is this a cockatoo thing or a Rocky thing?

Siobhan

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Rocky will get all silly and put his crest up and dance and say "whoo!" and then CHOMP on my arm. I know the difference between agitation (as in fear or anger) and just being silly. When he's upset/agitated, I don't let him on my arm. But when I'm taking him somewhere and he's calm and happy and then decides to be silly and THEN bites (just hard enough to bruise, not hard enough to break the skin), what is THAT all about? We've had him four years plus and I still can't always accurately predict when he's going to do this until he's doing it and I can't get him off me first.
 

Gemster

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I believe your cockatoo is so excited and overwhelmed, he doesn't know how to behave and bites. I would never approach any bird that is showing signs of aggression or a bird who is overly excited.
Have you ever seen a video of a bird (mostly cockatoo since they are easy to excite) who hasn't seen their owner for several days or weeks? The bird bites randomly. (Well.. not always)
This is something an owner doesn't expect, they expect the bird to cuddle and show affection for not seeing them for a while, but that's not always the case. They Could Be TOO Excited.
I think you will more likely see this in cockatoos than any other species.
One thing I always remind myself, 'an excited bird is a dangerous bird'. That's just for safety reasons though, it's mostly when a bird is VERY excited.
 

noodles123

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Mine does this when over-stimulated (in a happy but overly-excited way). It is a cockatoo thing that can happen when they engage in a high energy activity for longer than usual---it isn't because they are mad, but because they seem to need an outlet for all of that excited energy---like, "I'm so excited I could scream!!!" only, cockatoo style (because, let's face it, screaming is not that big of a deal to them haha).
 
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Siobhan

Siobhan

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He goes from zero to chomp in about one second so there's no time to put him down before the chomp. He'll be perfectly calm, crest down, and suddenly up goes the crest, bounce, bounce, CHOMP. He's had a really rough life, though. Like most 'toos, he's been in several homes and all but one were horrible. His original human got him from the breeder and at some point (I don't know how long after) got sick and had a lengthy recovery and rehomed him without, apparently, properly vetting the new home. Those people were abusive and then they rehomed him to someone else who was abusive. He was only 5 when we got him (he's 9 now) and was traumatized and scared of so many things that my other birds never even glance at. The broom, for example. He's over it now, but he was terrified of the broom for a long time. He has an active dislike for my brother, who wouldn't hurt an animal for anything, and every time he comes over, Rocky wants to attack him. I think my brother must look something like one of the men who was mean to him.

I try to remember all that abuse when he does something like chomp me, because he's probably doing it due to memories of the ill treatment (and because he's a 'too).
 

Gemster

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He goes from zero to chomp in about one second so there's no time to put him down before the chomp. He'll be perfectly calm, crest down, and suddenly up goes the crest, bounce, bounce, CHOMP. He's had a really rough life, though. Like most 'toos, he's been in several homes and all but one were horrible. His original human got him from the breeder and at some point (I don't know how long after) got sick and had a lengthy recovery and rehomed him without, apparently, properly vetting the new home. Those people were abusive and then they rehomed him to someone else who was abusive. He was only 5 when we got him (he's 9 now) and was traumatized and scared of so many things that my other birds never even glance at. The broom, for example. He's over it now, but he was terrified of the broom for a long time. He has an active dislike for my brother, who wouldn't hurt an animal for anything, and every time he comes over, Rocky wants to attack him. I think my brother must look something like one of the men who was mean to him.

I try to remember all that abuse when he does something like chomp me, because he's probably doing it due to memories of the ill treatment (and because he's a 'too).

I definitely think being a too' has something to do with it. Maybe you can change that. :D
Do you keep him on your arm for a long time before he bites?
It could be a trigger to the bites.
Cockatoos are very hard read therefore not the best pets for everyone, even some bird-experts are not suited to own one.
You are resting on the couch with your bird and then suddenly he bites?
To me this sounds as if your cockatoo wants interaction, not only to spend time with you but for you to pay attention to him. He feels that the only way to get your attention at this point, is to bite.
He probably was displaying signs of discontentment but it can be very difficult to notice.
If this isn't the case, I have no idea what that could be.
I recommend that you don't leave him on your shoulder/hand for long periods of time but to pay attention to him every few minutes so that he knows that you acknowledge his presence.
Good luck, I hope this is it because once you have found the source then that's fixable. :)
 

Scott

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May be more of a cockatoo species thing? My Goffins are rather docile and even tempered. I can tell right away when one of them is rarely out of sorts with a tendency of nippiness. Of course they don't pin their eyes in the manner of an Amazon!
 
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Siobhan

Siobhan

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We have a built-in perch for him on our enclosed porch. It happens most often when I'm carrying him from that perch to his "taxi," a perch fixed onto a set of wheels, so I can take him with me to the birds' room (a tiel and a Quaker) or another room, and have a place for him to sit while I'm doing something else. It's about 10 steps from porch to taxi and we do this trip multiple times a day. About two steps from the taxi, up goes the crest, bounce, bounce, chomp. Almost every time. Mind you, he LIKES coming with me as I go around doing things. He doesn't want me to leave him on the porch and go do laundry or dishes or hang out with the other birds or practice the piano. He wants to come, too. And he knows the taxi is his royal coach, which I push from room to room with him on it and happy to be there.
 

ParrotGenie

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2 umbrella Cockatoos One male named Cooper and female named Baby 1 Little Corella male named Frankie and have 5 Cockatiels three named Male named Pepper, Fiesco for the female and female named Wylie.
Rocky will get all silly and put his crest up and dance and say "whoo!" and then CHOMP on my arm. I know the difference between agitation (as in fear or anger) and just being silly. When he's upset/agitated, I don't let him on my arm. But when I'm taking him somewhere and he's calm and happy and then decides to be silly and THEN bites (just hard enough to bruise, not hard enough to break the skin), what is THAT all about? We've had him four years plus and I still can't always accurately predict when he's going to do this until he's doing it and I can't get him off me first.
My male U2 use to do this when I first adopted him for a while. He would bounce up and down and then a hard CHOMP. He got a couple people that way. I trained him out of it since, by putting him in time out for a few minutes at a time, till he learn that was not good. He stopped doing it since and taught him how to flip upside down and etc since then. He one of the few birds that loves to do crazy tricks and unstable perch. He will bounce his head when he want me to bounce, or go up in the air. He even learn how to fly in a pretty tight spiral. He pretty social overall and type of bird that will let anyone pick him up and play with him.
 
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Siobhan

Siobhan

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I've tried explaining that he needs to not chomp. The silly is fine. The chomp isn't. I put one finger on his beak and say "No chomps. No bites." And he will give me this INJURED look like a kid sent to the corner. LOL "WHAT???? NO BITES???? You're no fun anymore!"
 

Justrosie

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When I first began bonding with Jojo, my Goffin, he would sometimes swing upside-down from my arm, then suddenly reach up and bite my hand HARD. I was never sure if it was an excitement thing or him expecting me to do something when he swung and then biting me when I failed to do said "something".
I was able to work through this with him by sternly telling him "no" when it happened, and then putting him in his cage and taking a break where I didn't interact with him. This worked well, and soon he would swing upside down without biting me.
So I'm still not sure if it was due to excitement or not that caused this, but we quickly resolved the issue!
 

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