Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water

Siobhan · May 31, 2016

Rocky was abused and is nervous, but he's much less nervous than he was a year ago when we brought him home. However, he's also hormonal, which seems to make all the nervous come back.

Lately, he's very bitey, and while he seems to know how hard to bite to hurt and bruise without breaking the skin (let's be grateful for small favors, huh?), he is biting me a LOT. Yesterday, we were all on the enclosed porch (him, me, my husband and the dogs) and Hubby stood up to refill the bird feeder because the wild birds were clamoring for another meal. Rocky's crest went up and he got very agitated for some reason, and chomped me several times before I could get from my seat to his cage to put him down. I have several bruises already in various stages of healing, and one of them is very purple and fresh, and he actually shoved my T-shirt sleeve out of the way so he could bite me, hard, on that same spot AGAIN. It's summer and I'd like to wear short sleeves, but I'm wearing long sleeves to work to hide my bruises. My co-workers know they come from a parrot, but I'm a journalist and have to interact with people and I don't want them to think I've been in a brawl.

There's just no way to predict what will set Rocky off right now. A wild bird flying by the window. A kid riding his bike down the street. The wind blowing. Rocky wants to spend all his time sitting on me, but as you all know, he can go from perfectly content and relaxed to demon monster in less than a second. And the same bird flying by the window today might not even merit a second glance, while tomorrow it will make him go berserk and chomp me six times.

Christinenc2000 · May 31, 2016

Some may not agree but the only time i let my bird hit the floor was because he did the same thing to me. He grabbed my arm and would not let go. I attempted to grab his beak and he bit harder. I took my other hand and pushed him off my lap onto the floor. To my shock he never bruised me but he never did it again.

No the little fall did not hurt him but taught him that is not going to happen !!

Read the threads on bite pressure training and startle training. I am sorry you are going thru this it is no fun at all !

Siobhan · May 31, 2016

I'm not going to do that. He is a parrot reacting in a way that makes perfect parrot sense, even if it doesn't make sense to a human. He was hit and starved and had things thrown at him in previous homes and that is not going to happen here. For all I know, Hubby accidentally and unconsciously did something that triggered a fear response. Rocky's "take me back to my cage NOW" signal is a bite, though usually just a pressure bite and it smarts but doesn't bruise. He doesn't have any other way of communicating that message at this point, though I always say, "Time to go poopies?" in the hope that eventually he'll just say "Time to go poopies" or something similar instead of the pressure bite. This was fear, and almost panic, and even if there was no human reason for him to panic just because Hubby was scooping up seed for outdoor birds, he had some good parrot reason for thinking there was. You can't communicate with a formerly abused creature the way you do with one who has not been abused, especially if you don't know all the details of the past abuse. With my Quaker Clyde, for example -- whose beak can do a lot less damage, but it still smarts -- when he chomps me, I can put a finger on his beak and say "no bites" and he might not be sorry, but he'll almost always stop. He has no background that will make him panic or associate that touch with fear and pain. I have no idea, though I have deduced some of the triggers, of what might stir memories of fear and pain in Rocky. I have to step gently and carefully so as not to disturb the trust we have already built, or harm the trust I am still building.

Christinenc2000 · May 31, 2016

Ok well when I said hit the floor I did not mean to body slam him.

Sorry he was treated like that before coming to you . You said in the first post he had bruised you a lot and biting you a lot.

Anyway with any luck someone will come along soon with a answer that will be acceptable

Anansi · May 31, 2016

Wow, Rocky's giving you a rough time of it, eh? Yeah, given the abuse of his past, the typical volatility so often characteristic of 'toos, and adding the unpredictability of hormonal behavior to the mix, he'd likely be a tough nut to crack.

Here are a few threads on biting that might have some useful tips for you.

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/58911-bird-bites-always-2.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/lories-lorikeets/46236-biting-enough-already.html

Chances are, given his past, conventional methods may take longer and require more persistence than might otherwise be the case. But don't lose heart. You'll just need to adapt to him.

A few suggestions.

He's apparently a displacement biter. You may already know this, but you should never allow a displacement biter up on your shoulder. It wasn't clear from your post if he was up on your shoulder or not, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Given the unpredictability of his biting at the moment, I'd suggest carrying a bird-safe piece of wood in your hand that you could interpose between his beak and your arm any time he decides to attack. It would serve to divert his attention (and his beak) as you make your way over to his cage for timeout.

