2 african greys

[reformed_raver]

hi, i have 2 congo african greys, they are both about 2 years old now and i have had them for about 18 months now and all is good
recently one of the which we think is the female, drops her wings down and out to the side and squark loudley?? also she has began to be a bit of a bitter now, bighting my girlfriend who lives with me?? also bites other people aswell??
the male grey has addopted the loud screaming all the time?
its not as we dont pay attention to them as they spend most of the time out their cages downstairs with s or outside in a big avery in the day time when it is sunny and warm. they have all the toys they could ever want to??
any help or suggestions would be much appreciated

 

[Peta]

Hi and Welcome to Parrot Forums​

When they start the biting and screaming what do you do? It seems that when they hit 2 they will try to push the boundaries quite a bit. You need to make sure that they are not allowed to get away with this. Whenever they are quiet give them a special treat of some sort, (whether that be head scritches, or food treat). What I find with my CAG (Bucc, who is 2 1/2 now) is to talk very quietly, he will usually stop the noise to try and hear what I'm saying, or I'll turn my back and talk in a quiet voice and let him think that I'm doing something. He will stop the scream and usually come over to see what is happening. The scream has stopped and he gets a treat

The wing drop sounds a bit like what Bucc will do when he's in love but he doesn't make a loud noise. You could try the talking quietly, but with two of them screaming you may have to get close to them.

Can you remember what is happening before they start biting. Is there a warning sign that you could be missing? What are the people doing just before they get bitten, could it be that they are entering your birds zone, and they don't like it.?? Watch the birds feathers that is usually one way they will try to communicate with us.​

 

[karen]

Hi and welcome......u crazy folks with more than one bird
So Peta dropped shivery wings mean love.....awe Roxy loves my singing

 

[TexDot33]

Hi and welcome......u crazy folks with more than one bird
So Peta dropped shivery wings mean love.....awe Roxy loves my singing

Actually Karen, dropped wings to the SIDE means she wants to be picked up (at least in Conures anyway) but if she drops her wings over her ears .... she's trying to tell you something else about your singing! :18:

 

[Peta]

Hmmmm wonder what it means in Amazons. (and other species)

 

[reformed_raver]

she drops them down to the sides and out a bit and shackes them fast and squarks. the bitting occurs most of the time now they will fly over to see what we are doing, bite if you dont pay attention to them but also if you do aswell?
im going on holiday for 18 days and got some friends looing after them!!!
ill come back and they will have no eyes left
the friends that are looking after them,sometimes the birds are nice to them and other times they hate them and fly away and cant get far enough away.

 

[Peta]

When they bite what do you do?

 

[Redballoon]

Scream, generally?

 

[Peta]

:18: :18: I wasn't really thinking of that, but hey that would work too. :18: :18:

 

[reformed_raver]

we tell them NO!!! and give them a stern look

 

[Peta]

Ok that sounds good, Can you see any warning of the forth coming bite, i.e feathers up, eyes pinning if so what is happeneng just before between you and your fids.

 

[sunconure]

sounds somewhat hormonal to me.

 

[reformed_raver]

yeah they fluff up a bit very quick then the bite???
they also seam to go for my girlfriend alot more than they do me, i do spend alot more time at home than her as i work local and get to come home at lunch etc.

 

[Peta]

Sorry didn't really read the post properly before, you say they bite your girlfriend, do they bite you as well or only other people.

If its girlfriend and other people, they are telling them they are getting far too close to YOU, it seems that they have bonded with you, the female will see you as a potential mate your girlfriend is the other woman.

Just because you have male and female doesn't mean they will bond to each other,

If they are both biting anyone, including you it sounds like you have an uprising on your hands, they are trying to become the heads of the household, and you must not allow them to do so. Have you tried having them out one at a time????? They are at that age now when they are going to push the boundaries to see what they can and can not get away with. Please don't give in the them, they learn very quickly.

 

[reformed_raver]

i wont give in to them. if we have only one of them out, they call for each other like crazy, i will try that though to see what they do, as their cages are upstairs and i get them out one at a time in the morning,eve,etc.
they do tend to bite anyone really including me.
what is the best approach to take them if they continue to bite us all, apart from tape it up

 

[Peta]

Let me know how it goes with trying them out one at a time,

what is the best approach to take them if they continue to bite us all, apart from tape it up

First off you need to make sure that you are not doing anything that they see as a threat, before the bites happen. Watch out for any warning signs they give. Also when they are out keep an eye on who seems to be the ringleader, (the one who will bite more than the other)

If they do continue to bite I would put them back in the cage, without saying a word to them, don't say NO, don't give the stern look, just put them in and leave them there for a while, A few mins should do, then go in and see if they will allow you to touch them, if they try to bite again, just walk away,

Thats the hard part, trying to do everything without saying anything to them, but believe me it worked for my 2 year old, he was pushing the boundaries and trying his luck, He hated it when I wouldn't speak to him, Once they come out again, make a big deal over it telling them they are good boy/girl, they will soon get the idea that biting is not getting them anywhere.
This does sound more like trying their luck, they're not babies anymore and they want you to know that fact. They are big now and can do what they want. (In their minds anyway)

Please let us know how your getting on with it.

 

[reformed_raver]

rightey o, i shall try it, not quite sure how going to get on with only having one bird out at a time cause they will just call for each other untill they are togetherbut i must not give in

 

[reformed_raver]

how strange.
ive had both them out now 1 on their own then the other for about half hour each.
they are like different birds. when merlin (female) is out on her own shes very cautious in what shes doing and always looking around, while mavey (male) is making a hell of a noise to come out.
when mavey is out he wants to be with me all the time and keeps licking my handa and t shirt, but merlin in the cage is not making any noise at all.
they are both down now and they are alot quiter than normal.

 

[darkchi]

apart from tape it up

oh, boy... they are catching on to me LOL

 

[Peta]

Thats great news, I would keep it up for a while then try getting them out together to see what happenes, if the bites start then go back to having them out separately for a while longer, they will soon catch on to the fact that if they are biting then, they won't be allowed to come out together. It seems as tho they were showing off to each other, and the humans were fair game. Well done to you all. Great job. Please let us know how it goes.