help with severe macaw

[babysmom]

can anyone tell me how to tame my severe he is 8 months old and he will not listen to me. If i say no he will do it anyway time out is a game now help :?:

[The Outlaw]

I want you to go to www.landofvos.com. In their archives, there should be a topic about the intensive love method of bird training. YOU WILL NEED TO LEARN this. Make sure you read the entire article and when you are ready and certain of how to do it correctly, then simply apply. I had a 2 year old, very difficult to handle Severe that chose me a a pet shop one day. The staff couldn't even handle him. I literally bought him because they couldn't get him off of me and I felt he would come to no good there.

It took me about one month before I could handle him without any issues. Today, 3 years later, he is my MOST easily handled bird. He steps up the quickest and would sit on my shoulder and go anywhere with me. In fact he does. He's the one I usually choose to go shopping with.

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[Joel]

Way to go Nancy. I too feel that just about any bird, if not all, can be trained to become a lovable pet with the right person, one with understanding, patience and compassion etc.......That bird was lucky to have found you. Most people IME just simply give up after a short fruitless half-a_ _ed attempt at training.

One of my Jardines was the craziest bird I have ever seen in my life. She was terrified of the human hand (I only wonder what went on in her past). She would scream bloody murder and bite anytime a hand approached her etc. etc. and was just a nasty bird in all ways. It took me a full year of interaction before she tamed down and now she is one of my best and most lovable........My hat is off to ya as usual Nancy. :)

[The Outlaw]

Thanks for the compliment. Some folks think that waiting forever for a bird to "come around" is the better way to go. I'm 54 and not getting any younger. I don't have time to wait until a frightened bird decides I'm not gonna eat him. I am, however, very, very confident when it comes to handling ANY animal. Most folks really are a bit frightened. I always look in the mirror and simply remind myself that I'm much larger and far more intimidating than ANY bird here.

I like the idea of wrapping a frightened bird in a towel and gently stroking it and calmly talking to it. It sounds scary, but I've had amazing luck with this technique. I think that once they realize that its no use in struggling, they can just relax. Pretty soon they come to realize that I'm not the enemy at all. I have successfully used this technique on 2 male amazons (a YNA and a Blue front) and on my Severe. It worked great on all 3. However, I must caution those folks with small birds: this may be too much for them. You could easily stress them out and do more harm than good.

I would like to compliment Michele, for her success with Humphrey was just great. She took her time, won his trust and has a wonderful pet today. Congratulations, Michele.

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[Joel]

Yeah Nancy, I forgot to mention the towel thing myself. I agree with you there also as I have one Congo Grey that doesn't want to step up (but will after many minutes of trying which I usually don't have the time for). He however goes limp at the sign of a nice large terrycloth towel with me talking softly and cooing to him. I make a game out of it and he just allows me to wrap it around him and bring him outside of the cage. Towels can be very useful instruments if used properly. I am glad you brought that up.........I too congratulate Michele on her efforts.....

[babysmom]

I am having trouble with baby not listening to me and when i talk he screams so loud till i have to stop talking. I try to teach him not to charge at anyone who enters my house but he just insists on doing that. I put him in the bath tub when he does and tell him no biting or what ever he is doing and leave him for 15 minutes and when i get him out i praise him for being good and then it is right back to the same thing. I try to encourage him to play with his toys and he won`t he has to sit on me which i don`t mind but i think he is not seperating from me at least that is what the vet told me he was very spoiled and i need to make him be more independent but how when he won`t. Anyone that has any suggestions i would be most thankful. Cheryl

[The Outlaw]

This didn't happen overnight and its won't be corrected overnight either. You should always ignore the negative and reward the positive behaviors. I find that when my birds get too loud, I simply get very soft. If they are yelling, then I whisper. Since they are curious, they have to get quiet to hear what I'm saying. Also, anytime my guys are acting out, I scold them and turn my back to them. I will not acknowledge bad behavior. And, as for the screechy, nails-on-the-blackboard screaming that Severes are famous for, what you need is a water pistol or a water bottle. Give one warning and the if he does it a second time, soak him good. You will find that his attention must first be gotten before the training can begin.

I know that there are folks that find that particular training technique undesirable, and that's just fine with me. I would like to point out, however, that I still have all of my parrots and I can handle every single one of them whenever I want to. I don't have screamers and other behavior problems. I don't have time for it and I simply don't allow it. Consequently, my birds are easy to live with.

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[Joel]

Hmmmmm, INTERESTING TIP about the H2O pistol, I didn't know that. Thanks Nancy!.....A soaking we will go, a soaking we will go, HI HO THE MERRIO A SOAKING WE WILL GO!!!!

[The Outlaw]

Hey, Joel, no Super Soakers

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[TooLover]

Using the water bottle IS the best advice; I know a lot of people don't agree, but it does work, and not only on birds!
We have a super soaker for our very large doberman; when he is in the yard and won't stop barking hubby brings out the super soaker and the dobie is in the house as fast as his legs can carry him!
The water bottle is also very effective for my cat who likes to sneak out on the porch (he is an inside cat). He is so well trained that all I have to do is make the sound of the water bottle and he is high-tailing it (literally) into the house!
I use two different water bottles for the birds; they have the bottle that they get misted with, and the "naughty" bottle is green, and they DO know the difference between the two!