If you are consistent enough telling him "No" in a firm and even voice, removing his beak, and putting him on timeout, he should eventually come around. Eventually.

Scott · May 31, 2016

Rocky sounds very much like a hormonal Too reverting to the influences of his past homes. He clearly trusts you, but regresses to deeply instinctual behaviors seasonally. Stephen's links may be helpful, but with mine it is a storm to be weathered with lots of love - and a bit less handling. Once over, it is like it never happened!

Anansi · Jun 1, 2016

If it's solely a hormonal issue, Scott's approach would likely work very well with Rocky. Especially given the extent of his experience with cockatoos. But the impression I got was that this is a continuous problem that has only gotten worse with a rise in hormones.

If this is indeed the case, perhaps you could wait out the mating season before trying some of my suggestions or some of those put forward in the links I provided.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

AmyMyBlueFront · Jun 1, 2016

Siobhan said:
Rocky was abused and is nervous, but he's much less nervous than he was a year ago when we brought him home. However, he's also hormonal, which seems to make all the nervous come back.

Lately, he's very bitey, and while he seems to know how hard to bite to hurt and bruise without breaking the skin (let's be grateful for small favors, huh?), he is biting me a LOT. Yesterday, we were all on the enclosed porch (him, me, my husband and the dogs) and Hubby stood up to refill the bird feeder because the wild birds were clamoring for another meal. Rocky's crest went up and he got very agitated for some reason, and chomped me several times before I could get from my seat to his cage to put him down. I have several bruises already in various stages of healing, and one of them is very purple and fresh, and he actually shoved my T-shirt sleeve out of the way so he could bite me, hard, on that same spot AGAIN. It's summer and I'd like to wear short sleeves, but I'm wearing long sleeves to work to hide my bruises. My co-workers know they come from a parrot, but I'm a journalist and have to interact with people and I don't want them to think I've been in a brawl.

There's just no way to predict what will set Rocky off right now. A wild bird flying by the window. A kid riding his bike down the street. The wind blowing. Rocky wants to spend all his time sitting on me, but as you all know, he can go from perfectly content and relaxed to demon monster in less than a second. And the same bird flying by the window today might not even merit a second glance, while tomorrow it will make him go berserk and chomp me six times.

I feel your pain!..No,REALLY!! I FEEL YOUR PAIN!! When I adopted The Cockatoo Man he was as sweet as could be. Then "something" snapped and he turned into a Jeckyl/Hyde. One moment getting and giving loveys and the next moment CHOMP!! Without a warning,and he drew BLOOD. More than once he did not release his grip,and my instinct was to shake my hand/arm wildly where he literally flew off me crashing into whatever was next to him! Luckily I didn't hurt the poor guy and I got sick to my stomach about it. It got to the point where I could NOT trust him anymore,and that was the reason I rehomed him.

DJ, his previous parront I adopted him from,had Jonesy for about 21 years and said he NEVER bit him..I don't know what got into The Little Beady-Eyed Monster :grey:

.
I just got in 15 minutes ago after talking to his new parronts,and they said he doesn't bite them..go figure

Jim

Siobhan · Jun 1, 2016

"Displacement" biting is a good description. He bites me when he's afraid and sitting on me in order to warn me, too, that there's some huge threat I'm apparently too dull to notice myself. LOL One of my Quakers (formerly neglected but not abused) is like that, too. She bites a toy or perch to relieve her tension. She won't let us handle her at all, other than the briefest of touches now and then and only at her invitation.

I do allow Rocky on my shoulder when he's calm and fluffy. Usually he's on my arm or knee. We both prefer that because I can pet his face that way and he loves to have his face petted. Last night he got so relaxed that he dozed off.

He has had ample opportunity to break the skin and really mangle me and has never done so. I have to do a better job of watching for things that will trigger a fear response and trying to avoid them, and staying calm and quiet even when he's not, because 'toos can feel your pulse through their feet when they're sitting on you and he will know if I get agitated, which will only make him more agitated. It's the human's job to control the environment and keep threats away, and to adjust to the parrot, not expect a parrot to adjust to human surroundings. We have choices and the parrots do not. We're on our native heath, and they gave up freedom and habitat and mating and everything to live with us.

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