Somewhat violent love

[Cthebird]

I have a 1 year old plus Hahn's macaw. My husband and I love him very much, and he is quite affectionate and playful, but sometimes his "love" and play gets a bit too rough. If this roughness was anger-based I'd work harder to give him time outs. I do when his rough behavior is jealousy based. Sometimes I just can't have him with me, like if I'm on the phone for a while or maybe sometimes if I'm rubbing my husband's back. But if he's clearly being sweet or playful I'm at more of a loss on how to make it more gentle. I do use the word "gentle" and try to reinforce that, but it's hard.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have scratches on my hands, and sometimes arms, and occasionally the nut tries to "kiss" my eye.

 

[Bourkes]

Parrots and birds in general do not respond too well to negative reinforcement but

I have found that pinching the top beak b/w your thumb and index finder and saying "NO" and "BE NICE" gets the point across to most birds.
Like all young they can and do get excited and play too rough and the other birds will
let them know they are playing too rough too, so they can learn to be nicer.
Not all the birds I have had would get that way, but the more outgoing ones usually need to be trained to behave.

 

[wrench13]

I time out , or more properly shun, Salty when ever he uses too much bite pressure, whether its from play or anger or jealousness. Its a lesson that has to be constantly re-enforced, for us anyway, Amazons are known to get over excited when playing, but any parrot should be pressure trained.

 

[EllenD]

I agree totally with Wrench (see, I know who you are Wrench, lol)...The best way to teach a parrot who loves attention and interaction with you that what they are doing is not acceptable is to immediately "shun" them for 5 minutes. Whenever he bites you say something like "No bite" and immediately put him down somewhere, turn your back on him, and don't say a word to him or even look at him for 5 minutes. This will get the point across way more quickly than any negative-reinforcement ever will...

 

[ChristaNL]

I do not mean to criticize (at all).


But I always wonder: how is cutting a bird off from all interaction *not* a negative-reinforcement?


Their survival/ wellbeing depends most of the time on the safety provided by the group they live in- so placing them out of that is even more traumatizing/ scary than a quick and painless correction.
(once again: just my opinion )


I am pretty half-half in that I will stop all play (how longs depends on the level of exitement), tell them "gently!!" and usually (if the bird has sufficiently calmed down) offer my finger for a rematch- so it can show me "got the message, will be more carefull" and we can continue having a blast.

 

[MonicaMc]

Instead of thinking "How do I stop this behavior", it may help to change how you think. Instead, think to yourself "What can he do instead and how can I make it more rewarding for him to do this behavior?".

You won't necessarily get the behaviors you want by telling an animal what you don't want. - Lara Joseph

 

[Cthebird]

Thanks for your responses, everyone! I'm sorry I am only seeing these now. When I posted this thread I saw no responses for a couple days and thought my topic was not of interest.

I think my approach has improved. I do put some distance between us to lower the enthusiasm, but not in any way that is like banishment or punishment. Usually he'll find himself on his play gym, but still in view of me.

My guy has been a bit rough with my husband on occasion. My little guy and I are so close that there's surely a little competition going on.

I have to say that my Hahn's macaw is an extremely affectionate bird. I've had a Pacific Parrotlet and budgie before him that were sweet, but not even close to my Hahn's macaw's sweetness. It's not something that was immediate.