The Country-Western Bird or Mama, Please let your Babies grow up to be Cowboys.

I admit. My bird is a cowboy. He has a little western hat, and birdie spurs, and a little birdie lariat that he tosses around his millet when he's hungry...No, that's not quite it. Hmm... maybe I should start from the beginning.

You may have read an earlier article about my Severe Macaw, Hobbes. He was a parent-raised bird that we got when he was six months old, and he wasn't fond of anything not having feathers. After some good advice and a lot of love, Hobbes developed into a wonderful pet, but from an early age he showed a bent towards country-western. At least, that's what we call it. Mmm...okay...let me start from the beginning again.

You see, as soon as he decided that he liked me he developed this habit of running over, throwing himself upside down in my lap and pawing at the air to wrestle. At first I found this very startling (not to mention hilarious!) because our cockatoo, Hitchcock, had never done anything even remotely resembling this tumbling act. Even my husband Layne had never behaved this way! But it was clear that Hobbes was a very tactile bird, and liked nothing better than to lie in my lap, chew on my hand and wrestle, fluffing up his head feathers to be petted. We coined it "cuddle-wrestling". But then, because we are like that, we shortened it to C-W, then eventually lengthened it again to Country-Western, and voila! The cowboy bird (or should I say cowbird) was born.

Now I guess the significant thing here is not the term, but the fact of Hobbes' cuddle-wrestling. I had no idea birds could behave like this! I had always considered myself a puppy person. My favorite thing was to get down on the floor with a couple of good dogs and let them jump all over me, gnawing and rolling around. But I would have firmly told you that birds couldn't (and shouldn't) behave that way. It just wasn't in their nature. Wrong!

My experience with Hobbes, (and with several other Macaws with whom I have since become acquainted) has taught me that a good cuddle-wrestle is not only in the nature of many birds, but can satisfy even a die-hard dog wrangler such as myself. You just have to learn the rules of the game. And then teach them to your Country-Western bird, of course. Let's start with the basics.

1. No biting! Have you ever nibbled on your husband&Mac226;s ear in the middle of a romantic moment? Have you ever done it a little harder than you meant to? Then you already know the first (and most important) rule of cuddle-wrestling. Nibbling is good, even a soft gnaw is okay, but real biting is strictly prohibited. Unfortunately, when you have a wound-up macaw already dressed in his spurs, this is not always an easy rule to enforce. The most important thing is, be consistent!! Whenever your country western bird starts to play a little too rough, give him a firm"up" and put him somewhere out of reach until he cools off. Even the best of birds can get a little trigger-happy from time to time, and it's up to you to set the limits the very first time.

2. The bird gets to choose when to saddle up. Yup, pardner, you're like Tonto. You're just along for the ride. You can&Mac226;t persuade a bird to cuddle wrestle, it just has to come nach'rly. He has to want to do it, and believe me, you'll know when it does. (With Hobbes, he usually jumps down off his perch, runs over to me full speed and gives me a swift nip to get the action rolling.) If your bird is destined for the prairie, you'll know it soon enough!

3. Know the difference between play and aggression. I know this seems obvious, but when your bird is an inveterate cuddlewrestler sometimes it&Mac226;s harder than it sounds. Hobbes is a macaw, and like many macaws heis very moody. Occasionally those moods manifest themselves in grumping biting attempts, overexcitement or guerrilla warfare. It took me a while to tell the difference between the beginning of a good cuddle-wrestle and one of his excursions into enemy territory, but it's important to differentiate. The guerrilla warfare should not be encouraged. (To say the least) The cuddle-wrestling is okey dokey, pardner.

4. Know your limits. Or rather, your bird&Mac226;s limits. Most birds (at least the ones I&Mac226;ve wrestled with) get over stimulated pretty easily. Hobbes gets so excited he literally doesn&Mac226;t know which way is up! It's my job, as the tickler, to know when Hobbes, as the tickl-ee, is approaching overload, and lighten up. Otherwise we cross over into injun territory, and any minute you're liable to be scalped. Yow!

5. Know the signs. It seems a lot of macaws have the same signal when they're feelin&Mac226; a little bit country. They lift up one foot and sort of wave it at you, often fluffing up their feathers simultaneously. Mmm... love that sign. If you've never had a country-western macaw lying upside down in your lap merrily waving his feet in the air and chomping lightly on your finger while you scratch his neck, well you haven't lived.

6. Know your limits. Wait a minute, didn't I already say that? Well, listen up, folks, because this is a little different and mucho important. Birds are little bitty critters, even the big ones, and they have delicate little bodies. Don't treat them like you're breaking a stallion, or even wrestling with an Airedale. Be gentle, and keep your energy low. That'll make up for all that birdy adrenaline coursing madly around his little birdy carcass. Remember, YOU are the designated cuddle-wrestler. Don&Mac226;t give him the keys.

Well, I guess that's about all I have to say. Me n&Mac226; my macaw are gonna go once more round the pasture then hang up the saddle for the night. I can hear the coyotes in the background softly howlin&Mac226;, and the sun is sinkin&Mac226; slowly over the pale blue horizon. Hobbes is tunin&Mac226; up the old banjo while my husband lights the campfire and I chew up another wad of tobacky. Just listen to them crickets chirp. Life is good, ain't it, pardner?