Hi –

If you don’t read anything else,
please
at least read these few pages.

If you’re reading this then you’ve inherited (either temporarily or permanently) two of the most delightful pets in the world.  The articles in this book go into a lot more detail on a lot of things, but this is an eight-page summary of do’s and don’t’s specific to them.  Bottom line, the real key to getting along with the birds[1] is to treat them with the same care, love and attention that you would a two or three year old.  They are more companions, not so much pets and are much more like a child (with moody times, rowdy times and sleepy times) than a dog.

The red and green one is named SugiMac (pronounced Shugimac or Shugi for short) –  he’s a Greenwing Macaw hatched in 1990, weighing 2lbs 7oz and with a life expectancy of about 80 years. The blue and yellow one is a Blue and Gold Macaw named Jazzy, hatched in 1998, weighing about the same and living as long.

Both of them want to be where the action is and very likely consider your head as another oddly shaped parrot that sits on a nifty ambulatory perch[2]. Although their training will probably allow you to pick them up almost immediately, it will probably take a few months for them to become really comfortable with you.  But once they’re sure they can trust you, they become “hands-on” pets that love to sit and preen while you scratch them.  They also want to be talked to and to be with the rest of the family or wherever the action is – plan to have several different areas they can be with food and water at each.

Absolute DO-NOT’s

·         Do not keep any type of Teflon-coated utensils in the house.  If overheated even slightly they will give off fumes that are undetectable to humans but are fatal to birds.  It’s not worth the risk – get rid of them now.  Do not put this off.  Do it right now.

·         Do not feed them any form of chocolate, avocado (including guacamole salad), fruit pits, caffeine or alcohol – all of these are poisonous to a bird and can kill them.

·         Do not subject them to any physical violence – you can beat on a dog without hurting it much (but you shouldn’t) but not a bird.  Even if they bite the fool out of you, don’t hit them!!!

·         Don’t wave or wiggle fingers in their face or make sudden movements unless you really want to be bitten

Absolute DO’s

·         Make sure they have fresh water daily and different things to nibble on in addition to pretty-bird.  Make sure they have a variety of toys to play with.  Rotate them periodically so they’ll have a chance to re-discover the old ones they got bored with.  Include wooden and paper stuff they can tear up.

·         Do have them checked out at least once a year by a vet who has had the specialized training in bird care.  This will run about $500 for the both of them and includes a blood workup, various cultures and evaluation.

·         Do keep their toes filed and wings clipped.  You can do this once they trust you or you can leave it to the vet.  See the accompanying articles on the subject.   Leave the beak to the vet.

·         Give that beak a lot of respect (but not fear)!!  Remember that it’s a 3^rd hand to them and what may appear to be a try to bite you is often just an attempt to play or hold their balance or test a foothold.

·         Develop a schedule for them – a time for play, a time for rest and a time to go to bed.

Commands They Understand (preface them with their name so they know who’s being talked to)

·         UP! – Always use this to have them get up on your hand.

·         DOWN! – Always use this to have them step off your hand

·         BE NICE! or BE EASY!– Used when beakplay gets too rough, this will almost always cause them to ease up.  If they’re holding on, just freeze – don’t try to pull away.

·         NO! – Used to tell them not to do something.  Especially effective when used with the ‘evil eye’

·         That’s a good bird! – Used for verbal rewards and anytime they do something good

·         It’s OK – Repeat it in a soft calm voice to calm them down if they’re agitated.  Also use it to reassure them if they think they’ve done something bad and you want to pick them up.  Never lie to them about his!

·         Thank You – They’ll sometimes let go of whatever they have grabbed if this is used. 

·         Do your stuff – Sugi, and sometimes Jazzy, will understand this, under some circumstances, to mean take a dump right then.

·         Scratch? – Both understand this as a request to give them a scratch and will (usually) bow their heads.  I also use it to tell them that I’m not trying to get them out of the cage – just give them a scratch.  Jazzy may want to chew gently (or firmly) on your finger as you scratch.

