ETA *Scarlet* Macaw... my future new "husband"

[mandelyn]

Well I feel silly now. Husband had some work to do over there so I tagged along to hang out with Moses. He's.... Scarlet... not blue and gold. I hadn't seen him in about 4 months and I must have changed his color in my mind.

We bonded over some apple and unsalted mixed peanut free nuts I stopped and picked up. He takes food very sweetly. He would not step up, not today. I put my arm up, then held a nut where he would have to step on my arm to get to the nut. No dice.

I grabbed a chair and sat down, propped my foot up, so that he'd have to climb across my leg. Nope. He tried to take the whole nut can from me though, you're right, they are strong. I won that discussion.

He made to bite me, I held my ground but stopped coming closer, and he backed off. The club lady said not to get afraid of him, show him respect, but also let him know he can't scare you off so easily.

Dinosaurs with can openers on their face... sounds about right!

I'll be spending as much time with him as I can before the move date, we have that slotted for Dec 30th unless he learns step up in the meantime and I can get him backed into a crate. The club lady said they go in tail first, carefully, without bumping the tail, because they can be weird about that. If I don't make progress she'll come on the 30th and help get him ready for the vet trip. The vet can do same day appointments, so if I can get him into a crate, he can move any time during that week.

I'm so going to get bit. I can feel it.

 

[AquaEyes]

Scarlets can be very "beaky", which can become "nippy" if you allow it. In my experiences with parrots, I try to relate to them the way they relate to each other. When you see two parrots together, if one is annoyed by the other, it will start bickering -- reaching out as a sort of threat of possible bite, but not following through. Many "parrot behaviorists" say to reprimand this behavior, but I think that is too constraining -- I prefer to live with birds as they are, and teach them to relate to me as a "weird bird." So when Sammy (or any other bird I've been around) threatens me with bickering, I do it back. It's sort of a non-hurt fight, but I make sure I win. This is how birds settle out their social statuses among themselves, so it's something they easily understand. Perhaps this approach will work with you and Moses.

From the handful of scarlets I've met, they seem to continue to challenge for status longer than some other parrots. You mentioned you had a grey and an amazon -- think of the scarlet, in this regard, as being more like the amazon than the grey (I always think of greys as overly sensitive introverted little nerds...of course, in the most affectionate of ways...hehehe). You'll see a lot of head-bobbing and side-to-side sharp rapid head movements, sometimes with an open beak, and often with pupils dilated. This can be a macaw "challenge" display. It will evolve into an initiation for play, but the differences are subtle -- when they're aggressive, they may be more puffed out on their heads and/or body, and often incorporate lunges into the display. You'll start to get a feel for it as you get to know each other.

 

[stoopid]

I have also made myself try to remember, I am right handed.
So if I think I am going to get a bad bite, to go in with my left hand.
But, I babysat a friends bird, and she had always gone with the right hand, so I confused him going with the left hand.
If I am going to lose a digit, would rather be on the left hand.
If he does step up, and then goes in for the bite, drop your arm quickly.
Just enough to make him think about holding on, and forgetting about the bite.
MOST of the time it works.

 

[mandelyn]

Well I just got back from a Macaw crash course with the owner of the local parrot shop. Played with a couple, and watched them with each other too. There were two green ones bickering back and forth. They were young. So funny to watch!

She brought out this goofy one, he was all blue, he was a riot! He's also afraid of feathers... he dropped one of his own and ran from it. He played a lot, he was fun.

That was a fun trip out, I feel a little more confident with how those birds acted and how Moses acts.