First how does the bird react when you enter his cage, does he try and get as far away as possible, is he aggressive and trying to bite. You need to pay close attention to every reaction he makes as you move around his cage, enter the cage to feed and water etc.

I have 5 macaws and I have a macaw that I adopted from a rescue that had not been handled for 6 years until the rescue got him and starting working with him and now I am working on gaining his trust.

I read a book once that I think got it right on, Dogs and cats have become domesticated but parrots are still"wild" meaning they still have their natural behaviors and reactions in tack and we are not simply their owners but their gaurdians, you really have to look at a macaw like you would your small child. You cannot just walk up to a two year old you have never seen before and pick him up, he would most likely cry, scream, kick or all of the above. Well your bird is no different. He has to know you are safe and that you also trust him.

That is huge YOU MUST TRUST HIM, no matte how nervous you are that he might bite, if you want him to trust you, you must do the same.

Sorry to ramble but that is such an important part of bird handling many people do not understand.

To start, go slowly buy a big bag of nuts that are still in the shell(Or and food he really likes will work) you need to place the food in your hand and hold your hand out flat to the bird and wait for as long as it takes for the bird to trust you and come and take that food. The key is even if he looks like he might bite do not move your hand, if you pull your hand back you are showing him you do not trust him to take the food, so he is not going to trust you to come in his cage. If you are really nervous than try standing with you hand in the cage and then look away, if you are not watching you will not see the bird approach and will not pull back out of fear or instinct.

Once you and the bird have started trusting eachother than see how close he will let you bring your arm to him. If he never learned to step up properly he might not understand what you want or that it is okay to leave the cage.

You can also try using a wooden dowel perch. you want it long enough to rach it but not too long I would say maybe a foot to a foot and a half. Place the perch in front of his feet and ask him to step up, if he does not then nudge his feet with the perch. Work on this until he steps onto than bring him out of the cage. Don't be surprised if the first couple of times he tried to grab on to the cage as you lift him out. Like I said everything depends on how he was handled previously.

Try these things and feel free to send me a message for more help or a better explaination of anything. Once you can get him to this point I can tell you what to work on next.

Well, like I said in my post...he takes food from my hand and lets me rub his head and beak. I'm not nervous if he bites...I've been bitten by much worse than a bird.

In the prior owner's home, when they opened his cage, he'd retreat to the back. Since I've had him...he sits and watches me change his food and water...no retreat or anything. I dropped the front door down of his cage to his T Stand...made a platform and he walked out and sat on the edge of the cage for a few minutes...chattering softly, then went back in and resumed his spot on the perch.

According to the prior owners...he was a real lap bird, used to lay on his back, step-up, cuddle, etc. They just have not spent much time with him in two years and alluded that teenagers in the house may have been tormenting him.

For the most part he sits on one perch in his cage and chatters in a soft voice. I just sit by him or stand by him and calmly talk to him.

Three times he's done the following...stretched his left leg and wing together, then the right. When my African Grey does this, it means he's happy. This macaw will then hook a top bar of the cage with one claw. tuck one foot close to his body, swing and start shrieking with the "SHUTUP SHUTUP" at the end of his screams. Sometimes he'll grab a bar in his beak and scream louder and more prolonged. Then he'll stop.

I guess what I'm asking is, should I let him settle in to my house for a week or two before trying to get him and and work with him, or start sooner?

That's good advice above.

Also, I wrote a couple of articles here that I hope you will find useful to win your bird's trust - see the first two links on this page:
http://www.featherforum.com/article/training

One of my birds came to me at 3-4 years old, and she goes berserk when she sees me pick up certain objects - and over the years, it's been different objects at different times.

Letting him settle in sounds like a good idea. Then see if you can figure out what his favorite foods are. Then sit a few feet from his cage, and occasionally drop a treat in his bowl. If you can get to that point, it will just take time (though possibly a lot of time...) to get closer and closer until you're reaching into his cage to feed him, feeding him while he stands at the edge of the cage, while he leans out of his cage, while he takes one step out of his cage... and so on. I went into more detail in the pages I linked to above, but that's it in a nutshell. Little steps, with lots of little rewards.

