Aggressive Behavior Constantly

[gsprint]

Hello, I have a one year old female Indian ring neck and at first she was the sweetest bird ever. After a few weeks of having her, she began by biting my parents, to the point where she would chase after their feet to bite them. She also tries to jump and bite my dad's hand when he brings her a freshly filled water bowl. She took a liking to me and would rarely bite me. I assume this is all because of bluffing, but recently she has started biting me as well and sometimes when we offer her treats she will repeatedly slam the treat against the side of her cage while letting out aggressive sounds and then drops it. She also lets me pet her on her head, but will randomly turn around and try to bite me. Other times she will climb on the couch I'm sitting on and come on my shoulder, but will begin lunging at my hands to bite me even if I do not try to touch her. She has a very big cage, lots of toys, attention, food, water, and treats. When she bites I do my best to hold still, but her behavior has not changed for months and I do not like going near her anymore because I know she will lunge to bite me eventually. When she does bite I place her on the top of her cage and disappear for a few minutes to try to get her to realize the consequences of her actions, but she is not learning. Instead she whines and makes noises like she's sad, but when I go back to her she turns aggressive again, like she's baiting me so she can get a chance to bite. It has been a year since she has become aggressive and we do not know what to do. We cannot afford to spend hundreds on an animal behavior specialist, so please let me know if there's anything that can be done to correct this behavior. Thank you.

 

[noodles123]

How often is she out of the cage daily?
Did you let her out daily and work with her or was there a period of time where you had to keep her caged?


IRN's get less friendly fast if you stop letting them out/working with them etc etc...and if you did that but then kept trying to handle her like you would have before, that could have further upset her...because she was upset but you may have kept acting like things were unchanged.
Does she have any tents, huts, boxes or shadowy spaces or is she allowed to access them? <-- these can cause major hormonal issues ..no shadowy spaces and never ever cover the cage (not at any time...and never partially) until the moment of bed (cover on, lights off, you leave sort of thing). Some people misuse covers during the day to try and stop screaming or because they think it will calm the bird etc...THE ONLY time when a cover would be acceptable during the say would be in a medical emergency (shock etc) or when walking from car to house if weather is cold.

When she liked you, how were you petting her? Anything other than head and neck is sexual and a sexual bird will often eventually lash out at the object of desire (or self- destruct via plucking etc).
How many hours sleep does she get per night and does she have a set sleep schedule. They need a solid 10 in a quiet, dark space (on a schedule) and any less than that can dis-regulate mood, hormones and health.


The biting is happening for a reason, and the goal would be to read signals well enough to avoid it (because you are likely harming trust each time by pushing her). Think back to when this first started happening--- any changes to routine at the time? etc etc...

 

[gsprint]

A few months after she became aggressive I was away from home for college and my parents would mostly leave her in the cage when they went to work in the morning (this was around late August of last year). They are both teachers, so they would uncover her cage before they left and let her out once they returned. However, her behavior literally changed overnight one day late last June without us changing anything and we got her in May so all summer she had company and was let out of the cage since 7 or 8 am. We never cover her during the day and she sleeps from 9 pm until around 7:30 am every day. She has no other shadowy places she can go to throughout the day. When she liked me, I was petting her all over her body, usually on her head but often under her wings, tail area, and belly. She still lets me pet her in those parts, but she will randomly decide she's had enough and attempt to bite. I have also been home from school since December so I am spending time with her daily and we started to let her get out of her cage from the moment my parents leave for work. While I am still asleep she gets to climb all around her cage to not feel secluded. I still try to interact with her by putting her on my hand or shoulder, but she will lunge and bite my finger sometimes or when she's already on my hand and I try to put her on my other hand. I can tell she still likes me the most because if I get close to her she will reach to give me a little kiss, but then walks away from me and puts her head down so I can pet her. After I pet her a little she sometimes get aggressive so I learned to only pet her very shortly then pull away. Today she came over to me while I was on the couch and climbed on my shoulder, but instantly lunged towards my forearm which was not close to her face and started climbing down my shirt to bite me so I put her back on top of her cage and walked away for a few minutes. In that time she kept whistling and making whining noises until she saw me again. From a distance she acts friendly, but when approached she sometimes bloats and whistles while her eyes constrict and dilate, which is the cue to leave her alone. She seemingly entered bluffing overnight late last June and has been worsening instead of improving. She will not let my parents touch her at all, but she will sometimes go to them to perch and as long as they don't touch her she remains there. Her bites hurt a lot to the point where she draws blood sometimes, so I don't understand how she wants all the attention and affection yet she does not let us interact with her one bit.

