Which is worse aggression or fear?

[ftlaudmom]

Coco supposedly hates men from what I was told by the pet store owner. As a result I'm very careful to warn all men that come around. However I'm not so sure that's completely the situation. The first day I took him out of his cage he climbed down from his stand and walked over to my husband who was sitting on the sofa, and proceeded to climb up his leg. of course I took him off immediately not sure what he was planning to do. No drama that time.

Then another time he accidentally opened his cage door and got out. i wasn't home s my husband said he asked him to step up on his hand and he did and he simply put him back in his cage. Again no drama.

So yesterday I had him on the sofa with us and he immediately walked over to my husband and started to nibble his armand then gave him a hard bite. not enough to break the skin but clearly if I hadn't removed him right away his next one might have. I'm not sure why he's doing this. he's clearly not afraid of men and if he's trying to be aggressive I expect he would have bit harder. I'm not sure how to begin training this behavior out of him because I don't know the cause. he can't be jealous because he doesn't know us enough i don't think. any suggestions are welcome.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

How old is Coco and how long have you had him? Was he a pet store bird? It could be he is just testing <tasteing?lol> his boundries.


Jim

 

[BeatriceC]

I agree that he may be testing boundaries. Think fontenot a toddler stares at you while breaking a rule, or does things deliberately to see how far they can push you. Birds are the same way. Gentle correction/redirection (say goodbye no, moving bird back to cage or perch, that sort of thing) is effective in teaching boundaries. I'd be inclined to let him socialize with hubby while keeping an eye on things and see what happens.

 

[jenphilly]

A bird can be jealous literally 5 minutes after you meet if that bird picks you as their chosen person. From the moment Max stepped up on my arm, he was 'my' bird. But, that's not a major point, just for you to be aware if you are caring for this bird and interacting with him even for a few days, and he connected with you when you met him at the store, then jealousy can be just part of the problem.

It does not sound like Coco is aggressively telling your husband to back off that you are his 'mate' or person. I do agree it sounds like Coco is testing boundaries and specifically your husband. What he can get away with and if your husband will back down... there is a flock order, members of a flock serve different purposes / roles in a parrot's life. If your husband is not afraid of him and can deal with the potential bite, have him work with Coco when you are not around, offer treat, move him from playstand to cage, or another playstand or area that Coco hangs out in. Others may not agree, but Amazons are bullies, we see if all the time, everyday at the shelter. And you are correct, if Coco wanted to do damage, the opportunity he had to bite would have been much more significant then a test bite to see what reaction he was gonna get.

It sounds like you have a bird that probably has done the same in a past home and it was taken as the bird hating men..... we so often hear the same thing, the bird hates men or women; when in reality the bird did not get along with one man or woman, then the family presented that to everyone the bird met and a reputation is established that may not be true. We have birds that came in that were supposed to hate one sex or the other and then they are super friendly with everyone or the person they pick is the sex is the one they are supposed to hate

But your guy sounds like a fairly friendly, but typical intelligent guy who is seeing what he can get away with. I think some basic training for an activity like clicker, touch or target training might be a great positive interaction. Coco might have a resentment towards a man who mistreated him, so he has more hesitation with trust, they are exceptionally intelligent and remember from their experiences.

But just totally off topic, from all the fosters and parrots I've dealt with at the shelter, I'd much rather work with fear then aggression. I find fear behavior is a smaller mountain to climb but that's my personal opinion from my experience!

 

[Flboy]

I agree, testing!
But, getting out of his cage on his own..not an accident! Quakers are infamous escape artists!

Redo every door with something!

 

[ftlaudmom]

I was told that coco is about 3 and I've had him barely 2 months. I've target trained him and he also spin and wave. He's a very quick learner. He reacts very aggressively towards my son more than any other male so far. My son is 23 and we attempted target training with him but he literally yanked the stick so violently that my son walked away. He's not a bird person so he has no real motivation to have a relationship with coco. My husband is with him more than me during the day so I hope they can at least be polite friends. .....eventually.

I so wish I had even a little knowledge of his background but that's not the case so I'm taking every step with caution. One thing for sure is coco adapts to change easily and approaches new toys and foods eagerly so he is not distrustful or shy so I assume he wasn't abused. Maybe my assumption is wrong.

 

[jenphilly]

I was told that coco is about 3 and I've had him barely 2 months. I've target trained him and he also spin and wave. He's a very quick learner. He reacts very aggressively towards my son more than any other male so far. My son is 23 and we attempted target training with him but he literally yanked the stick so violently that my son walked away. He's not a bird person so he has no real motivation to have a relationship with coco. My husband is with him more than me during the day so I hope they can at least be polite friends. .....eventually.

I so wish I had even a little knowledge of his background but that's not the case so I'm taking every step with caution. One thing for sure is coco adapts to change easily and approaches new toys and foods eagerly so he is not distrustful or shy so I assume he wasn't abused. Maybe my assumption is wrong.

Your son may be more representative of who mistreated Coco... and Coco also may feel your son's indifference and rejecting him or expressing not wanting that energy.

 

[ftlaudmom]

@jenphilly i wholeheartedly agree with you. My husband and daughter both have said that same thing. I don't try to get my son to workon the relationship anymore. My cousin's husband is the same age as my son and a similar build and coco didn't respond as negatively toward him when he came over. The difference is that he likes birds and wants to eventually get one. so you seem to have hit the nail on the head there.