burdman
New member
- May 8, 2013
- 49
- 0
- Parrots
- Eclectus parrot, rescue, Riley 13 yr old, CAG siblings Punkin and Munkin, 5 yr old
About at my wits end.
Riley, our rescue eclectus, has turned on me over the last couple months. He begs to be held, so I pick him up. Now, within 5 minutes, he willfully looks for any part of my arm or hand or fingers to start biting aggressively. He used to let me hold him for long periods of time with no issues, other than his hormonal behavior.
Friday night he bit me while holding him after his shower while he was still over the tub. He's never shown any aggression during bath time, in fact he is usually very affectionate during this time. That was the first bite in what turned out to be a weekend filled with nasty bites.
I don't understand at all. I can walk up to his cage and put my face in front of him and he nuzzles my cheek. I can rub his beak, pet his head and neck. He pretty much will happily accept any affection while on his cage.
I am sooo frustrated, a little bit hurt, and baffled by this change.
I wanted to have a companion for the rest of my life, but now I am reluctant to even pick him up. My fear is that I am making it worse by trying to keep picking him up, when it seems that doing so angers him, even though he begs to be picked up.
Any advice on how I might turn this behavior around?
Riley, our rescue eclectus, has turned on me over the last couple months. He begs to be held, so I pick him up. Now, within 5 minutes, he willfully looks for any part of my arm or hand or fingers to start biting aggressively. He used to let me hold him for long periods of time with no issues, other than his hormonal behavior.
Friday night he bit me while holding him after his shower while he was still over the tub. He's never shown any aggression during bath time, in fact he is usually very affectionate during this time. That was the first bite in what turned out to be a weekend filled with nasty bites.
I don't understand at all. I can walk up to his cage and put my face in front of him and he nuzzles my cheek. I can rub his beak, pet his head and neck. He pretty much will happily accept any affection while on his cage.
I am sooo frustrated, a little bit hurt, and baffled by this change.
I wanted to have a companion for the rest of my life, but now I am reluctant to even pick him up. My fear is that I am making it worse by trying to keep picking him up, when it seems that doing so angers him, even though he begs to be picked up.
Any advice on how I might turn this behavior around?