What You
Need To Know About The Green Wing Macaw
As you can probably tell by the
picture comparisons, the Green Wing Macaw looks a lot like it's
cousin, the
Scarlet
Macaw. But trust me, there's a world of difference between
the two.
The Green Wing Macaw can weigh up
to 1,700 grams, nearly two times larger than the Scarlet, but
not quite as big as the Hyacinth. Also, the Green Wing Macaw
doesn't have the Yellow strip on it's wings... that's how you tell
the difference between them and Scarlet Macaws.
Fortunately Green Wing Macaws are
much more calm then the nippy Scarlet Macaw and are also known
as "Gentle Giants" of the Macaw family.
But even though
Green Wing
Macaws are known to be a more gentle species of Macaw,
you'll want to make sure you establish an early training regimen
with a Green Wing, because if left untrained, Green Wing Macaws
eventually realize how big they are, and start to use their size and
strength as something to threaten you with, instead of being a giant
teddy bear.
So here's some tips on how to make
sure your Green Wing Macaw is raised properly, and the best way
to fix some bad behaviors if you weren't fortunate enough to find
this website before your Green Wing started becoming temperamental.
Training Green Wing
Macaws to NOT Bite...
The hands down, best
way to train a
Green Wing Macaw to not bite, is to start training him from the
first second you bring him home. Help him get used to
being handled by lots of people in a controlled environments that
don't stress him out.
For an older Green Wing, or a Macaw
who's just starting to become more coordinated with his oversized,
clumsy body would get a ton of benefit from frequent but short
target training sessions. This act of training a Green Wing
Macaw to obey cues and commands from you will go further than you'd
ever imagine possible when discouraging biting later in life --
especially after he becomes sexually mature.
Here's how to introduce target
training to your Green Wing Macaw...
Start by placing the end of a small
wooden dowel in front of your Green Wing. When he goes to grab
at it, or play with it, reward him with praise and possibly a
favorite treat. Before long most GreenWings will realize
that they get rewarded for touching the end of the stick.
When your Green Wing figures this out, start making him reach for
the stick to earn his reward, and then take a step towards the stick
to earn a reward, and then two steps, three steps etc.
Keep doing this until your
Green Wing Macaw has learned he gets a treat if he'll just walk,
stumble, climb or fly to wherever you've got your wooden dowel...
and that if he just goes over and touches the tip of that dowel with
his beak, he'll earn a reward.
This act of training a Green Wing
Macaw to obey a simple command sets the stage for learning other
skills and will make your Macaw learn new commands quicker and
nip bad habits in the bud if they ever show their evil little heads.
Learn how hundreds of other Green Wing
Macaw Owners train their birds.
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