First vet visit

[Shellie]

Birdmom12 this sounds so much like my recent experience! Our green cheek is coming home tomorrow and the closest avian vet won't accept new patients so we were referred to the Avian Vet at Iowa State University. It's ok, it's not that much further away from us. It sure would be nice to have an avian vet in Des Moines itself. I kinda feel like they'd do very well here.

 

[Anita1250]

Well, don't be too upset. As she gets older, she may come around. My Sam is 36 and has always liked the guys better, but now he is also very close to me. I guess having him for 36 years is good for something!

 

[Birdmom12]

Well, don't be too upset. As she gets older, she may come around. My Sam is 36 and has always liked the guys better, but now he is also very close to me. I guess having him for 36 years is good for something!

I have days where I think shes warming up to me... then she lashes out :58: I've made it a habit to walk by her cage again and treat her. Either with a walnut or a small nibble of cracker. She usually has to take it from a dish though. Shes gotten in the habit of very aggressively snatching treats from my hand. When she has her treat she chirps and gurgles away making her sweet noises. She also releases some musky sweet odor to. Whatever it is shes feeling towards me its short lived before she hisses and flares up at me again. I wish we could find a way to stop her hormonal sexual behavior. Shes still hovering down constantly. I have a feeling if we could break her of this tick she might calm down a bit.

 

[Anita1250]

This time of year is usually a hormonal one. Give her a little time and it may get better. My firs husband passed away in 2003 and I remarried three years later. It took Sam almost 10 years to finally accept my new husband and develop a relationship with him. Now I call him Judas because he is so close to Roger! LOL

 

[Birdmom12]

Anita,

Glad Sam came around even after 10 years. There may be hope for us yet.

I am curious about something which you or others may have input on. At her vet visit we discovered this move she does is actually her masturbating. Now that we know what this means I'm noticing some triggers to it. On the rare occasion she flies to me she will do this move on my shoulders. Many times when I pass her she does it as well. Could I be triggering her frustration? I don't pet her and in fact don't even touch her. She won't allow me to. I only feed her and clean her cage.

Any ideas?

 

[Birdmom12]

Must vent to others that can understand: I’m very new to the large bird world. New as in February of this year new. George (aka Georgia) doesn’t like me which I know! My husband up until today thought it was all in my head. After a few dive bombs I always keep my eye on her, cautious of her behavior and a good distance. I try my best to respect her space and avoid an attack. Today she was on his shoulder he was walking around doing house work and would walk past me. I kept my eye on her and she was shockingly behaving! When it came time for her to go back to her cage for supper he had her at her cage door. I was in another room but within eye sight. Suddenly she took off for me. As her normal attacks she flew right for my face so I knew she meant business not wanting to be on my shoulder. I turned away she nailed me, I drop to the floor she swoops back around comes for me again so I swat her away expecting her to stop, nope she circles back around so I cover my head where she grabs my hand and rips into my knuckle. I know I shouldn’t have reacted...but I know she means business when she flies at me like that, it’s hard to stay still and calm.. My husband had to get in between us to stop the attack. I’m now left with a swollen, throbbing and bloody hand. I’m also devastated to say the least. Had I knowingly provoked the attack I’d understand...but I was a room away minding my own business. I just don’t know what to do to stop these moments from happening.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

WOW! My Amy doesn't fly,he never learned how to when he was young (never fledged) Honestly...I think I'd bring Georgia right to her CAV TOMORROW and have that young lady's sleeves shortened! ( sorry..."sleeves shortened=wings clipped ) and start from scratch! It may sound harsh but in a few months her sleeves will get long anyway.
I have never been attacked in the manner you just described and I have no clue what I would do if Amy DID do something like that...sure from time to time he will run across the floor with his arms out,rudder spread open and grab a piece of carpet
I think if you do clip her it will be much easier to try and get a bond going,or at least some kind of truce! I feel your pain!



Jim

 

[ChristaNL]

Actually, this is very simple: not sure how comfy your bird is with everything your hubbie does (that may also be a reason for some pent up energy! If they are geting into a pairbond he is just driving away the competition... nothing personal!), but the bird really did not want to go back in the cage without blowing some steam.

Staring at a bird non stop means agression: so from the birds point of vieuw you are challenging him all day long, every second you get- so yea... he is probably keyed up like nothing else because of that.

