Make The Ringing Stop
New member
I really hope this is the right place to put this; I joined this forum because my family needs some serious help with our bird, and I haven't looked around the forum excessively much, but this seemed to be the right place.
So, I just finished yet another argument (Of the "raised voices" variety) with my mother about our bird's behaviour.
The background:
Let me give you some background information about this bird, since I am very serious about needing help, and I want to do the most on my part to lay out all the facts, as it were.
We got this bird (originally for me, as I was obsessed with birds when I was little) at a pet shop when she was a chick, about twelve years ago. She's a female Red-Throated Conure named Holly. We often just call her "Bird" or "Squawk-box"--it's only Holly when she's in trouble.
She was raised well, as far as I can tell. She's outside her cage almost constantly, only locked in at night around 7 or 8pm, and let out again in the morning around 10am, when most of the family wakes up. She eats a variety of fresh and high quality food three times a day with the family.
Her flight feathers aren't trimmed, because then she'll just walk around on the floor (usually in pursuit of my mother). There are no other birds in the house, of any kind. The interaction with people that she gets is somewhat limited-my father works from 6am to about 3 or 4pm, my brother goes to school from about noon to 3pm, then 5:30 to 7 in the evenings some days. I have classes in the evenings three days a week but am otherwise free, and my mom is home all the time and has the most time to spend with the bird, which is the beginning of the problem.
The problems:
Aside from normal parrot problems like ripping up things, screaming, and crapping all over the house, our parrot is extremely territorial and jealous. She considers my mom to be her soul-mate and is all over her almost all the time. She climbs on her and grooms her for hours, which often hurts her, since she yanks at any skin that's differently shaped. But that's not the problem. The problem is that she'll attack anyone that gets close to my mom. She perches on her shoulder or head, and leaaaaans way out whenever someone gets close, and lunges and bites at them if they come within her range.
She's not friendly to strangers either. If anyone has their friends visit the house, we have to lock her up, because if we don't she'll fly on their heads, climb down to their shoulder and start attacking their face (And then their hands when they try to shield themselves). My best friend was sent to the hospital this way when Holly ripped open her ear.
My mom tries to rationalize her aggressive and jealous behaviour by saying that it's the bird's hormones that are acting up (Constantly??), and we should just stay away from her when Holly is on her (which I see as reinforcing the bird's behaviour).
But...I really don't think that's the solution. What I see when I look at Holly is a spoiled, angry brat of a parrot that gets her way whenever she wants because mom doesn't want us to try and change her dangerous behaviour. (She says parrots can't be trained to act differently) If she bites the wrong person, she could even be taken away and euthanized, and our family sued (which we can't afford at all right now).
Please help.
I can even deal with pooping on furniture and people, and ripping up wallpaper, books, and the sides of cabinets, but she is DANGEROUS, and -that- is what is not acceptable.
Please, I've even had dreams about "accidentally leaving a window open". Mom may be content with the bird's horrible mentality, but the rest of us are miserable, and eleven/twelve years is too long to have put up with this already-I'm not willing to watch my parents suffer through thirty.
Anything will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
So, I just finished yet another argument (Of the "raised voices" variety) with my mother about our bird's behaviour.
The background:
Let me give you some background information about this bird, since I am very serious about needing help, and I want to do the most on my part to lay out all the facts, as it were.
We got this bird (originally for me, as I was obsessed with birds when I was little) at a pet shop when she was a chick, about twelve years ago. She's a female Red-Throated Conure named Holly. We often just call her "Bird" or "Squawk-box"--it's only Holly when she's in trouble.
She was raised well, as far as I can tell. She's outside her cage almost constantly, only locked in at night around 7 or 8pm, and let out again in the morning around 10am, when most of the family wakes up. She eats a variety of fresh and high quality food three times a day with the family.
Her flight feathers aren't trimmed, because then she'll just walk around on the floor (usually in pursuit of my mother). There are no other birds in the house, of any kind. The interaction with people that she gets is somewhat limited-my father works from 6am to about 3 or 4pm, my brother goes to school from about noon to 3pm, then 5:30 to 7 in the evenings some days. I have classes in the evenings three days a week but am otherwise free, and my mom is home all the time and has the most time to spend with the bird, which is the beginning of the problem.
The problems:
Aside from normal parrot problems like ripping up things, screaming, and crapping all over the house, our parrot is extremely territorial and jealous. She considers my mom to be her soul-mate and is all over her almost all the time. She climbs on her and grooms her for hours, which often hurts her, since she yanks at any skin that's differently shaped. But that's not the problem. The problem is that she'll attack anyone that gets close to my mom. She perches on her shoulder or head, and leaaaaans way out whenever someone gets close, and lunges and bites at them if they come within her range.
She's not friendly to strangers either. If anyone has their friends visit the house, we have to lock her up, because if we don't she'll fly on their heads, climb down to their shoulder and start attacking their face (And then their hands when they try to shield themselves). My best friend was sent to the hospital this way when Holly ripped open her ear.
My mom tries to rationalize her aggressive and jealous behaviour by saying that it's the bird's hormones that are acting up (Constantly??), and we should just stay away from her when Holly is on her (which I see as reinforcing the bird's behaviour).
But...I really don't think that's the solution. What I see when I look at Holly is a spoiled, angry brat of a parrot that gets her way whenever she wants because mom doesn't want us to try and change her dangerous behaviour. (She says parrots can't be trained to act differently) If she bites the wrong person, she could even be taken away and euthanized, and our family sued (which we can't afford at all right now).
Please help.
I can even deal with pooping on furniture and people, and ripping up wallpaper, books, and the sides of cabinets, but she is DANGEROUS, and -that- is what is not acceptable.
Please, I've even had dreams about "accidentally leaving a window open". Mom may be content with the bird's horrible mentality, but the rest of us are miserable, and eleven/twelve years is too long to have put up with this already-I'm not willing to watch my parents suffer through thirty.
Anything will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.