Rosie BITES!!!

[Featheredsamurai]

As many of you may know, Rosie is my precious galah who is very calm and sweet. She isn't super cuddly but loves to have her head rubbed. She has never bitten me full force. She may have bitten me a bit hard last breeding season(She wasn't a morning person and I learned that the hard way) but never once did I have more then a small scratch. She looooves my step dad, but often bites him the worst, particularly because he jerks back and makes it worse. She's bitten him on the hand 2 times but the last bite happened around 6 months ago. In the evening before they go to bed my parents like to sit in bed, my step dad works on his laptop, and they watch a show together. I decided to bring Rosie in since she loves seeing David. She was happy and showing of, waving forever, dancing, and bobbing her head. I placed her on his arm and she walked up to his shoulder were she purred loudly as she stared at him. I was starting to get the feeling I should move her soon, when suddenly she lunges foreword and latches onto his upper ear! My poor step dad is ranting "get her off, get her off", I try to get her on my hand(by now she has let go) but quickly change my mind and just grab her around the middle and take her off since my step dad is panicking. He runs to the bathroom and starts crying in pain as he says "there's blood everywhere" and holds a towel to his ear. As I run out to put Rosie in her cage I see the blood running down his face D: When he finally stopped the bleeding 30 minutes later we see he won't need stitches and we all relax a little.

It's never Rosie's fault if she bites(or any birds). Excitement and over-stimulation can instantly turn into aggression, and sometimes the birds seem just as confused as us. Now during breeding season all the hormones make it even more likely to happen. The moment I touched Rosie she was completely back to normal, I had no fear of her because I understand what happened.

We now have a red and pink towel too

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Wow, that must of hurt a lot if there's lots of blood! :S

Ozzie has never bit me so hard that made be bleed a lot (yet ), but he has gave me a few bites that hurt a little.

And you're right Copperarabian! It's not our parrot's fault, there's always a reason that they bites. I've heard so many people that send away their feathered friend because it bit it's owner on the face. They shouldn't of put their parrot on their shoulder in the first place! And I feel very sad for the poor parrots that got the blame.

And I'm very surprised that Rosie bites! She is too adorable to bite! And she doesn't look aggressive to me in the photos at all!

 

[LoryLover]

Wow, that's too bad. I imagine your step dad is going to be extra cautious around Rosie for a while. Woody, a red lory we used to have, loved both me and my husband, but especially loved my husband's feet! Woody would be playing nicely and all of a sudden run over to my husband and in lightening speed, bite him hard on the ear or nose, then be back to playing peacefully with his toys. It always took my husband by surprise... imagine you're lying on the bed relaxing and watching tv and suddenly a red flash appears and disappears and you're left with a painful, bleeding bite!

At the time we had no idea what was going on - why Woody would do that. Btw, Woody never, ever did that to me. We now realize Woody had taken my husband as his mate and I guess, just wanted to keep my husband in line. Maybe he thought my husband blinked too much while watching tv, lol. If Woody was loose, and my husband put socks or shoes on his feet.... oh my goodness, the attack on the feet and ankles was vicious! Usually Woody would come flying out from under the bed and attack. My husband would be yelling at the top of his lungs while trying to pry Woody off, and Woody would also be yelling at the top of his lungs resisting being pried off.
Memories.....

 

[Featheredsamurai]

@lovemyparrots
I bet it really hurt, I once had my cartilage broken and it hurt for a month. It's so sad when people get rid of their birds because they're bitten badly. All they need to do is research parrots and they'll understand so much.
She used to bite a lot more, a few times she lunged at my face and got my forehead, chin, and neck. None of the bites were bad but it was a little scary. For a while I couldn't trust her near my face. I now have a greater understanding of her body language and she is strongly bonded to me and thinks of me as a flock member. She doesn't bite very much anymore and never gets me hard. The only time it kinda hurts is when she gets my ear to tell me she wants down to go poop, it's more annoying than painful. I try very hard to respect Rosie's freedom of choice about coming out, stepping up, and interacting with me. Sometimes she would rather just stay in her cage and have me pet her through the bars, while other times she hops on right away. Because of this she never bites me hard, to tell me no she will mouth my hand, or press her upper mandible against by hand. Most biting is because the bird feels it's the only way to get it's point across. Of course, hormones and panic can also cause biting.

