Hardest types of parrots to handle

[Pinkbirdy]

Yep I agree ! Worst bites are from my conures [or at least how they feel] .I think its the shape of their beak [and you can see all the birds I have].

 

[Kalidasa]

The worst bite I ever had and saw on others was from a cockatoo. Conures have a nasty bite yes (mine sharpens her beak regularily) but 'too's can easily send you to the E.R.

 

[MonicaMc]

Sometimes the difference between bite pain is like the difference between a paper cut vs accidentally slicing your hand open. For some reason, that tiny little itsy bitsy paper cut hurts like the dickens!!!! But slicing your hand open, although it could cause serious damage, isn't nearly as painful as that dang paper cut.

 

[Mare Miller]

My U2 has sent my son to the hospital for stitches but has never been anything but the most loving creature towards me. When you speak of the hardest type of parrot to handle I think we need to take into account, which ones like us, not talking species, but WHO chooses us.

 

[Squirt]

Wow, that mytoo.com site makes me wish that we never took cockatoos from the wild. I know you could say this about any bird, but the stories on there break my heart. I wish people did more research before the buy a bird.

Sounds like very few people can truly take care of an M2 or a U2.

 

[Birdman666]

M2's are probably the neediest of the bunch, with U2's coming in not too far behind. In terms of just general care needs...

Honestly, I love M2's. But 7-8 out of every 10 wind up scream and plucks... Humans just can't or don't meet their care needs, and then they end up covered in sores and plucked down to just their head feathers. This is one of those species I wish had never been introduced to the pet trade.

In terms of propensity to bite, probably DYH amazons, Severe macaws, and then probably Scarlett's as well.

In terms of difficulty keeping them alive, there are a fair amount with Red Bellied Macaws and Toucans probably topping the list.

Personally, I have never had any luck at all with lovebirds... I could never get one who allowed head scratchies... I would much rather deal with a large macaw.

 

[jbail1026]

I had a half-moon scar on my finger from George (YNA) for about a decade, but it finally went away. My Nanday could bite just as hard when scared. However, I've had worse cuts from knives and they don't say "hi" to me and make me laugh.

 

[Birdman666]

My worst bites ever, both down to the bone, both requiring stitches were from a severe macaw and a shamrock macaw respectively.

The worst injuries I have seen were 2 macaws and a very, very friendly CAG who got spooked and displacement bit.

One was a macaw who was not well socialized, and the woman was repeatedly warned to get away from the bird and stop what she was doing because the bird was trying to go after the ring on her finger, that she was teasing him with...

Well, the bird got it! Had to remove her finger first though... the good news is that we put it on ice, and it was successfully surgically reattached.

The second was a love of a CAG who was just frightened by something, and unfortunately, he displacement bit. Twice as unfortunately, he was sitting on his owner's shoulder at the time. Went clean through her cheek, and the owner required facial reconstruction surgery... (I rehabbed that bird.)

The third was errily similar, an unsocialized macaw, overbonded to his person. DID NOT LIKE STRANGERS!!! WAS NOT BITE PRESSURE TRAINED!!!
The guy threw a party - something like 80 strangers in the house - and the bird went bonkers... So, in a brilliantly thought through move, the guy took the bird out of his cage, put it on his shoulder, and went back into the crowd of strangers. The first time a stranger brushed up against the bird's tail, he got mad and displacement bit, and split his face open from jawbone to lip. Again, facial reconstructive surgery. (I rehabbed that bird, too.)

My own sweet Sally bird, a Red Lored Amazon, got tired of her former owner beating her, and inflicted a severe degloving injury to her thumb. The lady took her to the vet to be destroyed, and that's how I got her... (Same bird now curls up into a ball and uses my cheek for a pillow, but she certainly did not come that way!)

Oh, and then there was a Scarlett that loved the husband and tried to drive the wife out of the nest. Got down on the floor and de-gloved a few of her toes...

My evil Dusky conure once got mad at me and put his beak clean through my finger, as in point coming out the other side...

I had a really funny escape artist lovebird let himself out of his cage and perch on my finger one day. He did his little happy bird dance, and when he finished dancing for me, he put about 6 holes in my finger!

SO ANY BIRD CAN...

Anything Amazon sized or larger has the power to inflict a de-gloving injury, or inflict a bite requiring stitches.

Anything in the U2, M2, and large Macaw size has the power to Amputate.

My greenwing can snap blocks in half that are thicker than my arm... So I always assumed she could go clean through that as well if she wanted to.

I watched a Hyacinth tear a "normal" macaw cage apart one day. Effortlessly popping cage welds. There's a reason they keep those guys in stainless...