 

[noodles123]

You sexually frustrated her. All that petting made SERIOUS promises to her that you, as a human, cannot keep. You basically led her on in a very very serious way, sent her hormones crazy (think foreplay) and then you didn't "put out" and left....That's not random. Even if they let you, you MUST NEVVVER pet under the wings, the tail, down the back and on the butt...NEVER THE BUTT-eek


You need to stop petting her that way! That's why she hated your parents and is now angry with you too! She was driven by hormones and instinct to view you as a mate, you acted like you wanted to have sex with her, got her all worked up, basically promised to "marry her" and then you didn't.

That's how she sees it. The hormones alone also alter their behavior and brain chemistry.


It is truly TRULY unhealthy to pet ANY adult bird all over it's body like this....It harms them and it harms the relationship. Its very unfair to the bird.


These animals will often gravitate toward seeing humans as mates (As they are flock animals and that is their instinct) but that is why the human MUST set boundaries and do everything to prevent indulging that idea.



I know you didn't know and I understand-- not yelling at you are blaming , but that is your issue right there. You've got to get her hormonal levels down, re-frame your relationship and re-build trust....You basically drugged her with that touching. The only parrots in the wild who can touch another bird in the areas you touched is the mate.

 

[gsprint]

That does make sense, I was never made aware of this by anyone or from any articles I have read. Do you think it's too late to regain her trust and what do I do from here? I will strictly pet her head only from now on, but what would be the best course of action in this situation?

 

[noodles123]

Please watch all-- she is a very famous parrot trainer and knows a lot- [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by54qevmF-4"]What a HORMONAL BIRD Looks Like!! - YouTube[/ame]
****It's also SUPPPPPER IMPORTANT to know that while spring and fall are classically hormonal times for most parrots (even if not sexually stimulated), if you touch your bird like that, you can induce hormones at any time.
Just because your bird didn't regurgitate or do some of the behaviors in the video does not mean it is not hormonal, as hormones look different in every individual, but almost always lead to implosion (plucking, obsessive pacing etc) or explosion (lashing out at others).

 

[noodles123]

Keep letting her out--- stop petting her that way...It will take time. It's also spring, so hormones on in high gear, and she is an IRN, so again, they are more sensitive to lack of contact etc than some birds-- by contact, I don't mean physical touch so much as I mean interaction. You have a few things going on here, in that you put her into sexual overdrive and so her brain is loopy with all of that, but you also went to college and that means she spent a long time away from you (her chosen person). Even if you hadn't led her on, if your parents weren't really interacting with her during that time (because they weren't you), you could be dealing with some issues...But the fact that she was aggressive around parents before this (but not to you) means that she was likely protecting you as she would a mate, and your parents were a threat.
I don't think it's too late, but I think you need to dive much more deeply into parrot behavior.



You will have to stop all sexual contact, read her cues and back off if you see any hormonal signals, but be consistent in trying to re build trust and reframe the whole relationship. Pretend she is in your house for the first time and you need to make her trust you....That doesn't mean reaching in and grabbing etc or forcing anything. Look for signs of willingness but also, try to make your interactions more activity based...For instance, training her and providing attention that way, rather than just through physical contact.


The fact that you said you can sometimes still pet her that way means that she still sees you as a mate but they really will lash out if you lead them on and don't put out lol!


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxs7si91WrI"]Stop Normalizing Parrot Biting! - YouTube[/ame] <-- I DO disagree with his statement that you could have a bird that literally NEVER bites, as humans are imperfect....and we will all miss cues and get bitten at some point (especially at times of transition)....that is a fact that I stand by. I do agree with focusing on consent rather than annoyance.



here is another good video on biting--- hormones are literally mind-altering for them, so logic does not always apply there--- but....ONCE YOU GET THE HORMONES UNDER CONTROL--- use this as your guide for physical touch *while being ever-cautious that your bird already has a tendency to view you in a hypersexual way-so, while a willing bird may send out cues, you don't want to take all of them).

 

[gsprint]

Thank you so much for your advice. The problem is clear to me now and I will work on improving it. I shall be patient with my bird and I hope she eventually overcomes her hormonal imbalance that I caused unknowingly.

 

[noodles123]

Please stick around! Believe me-- we have all done things and then been like....oh sh*t!!!



It's always better to research thoroughly first, but this forum is INVALUABLE for trouble-shooting, support etc. It's funny, because sometimes, what seems like a mystery to one is so clear to another, but that is the beauty of sharing it all (and it works both ways)! I have learned so much here and I share so much here (sometimes, too much LOL!) but please stick around and don't be afraid to ask any questions. You may think something is stupid, or embarrassing or not worth asking, but I promise you, it is worth asking and talking about! Glad you are here.


There are few places that will understand your bird issues like this forum and sometimes, you will get "tough love" and other times, you will get praise...It's all very healthy and informative though and I am glad you joined!