Divebombing is the perfect way to show another who is boss, and you let hem!
He came out on top- so he beat the crap about the one who had been taunting him all that time and it felt good!
(Parrots always will repeat rewarding behaviour - so building a pattern is not hard in this case.)


You have a smart bird who knows exactly what buttons to push to make you cower in a corner.
Can't blame him but I do feel sorry for you! That is not a fun relationship to have with the bird.
But they way you react to it also does not help.

Clipping his wings and taking away the power of flight may help you to build another type of relationship, but only if you get over your fear of getting hurt and stop pestering the bird.


(If it is hormonal your hubbie schould distance himself a bit - there is a lot of advise on how to do that here)

I know it usually is a vicious circle: you watch the bird because you do not trust him, the bird feels the eyes burning in the back of his neck or finds you staring at him every time he looks up and that provokes agression ( defensive or other), which makes you watch out for the bird even more which threatens or pisses the bird off even more etc..
Nervous/tense people move jerkingly and that spells out agression/ about to attack to many animals and they will defend themselves against it - sometimes by keeping a safe distance, sometimes by attacking first .

If you do not change the way you are around the bird, mutilating the feathers will not help at all! It is a tool to build another relationship, not a solution.

 

[Birdmom12]

What a confusing world parrots bring. I sympathize because she is a wild animal caged. However, their ticks are something I am not use to. I know I shouldn’t react when she cakes for me...in the same instance though it’s hard to retrain your body to not react. We have our work cut out for us. I think she does have a strong bond though with my husband. She does to him the moment she sees him, he can scratch her neck and chin endlessly, she lets him inspect her wings, mess in her cage...basically those two have full trust in one another. I clearly have some things to work on.

 

[noodles123]

Must vent to others that can understand: I’m very new to the large bird world. New as in February of this year new. George (aka Georgia) doesn’t like me which I know! My husband up until today thought it was all in my head. After a few dive bombs I always keep my eye on her, cautious of her behavior and a good distance. I try my best to respect her space and avoid an attack. Today she was on his shoulder he was walking around doing house work and would walk past me. I kept my eye on her and she was shockingly behaving! When it came time for her to go back to her cage for supper he had her at her cage door. I was in another room but within eye sight. Suddenly she took off for me. As her normal attacks she flew right for my face so I knew she meant business not wanting to be on my shoulder. I turned away she nailed me, I drop to the floor she swoops back around comes for me again so I swat her away expecting her to stop, nope she circles back around so I cover my head where she grabs my hand and rips into my knuckle. I know I shouldn’t have reacted...but I know she means business when she flies at me like that, it’s hard to stay still and calm.. My husband had to get in between us to stop the attack. I’m now left with a swollen, throbbing and bloody hand. I’m also devastated to say the least. Had I knowingly provoked the attack I’d understand...but I was a room away minding my own business. I just don’t know what to do to stop these moments from happening.

Your bird sounds like it is defending your husband as its mate. There is a likely a hormonal component at play here. Consequently, you should try your best to limit exposure to hormonal triggers (shadowy places--under furniture, boxes, huts, in pillows/blankets, under clothing), mushy foods, and cuddles are the main offenders). Also, pay attention to light-cycles (too much or too little sun can mess with hormones and consistent sleep is also important--solid 10-14 hours nightly). Finally, some birds are triggered by shreddable sea-grass-type toys. If you have these in your bird's cage, consider replacing them with the wooden chew-block types of toys (at least until you know whether they could be a potential trigger). Excessive misting with water can even cause a hormonal response in some birds (as it can simulate "spring rains").

Make sure your bird is getting plenty of time outside of his cage and lots of activity to keep him engaged/ provide an outlet for his energy.

The aforementioned suggestions for minimizing hormonal behavior apply to sexually mature birds in general (regardless of gender)--it is always best to avoid hormonal triggers (such a as shadowy places, petting down the body, too much or too little light, too much or too little sleep etc) because excessive hormonal behavior can lead to increased screaming, aggression, feather plucking and, in females, egg-laying (and potential egg-binding).

