Angry bird

I adopted a bronzed wing pionus a couple of months ago. He was a plucker. He has quit plucking but has become very angry. He won't let me get him out. I have to open the door and he will come out after about 5 minutes. He tries to bite me everytime i go near him. He was very shy when I first got him but warmed up to me quickly then all of the sudden he is just angry all the time. I don't know what else to do. Any tips? Thanks

lol just sounds like the end of the honeymoon period

firstly, patience they do get over it!

and most important i think, when they are in this frame of mind, try not being confrontational, so carry on openning door for him to come out, but let him do things at hes pace etc, if you give treats, he has to come to you! this way he has no reason to be angry with you!

is he flighted?

also toys are all important now, as they will have a specific toy they want to kill! make sure you have a stock of them, with nut it was this ball with a bell in it! an help my fingers should they touch said ball, and anything she could shred

I have tried the treats out but he will absolutley not take them from my hand. He has lots of toys but never plays with any of them. I have bought new ones and nothing. He is not flighted. I just leave him be but is that the wrong thing to do. He seems like the more I try the worse his attitude gets.

every thing you try he will probably vito lol like i said when they get this way out, to them when you try, your being confrontational, please don't be dis-heartened they do come around

ok how big is his cage, where is it in your home, who else lives there an any other animals, how much time do you spend with him, an how much sleep does he get/you give him

Chillin, he may not take them from your hand now, but as hard as it is, be patient.

He's already stopped plucking, so there's proof that he's already happier than when you got him.

Let him find his comfort zone, and he will come to you. He's going to live a long time...there's no rush.

Yep it will take time. My BH hated my wife. She lets her out of the cage in the morning and talks to her during the day. Now after 2 years Gary will go look for her if she does not know where she is. Yes Gary is a girl. She does not go to her yet but now does not try to bite her all the time. Hopefully it won't take 2 years for yours to warm up to you but it will take a while. Also if he is hormonal that will make them angry. Gary will bite me during her hormonal time. Just go slow had you should see results.

Chillin - has he EVER bitten you that you have reacted dramatically (scream, flinch, like that?)

I only ask because my white cap bit me & I did react a couple months ago (I've had him since January). And for the past several weeks, I was wondering why he was so angry at me, displaying, strutting stiff-legged, lunging wide-mouthed & screaming "BIP!!!" . . . (Which just sounds stupid until he connects & draws blood. LOTS of blood.)

And just generally HATING me & trying to bite me when ever I was in the room. I kept asking myself what I'd done to make him angry. One day, he actually whistled nicely (I'd taught him to whistle to get my attention, rather than to scream) to call me into the room (and then he bit me savagely). That's when I realized I MUST have reacted badly to a bite one day & he enjoyed my reaction so much he invented the "bite my human" game.

He & I had a little session involving a squirt bottle (I'm big on positive reinforcement, but he had been biting me too long so I needed to let him know that even THINKING about biting me was a bad idea).

He still feels free to express his opinion when I am paying more attention to something that isn't him, but he now does it in a way that doesn't make me bleed.

As someone said, the honeymoon period is over. You need to work out the details of HOW you will relate, going forward.

Best of luck. I'm still learning how to do that, too!

I too believe in the squirt bottle method. I use it when Tiki wants to get overly loud and wants to squawk just for the sake of squawking. I give her a little squirt of water and tell NO, that is your OUTSIDE VOICE. She then calms right down.

She has never liked to be misted with water. She prefers to take a bath on her own.

Sometimes I don't even know where to start....

Food... LOTS of fresh veggies, a tiny amount of seed, and very little pellet (pionus have vastly different dietary requirements than other psitticines. A good diet makes a healthy happy bird (or at a start)

Cage.... One of the biggest mistakes made by pet bird owners is over furnishing a cage. 3 perches of varying size, and a few toys (give him room to move if you haven't already).

Cage placement..... a cage should be against a wall (two walls like a corner for a nervous bird), and only one wall for a slightly more outgoing bird)... no round cages (birds like to sleep in a corner makes them feel safe)

Lighting.... all birds should either be outside for the majority of the day or a uvb full spectrum light placed over their cage.... replace bulb every six months.

Now those are the basics.... as far as your bid is concerned, consider this.... certain species need very confident handlers, even some individual birds have to be sure that you are the alpha...

I'll put it this way.... ever seen the lady in the grocery store with a whining child or one just being a brat???? THAT lady generally does VERY poorly with parrots. If you can't set firm and fair rules while still loving your bird, then they will do one of two things.... become insanely distrusting, or overtly aggressive.

Do not fear a bird bite (yes they hurt, and I should know I've been bitten countless times over the past 25 years).... but here I refuse to be afraid...


Let me add this, my husband has VERY tough skin on his hands. No grey or pionus or amazon can draw blood. Anytime I have a bird like that I hand it to him.... You'd be amazed how a bird will react if you allow them to bite you and you DON'T react. They generally look a little lost and then you see confusion flash through their eyes, and then a little bit of fear, and then they generally calm right down. So if he does get ahold of you, the advice above about not reacting was sound advice.

Spray bottles have their place, I don't usually recomend them simply because I have seen too many people make some nuerotic birds by sparying them (especially cockatoos). Though it can be a handy training tool in certain cases.

Best of luck!

I'm just surprised that no one ever suggest the perch training method except me...lol...

Get a perch and train him to go onto it, get a second perch and place it in front of him to make him step up to the second perch, then repeat the process over and over. It's a great training exercise, no squirting, yelling, or whatever involved. No one gets hurt, no blood shed, etc....Every time you get him, use the perch, then repeat it over and over again. Tell him/or her their name and say step up when you do it. Eventually use your hand infront of the perch. At anytime they try to bite, roll the perch front and back, they would try to balance instead of biting. Tell them no biting while your rolling.

Of course there's other methods of training off YouTube that I really like which is Target Training! Watch it on YouTube, I highly suggest it!!!