PLEASE HELP!!!!

Question
QUESTION: I have A beautiful Mc Caw Parrot and I adopted her, I believe she was neglected. I'm trying so hard to gain her trust, I know she is very scared of me im very scared of her also but our trust is getting A little better the first couple of weeks I had her she bit my daughter in her finger and drew blood. Will she ever trust us? Also  now that I have been spending more time with her she puts her claw up as if she wants me to pick her up, I proceed to pick her up then I get spooked and jump away, Also she is very scared of men, which I am guessing A man abused her. What can I do please help me she is such A great bird and I want to build A relationship with her, what do I do? Sincerely Rebecca.

ANSWER: Rebecca, patience is the key here. Having to reverse what could have been many years of neglect, abuse or just plain ignorance will take time, but if you think about it - time is a small investment to make to change this bird's life, right?

 I've got a lot of steps outlined that will help you make this an easier transition for all of you.  There's not enough space here, so take a look (it's all free info)

 www.4AnimalCare.org  (click on the bird tab).  I've also got pics of my in house residents, Sadie and Cookie, two very successful rescues.  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thankyou so much I read your website and it was very helpful! Now I have another question lastnight my fiancee was trying once again to gain her trust and he was cracking peanuts and feeding them to her she was taking them but very cautiously you could tell she was still scared I was sitting on the couch and talking with my daughter I kept saying doesn't it look like she is looking straight at me the whole time as she seemed scared then out of no where she climbed down the cage and walked across the floor and came straight to me and my voice now this is a bird I never even held or touched she used her beak to climb up the couch and stood on my leg trust me i was so scared but she let me pet her head and her wings sometimes she would snap at me though and miss it didn't seem as though it was going to be a hard bite finally my fiancee picked her up for the first time and put her back on her cage. I couldn't get enough I wanted to hold her again but she was scared .my fiancee approached the cage again, she came back down the cage and came to me again. I don't understand I am ecstatic but what is going on will she keep letting me do this or was it out of fear because of my fiancee???

Answer
Excellent and huge step forward! This is trust.

When she goes to nip, in a low steady voice (not yelling), tell her "No biting".  When she stops and is being nice, give your praise and a pleasant voice.

What you describe her doing is exactly what our in house macaw(Sadie) did after 8 days of some pretty intense attacks.  In fact, that day - I thought "OH NO, she's coming across the room to bite me!", but I knew I had to be consistent and show her love.  I put my arm down and braced myself for the bite, but instead she stepped up and sat on my lap for a good hour.  It became a regular habit, among other good things.

Keep it up!