Eclectus Hormonal Aggression (New level of 'evil')

Parker is definitely getting hormonal. He's actually been not bad, but the last couple days has seen him lunging at me from his stand whenever I pass by, every time. Harmless, since any attempt to pick him up is met with step up consistently without fuss.

This evening saw him dip to new lows I never saw coming from him. We just sat down on the couch to eat dinner. He climbe down his stand and walks over in what looked like an attempt to come beg like he always does. This was different though, he was going faster, more intently. I reach down to pick him up, he immediately NAILS me hard, drawing big blood.

Little a**hat climbed down and walked 10 feet specifically to bite me!!! That's why his posture seemed so off walking over. It was a charge of sorts. Now i know the difference I will certainly be on the lookout in the future

I got up to grab my glove I use when he gets bitey (thick fleece glove, can't feel bites), and the bastard CHASES me!! thank god I'm only 5 feet away from the glove.

It was immediately to the cage. He had to be flung twice during this event: one for the initial bite and another time near the cage when he tries to move down my gloved hand to my bare arm...not letting him bite that.

He's bitten me three times in as many days, this better be finished soon. I can only hope this is a good sign that a molt is on the horizon, since it's my understanding that molting is often tied to hormonal cycle. Everyone here has been talking about their birds molting, even ekkies; Parker has yet to show a single pin feather.

*audible sigh* the dredges of parrot ownership.

Got video here of his aftermath in his cage. My presence REALLY pisses him off an agitated him. And I'm his person. Poor guy!

[ame="https://youtu.be/TBPpJpO8QKY"]Parker the parrot hormonal and angry - YouTube[/ame]

I'm not really sure where to go from here. I think he might need to stay in his cage for maybe a day or so, but his cage is away from everyone in the basement. Doing so means he won't get much attention. He's got his tv, so that's something. Maybe we can spend a night to two watching tv downstairs. Boy, Eddie won't like that idea.

Oh no Chris I'm so sorry this is happening! I hope this doesn't last too long. How old is Parker now?

Wow big change in Parker, hope it does not last long. This is the same ekkie that was doing harness training so well?

So sorry to see this! Hope he gets back to his old happy self quickly :31:

RavensGryf said:

Oh no Chris I'm so sorry this is happening! I hope this doesn't last too long. How old is Parker now?

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Thanks Julie. He's going on 7 in a couple months. More an invented date, since we don't actually know his hatch date. But I got him last July and they knew he was 6, so I created a fake birthday as a marker, 6/26.

626 is a number that has followed me everywhere for years (license plates, answers to math problem, purchase totals, among other items). I researched it and, if you believe the Internet of things, seeing this number is angels saying "everything is going to be ok". I don't believe all that but there is something romantic about it and a propos to Parkers case, so I made 6/26 his birthday.

wrench13 said:

Wow big change in Parker, hope it does not last long. This is the same ekkie that was doing harness training so well?

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Indeed it is. Needless o say any and all training is on hold on account of a desire by the trainee to rip the trainer to shreds. This should be over hopefully by the end of this week.

OUCH, Chris!! Gosh, he got you good. I can see the blood drips through your bandaid. :11:

And the video!! :52: Yup, Parker's out for blood. WOW! Amazing how quickly he can charge up and down the cage.

Now when not hormonal, is he that quick to get some TLC?

This, too, shall pass.... SOON, I hope!!

He doesn't move like that for love, that's for sure! And You aren't kidding Wendy. I replaced that bandage, and the wound was still bleeding a bit 2 hours later! His bites aren't big and don't hurt too bad but dang if they don't create gushers every time!

To put perspective around how badly this escalated, at his worst he would never do anything to Eddie. Even as he lunged at me, he would completely ignore him. Last night after he drew blood, in the cage he started the beak banging and charging at Eddie for the first time ever.

For any newbie ekkie lurkers wondering how this developed and what it looks like, it started a week ago innocently, doing a light ekkie growl at me whenever I set him down on his stand. He doesn't often do this normally, every once in a while when it really ticked him off to be put down. But it started growling once a day, then three, and a light ekkie growl over a few days became louder, more aggressive to where it became a lunge. And he started doing it not just when I set him down, but when I simply walked by.

In a few days, the lunging will disappear gradually until he's back yo his normal.

Wendy could you please add to the thread title (eclectus hormonal aggression)? I did a Google search and there's not a whole lot out there. I think this could be helpful for people looking specifically for information on it. Heck I might even do a video on handling aggressive ekkie when hormonal, because I've noticed there's not a lot out there on how to physically handle an ekkie when he's hormonal. For what I'm imagining doing, anyone considering An eclectus but afraid of the aggression when hormonal Might be put at ease. I know that was a concern when I first got Parker, but now that I'm in the throes of it, it's not too bad.

Done, Chris! I couldn't leave the entire original title up, but I think I did all right. Let me know if you want anything changed, it's a piece of cake to do.

And yes, this thread is HIGHLY educational! THANK YOU!!

Wow - Parker looks like one unhappy chicken!

Off topic - do you always leave the grate out of the bottom of Parker's cage? I've considered doing that because Dexter drops SO much food when he eats and I hate to see whole nuts going to waste because he can't retrieve them. But, I decided to keep the grate in place due to concern of his playing with or coming in contact with poop.

