Boozieshome
New member
- May 26, 2017
- 97
- 0
- Parrots
- Bonnie and Clyde, Umbrella 'Toos, and BoozieToo, a double yellow Amazon. RIP Boozie, Blue crowned mealy Amazon
We have had Bonnie and Clyde for almost a year. Bonnie took some time to come out of her shell, but now that she has, she is amazing. She was very shy and a bit skittish, but I chalk that up to pad parenting. We were her 4th home in 4 years. People gave up on these two wonderful birds and we all know that is traumatic. We were told Bonnie was mean, but nothing could be further from the truth. She has only bitten me once and that was squarely on me for ignoring her warning.
Clyde is as sweet as can be. He loves everyone and wants nothing more than to snuggle with my wife, Lesa, and is content to attach to her every minute of everyday when she is home. If she isn't, and someone else is, she will attach to them as a substitute.
Except me. He will tolerate me, and allows me to bring him out of his room in the morning. They have a cage, but the door is never closed and they live in a room that is theirs alone with cargo nets, polls, stands, and toys. Bonnie prefers to stay in there, but I convince her to come out with the flock, Bonnie and the Mealy Amazon Boozie.
Though Bonnie is slightly bigger than Boozie, Boozie wants to pick fights with Bonnie so I usually keep them on separate stands. The 'Toos can fly, Boozie is still working on it.
Ok, all that said, Clyde hates me like poison. Ok, so he is a good judge of character, right? I don't mind, as long as I can get him his food, move him from room to room, etc.... He step up when he is ready to come out of his room, but... just before he steps off, he will bite me hard and not let go. He will climb down from Lesa's lap and walk across the room to climb up my chair, get into my lap, and try to bite me. He will be on my arm and cuddly, and then out of the blue bite me.
Of course it hurts. He's an umbrella cockatoo. But I don't mind. Sometimes I think it's kind of funny after I stop the bleeding. Some days I cannot even give him his "to die for" treats that he loves so much because he would rather take a chunk out of my hand. And I have the scabs and scars to prove it. Even when I try to put them directly into his bowl instead of his mouth, he will come flying over to attack me.
Here's my question: am I doing something to elicit this inconsistent behavior or is Clyde not an unusual case? Are some 'Toos just more erratic and inconsistent? Can anyone think of any way I can change his mind about me? I'm not a bad guy! All the birds love me!
Clyde is as sweet as can be. He loves everyone and wants nothing more than to snuggle with my wife, Lesa, and is content to attach to her every minute of everyday when she is home. If she isn't, and someone else is, she will attach to them as a substitute.
Except me. He will tolerate me, and allows me to bring him out of his room in the morning. They have a cage, but the door is never closed and they live in a room that is theirs alone with cargo nets, polls, stands, and toys. Bonnie prefers to stay in there, but I convince her to come out with the flock, Bonnie and the Mealy Amazon Boozie.
Though Bonnie is slightly bigger than Boozie, Boozie wants to pick fights with Bonnie so I usually keep them on separate stands. The 'Toos can fly, Boozie is still working on it.
Ok, all that said, Clyde hates me like poison. Ok, so he is a good judge of character, right? I don't mind, as long as I can get him his food, move him from room to room, etc.... He step up when he is ready to come out of his room, but... just before he steps off, he will bite me hard and not let go. He will climb down from Lesa's lap and walk across the room to climb up my chair, get into my lap, and try to bite me. He will be on my arm and cuddly, and then out of the blue bite me.
Of course it hurts. He's an umbrella cockatoo. But I don't mind. Sometimes I think it's kind of funny after I stop the bleeding. Some days I cannot even give him his "to die for" treats that he loves so much because he would rather take a chunk out of my hand. And I have the scabs and scars to prove it. Even when I try to put them directly into his bowl instead of his mouth, he will come flying over to attack me.
Here's my question: am I doing something to elicit this inconsistent behavior or is Clyde not an unusual case? Are some 'Toos just more erratic and inconsistent? Can anyone think of any way I can change his mind about me? I'm not a bad guy! All the birds love me!