@LoryLover
Oh he will be, he'll avoid touching her for at least a month before he brings the courage up to start petting her again. I told him why she bit and said it was my fault for not taking her off his shoulder sooner, but he's not a bird person and for normal people it's a scary experience.

Your red lory made me laugh, I love at the end when you say memories lol

 

[Thingamagigs]

Its great that you mention this! Mana loves my partner the most, I call her his "wifebird" lol
If she thinks he is leaving, she starts talking loudly repeating over and over again really fast "what ya doin?" "do you want a scratch?" "do you want a scratch?" "Whatcha dooo-aah-oooin?" "Doooo wanna scraaatcccccchhhhhh*scream*" "Whatcha talkin bout dooo-aah-oooin?" LOL The more worked up about it she gets, the less coherant her sentences.
She follows him around the house peeping and asking him what he is doing and demanding kisses and scratches. If I leave the room I might get a "what ya doin?" if I'm lucky LOL

But I have also noticed she is extra bossy with him. She is more likely to bite him than to bite me. She gets over excited with him very easily. I can snuggle her under my chin and wrestle her and pick her up how I want. My partner has to be careful about what he does with her and how worked up she is. If he has food, she will demand he gives her some. If he doesn't share, she will bite him. She doesnt bite hard, but its obvious she is trying to keep him in line and demand her rights as his "wifebird" LOL
If I have food, she just watches me with a forlorn look on her face. LOL

I guess its just like human relationships

 

[OOwl]

I admire your ability to apply cool logic to what happened. My Galah (a 10yr-old male) has never bitten me like that but I know he could. As much as I know where bites come from and by what fault they occur, I'd still have a hard time being clinical about it, especially if the bite happened to me or a family member. I'll try to remember your situation if and when I ever receive a bite like that. Glad your dad is okay.

 

[WharfRat]

see signature below

It's not a matter of if you will get bitten, it's a matter of when!!

 

[OOwl]

Oh, Warf, I HAVE been bitten, just not by the Galah. And, absolutely, I KNOW it was my fault each and every time. Still, it's often after-the-fact enlightenment, no matter how many years one lives with parrots. Sometimes, you just forget to pay attention. I got hard nipped just this morning for having a cage wipe in one hand and asking the Grey if he wanted to come out with the other (obviously holding the hated cage wipe in such close proximity was against the rules). Stupid mistake on my part. That's why life with parrots is so fascinating and never boring or too easy. May MOST days be no-bite days for all of you.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I admire your ability to apply cool logic to what happened. My Galah (a 10yr-old male) has never bitten me like that but I know he could. As much as I know where bites come from and by what fault they occur, I'd still have a hard time being clinical about it, especially if the bite happened to me or a family member. I'll try to remember your situation if and when I ever receive a bite like that. Glad your dad is okay.

Since my mom started working as a councilor in a children's cancer clinic, and doing on call at a children's severe injury clinic nothing really phases me anymore. If it happened to me I wouldn't of been happy, but I have it drilled in my head that it's always my own fault if a parrot bites. Birds are wild animals, I'm just thankful I didn't decide to bring home a tiger instead

see signature below

It's not a matter of if you will get bitten, it's a matter of when!!

That's so true, and a little scary. I often handle my friends blue and gold and I keep that in mind.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Update on the bite
His ear had swelling and still hurts. I don't think he'll be sleeping on the side for a while. I feel bad that he had to go to a meeting in Seattle with a tender ear.
I wish I could of taken a photo, but I'm not going to even ask.

Everyone's a bit nervous around Rosie now, I'm not allowed to take her out of my room when company is over and my sister doesn't want the girls Within arms reach. It's a little sad, one mistake and everyone is nervous. The great thing about my family though is that even if they don't particularly care for Rosie they understand that she isn't a domesticated animal. My parents have had there fair share of bites from a rehomed green iguana.

 

[Kimennever]

Ouch! I hope your step dad feels better soon.

My sister in law once had a tame long beaked corella bite her between her thumb and forefinger in that thin bit of skin. Went in one side and out the other! She is very wary of birds now!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Ouch! I hope your step dad feels better soon.

My sister in law once had a tame long beaked corella bite her between her thumb and forefinger in that thin bit of skin. Went in one side and out the other! She is very wary of birds now!

Oh my! That sounds extremely painful!