Do Macaws Bite Their Owners?
If you’re considering adding a cute macaw to your family, then it’s important to keep in mind that there is a chance that your parrot will bite you sooner or later. If you’re noticing that your little macaw is biting, rest assured that biting parrots are a lot more common than you might think.
Even if you’re being the best owner that you can be, sometimes macaws can be prone to bite, and this can come down to a number of different factors.
Before we get into some of the main reasons as to why a macaw may bite their owner, it’s very important to keep in mind that it is not necessarily a sign that the bird is being aggressive and mean towards you, or that you have not been able to properly bond with the bird.
As hookbills, parrots use their beak for a variety of reasons including to play, preen themselves, and even to eat. For this reason, even though your parrot may appear to be biting you, if it’s usually affectionate towards you, then it may just be that your parrot is simply using its beak to grab onto you or to try and get your attention.
In addition to that, sometimes macaws bite their owners as a way to try and start playtime, or even as a way to prune their owners. Nevertheless, biting can also occur for a few other reasons that aren’t positive, let’s take a look at them below:
1. Biting out of fear: Being scared is one of the most common reasons why parrots bite. If parrots are not interacted with regularly, it is possible for them to develop a fear of humans, regardless of whether they were hand-reared as babies or not.
If your parrot was made a part of your family after becoming an adult, then there is always a chance that it may have experienced something with its previous owners that caused an underlying fear of being held and touched by humans.
Additionally, there is always the possibility that your parrot has simply begun to bite out of impulse. To help counteract this issue, try to gain your parrot’s trust, or work on building the bond that you share.
2. Biting out of fear: Being scared is one of the most common reasons why parrots bite. If parrots are not interacted with regularly, it is possible for them to develop a fear of humans, regardless of whether they were hand-reared as babies or not.
If your parrot was made a part of your family after becoming an adult, then there is always a chance that it may have experienced something with its previous owners that caused an underlying fear of being held and touched by humans.
Additionally, there is always the possibility that your parrot has simply begun to bite out of impulse. To help counteract this issue, try to gain your parrot’s trust, or work on building the bond that you share.
3. Biting out of fear: Being scared is one of the most common reasons why parrots bite. If parrots are not interacted with regularly, it is possible for them to develop a fear of humans, regardless of whether they were hand-reared as babies or not.
If your parrot was made a part of your family after becoming an adult, then there is always a chance that it may have experienced something with its previous owners that caused an underlying fear of being held and touched by humans.
Additionally, there is always the possibility that your parrot has simply begun to bite out of impulse. To help counteract this issue, try to gain your parrot’s trust, or work on building the bond that you share.
Though it’s important to try and pinpoint the cause of biting so that solutions can be made to help make the macaw feel happy and comfortable again, it’s also important to visit a veterinarian who will be able to properly assess the macaw to make sure that there are no underlying health issues that may be impacting the bird’s behavior.
Are macaws aggressive?
Just like us, parrots have their own individual personalities, which means that while some may be more mellow and well-mannered, other parrots can have the tendency to be quite feisty!
Besides individual temperament, a variety of other factors can lead a macaw to have quite the temper, and these can range from hormonal fluctuations, all the way to a bad upbringing.
However, generally speaking, macaws are known to be extremely affectionate and loving towards their owners, and form bonds that last the entirety of their lives. When macaws are cared for properly, they love to spend time with their owners and even like to cuddle when they’re sleepy or cold.
In addition to being good-natured towards their owners, macaws have bounds of energy that means that they absolutely love to play! In particular, macaws love to play fetch and tug of war with their owners.
What to do if a macaw bites you?
If you own a cheeky macaw, then we’re sure that you’ve experienced the occasional nip or two. These parrots are highly intelligent birds that love to roll on their backs, play and entertain their owners by talking and hopping around.
However, they can be prone to bouts of aggressive behavior to their owners for a variety of reasons, and the main one often comes down to the fact that they are simply not getting enough attention.
If you’re the owner of a macaw, it’s important that you make sure that your feathered pal is as happy as can be. When naughty behaviors such as biting start to occur, it’s important to nip the behavior in the bud before they have the chance to become a natural and long-term behavior of your parrot.
So, to help overcome the issue of biting, try the following steps:
1. Pinpoint the cause: As we said above, more often than not the cause of biting in a macaw often comes down to something that can be easily remedied – such as wanting more attention or by ensuring that its cage is clean and comfortable.
By working on figuring out what is triggering the biting, you will be able to help find the solution needed to return your macaw back to its happy and playful self.
2. Correct the biting: As we’re sure you’re already aware, macaws are highly intelligent animals that have the ability to analyze changes to our facial expressions and the tones of our voice. So, after your macaw has bitten you, you should aim to correct the naughty behavior by telling them so in a calm yet expressive way.
Now, even though macaws do not understand the meaning of most words, they do have the ability to understand the context of them, so it is worth creating a word or expression that you can use to help let the bird know that they have been naughty, as this will help the bird to understand that biting is wrong.
3. Build the bond: Last but not least, you should also ensure that you are doing your best to strengthen the bond that you share with your macaw. By earning the trust of your macaw, you will find that your parrot is much less likely to nip your fingers as it will be more comfortable being handled and touched by you.
Not only that, but as your bond grows with your macaw, you will be able to better understand its needs to help prevent any future negative behaviors from occurring.
As a side note, if your macaw is usually good-natured towards you and you don’t feel that the biting is coming down to a lack of attention or fear, then we recommend booking a visit to your bird’s veterinarian.
Sometimes, aggressive behavior such as biting can be something that is unintentional and out of the control of the birds; control due to things such as hormonal imbalances, underlying health issues, and even past trauma from mishandling in the past by previous owners.
By taking your little macaw to the vet, they will be able to give you their professional opinion on what could be the cause of the biting, as well as steps and treatment to overcome it and get your parrot back on track.