Greenwing macaw bites me hard when my kids come over for the weekend

[MarkyGee]

Hey everyone,

I have a greenwing macaw named Jacko and he lives with me and no one else. He is quite affectionate and allows me to touch him and scratch him with no issues, until my kids come over for the weekend.

When my daughter who is 10 years old comes over to stay you can tell he likes her and gets excited and his eyes start pinning and allows her to scratch him when he isn’t on his cage.

however if I try to give him a scratch he starts to bite me quite hard and doesn’t allow me to scratch him in the way he does when it’s just me and him.

Do you know why this is? And when he bites me it really hurts and he just isn’t like he is when my kids are not here.

TIA

 

[Xoetix]

Sounds like he could be biting from over-excitement?

@Shezbug @Macawnutz

 

[Toy]

Kids are high energy & birds can sense that. They get over-excited & can loose control of their emotions.

 

[MarkyGee]

Kids are high energy & birds can sense that. They get over-excited & can loose control of their emotions.

yea I’ve thought about it being that but it’s even when things are calm and I try to stroke him, if my child is around or in the room, he doesn’t have any of it and bites me hard. I was thinking more jealousy maybe or he wants the attention from my daughter.

however on the rare occasion you get him off his cage, he will not bite and allows anyone to pet him, however all he wants to do is get back to his cage (obviously his safe place I know) he is no good at recall yet or stepping up as yet but I’m trying using clicker training. he is 8 years old and I don’t think he’s ever been trained at stepping up of coming off of his cage.

However he is getting better wen it’s just me and him at home he will sometimes step up onto my arm from his cage but the minute I try to move away from his cage with him he will fly straight back onto his cage. I suppose I just need to keep working on it.

one other thing is if I go upstairs for more than 5 minutes, if he hears any noise from upstairs such as a floorboard creek he starts screaming then screams out “shut up” really loudly, and that continues until I come back down on most occasions. Any advice on how to try and stop that behaviour.
Again TIA

 

[MarkyGee]

Sounds like he could be biting from over-excitement?

@Shezbug @Macawnutz

Thanks for your post too, as above in my previous reply

 

[Xoetix]

screams out “shut up” really loudly

Awww poor dude. Guess we know what he heard a lot at his previous home.

How long have you had him?

 

[MommyBird]

could be hormones
Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine
Avoid the Pair Bond: Social Relationships with Parrots
Aggression In Parrots | ThinkParrot
on screaming:
Parrots - Stop Excessive Squawking or Screaming | ThinkParrot

 

[Toy]

yea I’ve thought about it being that but it’s even when things are calm and I try to stroke him, if my child is around or in the room, he doesn’t have any of it and bites me hard. I was thinking more jealousy maybe or he wants the attention from my daughter.

however on the rare occasion you get him off his cage, he will not bite and allows anyone to pet him, however all he wants to do is get back to his cage (obviously his safe place I know) he is no good at recall yet or stepping up as yet but I’m trying using clicker training. he is 8 years old and I don’t think he’s ever been trained at stepping up of coming off of his cage.

However he is getting better wen it’s just me and him at home he will sometimes step up onto my arm from his cage but the minute I try to move away from his cage with him he will fly straight back onto his cage. I suppose I just need to keep working on it.

one other thing is if I go upstairs for more than 5 minutes, if he hears any noise from upstairs such as a floorboard creek he starts screaming then screams out “shut up” really loudly, and that continues until I come back down on most occasions. Any advice on how to try and stop that behaviour.
Again TIA

How long have you had him? Was his previous owner male or female? Were there kids in his previous home? If so it may be why he's drawn to your daughter. Keep in mind 2nd hand parrots come with baggage. Some things they let go of, in time, others they hold on to. My previous macaw was abused & she hated men & towels with a passion. I could never get her over that.

His cage is his safe place. Keep working with him daily. Once off his cage try to do a slow walk around your home. Explain everything to him....i.e.....this is the frig, you touch it & then let him touch it with his beak. This shows him what is safe & won't harm him. Do the same with chairs, etc. Tell him when it's bed time, time to eat, get a shower, etc. They like to know the what, why, how of things. Why you want him to step up, where you are taking him, etc.

Unwanted behaviors need to be ignored. In time most will stop doing them. Only reward him with attention, phrase or a treat when he does positive things. Macaws love silly, so sing, dance, play upbeat music & act silly.

Choose your command words wisely & stick to them, so as not to confuse him. Try to relate the word(s) with an item or action.

At his age his hormones may be kicking in. I would use caution when your daughter is there, as he could decide to attack her & not you.

 

[MarkyGee]

Awww poor dude. Guess we know what he heard a lot at his previous home.

How long have you had him?

Few months, I’ve had macaws before temporarily so I get them

 

[Rebel]

I was thinking more jealousy

I have a cockatiel like this. When he and his “ girlfriend “ are out, he’ll bite me if i give her more attention than hes getting.Very jealous.