Personality Quirks

·         Sugimac

·         Definitely prefers stepping up onto the right hand

·         Does not like red food (but is improving)

·         Is not very adventurous and often avoids or is terrified of anything new.

·         Standoff-ish unless he’s ready to play – will push you away with his foot – honor this!

·         Jazzy

·         Is not afraid of anything

·         Tends to pick on Sugi and steal anything he has or is eating

·         Is at home hanging upside down as standing – can be carried upside down

·         Can be picked up and carried by his beak (him holding onto you, not you holding onto him)

·         Loves to be swung around1

Picking them up

This is the primary way that you as owner maintain dominance over them as a pet and it’s for their safety and your ease of mind that you both know that they will step up onto your hand on command.  It will always be easier if they’re lower than you are – in the forest, the highest bird is the boss – so until you’re both used to it, position perches low so they have to step up.

Fold your right thumb into your palm, move slowly, talk to reassure them and present your whole hand – not just a finger – firmly for them to step up onto.  If you’re hesitant about it, they will be too.  A firm “UP” command should always accompany this.  If they balk, gently nudge on their breastbone and lift up, forcing them to step up.  Alternatively, depending on what they’re standing on, you can bring your hand from underneath the branch and behind to have them step back down onto your hand.  Once they are on your hand, gently hold onto their toes with your thumb in case they get startled and flap or try to crawl up your arm.

They tend to want to step onto your hand with the left foot first  and may want to move around to get into position to do so.  Make sure they get up once you tell them to – don’t let them get away with not obeying this one command.  There are several accompanying articles on this subject. Once you’ve picked them up, hold your arm crossed in front of you and tell them they’re a good bird.  Likewise, always use “DOWN!” when putting them down.

Carrying them on your shoulder (although fun) is potentially very dangerous since if they should slip or be startled, they could grab an ear or eye or earring with their beak as they try to regain their balance.

Jazzy has learned to let you pick him up by offering him a crooked finger.  He’ll also accept a crooked finger as a good beak-hold while climbing down off something when he can’t get a good hold on anything else.  Sugi won’t do this.

Biting, Nipping and Beakplay

I’ll mention biting a number of times because that’s what most people think about when they see that intimidating beak.  To be sure, until they trust you they will use it since it is their only means of defense.   But it is also used to help test footings (like your hand) before stepping off onto something they’re not sure about.  Once they know you can be trusted and are not going to hurt them, they very rarely bite although they will often use their beak to play with you and that play can turn rough very quickly.  The upper beak is not really dangerous – it’s the lower jaw that does real damage.

There is a distinction between biting (in self defense and which is sudden and almost immediately released), nipping (some form of rough play or indication of displeasure) and beakplay (gently gnawing on your fingers or hand).  After a month, you’ll know all about all of these and the accompanying body language. 

• BITING: The very few times they have really bitten were when they were afraid of something or when we startled them badly.  Also, what starts out a nip could become a bite if you jerk away while they have their beak on you.  If that happens, the shape of the beak will tend to pull them off of whatever they’re standing on and they’ll tighten down out of self-defense. Instead of yanking your hand away, try to get in the habit of simply turning it so the only thing available is the back of your hand instead of your fingers – they can only bite something they can get that beak around.

You should also keep in mind that your reaction to a bite will determine their next action.  Violently reacting, even if it hurts like hell will, provide a lot of drama that they might find entertaining.  The best reaction is a sharp “NO!” followed by giving them the “Evil Eye” for a few moments and then followed by a soft  “Be Nice!”.  Then leave the room and scream if necessary.  If it breaks the skin, make sure to put Bacitracin or some similar antibiotic on it and treat it like you would any other animal bite or scratch.  Even after it looks healed, keep putting Bacitracin on it, especially if it stays sore.  Left untreated, even a simple bite can take a long time to heal.

