New Hahns Macaw owner, need some help!

[lovin_chevy84]

My neighbor dumped her bird on me *i rescue anything I can* and said shes fed up, cant do it anymore. She said he woke up one day and just hated everyone! Lunged at her, charged at her, bit etc when before he was the sweetest thing. My vet says hes healthy but is molting and FULL of pin feathers. His belly is completely bald! He was on a seed diet and Im switching him over to Zupreem(sp?). He doesnt play w his toys, I bought new ones today and he could care less. He bites them and drops them if you move them. Hes mean w his cage, I wouldnt say its aggression but more of a timid. If you open the door, he runs the corner and hides his face. We do a shower in the mornings and he hates it. Ive had him for a week now and not sure what I can do. He will get on a perch but will draw blood to a hand. Ive tried different colors and that does nothing. Hes 10yrs old too. Any help would be great! Ive had birds before but hes throwing me for a loop. Thanks!!! His name is Jake

 

[noblemacaw]

Patience is going to be the key here. The parrot needs to learn to trust you and adjust to his new surroundings. Take one day at a time and slowly earn his trust.

Is the Hahn's food motivated? All it took to make friends with my Noble macaw (sub species of your Hahn's) is to feed him something he really liked. Find out what "high value" food he loves the most and feed him by hand that favorite food.

Jake could be hormonal, scared, shy, cage bound and probably all of these combined. He will need time to settle in and you will need to earn his trust. The way to a macaw's heard is though the crop. Feed him by hand what he truly loves to eat.

Parrots do not change personality overnight like your neighbor said about Jake. With him being plucked (bald belly) I suspect hormones might be at play here. Since he has pin feathers that is good news that the hormones finally dropped low enough to put the system in a moult. The moult makes most parrots crabby because it is uncomfortable for them even my even tempered Noble who anyone could handle was a bit "off" when he had pin feathers everywhere.

This might sound a little crazy but try singing softly to him. Sit next to his cage and sing and talk softly to him without actually making hard eye contact with him. He needs to get to know your voice and presence and learn that you will not hurt him. In essence you will need to tame him.

When I took delivery of my baby RFM Valentino he had been flying since 8am that morning. I picked him up at 1:40pm so he had quite a long stressful day as it was. Valentino was almost 4 months old just weaned baby RFM. On the long drive home I sat in the back seat with his carrier the door facing me so he could see me. I sang to that bird all the way home. After I got him home I set the carrier on the kitchen table and it took me 20 minuets to cut off all of the zip ties the breeder had on the door to keep him safe. I sat in a chair so I was the same height as the carrier and slowly opened the door. As I talked softly to him I slowly offered him my hand to step up on and gave the command and Valentino stepped up onto my hand like he had always known me. What helped here is Valentino was well socialized before he left the breeder and I took my time with him going at his pace.

After I took him out of the carrier I just sat there in the chair with the parrot perched on my hand and slowly sang to him. I talked to him and petted him my movements very slow with purpose. I have a video of this day that Lupe had took with the camera but I am too embarrassed to upload it because I started crying. I was overwhelmed with emotions with Valentino's homecoming.

The parrot that adjusted the best in my home was Mihijo my noble macaw. The worst and longest adjustment I experenced was with my Eclectus Joaquin. It took him 3 months to adjust. My hands use to be so sore from him biting me. Joaquin ended up being the best therapy bird I had. The work you put into the relationship you eventually will get back but it is the work and time and patience that most people can't handle.

Please keep us updated with Jake's process. I have a soft spot for Hahn's macaws.

 

[lovin_chevy84]

Thanks for getting back to me. My vet says the molt is about a month, depending on the diet, so hopefully him being on a seed diet wont prolong it. Everyday hes talking more and more, which shows hes getting more comfortable. His cage is next to the couch so hes close to us and can see everything and everyone and he was on top of his and it looked like he was about to jumped to me. He kept looking at me, shifting his weight etc but then stopped. I really hope he comes around

Patience is going to be the key here. The parrot needs to learn to trust you and adjust to his new surroundings. Take one day at a time and slowly earn his trust.

Is the Hahn's food motivated? All it took to make friends with my Noble macaw (sub species of your Hahn's) is to feed him something he really liked. Find out what "high value" food he loves the most and feed him by hand that favorite food.

Jake could be hormonal, scared, shy, cage bound and probably all of these combined. He will need time to settle in and you will need to earn his trust. The way to a macaw's heard is though the crop. Feed him by hand what he truly loves to eat.

Parrots do not change personality overnight like your neighbor said about Jake. With him being plucked (bald belly) I suspect hormones might be at play here. Since he has pin feathers that is good news that the hormones finally dropped low enough to put the system in a moult. The moult makes most parrots crabby because it is uncomfortable for them even my even tempered Noble who anyone could handle was a bit "off" when he had pin feathers everywhere.

