New from upstate New York

[Tom Lawless]

Hi, my name is Tom. I have an eight to nine month old Hahns Macaw. His name is Davey although I really have no idea if he is male or female. He is a good little guy (mostly) and great company. He says 'hello' and 'step-up' so far. He doesn't bite but can be a little nippy from time to time. Any advice on how to stop that/ Keeping a toy handy to distract him isn't doing the trick. That aside, he can also be quite affectionate and wants nothing more than to be with me, if not on me then at least in the same room.

[Courtzrocks]

Welcome to bird board!! I would try putting him down when he bites so he knows that if he bits, he's not allowed to be with you. I am so jealous, hahns are so cute!

[greencinacheeks]

ahh i love hahns!

one thing you can do is...that when he bites put him on the floor and then ignore him like what Caurtz said. that way he knows biting is not tolerated and he will not be able to be with his "flock". also. watch hiis behavior. what his he doing when he gets nippy? is he defending "his" toy? it really helps to watch they're behavior that way you learn to get an idea when or why he is nippy.

hope this helps!

~Nate

[my-africangrey-echo]

Welcome to BB

[Tom Lawless]

Thank you for the welcomes and for the advice. I will try that with Dave next time he is with me. So far there aren't a lot of signals to watch for. I will be petting him for awhile and then suddenly he at least snarls (for lack of a better word) and then goes into biting. He doesn't draw blood. I think he wants me to know he is boss but I've read not to let them get away with that. It's funny because he wants to be with me as much as possible but he is nippy anyway.

[Courtzrocks]

Lol, sounds like my girl matches lol. She will want to be on me all the time but she has an attitude problem lol.

[Tom Lawless]

Anything I've read or watched on video talks about serious biting issues that seem to apply to untamed parrots. He is tame but as described above, he has a bit of an attitude and needs an attitude adjustment. I really like the idea of putting him on the ground or away from me.

On the plus side he seems to be showing some interest in potty training. It would be great not having to always worry if he hit my shirt, clothes or furniture!

[Courtzrocks]

Yeah Matches gets put down and if she still bites i just dont react, she wont get what she wants by doing that and she knows it but she still likes to try sometimes lol. She is not allowed to stay up there if she bites...if she doesnt bite then she can stay there...also treats work wonders lol.

[catschair]

[Tom Lawless]

I'm trying to add pictures of Dave. The first is of Dave the first day in his new home (he has a lot more toys now and a play gym). The second one is of him playing with one of his favorite toys.