Even though your husband may be the chosen one, you and anyone else interacting with the bird must be aware of these things because petting a bird in places besides the head or neck can trigger hormones...even if they don't like the person petting them. It is also important that your husband not run to the rescue every time this happens, because then your bird is getting his attention (which it clearly craves). I would suggest that he ignore the bird when it does these things....but that's just me. When you are attacked, do your best to remain as neutral and silent as possible. Your bird WANTS a reaction. Furthermore, following an attack, no one should change what they were doing before the attack occurred--- AKA, if you were attacked when playing Scrabble with your husband, you should go back to playing scrabble with your husband.

If the bird does come after you, your husband shouldn't be picking up the bird etc...but, if he must do something, I would say that the bird should go straight to a time-out cage (following an attack) with as little eye-contact/reaction as possible (for 5 minutes or so---shorter initially, ---and I wouldn't take him out if he is screaming either). I am sure that others will have their own takes on this, but your bird clearly wants to be near your husband, and he can't do that if in time-out. Similarly, by continuing with your lives, you are showing the bird that the attack didn't have an impact.

Another point worth mentioning, is that if your husband has been inadvertently leading your bird on, the aggression may eventually shift towards him (instead of you) unless he is able to re-frame their relationship as non-sexual. Birds sometimes become frustrated and "turn" on the object of their affection.

For now, in terms of who gives treats etc, ask your husband to step back a bit and make it so that your interactions with the bird are largely positive. Try not to put yourself in a position where you know you will be bitten (at least for now). If you get bitten only when your husband is around, then try asking him to leave the room for awhile so that you can focus on the positive side of the relationship...NOTE---You must ask him to leave BEFORE the dive-bombing occurs, not after.

 

[EllenD]

Birdmom, I think that you should read Noodles post above, it took the words right out of my mouth, and is sound, knowledgeable, and experienced advice. You also need to know that the situation you're going through with your Amazon who is bonded closely with your husband and who is being jealous and especially very territorial over EVERYTHING, over your husband, over her cage, etc., is NOT AT ALL UNCOMMON. We see new members joining this forum almost every day with stories very similar to yours, where they live in a household with a Parrot (of all species) who is bonded very closely to someone else who they live with-their spouse, their parent, their child, their sibling, etc., and where the parrot is extremely territorial about not only their person, but also of their cage and any other "territory" that may be theirs, like T-Stands, Play-Stands, Play-Gyms, etc. And the Parrot feels an "ownership" over their person and wants no competition for their attention or affection, and becomes extremely aggressive while exerting their dominance/territoriality over that person or territory...And often they become extremely violent towards their perceived "competition"...

***So again, the most important thing that you AND your husband realize is that the issue you're both dealing with in-regards to your Amazon is not at all uncommon, but rather more like "the norm", and even more-importantly you need to know that it's not at all hopeless and that their are lots of things that you can do to improve your relationship with your Amazon, earn a little trust from your Amazon, and at the very least you can get to a place where your Amazon is no-longer viewing you as "competition" for your husband's attention and affection, and where both her territoriality and her constant need to exert her dominance over you calm down and are no-longer an issue...It's not at all hopeless. It's going to take some work and a commitment from both you AND YOUR HUSBAND, but it's quite possible...

I don't know how your husband is handling the situation or if he's taking it seriously, or if it's a situation where he "eggs the bird on" and treats this like a hilarious joke (like "na na na na na, she doesn't like you!", that's actually quite a common response from the person whom the parrot is bonded to)...Regardless of how your husband has been handling this issue up until this point, it's extremely important that he starts taking it seriously and treating it like it's a big-deal right now, because he has just got to be on-board with the program and be an active-participant in it if it's going to be successful. As Noodles already mentioned above, if your husband has been "leading the bird on", either inadvertently OR purposely like it's a joke, then that's got to stop immediately, because whether he realizes it or not your Amazon is bonded closely to him, he's the bird's "person", and parrots pick-up on what we are feeling as far as emotions right away...So if your husband isn't concerned about your Amazon dive-bombing you and purposely trying to hurt you and he treats it like it's funny by laughing out-loud and "egging-on" the bird, then the bird certainly is NOT going to take it seriously... (which she is, no mistake about it, right now she views you as not only her competition that is invading her territory, but she also views you as an active threat to "her person", and she will always take protecting him very seriously)...So you need to have a talk with your husband about starting to actively work with Georgia every single day, and making you the person who does all the good things to her/around her, like giving ALL the treats, giving her new toys, play-stands, etc. Basically every single thing that happens to and around Georgia needs to come completely from you from now-on, and it's very important that when these good things happen , like you giving her a treat, you hanging a new toy in her cage, you giving her a new play-stand, you taking her outside in her cage for some sunshine and fresh air, etc. that your husband BE OUT OF HER SIGHT WHEN IT HAPPENS! As long as your husband/"her person" is in her sight whenever you give her a treat or a new toy etc., she is going to still associate that good thing with him automatically...But if he's nowhere in sight when you do the good things for her, then it's all you who is doing it....Though extremely intelligent, parrots still are very much "Monkey-see, Monkey-do" types of animals, and what they see is what is going on, and what they don't see doesn't exist at that moment...