Thanks Wendy! Did a good job

Dexmom, yes but I don't have a choice. His cage came with him and there was no grate. I suspect his previous owners threw it out. there have been no issues so far, knock on wood.

chris-md said:

...I'm not really sure where to go from here. I think he might need to stay in his cage for maybe a day or so, but his cage is away from everyone in the basement. Doing so means he won't get much attention. He's got his tv, so that's something. Maybe we can spend a night to two watching tv downstairs. Boy, Eddie won't like that idea.

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Wow, Chris. Sorry about your hand! I feel for you, those hormones can be really rough.

As for where to go from here, I know a lot of people do exactly as you're thinking and just leave him be in his cage for a day or two. I did it a little differently when it happened with Maya. (Jolly won't be three until September, so we haven't gone there, yet.) I took her out as usual, watching her body language intently. (Ekkie warning signs are so much more subtle than those of other parrots! Grrr!) And I carried a small piece of wood (one of the wood slat parts for her toys) around with me whenever holding her. That way, if I missed a sign and she went for me, I could interpose it between her beak and my flesh. Serves great as a distractor, as most birds will start chewing away on that and forget that they were looking to eat you.

Then, at the moment she started acting a bit out of hand, I would immediately put her on time out and leave the room. No attention while she's still in an aggressive state. The only difference between this corrective action and what I might do with a non-hormonal bird who was having a biting problem is that her timeout would last longer for cool off purposes. After all, the hormones have her revved up, you know?

I think doing this is important because a hormonal bird still requires some attention. For reasons beyond their control and understanding, they're just more unpredictable and prone to mood swings. So I endeavor to work with her to the extent that she can be worked with during these times, and when the pendulum swings the other way, she goes on timeout. The timeout aspect is important, here, because they have to understand that biting is never acceptable.

I know. Saying biting is never acceptable when hormones take much of their control away seems unreasonable. But there's a method to my madness. See, it's not that they're possessed or something. They just have less control. So if they are consistently conditioned to view biting you as a bad thing, their emotional impulses can be tempered - somewhat - by their conditioning.

Perfect example. Consider what happened in this recent thread by Wendy: http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/61562-how-not-touch-during-hormonal-bouts.html Niko is feeling hormonal. So, though he normally wouldn't bite Wendy, he did so when she went to touch his back. But though the bite was obviously less than pleasant, it was nowhere near what it could have been. Why? Partially because he loves her. But also because he has been conditioned against the idea of biting. So he didn't go all in. Had he not been consistently bite pressure trained over the years, things might've turned considerably more... sanguine.

So bites, even during hormonal fits, get "punished" with a timeout. Completely leaving the room.

Now of course, common sense has to be added to the mix. If a bird looks about ready to bite the living daylights out of you from the moment you approach, you don't add fuel to the fire by trying to pick him up anyway. Always respect the body language.

Wonderful advise Stephen, thank you. i will see how he is when I get home. What complicates matters here is that it's crystal clear (even to non-birdie Eddie) that my presence is an aggrivating factor. That video you saw, he was very unrelenting trying to get to me, and the video was mild compared to the rest of the night. If my being around is setting him off tonight, i might just leave him be for a night and revisit tomorrow.

Man I still can't get over that he walked that distance specifically to bite me. It's almost comical! Little dude was on a mission!

Wow Chris, it really is night and day with that video, I have seen Parker in previous videos a sweet boy who would do no wrong, but he really wants to get to you through that cage.

626 might be associated with angels, but that's no angel we see in that video.

I am watching and learning, this is a great topic to be discussed, please let us know how you go, what works and what doesn't, as I have a feeling Gizmo (who I don't think has yet hit the hormone stage), will be an equally difficult case to deal with.

Hope the hand is healing well.

Cheers,

Cameron

I'm gonna put this here, but will make a new separate thread. I wound up making the video mentioned below. I admit I feel a little guilty because it was maybe unnecessary stress, but if even one person learns how to handle their parrots in a pinch, it will be worth it in my mind.

[ame="https://youtu.be/zD8R7zcD9NI"]How to handle a hormonally aggressive eclectus - YouTube[/ame]

It got even more bizarre. After dinner I came down and sat with him. He was so worked up he took it out on the newspaper on the bottom of the cage. Not nest shredding. This was rip up a large chunk and shake head back and forth like a terrier with a rat, foaming at the mouth MAD.

Cameron, you really nailed it. A switch flipped. I'm fascinated by the fact that I dont recgonize this devil. I'm perfectly fine and not rattled, but I want my sweet shoulder potato back please. I've seen him hormonal, but it was half of what this mess is. I never would have guessed it's this bad. But like I say in the video, it's actually not that hard to manage. Patience and knowing when to back off.

I'm sorry Chris, what a flip for Parker. Now I see the other side of the fence, it's not greener for sure. Venus hasn't bit me like Parker bit you but for 3 months she has been hormonal, flattening like a pancake, her way of asking for more action. And last night, she was on a mission to "feed" me, she was trying hard to feed me (sorry Venus, gross).

You are doing great with Parker and thank you for sharing the journey. Right now I think if Parker and Venus were in a room together, we'd have an atomic explosion just based on hormones, lol!!



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This is a really helpful thread, thank you.

Ruby is a bit hormonal these last few days and has been lowering her head, raising her butt, growling at me when I go by her cage, pinning like CRAZY, and beaking my hand away. If I persist at Step Up, she will apply pressure harder and harder until she pinches. She pinched right on a vein in my hand (I have very shallow veins and terrible veins at that, so of course it blew out when she bit me there!)

Here's a picture of the two nasty scars I have from Molly. She actually bruised that bone in my hand, any more pressure and she would have broken it. Took months to heal. The scar is definitely permanent.