Cthebird
New member
- Sep 19, 2017
- 101
- 0
- Parrots
- I now have a young Hahn's macaw. I used to have a Pacific Parrotlet that lived until almost 15. Before that I had a budgie.
A while back, I wrote on this forum about how my pet Hahn's macaw just about had all of his new flight feathers. When we adopted him as a youngin' they had clipped them. It seemed to take a long time for new ones to grow in. He was pretty much over 1 year old when they started to be replaced. I wrote here that he wasn't trying to fly at all. He seemed too scared or lazy. Well...
A good three weeks ago, my Bird Boy started making small flights. Within a week he was flying further and further. He became more and more excited and impressed with his new ability. It was a relief to see that he was flying very well, making turns effectively and landing with great precision.
Bird Boy is only flying upstairs, but can go from one side of the house to the other, if doors are all open. We do not leave his cage open if we are downstairs, especially because I don't want him to show up when I'm cooking. But the issue is, he now flies where he wants and whenever he wants when the cage is open. That sounds fine, but he wants to be with us almost ALL OF THE TIME when he has the ability to fly to us. This is if we're in the room, or even if we momentarily walk to another part of the upstairs. This may sound nice, but having a Hahn's macaw on us or making mischief all of the time around us has become a bit stressful. I wish he'd sometimes just be "out" of his cage and spend time on his play gym. Nowadays we have to lock him in his cage if we aren't in the mood/situation to be giving him 100% of our attention. When he comes to us when we're on the computer or phone, he can sometimes be a pest or even nippy.
Is there a way to train a bird to occupy themselves without being on or right near us? I'd be happy to be in the room and let him fly around the room, but go back to his play gym. I love him with me, but not ALL of the time.
Note: I work from home, so he sees me almost the entire day, or sometimes the entire day. I do spend a lot of time playing with him, but I can't dedicate my whole day to just him.
A good three weeks ago, my Bird Boy started making small flights. Within a week he was flying further and further. He became more and more excited and impressed with his new ability. It was a relief to see that he was flying very well, making turns effectively and landing with great precision.
Bird Boy is only flying upstairs, but can go from one side of the house to the other, if doors are all open. We do not leave his cage open if we are downstairs, especially because I don't want him to show up when I'm cooking. But the issue is, he now flies where he wants and whenever he wants when the cage is open. That sounds fine, but he wants to be with us almost ALL OF THE TIME when he has the ability to fly to us. This is if we're in the room, or even if we momentarily walk to another part of the upstairs. This may sound nice, but having a Hahn's macaw on us or making mischief all of the time around us has become a bit stressful. I wish he'd sometimes just be "out" of his cage and spend time on his play gym. Nowadays we have to lock him in his cage if we aren't in the mood/situation to be giving him 100% of our attention. When he comes to us when we're on the computer or phone, he can sometimes be a pest or even nippy.
Is there a way to train a bird to occupy themselves without being on or right near us? I'd be happy to be in the room and let him fly around the room, but go back to his play gym. I love him with me, but not ALL of the time.
Note: I work from home, so he sees me almost the entire day, or sometimes the entire day. I do spend a lot of time playing with him, but I can't dedicate my whole day to just him.
