Horrible New Year

SharpCheddar

New member
Nov 30, 2018
8
0
Texas
Parrots
Cheddar the GCC
Yesterday marked the first time Cheddar has bitten me to the point of bleeding. I am completely saddened by this development. All yesterday he had acted territorial with tail flaring and puffing out. It even got to the point where as I was walking past he flew to me to bite my ear. I gave him his space all day long and he ended up being non combative and eventually turned his back to me as a final Piss off. My wife, however, got the lovey bird treatment and he showered her with love all throughout the day. It ended with him going to be early so he could get a much longer 12-14 hours of sleep. For background information, he is perhaps 8-10 months old and I am the one to usually give him the attention and feedings of snacks and treats throughout the day. Besides the new behavioral developments, he's gone through his first molt with flying colors and otherwise is in peak health. Besides, maybe he eats a few more fruits then he does veggies.


Today brings a new development. After taking him out and putting him on his mobile perch to watch me work around the house he has seemed to have chilled but remains more bitey and moody than usual. Being rather more aggresive over food sources than usual but is drinking and eating the same as always.

As I'm writing this he is sitting on my should preening. and accepting scritches per the norm after a lot of emotion-fueled "research", I am making the assumption that he is going through a hormonal phase and hopefully this won't last through the next couple of months and with proper handling we both will make it out of this relatively unscathed. Am I correct in my assumptions or from this information is something more nefarious afoot? perhaps he has developed a taste for human flesh. :green1: Thank you for the read and any insight you can provide.

TL:DR GCC has been moody and aggressive and turned to shearing my flesh what do?
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Oh those GCC! They run a tight ship! You walk the line or walk the plank!! My GCC bit me this morning with that needle tip, and blood ran down my hand! So I get it. :) I find it best to forget it and move on....my bite was due to her not getting her night time special one on one love, she also hates my phone, if it's in my hand I get bit, if Im on a phone call she flies to me and bites...I think with GCC you have to accept there will be bites from time to time, I have years with no bites... Then I screw up and get a bite...but as I've said in many posts her soul is ruled by safflower seeds ....
 

GaleriaGila

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Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
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Cleveland area
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Just some Conure-ramblings for you...

My thoughts on lighting...
Ever since the Rickeybird hit sexual maturity at about 3-4 years of age, I've had to manage his hormones! If kept on too steady a long day, and too much light, he stayed "in the mood" (aggressive, even louder than usual, pleasuring himself on my neck ) year round. If I keep him on a natural light schedule... up with dawn, down with dusk, year around... THEN he's only a little monster rooster from July to September). He has his own room, so I can do that easily.

And about the biting business ---
I loved Laura's thoughts.
Personally, I have reduced biting to almost zero over the years I've spent with the Rickeybird... and a lot of that has involved compromise. I don't do stuff that gets me bitten. Some will say I have let him get away with too much, and that's a fair criticism, but, well... I'm okay with it. I don't do stuff that makes him mad... I don't touch others when he's out; I rarely try to get him to step up onto my hand first. Hand-held perch first, then hand. In some ways, I'm disappointed/embarassed at having such a little monster for a pet, but he is what he is. I ALWAYS wear my hair down when he's on my shoulder, so all he can bite is hair. Really, I don't involve hands much... he doesn't like them. He seems to think the real ME is my head, perched on a weird moveable tree with questionable appendages.
I have had some success with using the "earthquake" technique for biting. When he bites, give your hand a swift shake... it should make him let go. The idea... every time he bites, a mysterious earthquske shakes him up. Some people feel this is mean and/or engenders lack of trust. The same can work for clothes biting... give your shoulder a shake, or jump! For me, it has helped.
But please... listen to and try all the good advice you'll get here.
Don't compromise until you know you've done your best. Then just accept and love whatever/whoever your bird turns out to be.