 

[EllenD]

***Something that I think is extremely important to address in this post regarding Birdmom's issue with Georgia, her Amazon, is what Sailboat suggested to her about having her wings-clipped...Any species of parrot that is fully-flighted and "dive-bombing" anyone in the household on a regular-basis IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE, whether a large Amazon, a Cockatiel, a Conure of some type, a Macaw, a Pionus, a Senegal, it doesn't matter...AND what is just as important as the safety of the person that the parrot is actively and regularly "dive-bombing", along with the safety of the rest of the people in the room, IS THE SAFETY OF THE PARROT!!! I think we often, actually very often forget about the danger that our birds are in when they are aggressively dive-bombing a person, typically focusing 100% on how dangerous this situation is for the person/people and not thinking about what could easily happen to the bird as well!!![/B


As much as I respect Christa and her parrot knowledge/expertise, I have to say that calling clipping your pet bird's wings "mutilating their feathers" is not only completely untrue, but it also totally disregards the safety and well-being of the bird and of the people who live in the household, and does nothing but gets people all riled-up about the "controversy" over clipping a pet bird's wings in-general, and takes the focus totally off the issue at-hand. First of all, clipping a pet bird's wings is totally the decision of their owners, and sometimes those owners are brand-new bird/parrot owners who have little to no experience, nor much education/knowledge of parrots/birds...So it's extremely important that BOTH SIDES of topics like wing-clipping are represented and discussed with them so that they can make an educated-decision as to whether or not they will keep their bird fully-flighted or whether they will keep their wings-clipped for some reason...And those reasons can very often be not only valid but also make keeping their bird's wings clipped very necessary, such as the owner has a physical-disability that makes them unable to go all over their home trying to find their bird...Or worse, it makes them unable to HELP THEIR BIRD or even SAVE their bird if it gets into trouble or stuck somewhere in the home and they can't get to wherever they are to help them...So even though the ideal situation and the situation that is best for the bird health-wise is to keep them fully-flighted and to allow them to fly around the home and get the exercise and the mental-stimulation of being able to fly, we all need to remember that there are situations where this isn't possible...AND situations where this isn't at all SAFE....And Birdmom's situation is one of those times where leaving their Amazon fully-flighted RIGHT NOW at least is not safe for her or her husband, and is really not safe for her bird Georgia...

I'm not talking about permanently keeping Georgia's wings clipped for the rest of her life, lol, obviously there isn't a situation that warrants that here. However, there is a situation that absolutely DOES WARRANT having Georgia's wings clipped conservatively, where they are going to grow back-in fully and allow her to again be fully-flighted in about 2-3 months; and the idea is for Birdmom and her husband to achieve their main-goal with Georgia of lessening her aggression/territoriality towards Birdmom, stop the violent attacks and the dive-bombing, and for her to establish a relationship with Georgia that while probably won't be a cuddly, snuggly, "hands-on" type of relationship, it will be one where Georgia is no-longer aggressive or violent with her, and where she will be able to interact with her husband without Georgia instantly becoming jealous and having to exert her dominance, and also where Georgia no-longer feels that she needs to "protect" Birdmom's husband from Birdmom. And the idea is that Birdmom and her husband will achieve these goals by making changes to Georgia's environment to avoid triggering hormonal-behavior, by making Birdmom the person who does all the good things like giving all the treats, giving all the new toys, changing her food and water every day, etc., and always while her husband is NOT within Georgia's sight; and then also by Birdmom simply sitting next to Georgia while she's in her cage and talking to her every single day gently and softly, reading her books, etc.

