New to board...new bird owner...need HELP!

[Joyce6830]

We adopted a Hahns Macaw and a Cockatiel this past weekend. They were previously owned by a teenager who kept them in his room. He only handled the Macaw in a towel. We've had them home for several days now and the macaw does not want us to get him out of the cage. He will bite (not hard) if you reach in after him. Once he is on your shoulder he is fine but he will bite if you grab him. His wings are clipped and he will sit on the play area out of the cage. I'd like to teach him to step up but every time you put your hand out to him he acts like he is going to bite. I'm not sure if he's actually biting or just tasting and it scares me when he comes at my hand with his beak. He bit me once and I'm afraid that he'll do it again. The kid we got him from says he is just over a year old. He doesn't talk at all either. Which makes me think he didn't have a lot of human interaction.

So here are my questions:

(1) How can I train him to step up without getting bit?
(2) Should he be talking by now and if not what age will they start?

The cockatiel we got from him is the sweetest thing ever. He will step up, cuddle, play with your hair and jewelry and just "nibble" all over you. I'd love to be able to handle the macaw like the cockatiel. Any suggestions?

[birdlover912]

Welcome to the bird board! :)

Not all birds talk...a majority of them never do. I have had birds for 10 years, and only 2 of them have ever talked--it really depends on the bird.

It sounds to me like your hahns is really scared. Try giving him a few more days to settle in before working with him again. Moving and changing owners is a big and scarey experience for a bird--he needs time to get adjusted. Once he is more comfortable, offer food and toys from your hands--make no attepmt to grab him. He needs to connect your hands with somthing good before he will have the confidence to step up for you.

I'm sure other members will have some more tips for you too. :)

[Alyx]

I'm sure others will chime in with lots of advice but I will say that a bird reaching out with it's beak before stepping up is completely normal until the bird trusts you. By doing this it's testing the stability of the "branch" and insuring you aren't going to pull it away and cause the bird to stumble. The best thing you can do is let the bird beak your finger. This does not mean you should ever put your hand near the bird if it looks agresive or is being teritorial though.
You could try using a favourite treat in the opposite hand you want the bird to step up on to. Encourage the bird to step onto your hand to reach the treat. But based on the length of time the bird has been with you I wouldn't rush things. Spend as much time with the bird as you can simply by sitting by the cage and talking to it. Make it feel like it's part of the flock :)

[Alan]

It has been my dealing with my hahns that she will go thru phases of not waiting to step up. But I don't think that this is the case with this bird I believe that it just hasn't had enuff interaction of being handled before. It will take time to gain it's trust. The bird must first make sure you are ok to be touching them. Give treats sit and talk or even read to the bird. I have one that was hand fed and she will go thru spells of not wanting to be touched.

I have a friend who has an exbreeder that she is trying to make nice and it's working just takes a while.

[MaryG1959]

There are no guarantees with parrots....the bird may never utter a word. My severe macaw and my hawkheaded parrots have never said "word one!" I adore them anyway.

As far as the step up portion of your question, you cannot expect birds who've never been handled to step up to a person they've known only for a few days. They were "cage bound" and only handled in a towel for their previous lives.....give them some time and patience. It took six months for my severe macaw to make the decision I was an "OK" person. I would stand hours on end with my arm draped over his cage...finally one day he walked up on my arm. Then I'd sit in a chair close by and hed walk down his cage and onto the floor---then up my leg. He'd sit on my lap for a while, then he'd go back to his cage. He's estimated between 30 and 50 and 6 yrs later, there is nothing I cannot do with that bird. It takes time and patience, he also has to learn to trust you.

Good Luck and congratulations!

[chapala]

Lots of patience is the way to go about taming this bird - months are needed, not days or weeks so that the bird learns he can trust you. Since he was grabbed in a towel by his last owner, he naturally has a bad association with hands coming into his cage. It's your job now to change his thinking to be more positive about you and your hands. One of the best ways to do that is bribing with a favorite treat that you remove from the food bowl, and he only gets from your hands. Make no attempt to touch the bird! His body language will tell you how comfortable he is. Much later when the bird is secure with taking food from your hand, encourage him to come to a perch by the door, or sitting on the door opening. You can put one hand on the perch or door, still and not moving, and the other hand gives the treat so that the bird has to reach across the still hand. Pretty soon, you can move the treat a bit further so the bird has to step on the still hand to reach it.