My Rickeybird is in some ways kind of a worse-case scenario, but we have it all worked out between the two of us. Parrots run the gamut (just like people) of temperament and mental stability/brain chemistry. Like the proverbial box of chocolates... ya never know what you're gonna get.
Parrot-owners usually wind up determining their own personal comfort level with various behaviors.

Good luck!
 
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SharpCheddar

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Nov 30, 2018
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Texas
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Cheddar the GCC
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Thanks for the responses I'm going to try and keep him on a natural light cycle and hope that reduces the bites. as for the tight ship, I'm going to try and recognize his warning sighs a bit better because obviously, I've got a long way to go because that lovely little bird got me again in the same exact spot.. my cuticle on my pointer finger will never be the same. Thanks for the advice
 

Inger

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Parrot of the Month 🏆
Mar 20, 2017
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Everett, WA
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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
I don't have a conure, I have a bitey parrotlet. You could certainly be dealing with hormones. Beyond that, I have found that a couple of things that cause Bumble to lash out

First, if she's molting, she gets a little crazy, so I always try to be aware of that and, as much as she'll let me, help her with the pinnies or her head by skritching them away.

Second, "it's never the fault of the parrot; it's always the fault of the human." Like Laura and Gail have recounted, birds have rules for us. When we break them, they often bite. For example, Bumble doesn't allow me to wear the color turquoise (I keep trying and I just got reminded again yesterday!). If I find her being unusually carnivorous, I examine the environment. Am I wearing turquoise? Am I wearing something new? Have I changed my hair? New glasses? Did I rearrange the furniture? Is it the ugly Christmas sweater she hates? Am I crinkling a lot of bags? Is the bathroom door open? And so on, until I narrow down what she's reacting to. And my understanding is that the reason they bite us in these situations is that they're trying to warn us of danger, and the squawking hasn't worked so they need to move on to a more forceful approach. So if I can alleviate the "danger" (by closing the bathroom door), I do. If not, well, so far I haven't found an "if not."

There are also some really good threads on bite pressure training that might help. Bumble usually gives me a gentle warning first.

Good luck!
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Oh yes the GCC quickly realizes the spots that hurt the most!!! Cuticle bites are Ta-dah favorite, my bite today was right next to my thumbnail! I have multiple birds so I get to witness their squabbles, it's quick punching sparing with the beak or they bite each other feet for maximum effect, then they are done and snuggle preening each other. So I take my que from them, it's just not a big deal ..us humans live a pretty soft life, lol , maybe the pain makes you feel more alive? My Quaker rarely bite and if they do it's just a little pinch, I much prefer their bites. If Neptune is with me and he sees Ta-dah about to bite he shuves her so she won't! And if Ta-dah is with me and Neptune looks like he might bite she says no no no! I guess they are the only ones who can punish me, no other burds are allowed to!
 
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SharpCheddar

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Nov 30, 2018
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Texas
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Cheddar the GCC
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Your stories of the terror of turquoise, The Bathroom Bandit and Ta-Dah the stranged biter have given me hope. I'm sure I'll eventually narrow down the reason. I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with my zip-up jackets and now that I know some as simple as color can set of a bird the world is my ocean. That or I can just get a Neptune to protect me from my bully.
 

T00tsyd

Well-known member
May 8, 2017
1,256
862
UK
Parrots
Green cheek conure - Sydney (Syd) Hatched 2/2017
Just some Conure-ramblings for you...

My thoughts on lighting...
Ever since the Rickeybird hit sexual maturity at about 3-4 years of age, I've had to manage his hormones! If kept on too steady a long day, and too much light, he stayed "in the mood" (aggressive, even louder than usual, pleasuring himself on my neck ) year round. If I keep him on a natural light schedule... up with dawn, down with dusk, year around... THEN he's only a little monster rooster from July to September). He has his own room, so I can do that easily.

Can I just ask a question about this? Here where I am in UK it gets dark at about 4pm and light after 8am. Would you keep to those hours for sleep? I assumed it to be simply too long. Sorry if this is too much off topic!
 