• NIPPING:  They may rarely reach down and nip your arm if you’re trying to put them down somewhere they don’t want to be (like in their cage too early in the evening).  Or they may feint and grab your fingers (don’t jerk away or it could turn into a self defense bite in order to keep from falling).  They may fluff up and lunge and hiss as you walk past in a bid to get attention. 
• BEAKPLAY: You should encourage this as a bonding mechanism, but not let it get out of hand or too rowdy.  In the mornings they may grab a cage bar and rattle it fiercely, waiting for you to scratch them on the head. They may take one or two fingers gently and jerk their head back and forth or up and down – this looks vicious but is as gentle as can be.  It is usually followed by gnawing on the fingers, gradually getting harder and harder – use “Be Nice!” to get them to tone it down.  They may hold on to your fingers with their feet and bob their head up and down to regurgitate food to “feed” you – it rarely falls out of their beak so don’t worry.

If they’re hanging onto your fingers with their beak (not biting, but not letting go either), you can usually make them open up by saying “thank you” and pushing back towards them.  It’s usually better to let them have two fingers than one and you should try to be in control of when you allow it to happen.

Also, it’s best if you play with them one at a time until you know their body language.  When Jazzy gets really playful, Sugi sometimes gets protective or jealous and lunges.

Other uses of their beaks which may initially look like a bite but usually turn out not to be are:

·         Pretending to want take food from you and then lunging at your hand

·         Pecking at you with the tip of their beak or whacking you with the back of it

·         Preening the hair on your arm (they’ll also pick off scabs and really work on any kind of skin blemish they find)

·         Scraping your arm or clothes with the tip of their beak – they love to crack buttons and punch holes in material so watch out.  If they ruin your good clothes it’s your fault – don’t take it out on them.

Punishment

They usually know when they’ve been bad and react well to the “Evil Eye” and a sharp “NO!” for most offenses.  To give the evil eye, pick them up with a very firm “UP!” command and then stare down at them for a few moments with a frown. Stronger punishment is placing them back in their cage and leaving them alone for a few minutes. Never strike them!  After any of the above, pick them up and gently fuss at them while scratching their head (if they’ll let you).  They’ll be very contrite after a bite.

Food and Eating

Don’t be afraid to try them out on a lot of new foods, but make sure they always have plenty of Pretty Bird at all times as a staple. .   Hard freeze commercial bird food for a couple of weeks after purchasing to make sure any moth larva are killed and keep all bird and human food in air tight containers to prevent an infestation.  If you see moths, act immediately to get rid of them in a bird-safe fashion.  There are a number of non-poisonous traps that work by luring male moths with a pheromone and catching them with sticky paper.  Do a web-search for “Flour Moth Traps” or “Indian Meal Moth Traps”.

Other food suggestions:

·         Pretty much anything else you eat (except the poisonous stuff mentioned earlier) – but remember that food is as much a play thing as a nutrition thing to them and at least half may end up on the floor.  Give it to them in different ways (stuff a paper cup with string beans, hang an apple on a string, etc). 

·         Whatever you make for dinner (except for chocolate and avocado) set a little aside for them and give it to them when it’s cool. They especially like fish, chicken, pork chops, potato salad, all kinds of pasta, tuna salad, corn on the cob, vegetable soup, frozen corn and lima beans, animal crackers, cooked pork rib bones or chicken thigh bones (they crack and eat the marrow as well as scrape the bone clean), chicken, blueberry muffins, cornbread,  tuna fish salad, egg salad, chicken salad, cinnamon toast, pancakes (with or without syrup), bread and cookies (avoid chocolate) of all types, soda crackers, pop-tarts, granola or fruit bars,  and popped pop-corn.  Obviously all the meats need to be well cooked.

·         Browse the produce bins at the store for treats – all kinds of shelled and unshelled nuts (especially peanuts, pecans, filberts, walnuts and almonds), snow-peas, beans of all kinds, dry 5-pea soup mix, squash, apples (Sugi, especially, loves apples), oranges, plums, tangerines, grapes, cherries, etc. They also love fruit juices in their cup for a change. For pitted fruits (cherries, plums, etc) do not let them have the pits. An accidental one every now and then is OK, but they could be poisionous in quantity or cumulatively over a number of years.

