Two new, rescued Hahns Macaws

[xLogan]

Hey there...

I got two new Hahns Macaws about a week ago (or so, (they say they are 8-10 years old, though they look much younger,)) and each day, I sit by their cage, and I'll usually give them a treat like a grape or seed and talk to them softly, saying, "you're a pretty bird, Clyde; you're a pretty bird, Bonny." One day, Bonny was bobbing her head up and down, I thought it was funny. What does this usually mean?

Today, I tried putting my hand in the cage, for the first time or so and handing them a seed; they were frightened at first but after about ten seconds they took the seeds, or grapes; whatever I gave them.

Whenever I'm sitting next to the cage, sometimes I lift up my hands slowly and show them I'm not going to harm them, usually they back up a bit, scared. When I put my finger close to the cage, Clyde (the male,) usually backs up and Bonny (the female,) sometimes tries to bite me or opens her beak just a tiny bit and moves it toward my finger.

I was wondering...if I'm doing anything wrong, or if I should be doing anything more? Always when I walk in my room, I sit down for about five minutes, saying hello! and telling them how pretty they are, softly talking to them and give them a treat.

Them, being from an abusive house, I would think...seem to be scared of me but yeah, I'm working on that.

Any advice would be great! Here they are:


Clyde (the male)


Left - Clyde (the male)
Right - Bonnie (the female)

[lainmai]

Are the bars on the dog crate 1" ?

I assume they were paired up and either left alone or intended to be breeding birds?

Are you wanting to try and fully tame them?

[xLogan]

Are the bars on the dog crate 1" ?

I assume they were paired up and either left alone or intended to be breeding birds?

Are you wanting to try and fully tame them?

I believe so, this is just a temp cage until we can afford a bigger, more suitable one for them.

Yes, they were paired up; I think they were just neglected and not given any attention.

Yes, I want them to even bond to me, and for me to be able to hold and pet them; like any other tamed bird.

[lainmai]

I'd make sure to get bars less than 1" and sooner rather than later to avoid any possible mishaps.
As for taming them although it WOULD be stressful you'd be better off separating the birds, but make sure to leave them close enough to see and hear each other. Once they are then be sure to refer to Michael's post and video on how to gain their trust as well as basic training. With time, love, and dedication I'm sure they will eventually come around

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

[xLogan]

I'd make sure to get bars less than 1" and sooner rather than later to avoid any possible mishaps.
As for taming them although it WOULD be stressful you'd be better off separating the birds, but make sure to leave them close enough to see and hear each other. Once they are then be sure to refer to Michael's post and video on how to gain their trust as well as basic training. With time, love, and dedication I'm sure they will eventually come around

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227

Thank you! I thought of seperating them, it would be a lot easier. I'll get right on that, thanks for the link & the help!

[ptuga72]

It is wonderful that you are giving these two jail birds (bonny and clyde, get it? ) a second chance. My advice to you is to go slow, don't get discouraged by set backs, and be prepared for a roller coaster ride. Rescue birds are different, especially if they have been abused or horribly neglected. Parrots are so unforgiving of maltreatment. It's like you're starting ten steps before you even see step one (of taming/training). It takes time and patience. It may take a while, even, months, before you start to see their true personalities and they begin to trust again.
But, it sounds like you're starting off on the right track! Keep with it, trust me you'll never regret it. There will be days when you think they've regressed, and days they amaze you. Treasure small victories as the big ones come so rarely. You may want to pull your hair out at times, don't worry that's normal .

[xLogan]

It is wonderful that you are giving these two jail birds (bonny and clyde, get it? ) a second chance. My advice to you is to go slow, don't get discouraged by set backs, and be prepared for a roller coaster ride. Rescue birds are different, especially if they have been abused or horribly neglected. Parrots are so unforgiving of maltreatment. It's like you're starting ten steps before you even see step one (of taming/training). It takes time and patience. It may take a while, even, months, before you start to see their true personalities and they begin to trust again.
But, it sounds like you're starting off on the right track! Keep with it, trust me you'll never regret it. There will be days when you think they've regressed, and days they amaze you. Treasure small victories as the big ones come so rarely. You may want to pull your hair out at times, don't worry that's normal .