Your bird can and will get comfortable with hands and stepping up if you take the time and go at the bird's pace!

[Razzle]

Originally Posted by Joyce6830

We adopted a Hahns Macaw and a Cockatiel this past weekend. They were previously owned by a teenager who kept them in his room. He only handled the Macaw in a towel. We've had them home for several days now and the macaw does not want us to get him out of the cage. He will bite (not hard) if you reach in after him. Once he is on your shoulder he is fine but he will bite if you grab him. His wings are clipped and he will sit on the play area out of the cage. I'd like to teach him to step up but every time you put your hand out to him he acts like he is going to bite. I'm not sure if he's actually biting or just tasting and it scares me when he comes at my hand with his beak. He bit me once and I'm afraid that he'll do it again. The kid we got him from says he is just over a year old. He doesn't talk at all either. Which makes me think he didn't have a lot of human interaction.

So here are my questions:

(1) How can I train him to step up without getting bit?
(2) Should he be talking by now and if not what age will they start?

The cockatiel we got from him is the sweetest thing ever. He will step up, cuddle, play with your hair and jewelry and just "nibble" all over you. I'd love to be able to handle the macaw like the cockatiel. Any suggestions?

First things first: your macaw is not a cockatiel and he never will be! Don't expect the same behaviour from one bird species (or one individual bird!) as another. Your macaw, however, has the potential to be as affectionate and cuddly a pet as your cockatiel.

Does it hurt when he bites you? If not, he may be using his beak as a "third foot" just to grab on to you. You wouldn't panic if when you picked up an infant child in your arms it grabbed a hunk of your hair in its little fist. Does your macaw allow you to pet him? Does he snap at you, lunge, and/or hiss like an angry cat when you reach for him, or open his beak and slowly reach for your hand when you extend it to him? If he is lunging and hissing, that is a sign that he wants to bite, probably to defend himself. If he is reaching for you slowly and without sudden movements (and I know it can be hair raising to define "slowly" -- but what I mean is you can see the motion and have time to react, instead of really quick like a snake bite) then he is probably TRYING to step up.

A possible post I speculate your macaw might leave on this board about YOU if he could type:

Scared Parront -- what to do?

Do any of you parrots out there have this porblem??? Whenever I try to reach for my human with my beak to step up, she jerks away and seems very nervous and agitated. I want to have my human be hand tame but she seems not to have been socialized with many birds! Do you think a previous parrot bit her??? Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks!!!

[Razzle]

I'd also like to point out that if your macaw had "bitten" you, you'd be typing that post one-handed. A macaw has the bite strength to bite straight through a wooden broom handle. If you're not prepared to cope with that potential, then a macaw is probably too much bird for you.

[SisterBlue]

I agree with previous posters - lots of time, and patience. I'll add with enthusiasm that you WILL get bitten at some point - possibly at many points - best to just accept that now and get over it. :) We've all been there. :)

With that said, Hahns tend to be sassy little boogers even when they've been handled all their lives, so a Hahns who has a (probably legitimate) fear of hands is going to take some real work. They are scary smart birds and have the ability to learn quickly, but they have to be given a reason to want to learn. Figure out what his favorite thing to eat is (even if it's something "not so good" for him, shhh, we won't tell! He'll only get teeny bits) and use that treat as motivation.

Do lots of reading as well. Hahns are small birds but they really have the personalities and attitudes of the big macaws (don't tell them they're small - they have no clue). My Hahns, Beaker, will be a year old on May 10th!

And keep us posted, we'll keep cheering you on!

-SB

[NotEnoughTime]

As a new bird owner I would recommend you read: The Rational Parrot - the entire site (it doesn't take long) and especially the section on biting.

I agree though - if you are not screaming in pain - then he is not biting seriously...