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Moody Baby

sophie09

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I have a 7-month-old b&g macaw and she is very moody. Sometimes she is the sweetest and will fly over to me to step up and for cuddles, but on other days when I try to get her to step up, she screams and nips at me. Is this normal for a baby macaw?
 

flyzipper

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What you're finding is they have a mind of their own and varied preferences, not that they're moody.

I try to get her to step up
I'd suggest a mind shift from that to, "when I ask her to step up...".

Currently, if she doesn't want to step up when you ask, what is your response?
  • If you press the matter and use force you're telling her their choice doesn't matter (damaging your relationship over time).
  • If you respect their choice, you're showing that you understand the communication she's giving (solidifying your relationship over time).
Unless the house is on fire and compliance is required, it's best to think about it as asking if they want to step up, and respecting what they want.

Now you're probably thinking, "but I need to go to work", or some such thing that's very important to you and entirely unimportant to her.

If you want to avoid non-compliance in certain situations you'll learn how to proactively avoid them, not reactively deal with them.

Proactive options and allowing voluntary choice beats reactive use of force every time.

How much have you read about positive reinforcement, antecedents, consequences, etc in animal behaviour conditioning?
 

Shezbug

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Ohhh baby B&G :heart:
How long have you had your baby?

Can you explain what happens when she initially refuses to step up? Do you just walk away and come back later to try again or do you stay and push the matter and keep asking her to step up?
 

Icey

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Macaws don't like to be forced to do things and will let you know it.
Her "nips" are her warning to you since you didn't read her body language.
If my macaw doesn't want to step up per my request (not forceful demand) I need to respect his boundaries and walk away, and try later.
If you are new to macaws, there are lots of great reading material here on the site under macaw motorway.
Hope this helps :)
 

Shezbug

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How is this baby going?
 
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