The fact that more people don't get seriously injured is an indication that these guys don't intend to inflict injuries.

 

[getwozzy]

Birdman-
I hope those people learned some sort of lesson from those bites! Especially the lady teasing the macaw with her ring. Some people.

 

[Birdman666]

Well,

I really felt sorry for the woman with the CAG. It was clear to me that they were bonded, and loved each other, but after the incident she was just so traumatized that she was afraid of the bird.

And frankly, that bird there was nothing much to rehab. He just got really spooked. So, now you're a hand bird instead of a shoulder bird.

The big mac? Took about 6 weeks to retrain. If the guy had done the basics, he would have never been injured...

The lady with the finger? That bird belonged to someone and was in for grooming. He was NOT properly socialized, and was overbonded, and downright dangerous with strangers. This woman was really just showing off her big diamond... waiving it around in front of the bird's face. Told not to do that at least 3-4 times. Bird snatched the ring with his beak, and took the finger right along with it...

Finger snapped off like a twig!

Ever seen a hyacinth split a coconut in half? Makes you think twice about having one as a shoulder bird!

 

[Birdman666]

That's easy enough – preowned parrots!


I respectfully disagree.... Most of mine have been "other people's problem birds." Three of my most bonded birds ever were throwaways!

Follow the protocols, they respond to proper care and love. Some of my abused birds seemed downright grateful when they finally got the proper care they deserved. These are the birds that often become super bonded... best birds of all!

It's the pluckers that are hard.

 

[MenomaMinx]

Actually, I think I finally got a handle on the pluckers/Barberers out there – enough that I'm about to go check into one sometime next week as a possible rehome.

I'm big on adoption myself, but here's a distinction: the adoptee and I choose each other. I do not take every single bird up for adoption into my home. I'm willing to bet you're much the same way, as would anyone be with common sense. We know our limitations and are willing to rise above them the best of our ability, but the average person isn't even going to know where to begin – and nobody's doing parrot rehabilitation' s perfect.

In my opinion, the best bird is the bird that realizes its full potential. Remember, I'm the one with the red factor Canary who used to play video games. That didn't mean my Alex was a genius of red factor Canaries so much as who else would've thought of putting Nintendo DS with electro plankton in it in the Canary cage in desperation for finding a toy for him. {Sorry people, but they don't make mind stimulating toys for the smaller birds on the same level they do larger ones – which is to discredit the industry :-(

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't be able to handle bird that had shut down to the point where it was no longer trying to communicate with humans. Give me anything else however, and I have no doubt I can handle the bird – the question is, how much do I have to take away from the birds I already have to try to decode the potential in the bird I've acquired that was someone else's "problem".? I can handle maybe five or six full-fledged personalities tops. A preowned bird may be a preference, but doesn't necessarily make good fit all the time. I've been lucky. My Kumiko is perfect and was right where I was when I needed another bird. Had I picked any other bird available to me at that time, it wouldn't of worked out quite so well.

Right now I'm in a good position to take in preowned birds due to there only being one in the house. If I had four or five again, I would definitely hesitate. I don't take 60+ years commitments lightly. And, as you yourself admit, there's a very different protocol to deal with a bird that's only known you, than for a bird that's been passed around unjustly because it's needs weren't understood for a long enough time to alter its behavior negatively.

 

[bluecrownmama]

Wow..after reading birdman's post about macaw strength and what they can break I'm curious to know-how much can a bird that size open its beak? How do they break a coconut? I've really never been around parrots that big so I'm not sure I fully comprehend their size!

 

[Klaery]

In terms of handling, the birds I repeatedly find 'difficult' are male sulphur-crested cockatoos. They are actually really common as pets here and of course end up in the wrong homes. I have never seen any other bird as determined to attack somebody they pick as an 'enemy'.

Bite force isn't they same as being difficult to handle. I would least like to get bitten by a palm cockatoo.

 

[Mare Miller]

I agree, Klaery, bite force is different than being able to handle a specific species of bird. No doubt that a huge beak can cause serious damage. My Goffin's can be very nippy but I know that my U2 could take my finger off. He's never tried and I respect him for that, even though he is mostly captive. Cockatoos should never have been made into pets, or rather, "forced" into captivity.

 

[noblemacaw]

Valentino has some jaw strength. When I have my forefinger and thumb inside the mouth training for pressure at first he was really strong and I almost could not keep his beak open. Now he hardly applies any pressure and I can look down inside his mouth when ever I wish. I like to check inside the mouth to make sure all is okay. I never had a bird with so much wetness in the mouth.

