Hahn's Mini Macaw

[JLozano]

I have read in another forum that Hahn's are definitely not kid friendly. I'm having a hard accepting that because the breeder that sold it to us assured us about getting one even though we have our 3 year old.
One person said that they got a 1 year old Hahn's, does that make a difference? When we get ours, it'll be almost 4 months old and we will have been visiting it on a weekly basis by the time it gets to come home. I guess I'm just being a bit paranoid but I'm willing to try anything to train it the right way and to love it unconditionally.
Any advice?

Janie

[The Outlaw]

Janie:

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of Hahn's macaws. I think that though they are delightful, they can also be very nippy. They often break the skin when they bite. Just look that their beaks and you can see how sharp they are. I have 10 larger parrots here, mostly BG macaws and I'll take a bite from any of them before a Hahns. I once boarded one here for months and though she was amusing, she was the bird here MOST likely to bite. She liked me, that wasn't the problem, but she was spoiled and had a nasty habit of running up my arm and nipping or biting if I didn't interact with her quickly enough. They are lightening fast.

Unfortunately, small size isn't the best indicator of what's appropriate for little kids. In my home, my most gentle bird with children is my Eclectus. She loves kids, especially my now 8 year old granddaughter, Miss Lily. She has been playing with Mai Tai since she was only 3 and Mai Tai has NEVER been the least bit nippy or nasty with her. It should be noted that none of my macaws have ever bitten or nipped her either. However, the smaller birds ALL have. That included her own Quaker (she's very ornery), 2 parakeets and the little Hahns. Miss Lily is afraid of them, but will happily carry 2 BGs at a time.

That's simply one person's observation. However, of the 4 friends of mine that all purchased Hahns at the same time, only one still has hers. All of the others were ultimately rehomed. Seems that once they hit 5 they can become difficult. They seem to be more conure-like that their larger cousins.

It should be noted that I also have a Severe macaw, the largest of the mini-macaws. He is also very high strung and can be very nippy with people other than myself. He's wonderful with me, however. I think that many of the mini macaws act exactly like conures. If you like conures, you'll be delighted.

THE OUTLAW