Shaken up

[Gizmomania]

After having Walter for two weeks, he engaged in an unprovoked attack upon me. Up to this point, he has been funny, cuddly and very easy going.

My daughter's boyfriend was over for a visit. She gave Walter to her boyfriend, and he walked behind his head, and down his arm. When I extended my hand for him to hop on, he jumped onto my hand and bit into me, causing me to bleed in three separate areas of my hand.

This is the first time that one of my 7 birds has every done such a thing. Guess I'm in a bit of shock :-(

Today I had moved Walter's cage from his quarantined corner to a new location. Every time I walked by his cage today, he would follow along in a similar manner that he does with the dogs: aggressively. I didn't think much about it at the time, but hindsight is 20:20, as I believe he was sending me some sort of message that I'm now trying to figure it out. Does he not like his new location? Is it the color that I'm wearing today?
Did he not like my daughter's boyfriend? However, after he bit me, he allowed her boyfriend to handle him right away.


I've heard people say that their caiques have gone ballistic on them, but now I know what that means. So....now what do I do?

 

[MikeyTN]

Sorry to hear but it sounds like he's shown interest in your daughter's bf. Have you tried taking him out today???

 

[Gizmomania]

I have him out multiple times every day.

Of interest is that when I went to the bird store to buy food, one of the guys who works there asked me how he was doing. They then told me that Walter didn't like him and one of the other people employed there; that he would always attack them. This was very surprising to me. Until tonight when it happened to me.

It really has me unraveled now.

 

[Gizmomania]

One more thing I'd like to mention is that right after he attacked me, he stalked me, looking for another opportunity to grab a chunk of me. Now I'm leary of him, and am not sure if I even want to take him out of his cage today without someone else present to help me, should he decide to 'pittbull' me again.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Oh my...I'm so sorry he charged and bit you.

How is he acting today? Any differently? Did you wear something different yesterday, perhaps a brightly colored shirt? Nail polish?? Anything different?

It's possible that the move into the new location triggered something in him. Have you tried putting him back to his "old" location to see if that will turn him back around?

 

[Gizmomania]

No, not yet. Where his cage had been is not where I'd want it to be. It was in a quarantined location that was in a pathway. Now his cage is between my two duskies.
I will try him back where he was, though.

I was wearing all black. I don't wear nail polish and haven't changed my appearance at all.

What I did observe yesterday is that he seemed more restless. For the first time he played with some of his toys since I'd brought him home, but the play looked more like an attack on those toys. He also started making this intermittent chirp all day long yesterday that sounded like a smoke detector when the battery is going to die.

 

[thekarens]

How old is Walter? Could it be hormones?

 

[Gizmomania]

He's around 6 years old. Whoever had him before abandoned him at a boarding place. Now I'm beginning to wonder why.

It was completely unprovoked, so now I'm afraid of him. I don't like feeling this way. It's going to take me some time to get through this one.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hugs to you!! I believe Walter is confused about having been moved to a different location, and is taking his "confusion" or "anxiety" out on you.

Having the 2 duskies next to him now may have provoked him in some sort of way, too.

 

[thekarens]

I know it's hard, but I think with any parrot you've got to expect them to go through these phases. I think we've all read about zons and macs and toos reaching sexual maturity and becoming a temporary demon. I bet with time and patience he'll come around.

 

[Gizmomania]

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback. Freckle Face, they way you describe your caique's behavior is parallel to what I saw with Walter. What I have to get passed is how unprovoked it was. Makes me leery of handling him again. Walter's bites are far worse than any I'd ever received from my Zon or CAG. My GCC and duskies do little pinchy bites. Walter took 3 chunks of skin out of my hands, and would have taken more had I not shook him off me. Even then he came diving back at me like Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. Very unsettling.

I'm moving his cage back to where it was and see if he's better there. Only problem being there is that it's right smack in the middle of where we walk.

I have some work to do to move forward with this.

 

[DanR]

Maybe slowly start moving it the place you want foot by foot week by week if you do see changing him back solves it?

 

[Gizmomania]

Yep. That's exactly what he did. You've described it as if you'd just witnessed what Walter did to my hands. He was completely curled around my hands and stuck to them like glue.

Walter lunged at me all this morning whenever I walked by him. I usually wear the same thing first thing in the morning until I get my kids to school. When I get back home, I shower and changed out of the black clothing. It could be a coincidence, but now that I have something different on he's not lunging at me at the moment.

I'll leave his cage where it is for now and play it by ear.

Not sure what signs I can read coming from him. There weren't any that I could see at the time of his feasting on my hands.