Training Bird to stand on hand, not arm?

[haleyvandewalle]

I am training a 19 year old Macaw for a class at my college. He trusts me decently, but not completely. His name is Monet. I can carry him short distances with him on my arm and stuff, but he is so unstable. I feel like I could go farther if he could stand on my hand. He has a few times, but he doesnt appreciate me gently holding his toes, even though he is a lot more sturdy. Any ideas on how to train him?

He is clicker trained.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

Rambo and Myrtle will sit anywhere I let them. Myrtle will even hang of my clothes while I am doing house.

Myrtle was a mess and a dire rescue afraid of everything. Though she knew she had to depend on me she did not completely trust me until her flight feathers grew back. A flighted bird is a whole bird and has confidence.

Even just holding his toes feels like a captivity to him.

[Wolf]

I understand exactly what you are saying. Kookooloo, my Grey, will perch on my shoulder, my arm or even on my hand to walk about the house, but is not as steady as she could be. This makes me have to walk much more slowly than I would prefer to walk. She is unsteady because she is not holding on, she just balances on me without gripping and when she does move to my hand to walk around, she prefers to risk falling rather than having her toes held.
So far I have had very little luck with either holding her toes or getting her to grip a little bit tighter.

[Pajarita]

No bird likes to have his toes held. Some allow it out of trust and love for its human but, correct me if I am wrong, you are not this bird's human, right? Is the bird clipped or unable to fly? Because that could be the cause of his instability. My birds can hang on to any part of me while I do all kinds of activities, they simply walk or climb to a more comfortable spot or hang on real tight. Have you tried making him perch on your forearm keeping it close to your body so his body leans against your chest?

[haleyvandewalle]

Monet is not my bird. But he is doing that whole one person bird thing. He will attack anybody but me. He wont let anybody else touch him, but me. He isnt so aggressive though, others can give him treats and food and stuff. But if I let him out to walk around and somebody comes in, he will chase them on the ground. He cannot fly. His wings arent clipped, but he just doesnt.

[liz]

When Myrtle first started hitching rides on my shoulder she would keep one foot on my shoulder and used my ear as a handle.

[haleyvandewalle]

I am not to the point I trust Monet on my shoulder lol. He is a nippy bird. Very bossy as well. If he doesnt want to do anything, he wont do it or he will strike in retaliation. He had bitten me, but not very hard. More like gentle warning bites or playful bites sometimes lol. I went there this morning to care for him and tried holding him more against my chest, which worked fairly well. He just isnt super stable on my forearm it seems.

[Wolf]

You may have to teach him to hold on a bit tighter. Kookooloo is fine when I can get her to actually hold on, she just prefers not to. I have started to ignore this a bit more, which forces her to hang on and she is plenty stable when she does.