Hello I desperately need help.
I got my first bird (a male Hahns macaw of 6 months) about 4 weeks ago. He was the sweetest, friendliest bird... up til four days ago. Now he bites all the time and really hard too.
He bites my fingers and my face and clings on, it has bled 3 times.
He gets into a kind of bitey mood as if he is overly energetic and hunts my fingers, just going crazy flapping wings and stuff. He definitely isn't afraid of me as he will step up without hesitation and let me check wings and claws and everything and (at least I thought) is bonded to me, following me from room to room and preening me and stuff.
I don't know what to do when he does bite, and I don't know how to make him stop.
I've tried yelling like a bird would do when he bites, as that is what the breeder told me to do.
I've tried ignoring it completely.
I've tried holding/flicking his beak and saying no.
I've tried putting him in time-out in his cage.
Nothing works and it's gradually becoming worse. I feel so beat down because of this and my mental health is spiraling because I feel like I'm doing something wrong.
I got my first bird (a male Hahns macaw of 6 months) about 4 weeks ago. He was the sweetest, friendliest bird... up til four days ago. Now he bites all the time and really hard too.
He bites my fingers and my face and clings on, it has bled 3 times.
He gets into a kind of bitey mood as if he is overly energetic and hunts my fingers, just going crazy flapping wings and stuff. He definitely isn't afraid of me as he will step up without hesitation and let me check wings and claws and everything and (at least I thought) is bonded to me, following me from room to room and preening me and stuff.
I don't know what to do when he does bite, and I don't know how to make him stop.
I've tried yelling like a bird would do when he bites, as that is what the breeder told me to do.
I've tried ignoring it completely.
I've tried holding/flicking his beak and saying no.
I've tried putting him in time-out in his cage.
Nothing works and it's gradually becoming worse. I feel so beat down because of this and my mental health is spiraling because I feel like I'm doing something wrong.