Baby GW coming home soon HELP!

[lavender]

Our first macaw she'll be home in a week (pending cage arrival)
She's 7mths old and dna sexed Green Wing girl. Still working on a name

We've been visiting her for about 2 months. She's finally eating on her own and not near as clumsy. She does great with my son and husband, never gives them any gruff. She was handfeed by a guy so I'm guessing right now she might like men more.
As for me.....She likes to test me. One minute scratches and cuddles. Next absolutely anything other than what I want her to do. She'll grab at my hand with her beak. No hard biting yet. Also gives sweet kisses on my chin and grooms my hair.
For a while she constantly tried to get on my shoulder, now that's down to once or twice a visit.
I'm guessing these are normal "I'm the boss Macaw" events, that we'll work through.

Please share any tips on adjusting her to our home. I must admit sometimes that beak is intimidating
Thanks in advance!!

[Roto4]

I think the most important thing to remember with birds is that they have moods just like humans. You can tell if you pay close attention you learn their moods. I can deffinetly tell when my bird is mad. Or when he's happy it shows. You can tell when their tired and when they want to play. It really shows and, as humans if in a bad mood or tired you don't want to be bothered. My birds eyes turn reddish when he's excited and wants to play and talk. I can see it in the color of the eyes too. Most of them want lots of love and attention but, there are times when they are hormonal and get fresh. For the most part ours just wants alot of attention and love. If he feels you didn't give enough he can even give a bit of a cold shoulder it's a riot but, than warms up we're lucky with our Mini Hans he loves to talk and, be social for the most part.

[kellywess]

Shes a BIG beautiful girl. My advice is not to ever make them do something they are not willing to do. Example: If you ask her to "step up" and she lunges or refuses walk away and ignore her. Come back in a few minutes and try again. Never let her eyes rest above yours. Make her part of the family. Lots of hands on attention. A good place to start is the floor, get a blanket and some foot toys and get down on the floor and play with her. Good Luck!

[jjones1719]

Lavender, My name is Joe. She looks wonderful. I too am waiting for my baby Male Green Winged Macaw to come home on September 13th. He's huge at 14 weeks now. I planned on taking the week off, so I can start the bonding process with my baby. His name is Neleno and already knows his name. he started flying and now says 2 words Hello and ola. He is very bright and an escape artist. I would advise that you have your cage of course and play stand or Gym ready for your wonderful girl. Plenty of fresh food, Veg and fruit, a good brand of pellet food. I happen to like Zupreem but there are lots of other brands out there. Pleanty of foot and hanging toys. Even Foresting toys are great to keep them busy and quiet. Keep her on a schedule, time for bed, time to wake up, feeding times, play times and so on. I would really advise you to join a local bird club as I have. you can get lots of great advise from people who own Macaws and tips to a healthy Macaw, as well as keeping your Macaw social. travel with her and take her to the Vet, Petsmart. Give her plenty of showers and even take a shower with her. That will also help with you and her to bond. I hope this advise helps and please keep posting pictures of your wonderful baby. Good luck with her name. I like the name Nelena as this was going to be Neleno's name if he was a female. Thanks JJones1719

[lavender]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm pretty excited to learn her personality better and moods. We'll just take things at her pace and not force anything. Playing on the floor sounds like a great idea. I've dug up all the old sheets to play on.
Also wondering how she'll get along with our ekkie boy and BCC. They won't be allowed to play together, too much beak size diff. But will be out in the same room on perches.

Still waiting on the cage to arrive. Already have a few toys and food. She's on the zupreem pellets so we'll stick with that for now. Along with some nuts, fruits, veggies, etc.
Unfortunately there isn't a bird club here. I'd love to join one. JJones1719 do you have any pics of your baby???

[kellywess]

Originally Posted by lavender

Thanks for all the advice. I'm pretty excited to learn her personality better and moods. We'll just take things at her pace and not force anything. Playing on the floor sounds like a great idea. I've dug up all the old sheets to play on.
Also wondering how she'll get along with our ekkie boy and BCC. They won't be allowed to play together, too much beak size diff. But will be out in the same room on perches.

Still waiting on the cage to arrive. Already have a few toys and food. She's on the zupreem pellets so we'll stick with that for now. Along with some nuts, fruits, veggies, etc.
Unfortunately there isn't a bird club here. I'd love to join one. JJones1719 do you have any pics of your baby???

All of mine hang out in the same room on top their cage play gyms and my Miligold on his playstand. No problems except with my Blue Crown and my Hahns who like to break the rules and switch cages when they are out. I guess one thinks the other is getting something its not. They do keep each other company. They all like to play the "WHAT" game. My guess is that the Blue Crown is and will remain the head of the flock... go figure. Its always been that way in my household. Congrats on the babies!

[jjones1719]

Lavender, Yes, My breeder sent me pictures from 3 weeks old to 14 weeks. the only problem is, she did not send them as a JPG. When I open the email from my Breeder, the picture automatically pops up in the message, so i don't know how to post them on this site. If you know how, I would love anyone to help and i would love to post them. I also own a 2 year old SI Male Eclectus named Guapo. Thanks JJones1719

[papayamama]

What a darling baby! Congrats and good luck with getting her adjusted when she arrives.