New Behaviour

So I've been trying to read all of the different posts in the Behaviour section but I only have internet at work so I can't get through them all to try to find a solution to my problem. I would appreciate any ideas or even just the name of the correct post to check out.

Anyway the problem is that Tumbala has developed a new BAD behaviour in the past week or so and I can't figure out why! To start with we have only had him for just over a month and even though he was supposed to be my husbands bird he has decided that I am his girl. So he is always on me if he is out of his cage. So he will be stilling on my chest (which is usually where he is when the problem starts) or on the arm of my chair and if I pick up the remote or a push pop (which he liked to start with but now attacks it) a pair of sissors or if I start rolling cigarettes for my husband he flips out! I can usually see it coming because he starts by viciously chewing and ripping my shirt and whiping his head back and forth while he's doing it (kinda like a dog when they attack) and then all of the sudden he will squwak and lung or even fly at my arm and viciously attack it! Not just nips which I get all the time and not just one bit but attacking it and biting several times before I can get him to stop and this usually happens because I'm running to his cage to put him in it! It's always my right arm but maybe that's because I'm right handed and do most things with that hand...I'm just guessing. He doesn't usually draw blood but he usually leaves marks and brusies! I don't know what I did to make him start acting like that. I can't think of any incidences that we have had that could have caused him to start acting out like that. He doesn't spend time with anyone else so I can't even tell you if it's just me he does it to or not. I alwasy put him in his cage when it happens and if it happens too many times in one night I get angry with him and put him to bed for the night! I've also noticed that it seems to happen more in the evening. He is a little nippy sometimes but from the post I have gotten to read it sounds like that's a conure thing. But I have to say that I don't understand why he will be loving me hard core and then all of the sudden nip me in the face. It doesn't hurt much...execpt for maybe my feelings . I always try to tell him "Ouch" and "NO" but if he keeps doing it then I put him in his cage. We are going to try and train him but we haven't gotten very far into that yet. Anyway I would appreciate any ideas you might have!

Good news and bad news. Good news is this is a very common occurrence for conure owners (at least genus Aratinga conures). The bad news is as far as I know there is no explanation. I've heard many people suspect it is a developmental stage, hormonal changes, or the like. This is quite likely true as in most cases the problem vanishes as mysteriously as it arises - but not until it thoroughly tests your patience and tears apart your heart. When Auggie went through his phase I got very close to giving him up as his attacks DID hurt. I loved him but I did not know how to deal with having an industrial grade meat grinder attached to my face, neck, or hands several times a day. The physical pain was significant, but the emotional pain of coming within a hair of giving up on him was much worse. Then suddenly and without warning he went back to being a perfect angel again.

He of course does still have his mood swings, but nothing like that first time.

Perhaps the best strategy is survival: to wait out the storm. Minimize the problems by minimizing the opportunity for them. Limit his access to sensitive areas - call it lap restriction, no more shoulder time until things clear up. Also make sure he gets to bed early and gets plenty of rest. He should still see that you love him, but there will be clear rules and restrictions - they are not punishments, they are just matter-of-fact declarations of the new (temporary) house rules.

It took quite a while for Auggie to come out of his phase (several months) but he DID eventually, and we have never been back to such problems since.

The suspicion of sexual maturity (puberty) being the cause of these phases does not always pan out too well: the season is often off and the age at which it occurs is inconsistent. What does seem to be relatively consistent is the time after moving into a new home and building a strong bond with a single person. My (quite speculative) suspicion is that it could be a hormonal change mediating the long term bond which is being formed between the parrot and their new mate.

Also give him something to attack. I used my key chain full of keys. Auggie would grab it and thrash it around pretty hard. I couldn't figure how it didn't hurt as the hanging keys were smacking him on the head repeatedly. But in any case he got to let out his aggression without tearing up my face, and once that phase passed the keys were no longer needed.

In most homes it is hard to give a bird too much attention, but there are exceptions. If the two of you are working those shifts and up at those hours it will be important to set aside some block of time (~6-7hrs) for SLEEP time for Tumbala. This potentially can be any time of the day, but it should be quite and dark in his room for the whole time. It's great to leave a TV or radio on for them sometimes, but not during sleep time.

Not that I'm an expert, but I would suggest not giving him any attention at all, not even saying NO when it happens. Just give him the keys or other object for his aggression. If he's being good, then he gets to sit in your lap, and if he doesn't attack then, while you're rolling up the cig or whatever, then tell him how good he is. My cat is constantly demanding my attention, and although he loves me, he attacks my legs and bites them if I don't stop to pet him while I'm walking through the living room. This is what he would do with his litter mates to get them to play with him. I have tried grabbing him by the back of his neck, shaking him, and giving him a loud NO, but even then he purrs, which tells me that, from his point of view, any attention is better than none. It works much better to ignore him when he does that, and if he gets hold of my leg, I shake him off and keep on walking. Hope it works out for you and your bird.