So the overall-idea here is that clipping Georgia's wings is not at all a solution to her aggression, territoriality, jealousy, etc., but rather simply a TEMPORARY TOOL that will not only protect Birdmom and her husband, but also PROTECT GEORGIA from becoming injured or worse. Temporarily clipping her wings will also allow Georgia to better-focus on what Birdmom and her husband are doing, because as long as Georgia knows she can fly and attack Birdmom, and as long as she feels the need to protect her husband from her, she's going to keep doing it and she's not going to focus on any training/taming/bonding/trust exercises that they do on a daily basis...So the goal is that by the end of the 2-3 month period where Georgia won't be able to fly, that Birdmom and her husband take advantage of every day during that time period to work with Georgia, make the necessary changes to her environment and to the way they each interact with her, and by the time that her flight-feathers grow back in and she can fly again, that Georgia's relationship with Birdmom will at the least be non-aggressive and non-dangerous for everyone involved. (Obviously Birdmom will want to have her Avian Vet, a local breeder, etc. clip Georgia's wings, and it's extremely important that Birdmom request/demand that whomever is clipping her bird's wings ONLY clip the outermost 5-6 Primary Flight-Feathers on BOTH wings, and that's IT!!! This will ensure that Georgia will still be able to glide to the floor with total control instead of dropping like a stone and hurting herself, and also that her Flight-Feathers will grow back-in fully in about 2-3 months.)...

I just don't think it's at all responsible or for that matter helpful to refer to suggesting that another member have their pet bird's wings clipped by a professional like their CAV due to seriously dangerous safety issues as "mutilating your bird's wings". That's only meant to make the OP feel guilty about having their bird's wings clipped on a temporary-basis of 2-3 months in order to stop the bird from dive-bombing at her head and face and seriously injuring her and also the bird itself...Everyone here knows full-well that clipping a bird's wings is totally painless, totally temporary, and does absolutely no permanent damage or "mutilation" to the bird at all, so suggesting otherwise just to get your point across is just not cool...

And one more important note, suggesting that this OP, Birdmom, have a professional clip her Amazon's wings temporarily served 2 different purposes, the first being giving Birdmom and her husband 2-3 months where Georgia will not be able to attack Birdmom through the air or fly away from them while they are trying to work with them, etc., but it also should have been very evident and obvious that Sailboat's original suggestion was meant to protect not only Birdmom and her husband, but also Georgia herself, because not only can a dive-bombing parrot of any size cause serious injury to the face, head, EYES and LIPS etc., and can result in someone actually losing their vision, but can result in much more serious injury to the bird who is doing the dive-bombing, and obviously could easily also result in the death of the bird as well if it happens to hit a wall, the floor, an object like a piece of furniture or a lamp or TV, etc. And that's the other thing, we should all be well aware that no matter how much experience a person has living with parrots, a parrot flying full-speed right at your head/face is usually going to elicit a defensive-response from the person who's head/face is in the line of fire!!! Of course Birdmom or anyone else is going to put their hands/arms up to protect their face, their head, THEIR EYES, etc. So telling her that she has been doing the wrong thing, the wrong response to her large Amazon literally attacking her and flying directly at her face and head, and telling her "it's her own fault" is also not at all helpful, nor is it true...I know plenty of parrots who have been very seriously injured because they suddenly attacked someone through the air and the person automatically and unconsciously swatted the bird away...I know of one person who actually killed his girlfriend's Umbrella Cockatoo one morning when he went downstairs while his girlfriend was still sleeping, he went to the kitchen to get breakfast, and her U2 suddenly flew at him out of nowhere and attached himself with his beak to his hand/wrist...The bird severed a bunch of tendons/ligaments in his arm, as well as the artery in the wrist, so you can imagine how much force the U2 was using...And he instantly and without any control at all smacked the U2 off of the fridge door to get him to let go of his arm...And the U2 let go but suffered for a good while then died of massive head injuries and internal bleeding. And that guy never got over what he did to that bird, even though her was very seriously injured by the bird and it happened literally with no-warning at all and was out of nowhere....So my question becomes in what world is it better to have something like this happen to the bird as long as you keep them fully-flighted, than it is to temporarily clip their wings for 2-3 months in-order to be able to work with them on a daily basis and actually remedy the issue causing the bird's aggression???