·         Make a “Trail Gorp” mix by starting with a bag of Fiesta Macaw mix by Kaytee (available from most large pet stores) and adding in a cup each of diced dried mangoes, diced dried pineapples, goldfish crackers, Honey-nut clusters cereal, croutons, diced figs, dried fruit bits, unsalted nuts of any kind and whatever else you have laying around.  Mix up in a big bowl and put in a couple of large containers for the month’s treat.

·         Similarly, make up a big jar of mixed pasta – colored and plain spiral Rotini, elbow pasta, shell pasta, multi-colored pasta, spiral pasta,  etc.  A handful of this in a bowl of water, microwaved for 10 minutes, drained and allowed to cool till warm is an absolute favorite dinner for both of them.  It can be spiced up by sprinkling some cyan or crushed red pepper on it.  Or shredding a little hard cheese.  Add in a few apple slices or orange slices for desert.

Body Language

·         Leaning away from you or something they see – “Get me out of here” or “Get that thing away from me”

·         Whole body bobbing up and down – “I’m about to take a dump” or “I want to go/come over there”

·         Eyes slitted and one foot tucked under them – “I’m very comfortable and happy”

·         Head moving in a “come hither” motion – “Come get me” or “I want some of what you’ve got” or “I want to go over there Big-time!”

·         (Sugi) Bashfully averting the head and chewing on the toes of one foot – “You can scratch me if you want to”

·         Head feathers fluffed up – “Get that thing away from me!!” or “Something scares me and I might bite”

·         Eyes pin-pointing – “I’m very interested in you or something you have – I might even bite out of excitement”

·         Body low and horizontal, wings quivering, eyes pin-pointing – “I’m ready to play!! If I could fly, I would!”

·         Sidling towards you and coyly lifting one wing – “Please scratch my wing-pit.”

·         Lifting one foot and saying “Up” – “Come get me!” (or they may just be trying to trick you into trying to pick them up and then lunging or playing Woosey-foot)

·         Woosey-foot (putting a claw up like they’re going to step up but avoiding your hand at the same time with a limp foot) – “I not ready to get up yet!” or “You can’t make me!” 

·         Squatting real low and spreading the tail – getting ready to take a dump

Toys

They’re playful birds and need lots of “stuff” to keep them occupied.  If it’s something new to them they may avoid it initially  (especially Sugi) – just leave it around for a few days where they can see it and get used to it and gradually move it closer after playing with it for a while.  If they toss something down after you give it to them – it’s a game.  Pick it up, throw it into the air, throw it on the floor and give it back to them. There are several articles on the subject of toys with lots of ideas, but some of their favorites are:

·         Pieces of untreated cedar, oak or poplar board.  Cut a 6-foot 1x4 or 1x6 into sticks and hide them around  the cage or just give them to them.  They’ll chew them into little pieces and it keeps their beak worked down.  There’s some controversy over this, tannin in oak, splinters in cedar, but it’s never hurt them.  Safer woods might be poplar or ash or dried white pine.

·         Any other kind of scrap wood chunks (NOT plywood because of the glue) or branches after washing them.

·         Rubber Kong toys.  Sugi absolutely loves the Kong pacifier stuck between the cage bars with the ring on the inside of the cage and will slam it up and down or hold onto it while you slam it up and down.

·         Mattel infant toys made of the soft chewable plastic. Plastic puzzle toys with peanuts or almonds inside.

·         Dried corn cobs (with or without kernels). Grapevine or corncob wreaths (although they may shy away from them at first) from MJD Designs.  They have all sorts of wood stuff they’ll like as well, just make sure it’s untreated and doesn’t use glue or staples or wire to hold it together.

