I've been bit!

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Well, I knew it was going to happen eventually and today was the day! I have had parrots for about a year and a half and I was finally bitten hard enough to draw blood. OUCH!

The birdie that got me? Calvin, my new rehomed 2 year old Severe Macaw. Yes, Calvin, the one that tells me he loves me every 5 or ten minutes.

I know that they say that if your bird bites you, you should assume it was you that did something wrong. Given that, I've been reviewing in my head what happened, and I'm not quite sure where I messed up. Before I tell you what happened, I will admit that there was a lot going on. Both my hubby and I were chatting up a storm while putting new toys in Calvin's ENORMOUS new cage. So, the cage is new, the toys are new, there's lots of action going on with my hubby and I in and out of the cage while Calvin is out of the cage walking all over the huge dome top. So, I tell him "Calvin Step UP" and he says "Calvin Step UP" and he gets onto my hand. I put him on the manzanita perch that's on my coffee table and I'm talking to him and telling him what a good boy he is and I am feeding him his favorite sunflower seeds out of the palm of my hand.

Now, I know what you're thinking, but don't get ahead of me here. Both my hubby and I have been feeding him sunflower seeds as a treat out of the palms of our hands all week with no problem. So Calvin is eating the seeds and I notice that most of what is left in my hand are empty shells and I move my hand away from him and shuffle the seeds around (hoping that he'll now be able to find the ones that are still edible) and I put my hand back in front of him. He leans in, picks up one seed and eats it and then lunges down and gets hold of the meaty part of the bottom of my cute little pinky.

Did I pull away? You bet your bippie I did! I did not scream when the peach colored flesh of my little pinky tore in an almost perfect circle starting in the spot where it caught on his beak. I admit, it probably wouldn't have torn if I didn't pull away, but I really do like my pinky, and if Calvin's instinct was to bite me (for some bizzare, unexplainable reason), then my instinct was to yank my hand out of the grip of large, sharp pincers of death.

I swear that this is EXACTLY what happened, but I am just a human. So, do me a favor and pretend you are a Severe Macaw named Calvin and please, please tell me what I did to provoke the bit, and more importantly, what the heck I can do to work on getting him not to lunge at me. I absolutely am not upset or angry with Calvin, but I want to make sure I show the correct behavior that will make it clear that I am not going to be bullied and that it's a bad thing to bite me.

Any suggestions you have are appreciated. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

[KimM]

Yep. Welcome to Macaw ownership. I thought of a couple things off the top of my head.

Not scolding you at all - my first "gut" reaction in all honesty is we have to remember they are wild animals. Yes, bred in captivity, but they're still wild. Anyone I've known who has been bitten hard enough or hurt by an animal has usually dropped their "guard". Not that anyone should be fearful, but always keep an "awareness" around them.

My second thought was with all of the excitement and activity of the new toys, home , treats, etc., he may have just gotten a little overstimulated and excited and that was his way of showing it. Isn't he new to your flock too? Maybe that caused the over-excitement. Just a thought...

[Ina246]

I am not a macaw mom but Jezz will get me if I pull my hand away with a food she likes. So maybe he was saying dont move MY seeds again. She has never gotten me hard. I talked to my vet about it and he said to use my other hand to move the empty shells to the side. I know Amazons are different from Macaws but birds are birds and have some similarities. Hopefully you can figure it out before another "walk by beaking".

[papayamama]

"Did I pull away? You bet your bippie I did!"

I don't blame you! Youch! I don't have any experience with this to be able to give advice but it sounds like maybe Calvin didn't want his sunflower seeds messed with. Good luck and I hope the pinky feels better!

[Tishrei]

I also have a severe macaw that has bitten me. It's been quite a while since I've received a good bite. He now nips me to show me that I'm doing something displeasing. However, I know that at some point in the future, I will be receiving a "bite" and not a "nip."

In thinking about when I was bitten, I now can see what it is I did to "earn" the bite. As time has gone on and he's been with me longer, I can do those things that earned me the bite -- I don't get bit for doing the same things -- he nips instead of bites. I attribute that to him being more trusting and feeling safe with me.

[jjones1719]

Hello, sorry about the bite, i have a great tip for those who have birds who will bite. I was checking out tips online one day and came across a video of Ken Globus who was working with a Green winged macaw who was known for his biting. you can't get much bigger then the Green Winged or perhaps the HY, but getting off the subject here, Ken showed on the video that when the GW tried to bite him, instead of pulling away that will cut into the skin, he pushed his hand or finger towards to bird bring the bird got became off balance and I think he was expecting the hand or fingers to be pulled away but thery were not, the first thing the GW did was let go. No presure no cut fingers or hands. I have a two year oldmale Eclectus, now I know this is no match for a GW named Guapo, my Eclectus tried this biting thing while I was playing with him and took Ken's advise and it really works. I am currently waiting for my first GW ( Neleno ) and will try this tip if he ever atempts to bite me. I'm hoping he doesn't but this tip will remain in the back of my brian incase it does. Good Luck with calvin and keep us posted. JJones1719

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Thanks everyone. I did also hear about moving your hand toward the bird when they start to bite instead of pulling away. I have read that because you are forcing your hand toward their chest, it's bending their head downward and in an awkward direction for them and that's why they wind up letting go. I just didn't remember it in my second of panic. I need to make it 2nd nature so that I will automatically do that next time.

Update on the pinkie: There's a nice chunk of me hanging on by a thread. I'm a wimp so I have a band aid on with lots of neosporin. I'm also doing a lot of whining and eating ice cream.

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

Oh yeah, and I bought Calvin a TON of new toys for his cage today. I'm all about thinking out of the box and getting/making unusual stuff. I bought a rabbit ball with a jingly bell in it, a Leap Frog toy for babies that sings the alphabet song when you tap on the tummy of the animal (it only required me to tap very lightly with my fingernail to get it to work), and a couple of foraging and wood/sisal/rope toys. My hubby also took a large paperback book that my dogs partially destroyed and tied some cotton rope around it and hung it from the top of the cage. Calvin LOVES it! He has been tearing pages out of it all day.

I will definitely take some pics of his cage when it's all done tomorrow so you can see what we've done.

[papayamama]

Milk the hurt pinky for all its worth! lol Can't wait to see the pics.