 

[Birdmom12]

Thank you everyone. I feel awful about the whole situation! It’s very much wearing on me. The most recent attack was by far the worst. My husband is taking the situation very seriously. He’s now worried if Georgia should stay with us. He’s more worried about her going after our child. Our daughter knows limits and respects the birds space...but we’ve learned now she will fly for you. I told him we aren’t jumping to any hasty decisions. It’s likely she was passed around before because of these bad habits. I also am not one to take on an animal and dump them when it gets hard.

When he does handle her he works on her flying commands usually. She prefers to ride on his shoulder and when he does touch her it’s only head scratches. He does respect the no petting rule to avoid sexual behavior. We do know she is sexually frustrated though. The vet told us this move she very often does is masturbating. She has been doing this since we brought her home. Since her out burst he has decided she lost shoulder privileges. When she rides his hand he always holds her feet with his thumb so she can’t crawl around. I do appreciate everyone’s advice on this subject. As much as I hate the thought of taking her wings from her (even temporarily) I do think it’s a wise move. It might help me gain some confidence back...and her gain some comfort with me. At the very least work towards mutual respect. I’m fine with her not being “my bird”....if we can peacefully live together.

I will be trying everyone’s suggestions as we move forward. I really do appreciate the advice!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

PLEASE keep us in the loop!!!! I'm sure that I can speak for 98% of this forum's members we are all praying you and hubby and Georgia (and your daughter!) can get this mess all sorted on the positive side. Like I mentioned previously...I feel your pain!



Jim

 

[ChristaNL]

I was not telling you to never even consider clipping your bird, just pointing out that disabeling the birds option to divebomb is it just getting rid of a symptom, not the cause.
And that the latter it will take some work (actually lots of work, but you all can do it!).


Sorry if I used too strong a wording with 'mutilating the feathers' but everytime euphemisms get spouted like "shortening the sleeves" it diminishes what you do to a birds life and that really annoys me. So I decided to balance it out by pointing out what that actually means .

 

[Birdmom12]

I was not telling you to never even consider clipping your bird, just pointing out that disabeling the birds option to divebomb is it just getting rid of a symptom, not the cause.
And that the latter it will take some work (actually lots of work, but you all can do it!).


Sorry if I used too strong a wording with 'mutilating the feathers' but everytime euphemisms get spouted like "shortening the sleeves" it diminishes what you do to a birds life and that really annoys me. So I decided to balance it out by pointing out what that actually means .

Thank you for your insight. I do appreciate advice from all sides and view points. I'm going back and rereading everyone's suggestions/experiences. Hoping that I can work these into the plan of attack.

I did reach out to the parrot behaviorist at our vet. She said it sounded like Georgia has chosen her mate. I'm now a threat and shes attacking me to show him what a great defender she can be. (Noodles also thought this!)

She also gave me contact information for ANOTHER parrot behaviorist that does training. I reached out to her but its likely we can't afford her. Hoping on the off shot she has some training for idiots book or dvd.

We have since decided to start modifying our home a little bit. Fingers crossed we can calm the hormones of mating some.

1- Move her old small cage up to a spare bedroom. Currently she sleeps on the main floor and just gets covered with a sheet. I'm now wondering if this isn't allowing her to get enough sleep? Our cockatiel has the habit of making loud calls before bed. His cage is in the same room as her so this could be keeping her up. Shes also in a room that has a lot of traffic. This is great for the day but maybe not so great for at night.

2- No more shoulder rides (at least until respect is earned) and head scratches are to a few seconds and done. She often flies straight for her man and starts demanding head scratches.

3- Human interaction is still a daily...however, not an obsession. She can ride on her persons hand...but only for 5 minutes. After that she needs to go find something else to do. Hoping this will help her learn independence and to entertain herself. Once she stops seeing me as a threat we want to try the hot potato training.

4- All family members = treat. Since her human is high on the totem pole he doesn't do treats for the time being. When myself or our daughter enter a room she will be rewarded with a walnut...as long as she is relaxed in her cage. I want her to associate us with her favorite treat. If shes tense or fired up she gets the back until she relaxes... then she gets her walnut.


