to. He would jerk his hand back. Not sure if it was a game to the bird or she was legitimately afraid but it just got worse and worse. I finally convinced him to just hold his hand there and let her know you were not giving up, and she had to step up. Once he did that, she did. Now I am NOT suggesting you blindly do that, as a Macaw bite is a lot more dangerous than an amazon, plus I was about 85% sure mine was not going to actually bite. It's harder for you. But do realize any attempts you make, and then give up, are a form of training.

Sadly, gloves tend to freak birds out, and are usually not a solution. Treat training to step onto a stick perhaps?

Thank you. I have been trying to not pull back. I do not let him drive me off. I hang out a bit and then after a time give him a treat for just sitting calmly. It is somewhat the same with dogs. Pulling back makes them come forward, like a trigger. I have been putting hands on the cage calmly and talking to him. He seems to love GOOD BIRD, said low and affectionately He leans in when I do that. I sing to him a bit and he is intent, watching me when I do it. He will also call to me quietly if I am at my desk. I answer back in kind.

 

[HeatherT]

Hm, I would back off and stop doing anything that provokes the lunging. You don't want to be reinforcing the behavior. It's okay for him to spend a lot of time in his cage if that's where he's comfortable and it's a suitably sized and set up cage. Be sure he has a large enough cage - 48" x 36" or larger - with lots of large wood toys for him to chew on to wear down his beak. His perches, as another commenter noted, should be of natural material to help avoid giving him arthritis, like java wood or manzanita or rope, and be 1.5 - 2" in diameter.

If you want to start training him to be handled, I would start by teaching him to step up on a dowel/stick. I've never actually trained this (my birds are pretty friendly to hands) but I think you can just extend it from target training. So find a nice T-perch that would give your hand some distance from bird when he's on it, and then start target training to it, where you reward him for approaching the stick, then reward him for beaking it, then reward for putting one foot on it, etc, until he's stepping all the way onto it. In the beginning, if steps up, reward and immediately put him back in his cage, so he doesn't associate stepping up with being trapped going somewhere he doesn't want to be. If he's afraid of the stick initially, that's okay. Just reward him for any approach, even just a tiny step towards the stick, and ignore any lunging or aggression. Only remove the stick once the aggressive behavior has stopped.

You're doing a great thing! Good luck! Consulting with a parrot behavior expert may be worth the expense if you can swing it!

Thank you! It sounds like you are describing successive approximation. Little steps toward the bigger goal. I like this idea. What are some good treats that parrots love. I have read too many nuts are bad, and that is what he likes. Are there other alternatives? He does like banana. He is a bit of a fussy eater. He gets fresh veg, fruit and sprouted gains (eden prarie
) in the morning and pellets in the evening. He and his other flock mates (2 other birds) would not eat pellets. I tried all sorts of healthy brands, Harrisons etc. and they would not touch it. They are all eating Supreme, which is kind of scary looking but I intend to transfer them to something better over time. Everyone is eating the pellets now. Ask food recommendations are welcome.

 

[HeatherT]

Do you know whether she was his only home, or one of multiple owners? In either case, he's lost his human and his home, so everything is new and scary to him. Project calm yet confident energy to him. Speak softly and reassure him that he's ok. Offer whatever he will eat. Finding his favorite treat will go a long way toward building his trust. The poor guy looks really dull and dusty. Once you get him settled and he will reliably step up, you might consider getting him into the shower. He might not have ever had one, but birds do enjoy being clean, even if they act like being wet is the worst thing in the world. Who knows, it might help him blossom and feel more at home.

His situation was really sad. He lost his mate a year ago, I was told it was a blood feather situation and the house was so DRY. all forced hot air and dust. Then the rats. The lady who had him had raised him from an egg I think. she was very birds. But as the got older, she was unable to take care. Would not accept my help either. I was feeding them seed everyday while she was in the hospital as I did not know better and there was no one to tell me otherwise. (got that sorted ha!) She would not take the help. Then when she died, the 3 birds I adopted were in the house alone for 2 weeks. and the rats were everywhere. I did not know if I could fit Clydes HUGE cage into my house but after seeing rats trying to run at him, I got permission from the family to take all 3 birds. He has been trough a lot. I do not want to rush him, if he never bonds with me that is ok too, as it is not really about me. I just want him to be safe and comfortable. He has started to allow for light misting so we are headed in the right direction. Thanks for your input

 

[Nostromo]

@HeatherT there are folks who know more about macaw nutrition than I do, but my understanding is that macaws actually can eat more nuts than other birds. You can buy bags of sliced or chopped almonds (unsalted and unroasted) at the store and use them, or macadamia nuts.

Nutriberries are nutritionally balanced like pellets but much more palatable to most birds so you can use that to help balance their diet and use as treats. Macaws need more fat and protein than some other parrots, so be sure you're offering some nuts and sprouted seeds with his fresh foods.

 

[HeatherT]

@HeatherT there are folks who know more about macaw nutrition than I do, but my understanding is that macaws actually can eat more nuts than other birds. You can buy bags of sliced or chopped almonds (unsalted and unroasted) at the store and use them, or macadamia nuts.

Nutriberries are nutritionally balanced like pellets but much more palatable to most birds so you can use that to help balance their diet and use as treats. Macaws need more fat and protein than some other parrots, so be sure you're offering some nuts and sprouted seeds with his fresh foods.

That is good to know. I give him nuts daily as he eats them, but I thought I was kind of going over in the fat department. Thanks so much for the info! He hates Nutriberries. I thought that would have been a no brainer, but Alas, he spits them on the floor of his cage!

 

[BrianB]

Poor boy. He's lost and gained so much in a short period of time. Being able to mist him is good. That usually means she didn't use a water bottle as punishment. If he's eating fresh chop and pellets, that's a great switch from a seed diet. Go for almonds if he really wants nuts. They have the best type of fat, but with all the nuts, in moderation. Save the good ones, like pistachios, for special treats. You might try pine nuts in the shells. The nut inside is very tiny, so the fat content is minimal. We use a dried fruit and nut mix at the store. The older birds get a teaspoon of it sprinkled in their dish each night before we leave.

The slow and steady progress sounds like it's working well. Sort and gentle interaction will go a long way toward making him feel comfortable and secure again. Reward and praise the behavior you want, ignore what you don't want. It's like having a 40-year-old toddler in the house.