Please Please help

[heathersuzanne]

Hi everyone,

I Love my caique, but I recenly have become afraid of him and I dont know what to do.

I moved about a year ago out of my dad's house and into my fiance's house. My caique, tiki, came with me of course. There's a dog here, who he hates, and he doesnt like my fiance much either. I tried to give him time to adjust and at first it seemsed like he was slowly feeling a little more comfortable...

But then my dad cam to visit a few months ago and it all went south. Tiki was whistling and acting like he was happy to see my dad, so we let him out and he attacked my dad's hand - it was the first time we ever saw him do anything like that!! It was awful. then he seemed to hate my dad after that so now my dad wont try to pick him up anymore...
Lately I've been working late and planning my wedding and I haven't been able to spend as much quality time as I want to with him. I assume that is why he has taken to attacking me too now - he rips my skin off hard and makes me bleed. I dont know what to do because I do want to play with him but now I know it means a bloody mess and a lot of pain. I mean, its not a nip...its a lunge! He clings to my hand and rips at my skin. So I end up putting him back in his cage and hoping the next day will be better. Sometimes it is, sometimes he just goes nuts. I never know if he will be nice or hate me. Any help, tips, anything? Is my bird crazy? - is this fixable? Pllease Please Please help me. I love him and I wont ever give him up, but I dont want him to spend the rest of his life in his cage because he viciously bites everyone. Thanks!!

 

[Spiritbird]

This sounds like a stress situation induced by a new environment and new noises. I also bet you are not giving the bird the attention and one on one time he had before. Biridie feels all of your stress too with the upcoming wedding. You should take a step back some and start over again as if your bird just came into your life. Remember patience? He will know you are afriad of him if that fear is not under control. Tough situation.

 

[antoinette]

Hi there, and welcome, to a great forum.
After reading your post, I agree with SB, the bird is in a stressed environment.
Hard as it may be, time must be spent with the bird, everyday.
Found a very informative link, explaining the cauque's requirements.
They also explain why they bite, in great detail.
Pet Parrots 101 - Caiques

Good luck

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Yup, make sure you spend time with him, but only BEFORE he does anything bad. If he does bite then he's done, put him back in the cage and give him a 'time out.'

This does take some preemptive rewarding or giving of attention - or as the cliche goes "catch him being good."

But I suspect it is also a phase having to do with all the things changing. I think most of us have been through such phases with our birds. Apparently some of the larger birds aren't often as bad with this type of behavior - large-bird stress turns inward and leads to plucking or other problems; small-bird stress goes outward and leads to vicious attacks. I don't have a lot of experience with caiques, but I am sure that almost every conure owner is familiar with this sort of response to stress.

So work on rewarding good behavior and ignoring bad for the time being. But also know that this will likely pass and get easier with a bit of time. Don't get frustrated if you do your best and see no progress - just keep doing your best and wait out the storm.

 

[Litilchef]

Hi Heather! Just wanted to give you some encouragement and pass on a few things I have been told about my caique biting. I am not sure how good this little bit of advice is. Maybe some of the others can confirm or debunk it.... I am a junior bird owner.

Louis puts his whole beak around my fingers all the time and it drives me crazy. The story about the ripping skin chills me to the bone. That sounds so tough. Hats off to you for keeping on with it...

I asked my vet about my caique biting my husband and he told me the following....

Make sure if someone else is going to pick him up that you are not around. If you try to transfer him from one person to another or if you are taking him from his cage and his #1 is right there, his protection instincts kick in.

I also asked the lady at the very big and specialized bird shop in my area (she has two caiques at home) and she said....

If you feel like he is going to bite you, offer him something to play with in his beak while you are picking him up. This can be a toy a treat or an every day object like a plastic pen.

????

Good luck, and please let us know how you guys are doing. Best wishes for a beautiful wedding!