We were friends but not now

[Dorra]

Hi everyone
This is the first post hope to get help from experts here

I have blue front amazon, five months ago we are really good friends, eat togather, some time sleep in one bed, go outside togather, he loves to touch his head and play with his beak he loves as well to play with my ears hair and much more, really was good time.

One day i was laying on the sofa, he was behind me, once and suddenly he bite my nose, i do not know the reason, but that was really painful and without any thinking he is bird or even think may be he noticed some thing that frightened him, i hit him with my hand and he tried to defend himself and bite me and again i hit him again and again. He is clipped, so he fell on the ground and he was not to control that to land peacefully, it was really very bad time to see him this condition, i really feel i am guilty.

Now he does not eat at all unless i bring the food to him on the cage, when ever he sees me, he starts moving his head up and down with strange voice, the voice i think means i think to tell he is careful and thinks i may hit him again, even he can accept food from my hand but he is very afraid and take food carefully.

Right now when ever he sees me or even try to touch, he tries to escape from me.

I am really i do not know to tell him i am really sorry and want him happy again in the house and back as before or better.

I really appreciate your help here

 

[wenz2712]

First of all.. Under NO circumstances do you EVER hit a Bird!!!!!

You may have done him some damage and I think you need to take him to the Vet!

He is obviously now very afraid of you and I dont think that will ever change!
If you cannot cope with him, maybe you should put him up for adoption??

 

[sodakat]

Of course you should not have hit him especially beyond the first (possibly) reflexive action when he bit your nose.

I have a small flock so I see birds interact. They do occasionally bite each other and it doesn't mean they will never approach one another again. They watch each other and know when it's safe to approach another bird. I think you can win his trust again.

But, what I'm thinking is also going on, especially from your description of your relationship with him and his movements when you bring him food, is that you have created a situation where he is looking at you as a mate.

I suggest you do an internet search on misplaced agression. He *may* have bit your nose because he was frustrated that you were not being a proper mate. His head movements when you offer food sound like he may be interested in regurgitating for you.

This web site has some great information on living with parrots without confusing them:
RP - Mating

 

[Dorra]

First of all.. Under NO circumstances do you EVER hit a Bird!!!!!

No, this is the first time i do this to a bird

You may have done him some damage and I think you need to take him to the Vet!

I do checked him and there is no damage at all

He is obviously now very afraid of you and I dont think that will ever change!

You really think we will not become friends at all? I hope not, i really love him so much

If you cannot cope with him, maybe you should put him up for adoption??

If i put him in adoption, will he accept the new owner?



I appreciate your time, thanks a lot

 

[wenz2712]

If i put him in adoption, will he accept the new owner?

Yes.. he will accept a new owner in time, once he has got over the shock of being hit that is!!

 

[Peeker]

I can see you are very very sorry. I agree with wenz2712 never ever hit a bird! Really never hit any animal, but birds have hollow bones and they can break very easily.

I DO think you can repair your relationship but it will take time and you will have to work at it. You may get bit again and you need to accept that and find better ways to deal with it. Most birds will not accept food from your hand if they are afraid of you so it sounds like your bird is willing to be friends.

Please hang around the forum and read and learn more about birds and their body language to understand your bird and try to work with him. Do you know the age of this bird? I wonder if the odd noises and head bobbing could be a begging behavior? As in begging to be fed--not begging you not to hit him.

 

[angiern]

I think he can lose his fear of you, but it might take a long time. You have to take it slow and be patient.

 

[ParkersMom]

Just because he looks ok on the outside doesn't mean there is no internal damage...Birds are very fragile and can be hurt very easy...he needs to go to the vet asap to get checked by a professional...also you should have never had him near your face...birds get spooked for unknown reasons and you won't see it coming they can't tell us they are scared they just react...if I ever put either of my birds near my face for any reason i gently hold their beak so i can prevent getting bit...

 

[WharfRat]

I'll say it til I'm blue in the face..............If you own a bird you WILL get bit, period!

 

[JerseyWendy]

... i hit him with my hand and he tried to defend himself and bite me and again i hit him again and again.

I am currently at a loss for words. I'm afraid if I said something at this point, it wouldn't be very pretty.

 

[BillsBirds]

I, like Wendy, am speechless. You obviously do not know enough about your bird, or indeed, birds in general, to own one. You have seriously damaged your relationship with this wonderful creature. I hope he is more forgiving than I. You obviously love him, but, MUST get your anger under control. If things like this happen again, (and they may), either of you could seriously hurt the other.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I believe you are sorry, and maybe have learned the hard way that parrots are definitely NOT an 'easy' pet. They take a lot of work and really a certain amount of experience to relate and understand. And under no circumstance can someone be physically aggressive to a parrot and have a positive outcome.

Birds will bite. And people have emotions regarding the sudden bite. But you need to always remember that at some point a parrot will most definitely bite you, and keep that in your mind that you can never be aggressive with a parrot in any way. They have many predators and it is in their nature to be cautious and remember what scares them. So assuming you are able to work through the bird's fear and build a trusting relationship again, keep that in mind for the future.