·         A piece of  hemp or cotton rope (again, make sure it’s untreated) – they’ll spend hours unraveling it.  Don’t let it get too long or they could get tangled up in it

·         Paper stuck in the bars of their cages or wadded up paper balls

·         A chair of their own. Don’t put them on one of your good ones.  An unfinished dining room chair costs about $40 and makes a nifty portable perch and one that can be chewed to pieces. 

·         Treats or nuts put in a paper Dixie cup and crumpled up – put it on the top of their cage so they have to work for it.  Don’t use toilet paper or paper towel rolls – the glues in them can contain zinc.

·         Big nuts and bolts made from stainless steel.  Wooden thread spools, wine bottle corks, popsicle sticks (leave a little bit of good stuff on them), plastic caps from detergent bottles (washed of course), water bottle caps – even the whole plastic water bottle with a nut inside.

·         An old paperback or magazine hung on one of the top bars will be gradually ‘read’ and destroyed.

·         Make them work a little for their food – put some wadded up paper on top of it so they have to dig down to it.

·         3.5 inch floppy disks – they love dismantling them.  There are some small metal parts but they just spit those out.  Heavy cardboard beer coasters, old CDs.  I hung an old keyboard on Jazzy’s cage door once and he spent a week pulling all the keys off. 

Grooming and Feathers

Those feathers are a lot less fragile than they look.  There are three basic types – the big flight feathers on the wings and tail, the contour feathers which cover their body and the down feathers which they continually pick off.  They don’t like you messing with the flight feathers too much (they’re almost like external bones), but love to have the contour feathers ruffled and scratched under (they’re almost like fur).   Especially on the top of the head and under their chin – places they can’t reach.  They also like to have their wing-pits, chin, rump, ears, toes and nostrils (at the top of their beak) gently rubbed or scratched. 

·         Toe, Wing and Beak trimming can be left to the vet if you want, but keep a watch on them. 

·         Toes: Sharp pointy toes are an indication that they’re standing around too much on one kind of perch. Once they trust you, and vice versa, you can probably file the toes down with a large emery board (I use a dremmel tool) and a pair of vet toenail cutters.  There will be lots of flapping and squawking and foot clenching, but it’s a game – they’ve never bitten me while doing this.  Cut off only 1/8^th or 1/4^th inch at a time and keep a jar of corn starch handy in case you cut off too much and it starts bleeding.  It happens but it doesn’t appear to hurt them.  Don’t worry too much about it, but make sure you get the bleeding stopped by dabbing on the corn starch.  .

·         Wings: The wing feathers are always growing. Clip the wings with a pair of scissors (see accompanying articles) or a pair of wire cutters.  I prefer the wire-cutters because they don’t tend to twist the shaft which will make them snap at you.

·         Beak: An overly long or sharp beak means that they’re not getting enough wood or other roughage to chew on.  Leave the beak to the vet.

·         They can reach everywhere to preen except the back and top of the head.  In the wild another bird would get them – in the home, it’s up to you.  Once or twice a year they’ll molt and the head and neck will have lots of spiky white pinfeathers mixed in with the regular feathers.  Leave the bluish ones with a solid tip alone – they can bleed if broken and could be fatal if the bleeding is not stopped by pulling the feather completely out.  If they’re solid white and have a bit of feather sticking out the end, they can usually be “crunched” between two fingers if you’re careful not to pull – it’s best to roll it sideways.  This frees the feather from the growing sheath and they like having it done (especially Sugi although he’ll snap at you if you accidentally tug on them.)  Don’t try this with the flight or tail pinfeathers (he can get to all of them) and be extra careful when the big flight and tail feathers are growing.