I hope this helps,

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

I agree with Nate, taking small steps is the best way to earn trust, but do not be afraid to ask more of him either. The only way to get to the bottom of the problem is to figure out what it is in the first place.

Food is a wonderful incentive, they want what you have and they will figure out what they need to do to get it.

I agree generally the stretching of a wing/legs signals relaxation happiness etc.

When he exhibits the other behavior are his eyes moving very quickly(is the center going from larger to small very quickly) is he making any hissing like sounds of lunging towards you.

I have a blue and gold that does this behavior occasionally, she grabbs the bar and lets out one awful sounding squawk. It is a very sharp sound, she usually does this when she is made because she is not getting attention but she also does it to be aggressive.

4 of my 5 Macaws are re-homes and you can tell in each one what their life was like before, a bird that is use to getting a lot of attention and being held as these owners claim yours did will usually demand the same of you. I have one that gets very nervous everytime I approach his cage with something in my hand, I have to very daliberate in my movements making sure he understands everything I am doing. I can tell he has had some pretty bad experiences in his life.

I would see how far you can go with him. watch for a change in behavoir or signs of stress. Make sure whatever you try you end on a good note.

You do not want to let the bird think biting is the answer to be left alone but you also do not want to case undo stress either. You have to try different things and see what sets him off and go from there.

What I mean by end on a good note is to make sure when you are done your session you end with something you know the bird will most likely do that will leave him happy and trusting. for eg. He eats from your hand so save a special treat to give him at the end before closing the cage door and walking away. Let him take the food and retreat into the cage. Make sure you tell him what a good bird he is and make a big deal whenever he does something you are happy with. He will quickly figure out that his behavior brings on this happy talking and cheering from you and he will start wanting to please you and show his love also.

If any of this is not clear let me know and I will explain in more detail. Again I will cehck the post daily to see if you have any new questions and good luck.

Well, tonight I coaxed him out of his cage. I opened his door and made a platform on his T-stand...laid down 4 whole almonds. He kept hanging upside-down in side his cage and squaking...he'd get close to the door...but wasn't coming out. He started swinging...his tail outside while he rocked upside-down...I'd touch his tail and we made a game out of it.

This went on for close to an hour...so I picked up the almonds and put them back. Then looked at the tiny bag of cheetos his old owner gave me. I figured, well...if he likes them, maybe it's worth it.

I laid a cheeto down, he saw it, ran out, grabbed it and ran back inside to nibble on it on his perch.

He dropped it and I put down another one. He came out, climbed on his T-stand and ignored it...then climbed all over the outside of his cage, etc. I stood there talking to him softly and he would chatter back. Then the phone rang and he took off from his cage and flew a lap around the room...landing back on his cage!

After more chatting etc...the phone rang again...this time he was facing the open dooray and flew down the hallway to the bathroom.

He seemed to like it and screamed and heard the echo. Then he headed behind the toilet...

I grabbed one of my Irish walking sticks from the hall to see if he'd get on it like a perch...he screamed again.

Well, I decided to throw caution to the wind (I did not want to have to towel him if I could help it)I got down on the floor...I stuck my arm out and told him "UP"

He jumped on it.

As I stood up he started looking around and saw his reflection in the bathroom mirror and flew toward ithitting the mirror and landing on the sink and sending everything on the sinktop flying.

I reassured him, stuck my arm out and he got on it...walked him back to the spare bedroom and put him on his cage.

I've been sitting with him and talking with him...making my other bird in the other room jealous.

That was great progress last night. Continue using those same methods, each time try getting a little closer to the cage when offering the treat, until you are right next to the cage, than see if he will step onto your arm, if not try placing the treat on your arm and hold very still to see if he will step up to get it. If he takes the treat and goes back into his cage than back up a little and try it again. You want him to come out of his cage completely and trust you enough to eat the treat while you hold him.

