Hi guys-
So my little Green Cheek, Peep, is just about 9 months old now.
He lives with me, my wife and our 7 year old daughter, we have no other pets. From day one he has been a very sweet bird and never bit us hard enough to draw blood. There were a few occasions where he was a bit too rough, especially with my daughter, but not too bad.
He isn't great with guests, some in particular, but he never would really try to hurt anyone in our family.
He is out of his cage most of the day, was hand raised and we have always handled him. In fact, he often is quite cuddly and will roll around on his back, crawl in your shirt, let you handle his wings, etc.
Now, within the last week, he is having a lot of aggressive behavior, especially towards me. This is especially unusual, because in the past I have been his favored companion.
He will be fine, and then almost as if a switch flips, he'll decide he is out for blood. He will actively attack my hands, even if I move them away, and a few days ago he ran up and bit my lip.
Each time he did this, I firmly held him and said "No" (but didn't yell) and brought him to his cage.
Last time he did this, yesterday evening, I brought him to his cage and immediately put the light out. In the morning when I went to take him out, he obviously hadn't forgotten the grudge and immediately came out to attack me. I put him back and my wife took him out an hour or so later and he was friendly with her.
I avoided him until this evening, and I could see he was still looking at me with the "evil eye". I eventually got him to calm down with a lot of gentle talking and a couple treats, and he cautiously climbed up to my shoulder and was very sweet as he usually is. He let me scratch him, and was being normal.
He was good for about an hour, we were laying in bad watching TV, and suddenly he attacked my hands again.
I got him to calm down and he's been on my shoulder, desk or with my daughter since, but every time I bring my hands near him he's ready to pounce again.
Any idea what could be causing this behavior? I don't think it's related to molting - he has been molting for quite some time now and if anything is past the worst of it, and he never was particularly grumpy even when his head was covered in pins.
Could it be early signs of hormonal changes due to reaching sexual maturity? He hasn't demonstrated other signs I've read about, like regurgitating or rubbing his vent on anything. I also thought 9 months is a bit young to be entering puberty.
I'm just at a loss as to how to approach this. I'm trying not to be too tough on him because I don't want to damage our relationship, but I obviously can't be constantly worried he is going to snap at any time and decide my hands are the enemy.
So my little Green Cheek, Peep, is just about 9 months old now.
He lives with me, my wife and our 7 year old daughter, we have no other pets. From day one he has been a very sweet bird and never bit us hard enough to draw blood. There were a few occasions where he was a bit too rough, especially with my daughter, but not too bad.
He isn't great with guests, some in particular, but he never would really try to hurt anyone in our family.
He is out of his cage most of the day, was hand raised and we have always handled him. In fact, he often is quite cuddly and will roll around on his back, crawl in your shirt, let you handle his wings, etc.
Now, within the last week, he is having a lot of aggressive behavior, especially towards me. This is especially unusual, because in the past I have been his favored companion.
He will be fine, and then almost as if a switch flips, he'll decide he is out for blood. He will actively attack my hands, even if I move them away, and a few days ago he ran up and bit my lip.
Each time he did this, I firmly held him and said "No" (but didn't yell) and brought him to his cage.
Last time he did this, yesterday evening, I brought him to his cage and immediately put the light out. In the morning when I went to take him out, he obviously hadn't forgotten the grudge and immediately came out to attack me. I put him back and my wife took him out an hour or so later and he was friendly with her.
I avoided him until this evening, and I could see he was still looking at me with the "evil eye". I eventually got him to calm down with a lot of gentle talking and a couple treats, and he cautiously climbed up to my shoulder and was very sweet as he usually is. He let me scratch him, and was being normal.
He was good for about an hour, we were laying in bad watching TV, and suddenly he attacked my hands again.
I got him to calm down and he's been on my shoulder, desk or with my daughter since, but every time I bring my hands near him he's ready to pounce again.
Any idea what could be causing this behavior? I don't think it's related to molting - he has been molting for quite some time now and if anything is past the worst of it, and he never was particularly grumpy even when his head was covered in pins.
Could it be early signs of hormonal changes due to reaching sexual maturity? He hasn't demonstrated other signs I've read about, like regurgitating or rubbing his vent on anything. I also thought 9 months is a bit young to be entering puberty.
I'm just at a loss as to how to approach this. I'm trying not to be too tough on him because I don't want to damage our relationship, but I obviously can't be constantly worried he is going to snap at any time and decide my hands are the enemy.