My RFM is more a pincher than a biter. When he is rolling around and begins to biff it he will reach out to grab to prevent from falling and pinch. When he was younger I use to have these tiny little bruises on my arms from those pinches. As with age he has learned to be less clumsy.

When I was teaching pressure biting I have to admit he had the strongest jaws I ever worked with but then he is the largest parrot I ever had. His scream make my ears ring and it is like knives stabbing my brain. There are times I cannot take the loudness of him and have to leave the room. So along with the power to bite is the power to scream enough to damage your ears. Valentino's scream is powerful enough to disrupt the signal from the converter box to the TV. That is some serious power there.

If I have not seen improvement in screaming with Valentino's age I would of seriously considered sending him back to the breeder. The screaming can get that bad but I will say as he is getting older and is talking more he is screaming less.

 

[Birdman666]

Wow..after reading birdman's post about macaw strength and what they can break I'm curious to know-how much can a bird that size open its beak? How do they break a coconut? I've really never been around parrots that big so I'm not sure I fully comprehend their size!

Bring the point of the beak down on the eye of the coconut and split it open, then pry it in half with that prybar of a beak...

Watching that gets your attention...

Hell, my Red Front cracks coconut shell toys! (She loves her bamboozlers - but they sure don't last very long!)

I don't even give those to the greenwing cuz they are gone in about an hour!

 

[Birdman666]

In terms of handling, the birds I repeatedly find 'difficult' are male sulphur-crested cockatoos. They are actually really common as pets here and of course end up in the wrong homes. I have never seen any other bird as determined to attack somebody they pick as an 'enemy'.

Bite force isn't they same as being difficult to handle. I would least like to get bitten by a palm cockatoo.

SC2's tend to be tantrum throwers in my opinion...

 

[DallyTsuka]

if you factor in general behavioural problems, i think one of the hardest to handle are chronic egg layers and mutilators. i'll take a plucker over a mutilator any day.

munch has mutilated in the past from high hormones and she plucks when she sits on eggs and she is a chronic layer... we seem to have it fairly under control now, and she hasnt mutilated her legs now in a year (she chewed the skin off them).

but the larger birds that are aggressive individuals can be downright dangerous due to bite force capabilities.


i think it also comes down to the individual owner as well. what some people cant handle, another person can.


my friend had a goffin's too. he had a bad screaming habit.. and well it drove her nuts, but the noise itself didnt bother me. my cockatiel screaming though was enough to do my head in lol and i've been around screaming amazons and actually did not find the sound unpleasant (was a DYH and a BFA i've heard screaming in unison) but a lot of people dont like the sounds of amazons and toos screaming. its loud, but the sound itself doesnt bother me. its the pitch that gets me.

i was half kidding when i said munch was the hardest to handle. i speak some truth. in many aspects she is the most difficult bird in our flock. she is the neediest, she is the most bold and stubborn... and she has the most behavioural quirks. she's a cage territorial biter, egg layer, hormonal plucker, past mutilator, AND she is constantly wanting attention and is an escape artist. her biting... she has gotten me down to the bone a few times in the fingers and she latches on, does not let go for nothing, AND she just looooves to grind her beak while she bites you.


but i know there are much more difficult birds out there. shes just the most difficult pet i've ever gotten to know and shes also one of the most fascinating because of how quirky she is. what about other people here?


she's lucky she and i are best friends and we love her dearly... she's gonna give me grey hair young with her shananigans haha she's calmed down now that we've found a mutual understanding of eachother (in other words, if i pet her BEFORE going in her cage, she wont bite me haha)


but i know people who would not be able to handle that kind of bird. they'd toss her outside to go after the poor neighbourhood hawks... so in the end, the hardest type of parrot may very well just be a personal thing. i myself do not handle high pitched screams (tiel screaming for example, or sun conure screaming, or even lovebird flock calling...), but i'll take most other behaviours as they come.


but an aggressive larger parrot can become a very dangerous adversary and because birds are so intelligent, that can be a LOT for most people to handle, no matter how much they love parrots lol

(if munch was the size of a macaw, i'd be reallllly scared for everyone in this household lol)

 

[Birdman666]

I've never dealt with a chronic egg layer. I have worked with pluckers, and they are the most difficult behaviors to stop in my opinion. And the saddest thing of all, is that this is so often preventable with the right amount of interaction and socialization, and structure, from an early age. But stopping it once it starts is hard!

I wasn't kidding when I said I have had zero luck at all with handling lovebirds and would much rather handle a large macaw.

Lovebirds bite me every single time...

Macaws and I understand one another for the most part...