As you work on this each night be sure to give him a treat once he steps up onto your arm and praise him, make a big deal out of it. Like I said always try and end on a good note. If you think he is starting to get stressed out return him to his cage give him a treat before putting him back into the cage and praise/pet him. You want him to know that coming out of the cage to you is more fun than being in the cage. You can also try playing with toys while out of the cage.

I also find with my guy who is going through this same process that interacting with my other birds so he can see me really interests him. He sits watching intently usually all puffed up making little sounds. He is seeing that the other birds enjoy this and come to me freely so it must be okay.

I find that peaking his interest in me before approaching his cage usually results in the best training session. He has had a chance to see me interact with his kind and they like it so he wants to try it. I still go slow and I do not push him. I can see it in his eyes he really wants to have the same fun all the other birds are having he is just no 100% sure I can be trusted.

It is very hard to overcome someone elses mishandling/neglect. To the bird we are all the same until we prove otherwise and if they live in a situation where they do not trust long enough they begain to react that way with everyone. They figure at some point we will all act the same way, It is up to us to show the birds that life is not all bad and people are not all bad and it is okay to trust and give their affections to someone again.

Please keep us posted on your progress and don't get discouraged if at times you feel like you are taking a step backwards instead of forward. What your bird does today freely he might resist tomorrow just keep working on breaking bown that barrier he has put up between the two of you. patience and consistancy are the keys to earning your birds trust, love and affection.

I figured I'd give an update. We've had progress and moved back and then forward. I went to the local bird expo in search of a proper cage and found most of them were cheaply constructed and not much better than the cage I got him in. (A bird cage which reminds me more of a ferret cage). I went to my local bird shop and ordered an Avian adventures cage...sized for large macaws.

I've found that moving a chair freaks him out, so does moving a lamp. He was housed in a room full of rabbits and rodents(gerbils, rats, guinea pigs) and usually says something about "rabbits" that I can't make out. Don't know if he likes them and misses them or if he's afraid of them.

He is extremely friendly. I have pet lizards and tortoises he says "Hi" to. A fly buzzed in the door a few weeks ago and he said "Hi" to it.

After I had him 40 days or so he went into a screaming fit every morning...some of the things he said really made me realize how bad his previous home was "KILL YOU" "F@#$ YOU!" etc. I moved him out into the main room next to my other bird. That seemed to calm him down alot.

The big problem was his old cage. Not very accessible, definitely way too small for him..it couldn't accomodate the toys I bought him.

Well six weeks later, my new cage still had not shown up so the owner sold me the same model in a different color (White) at a reduced rate.

Last night I put it together, but guess what...no signs of interest in leaving his cage. He had not left it in 2 weeks. I'd reach in for him, he'd run away...I'd grab a towel...he'd scream. I removed all toys bowls, perches, etc put them in the new...put the doors up close to each other...nothing.

Finally I took the old cage apart with him in it...finally inverting it as it's been my experience that birds always go up...not down. He didon what was now an open top and jumped off.

I quickly threw the old cage out the back door and he jumped up on my arm. As I walked to his new cage...he would walk up my arm to my shoulder...then behind my head and to the other side. We did this for a while and finally he took a step inside his new home.

I honestly don't think I've ever seen this bird so happy he looked around with his beak agape as if he was in a new palace!

I could tell by his grunts and shape of his eyes that he loved it.
This morning, no screaming...just talking to the other bird. I fed them their fresh food. Onje of his favorites is strawberry and seeing one at the top of his bowl made him go "MMMMMMMMM".

He took it, went to his swing-perch and when I reached in to pet him he reached up and grabbed my hand and pulled it close to him. He made the regurgitate gesture and licked my hand a few times. then he puked his strawberry up on to my hand and said ""Love You".

I don't think I've had this kind of bond with an animal since I was working with chimps and gorillas 15 years ago.