For now i would say it is going to take a lot of time and patience to try to build his trust again. And even if you love him, if you think maybe an Amazon is not for you, there are rescues that would rehome him. There are "easier" birds to care for, and Amazons require a certain level of experience, and even life circumstances being a certain way to make them happiest. (They are one of my most favorite animals yet i have never owned one because I am not sure my life circumstance is ideal for having one be fully happy.)

 

[SandyBee]

I'm sure you know how everyone feels, hitting a bird is completely wrong.
You have broken trust and trust takes time to build and even longer to mend.

How old is your amazon?
How long have you had him and from where did you get him?
How long ago did this incident happen? Has he seen a vet or did you check him on your own? If so how if you can't get near him?
These questions are important.

Birds bite. They bite out of fear, out of excitement, they bite to communicate.
The head moving up and down know sounds more like a caution warning to me, my amazon does this when he is excited or trying to see things, it is different from the regurgitation bobbing.

you need to look at if this is the right bird for you or if you are better getting him a new home, mending the bond can take a lot of work and time and birds do not forget easily. They can forgive but that depends on you. NEVER hit your bird again, if you can't take the time and another bite, please find a safe home for him.They can learn to trust a new person and be happy.

 

[oled]

You have gone fare over an acepteble limit and from what you are writing I wonder if you have a aggression problem? Or you just dont can control yourself? Or you just dont understand that it is not OK to hitt anybody?
Think about what your problem is and if you should have animals at all.

I can see one possitive thing, you are honest about it so then you can find help if you have a problem.

You should consider leaving the perrot at the vet for observation for a period of time

 

[Abigal7]

Time outs work better with parrots. Like everyone else says you should not hit your bird even if you hit out of fear, or if it is reflexes, or out of frustration or anger. Does your bird fear you? If it was real scared it would avoid you and not take food from you. That said you will have to build trust back up. Birds squabble and learn not to hurt each other but that doe not justify the hitting. If the bird bites quickly take it and set it on the floor in a seperate room for a time out. Not only do time outs help the bird it lets you be able to walk away from the situation. I do not know if your bird drawn blood or maybe pinched too hard. Remember your bird will use it's beak to climb and use it to explore things. Like a cat they learn not to put too much pressure down.

 

[Tosca]

Wow! Dorra you are a brave person to admit what you have done to your little buddy.

You said the bird doesn't eat anything unless you hand feed him. What has he been eating since you hit him? Is he capable of eating on his own? Has he changed in any way other than with his food? Does he still play with his toys or have problems with his perching? Is he acting normal for a bird other than his fear of you?

As the others have said, you must rebuild the trust you once had. Look at it from the bird's point of view. Would you ever trust somebody you loved who had hit you?

 

[Kiwibird]

While I can understand a gut reaction of swatting him away when he bit you (especially if it was the first time he bit and was out of the blue), I cannot understand how you could "hit him again and again" afterwards. A mistake due to inexperience on your part would have been to swat him off, but the fact you continued to attacked him suggests to me you probably don't have the patience and self control at this point in time to be a responsible pet owner. Parrots may be smart for animals, but at the end of the day, they are still stupid animals and deserve a carer who has understanding of the fact they don't possess the intelligence to always behave the way we want them to. It is possible to rebuild your relationship, but that would mean acceptance on your part that he may occasionally bite (every parrot does) and the self control on your part to react to a bite in an appropriate manner. The ONLY way to react to a parrot biting is to be able to CALMLY pull out of their beak, no matter how bad it hurts (as not to encourage it as an effective form of communication), return them to their cage so you can clean the wound and NEVER EVER "punish" them in any way (no swatting, yelling, rough handling ect...). We have all been bitten by our birds at some point, which hurts and certainly isn't easy to react to in a clam manner, but it's part of owning a parrot. You really need to ask yourself if in the future you can take the pain of a bite without reacting, or else you need to find a home for the bird where his new carers can. If you can't handle a parrot being a parrot, surrendering him to a shelter or sanctuary may be his best bet. The folks at avian shelters/sanctuaries are very experienced with dealing with parrots who have had negative human interactions in the past, and can help rehabilitate him before finding him a home that is willing to accept normal parrot behavior.

 

[BillsBirds]

In over 40 years of rescuing & handling birds, many with trust & biting problems, I have my fair share of scars from the bites. I have been severely bitten, and lost pieces of flesh, but, have NEVER struck or punished a bird. I've handled raptors & owls who've pierced my arms with their talons. But, NEVER hit them. I just cannot understand this behavior to such beautuiful creatures.

 

[SandyBee]

In over 40 years of rescuing & handling birds, many with trust & biting problems, I have my fair share of scars from the bites. I have been severely bitten, and lost pieces of flesh, but, have NEVER struck or punished a bird. I've handled raptors & owls who've pierced my arms with their talons. But, NEVER hit them. I just cannot understand this behavior to such beautuiful creatures.

Nor can I, the best we can do now is try to help this person give up this bird or teach them that this cannot happen again.

 

[BillsBirds]

In my SPCA work, I have been bitten by dogs, cats, different rodents, a raccoon, 2 pythons, a ferret, horses, a large iguana, and various other animals. And the birds. It is part of handling animals. I never hit back.