This is all I have for the time being. I figure baby steps are better then no steps. I don't want her to be cage bound and I also don't want to repeat the past and have her re homed. The vet said she was one of the sweetest amazons she has ever met. I believe thats true...I just unfortunately threaten her. If we can work past this so we can safely be in the same room I will be happy. I also can't justify passing this problem onto a unsuspecting person. I also can't let the bird win on this one. I've invested so much money in creating her a large spacious cage filled with toys and perches, built her numerous play stands for fun, I even create her daily meals that make her chirp excitedly. She no long wants to eat pellets... just her veggies and fruit mix. (you would think my chef skills alone would win her over) At this point its a personal battle to figure this out.

Lets just hope my eyes remain unharmed and fingers intact. I will keep everyone posted on the devils progress and continue to return for advice...this I know I will need again.

 

[Birdmom12]

Well last night work was done and fingers crossed its a positive step forward. We ended up moving our living room into the "bird room" Georgia is now in our living room so she can spend more time with the family as a whole. The other birds are now in where our living room use to be. The birds can still hear one another, she can still fly to that room, but no longer within eyesight. I'm not sure if the other birds were adding to the problem but we decided to create some space.

A spare bedroom was also set up as her sleeping area. We put her smaller cage up there, left it bare, and just have a water dish. We put a heavy blanket over the window to black the room out as well. She slept in there last night and it was an adjustment. She was a little spooked, had a few bumps in the night, but eventually she settled in. This morning she got up with her human, hung out for a short while before work, and then went back into her main cage. I came and fed her breakfast when I came down. This morning she was much more calm, allowed me to remove/add her dishes easily, and didn't hiss. Normally shes a monster in the morning, hissing, charging around, pecking at the bars.

When I left I put a cartoon on the tv for her to watch. She was highly intrigued by this and settled right in.


I think for now our goal is to work on lowering her tension from the hormones. Hoping we can conquer this through sleep, diet, and breaking some of that unhealthy bond with her human. Once we can do that then we will work on making her family friendly.

 

[Anita1250]

I do agree that a wing clip at this time can help to break the behavior. If she cannot fly at you to attack, you are removing a large part of the danger. Hormonal parrots can be extremely frustrating, because you do not know what is triggering the behavior. I agree that she has chosen your husband as her mate, so therefore you are the outsider. You are also dangerous because you have him as your mate. I know, so confusing.

Since you have had her only a short time when she became hormonal, you have not had enough time to develop a relationship with the non-hormonal parrot. Perhaps back off until the hormones are lessened. Protect yourself by clipping. This will also give you some dominance, which can help with her behavior. Remember, it took me 36 years to have this nice relationship with Sam. It hasn't all been roses. I have the scars to prove it!

 

[Birdmom12]

I do agree that a wing clip at this time can help to break the behavior. If she cannot fly at you to attack, you are removing a large part of the danger. Hormonal parrots can be extremely frustrating, because you do not know what is triggering the behavior. I agree that she has chosen your husband as her mate, so therefore you are the outsider. You are also dangerous because you have him as your mate. I know, so confusing.

Since you have had her only a short time when she became hormonal, you have not had enough time to develop a relationship with the non-hormonal parrot. Perhaps back off until the hormones are lessened. Protect yourself by clipping. This will also give you some dominance, which can help with her behavior. Remember, it took me 36 years to have this nice relationship with Sam. It hasn't all been roses. I have the scars to prove it!

We are looking into wing clipping. We were told a vet locally might be trained in this. (otherwise its another long drive) I'm waiting to hear back if they will or not. Until then giving her space and avoiding obvious triggers.

I'm glad (yet its unfortunate) that I'm not the only one who has experienced these issues. Its amazing what their beaks can do. I have to say when she clamped down all I felt was pressure at first... then the blood came and we knew she got me. None the less an attack like that is VERY intimidating even from a tiny creature.

 

[Birdmom12]

Got lucky today. The behaviorist at our Vet contacted us. She offered to do a consult with us to evaluate our situation. We have the option for a home visit or an office visit. We haven't decided yet which route to go. Either way it will be nice to have someone with experience point out our wrongs. I feel like I need everything idiot proofed for me.