Okay! Thanks! Yes, I got Clyde out of his cage last night, and he actually stepped up (I used a glove first, afraid of him biting,) and then he flew to my shoulder.

I sat down, talking to him and he let me pet his beak. He never perches on my fingers, he always wants to be on my shoulder; I can rub my face against his feathers, and every now and then he'll make a clicking sound for merely a second. Usually, if I lay down, he'll fly on top of his cage, but he can't find his way into it, even with the door open.

I figured out, I can pick him up without using gloves, and he doesn't bite. He's quite the love bird (LOL ) once you get him on your shoulder that is (that isn't much of a challenge though)!

...Bonny is a totally different story - I got her out of the cage today, and she went APE! Flying everywhere, even ripped a poster from the wall (landed on the top of it) and I would sit next to her, since she wouldn't move from my Cockatiel's (Zoe's) cage and talked and calmed her down (while trying to manage Zoe at the same time), with the glove on, I put my finger out...she flew, once again.

After Bonnie making a wild squawking noise for ten minutes (exaggerated,) our B & G Macaw in the living room went crazy too; so my step-dad decided he would try to get her as I went and calmed down our Macaw.

I wish I could've got to hold her first, but I guess I better leave to the 'pro' for now, eh? Atleast when it comes to her. I'm still talking to them each day, hoping they'll get used to me in time. They have already been a few times I've wanted to pull out my hair - but if I don't tame and house these birds, and have the patience, I'm not sure many other people will...

Bonny is at this step - she's a bit more nervous when it comes to human interaction.
And it seems Clyde is at this one - he seems to be taming down a lot!
Can't wait until they're like -

We will be seperating them within the next few days, so it'll be easier for them to bond to me, over time, that is. I'll be sure, once they are tamed down and easy-going to let them be on the same cage together for a bit, to socialize and such.

[avian enthusiast]

I would seriously think before separating them. That could be kind of traumatic, even if they can see each other, it's not the same.. I have a pair of cockatiels that are bonded, love each other. We take a backseat to the bond that they have so that they remain happy. Good luck!

[Polarn]

Personally I wouldn't separate them, most of the birds that has been moving in with me or my family has been more or less rescues/rehomes, but if a bird comes alone we try todo anything we can to find them another bird to bond with. The way we see it their primary bond should be with another bird and not one of us. and heres the problem with the second bird around here, there isn't all that many birds in need so you actually sometimes has to try real hard to find a mate for them and then even harder to get em become buddies. And birds do tame and can somewhat bond with you even if they have a partner, even though the bond is different, id say it becomes more playful than sexual... My for instance I have a brownheaded male and a female, the male is absolutely awesome in form of tameness he is grabbable and lays on his back n stuff like that while the female is always fine through bars and begs for a good headscratch but when you walk into their cage to clean or whatever she sometimes decided to dive on you and bite any skin she can get a hold of, and other times she flies down to just ride your shoulder as your cleaning... she is hard to read and never scared, and she has no natural instinct to back off if she doesnt want something but she goes into attack mode instead... Something that has slightly turned in 8 months but I forsee a long time still before I trust her to just leave me alone if she doesnt want to play or snuggle, and she was like this even before she got a partner, this is the reason why she was rehomed.. just wish they didnt let her be like this for 6 years before she was rehomed and the route is seriously tried to be curved...

But then expections is different for me on different birds and I do not demand em to be liked to be grabbed or cuddled, i want em to be happy. sure I love to cuddle the ones that does want it, same with training tricks or whatever if their open too it I do some training altho not very "agressive". But other than that I just wanna be able to walk into their cages without them becoming skittish or agressive or be able to relax when having them out most of the day and not feel as a prey having to watch where they are so that i am prepared for the flying bite...

So in short, I would keep em together and tame em together especially since the male seems really open to it the female will come around too since she will follow her mate, if he enjoys riding your shoulder all afternoon every afternoon she will eventually fly over to join him to see what the fuzz is all about. or your arm for that matter if you don't like the risk of getting your ears n cheeks remodelled.