Baths

They don’t like to be sprayed directly with a mister, but do like to have mist fall onto them although they may shy away from it at first.  They love taking a shower with you and having water splash onto them.  I installed a second shower curtain rod waist high as a perch.  You can just let the spray splash on them or take them on your hand and ease them under the water, just make sure it’s not too hot or too hard.  Getting them absolutely sopping wet will not hurt them and they enjoy it – especially if you blow dry them afterwards.  Blow drying them on the ring stand while they have a water dish available is a real treat and Sugi especially will go absolutely bonkers as he shakes, squawks, swings and throws water all over the place giving himself another bath.  Just keep the blow drier cord away from their beaks.  You should do this at least once a week and can do it as often as you like.  They really enjoy it, especially if you have music going at the same time.

They (especially Sugi) may also take their own energetic bath in the water dish if you run the vacuum cleaner, mixer or loud country music.  Or if they get bored.

Outside, any kind of sprinkler-head that lets the water fall like raindrops on them.

Talking and other noises

Compared to some other species of parrot, Greenwings and Blue & Golds are not big talkers.  Them most common vocalization is “Hello” and “Hi” in a surprisingly wide variety of intonations and inflections.  Other phrases for Sugi include “Bad Bird!” , “Bad”, “Good Girl”, “Sugimac’s a good girl”, “Stop It”, “Up”, “What’s That” and several forms of  dark chuckle or “heh-heh-heh.”  Both also have a variety of beak snappings, whistles, soft “erk”s and a truly ear-piercing scream in response to your talking on the telephone or continuing to ignore them.    They, especially Jazzy, may be loud early in the morning and when they’re ready to go back to their cages in the evenings.  Either will be loud when the other is out of his sight.

Poop Monitoring

The condition of their waste is a first diagnose of health.  Get in the habit of looking at it every morning as you take them out of the cage. Generally, what you’re looking for is a change that lasts for a day or more for no apparent reason. Since we’ve had them they’ve never been sick. 

Also, they’re pretty much paper trained and will bob up and down when not over paper and need to go – but they can’t hold it long and you have to be watching for the signs.  Sugi understands “Do your stuff” under some circumstances.  Normally, they will defecate every 15-20 minutes or so during the day and it should be dark green feces and white urates surrounded by a clear watery urine although this depends on what they’ve been eating or drinking. For example, about 15 minutes after a bath, they usually squirt a lot of water because of the water they have drunk.   Some specific problems which could arise (and which would require immediate vet diagnosis and care):

·         Very watery for no reason – viral problems (or just due to eating a lot of juicy fruits or drinking a lot of liquid)

·         Missing entirely – constipation

·         Light (lime) green – could be psittacosis, but not very likely unless they’ve been exposed to an infected bird

·         Bright Red – Blood in the lower intestinal tract (or simply due to eating a lot of something red, such as pomegranates or beets)

·         Black/Brown/tarry – Blood in the upper intestinal tract (or simply eating dark meat)

·         Yellow or bright Green – Liver Problems

New Vet Selection Criteria

·         Does the vet allow you to be in the room for the entire examination? (If not why? – You should be able to)

·         Note that any vet can call himself an Avian Veterinarian, but may not be qualified.  Ask if he is an “Avian Specialist” or “Board Certified in Avian Practice” by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.  Ask to see the Diploma or certification.

·         Ask about his level of expertise and how many avian patients he sees per week.  Is his practice primarily avian or primarily something else.

·         Ask if he routinely anesthetizes avian patients (esp. for taking blood samples).  If he does so, find another vet!!!!!!!!!

·         How much continuing education has he had (or taking)

·         How adept is his staff in controlling large birds?

·         Does he have emergency service and what is the response time?  Will it be him that responds to the emergency call or some other doctor? If another doctor then all the previous questions apply.

·        If at any time during the office visit you are uncomfortable with the way they are being treated, or with anything going on during the exam, ask the vet to stop and release them.  The birds belong to you and you can always pack up and leave (after paying for services rendered).  Do not allow the vet to intimidate you into something you do not want – especially “routine” anesthesia.  Anesthesia is not needed for any normal visit or procedure, including, cultures, and toe/beak/wing trimming.  Depending on the vet, it may be needed for taking blood samples.  It has never been used on Sugi or Jazzy.