T00tsyd

Well-known member
May 8, 2017
1,256
862
UK
Parrots
Green cheek conure - Sydney (Syd) Hatched 2/2017
Syd has been - and probably still will be a biter at times. I have worked out that as long as I behave myself and stick to what he's taught me I'll be relatively safe. Apart from that as long as I avoid ALL scary situations, and actually leave him alone when he's, what I would call grumpy, then I can escape any blood letting. He definitely understands the word 'no', although it produces a temporary hesitation rather than a complete stop. He will eye me head cocked, as if to know if I really mean it, then carry on as if he hadn't heard me. In those situations I take care and remove him with his spare perch rather than let him show me who is boss.
Mostly now we rub along pretty well, but as I have mentioned elsewhere he has trained me well!
 

Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Full house
Maybe the new year doesn't feel so horrible now? :)
 
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EllenD

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Aug 20, 2016
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State College, PA
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
At 8-10 months old, he is actually going through his very first "hormonal-phase", or puberty. That's the issue. It's the longest and the most-difficult hormonal period they go through, and at the same time he was going through or continues to go through his first molt, which is also the biggest molt he will ever go through (Green Cheeks actually change their colors quite a bit during their first molt, depending on the mutation; my Yellow-Sided change his colors drastically all over his body, his belly, chest, head, face, etc.)...So he's a grumpy little guy right now and it's probably going to last for a couple of months at the least.

Keeping him on as much of a "Natural Light Schedule" as you can should help quite a bit. Make sure that wherever his sleep-cage or whatever he sleeps in is in a place where he can actually see the light changes that occur at both sunrise in the morning and at sunset at night, as seeing the sunlight changes helps to get their body and sleep rhythms on a schedule. Avoid feeding him any warm or mushy foods, as they too cause their hormones to flare. Avoid touching him anywhere but on his head, face, and neck.

Here's a big one, out of curiosity, does he have any type of "Happy Hut", "Snuggle Hut", or any type of tent, hammock, box, etc. that he can get inside of? Any towels, blankets, or fabric that he can get underneath? Any furniture that he can get underneath? Anything that could be used as a nesting material, such as bedding, wood chips, shredded paper, etc.? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to remove all of these things from his cage/play-stands/areas, and make sure that he cannot ever get underneath any furniture or inside of any boxes, basically you need to avoid any and all "small, dark, warm places", as well as any fabric/cloth that he can get under. All of these things cause extreme hormone-rushes and make them crazy and often very aggressive.
 

FrancisMom

Member
Nov 4, 2018
76
19
Greensboro, NC
Parrots
U2 - Francis "Francie"
Early in December I got my hair cut -- significantly. For a day or two Francie, my 'too, was nipping my ear. I think it was because I looked so different. Silly little thing to us but apparently a big deal to them!
 

Rudustin

New member
Oct 25, 2018
56
2
Miami Beach, Fl.
Parrots
Queen Bavarian Conure
I have a Golden Conure and he is very young still. However the biting hasn't reached the same proportion however nips every now and then are annoying but I find that happens when he is trying to tell me something. "I'm hungry! Why are you changing the schedule? Why am I out of my cage in the middle of the afternoon? Why aren't I getting my normal cuddle time? Why are you in the kitchen for so long with out me? When am I going to get my shower?" My Muffin is not old enough to get hormonal yet but I am preparing myself for the inevitable! I let him out of his cage longer than the normal amount of time and he began to just squawk despite the fact that he could get back into his cage to preen and play with his toys at any time! So, I had to come to him from my kitchen and put him back in the cage, close and lock the door and now he is quiet and contented. Having had birds most of my life they are trying to communicate and yes they have rules and when we break them they get upset.Yesterday I had to work very late and came home late and Muffin was not happy with me. I think this morning I tried to give him more out of cage time feeling guilty that he had very little time yesterday. In trying to make the time up he became confused so I had to return to the scheduled time in and out today. I can only hope that your little one will get over the biting issue soon.
 

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