This might sound a little crazy but try singing softly to him. Sit next to his cage and sing and talk softly to him without actually making hard eye contact with him. He needs to get to know your voice and presence and learn that you will not hurt him. In essence you will need to tame him.

When I took delivery of my baby RFM Valentino he had been flying since 8am that morning. I picked him up at 1:40pm so he had quite a long stressful day as it was. Valentino was almost 4 months old just weaned baby RFM. On the long drive home I sat in the back seat with his carrier the door facing me so he could see me. I sang to that bird all the way home. After I got him home I set the carrier on the kitchen table and it took me 20 minuets to cut off all of the zip ties the breeder had on the door to keep him safe. I sat in a chair so I was the same height as the carrier and slowly opened the door. As I talked softly to him I slowly offered him my hand to step up on and gave the command and Valentino stepped up onto my hand like he had always known me. What helped here is Valentino was well socialized before he left the breeder and I took my time with him going at his pace.

After I took him out of the carrier I just sat there in the chair with the parrot perched on my hand and slowly sang to him. I talked to him and petted him my movements very slow with purpose. I have a video of this day that Lupe had took with the camera but I am too embarrassed to upload it because I started crying. I was overwhelmed with emotions with Valentino's homecoming.

The parrot that adjusted the best in my home was Mihijo my noble macaw. The worst and longest adjustment I experenced was with my Eclectus Joaquin. It took him 3 months to adjust. My hands use to be so sore from him biting me. Joaquin ended up being the best therapy bird I had. The work you put into the relationship you eventually will get back but it is the work and time and patience that most people can't handle.

Please keep us updated with Jake's process. I have a soft spot for Hahn's macaws.

 

[aliray]

I agree with the above post. the key is patience. congrats on your new bird and welcome to the forum

 

[lovin_chevy84]

Thanks! Im looking forward to learning to new things!

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum and we look forward to seing some pics

 

[goalerjones]

Also try whispering to him when he gets worked up. Sounds strange but my wife does this with our Hahns and it quiets him down.

Any changes in a prey animals enviornment are going to produce stress. The less forced the contact the better. He will notice the lack of those triggers that once set him off and will more likely interact better with you. Is his cage somewhere he can hide if he needs to?

Try getting a cement perch as well to help keep that beak and those nail trimmed.

 

[willist]

Hi, I adopted an 11 year old Harlequin Macaw back in August. I was told I'd be her 3rd owner. Her story is that when her 1st owner passed away her husband didn't want the bird and did not treat her well. In fact I believe he hit her in the face with a perch and caused blindness in one eye. I was told she has a fear of hand held perches, that's why I think she was hit in the face. I also feel that her 1st owner never taught her to step up, something she still hasn't done for me. I feel that is causing our progress to be very slow so far. She will take treats from my hand and sometimes will let me scratch her head. When she allows me to scratch her head she gets very happy. Other times she'll just move away. If she's on the floor she will actually walk towards me for a heard scratch, but if I offer her my arm to step up she will either whack my arm with her beak or most times just back away. Anyway the point of all this is to let you know that winning the trust of an older bird can take a very long time. You just have to keep tying and never force the issue. It will all be worth it some day. Just remember it can take days, weeks or months. Hang in there. I'm still working with Connie everyday.

 

[Lindylou277]

Hello, I inherited a 9 y/o B&G macaw ~ 4weeks ago. The first 2weeks I was so tired of the screaming and biting. Here is what I did in priority order. Feed well, establish a sleep, play, cage & out out of cage time, supply toys but do it slowly, and finally don't crowd her space. Keep your distance and she will signal when she wants you to be close. I also agree with goalerjones above, whispering when she is excited. I also say "shush" repetedly in a soft low voice when she is excited or screams. It works!!!
Best wishes and congratulations. Patience is the operative word here. And when really frustrated .... Walk away. No one is happy when you are not happy.

 

[Lindylou277]

Thanks to all those who provided words of wisdom and support during those first two weeks!!

 

[lovin_chevy84]

Jake is making such improvements! I got my sisters Senegal yesterday for the week as shes going out of town and my husband loves this bird! Guess Jake was getting jealous and I noticed he was getting a little ansy on the top of his cage, shifting his weight etc. So I walked over, he reached out w his beak to my finger and stepped up. He bit a little hard but maybe he doesnt know how to not bite hard when stepping up.

 

[Lindylou277]

Congratulations!

 

[goalerjones]

Make sure to keep them separate. The Senegal might have something contageous, unless he has a recent clean bill of health.