Do you take bites personally?

[LoveMauiGus]

My YC Macaw Gus & I have a very close bond and when he bites me, it's always a "punishment" bite. I've had him for over 10 years now and in the past, he used to bite me after extended absences (a few days) or out of jealousy - if someone came to close to me or tried to take him off of me. He doesn't bite out of jealousy anymore which is good, but he still gets mad at me for other reasons.

Well the last few days I have not been able to give him much attention because I have had a full schedule, but my parents are with him most of the day and play with him when I'm busy. Yesterday I didn't see him at all. Fast forward to this morning, I went to see him and he was already out of his cage playing. I picked him up and he seemed excited to see me, but no 5 minutes later I was going to scratch his head (like I always do) and he chomped me and wouldn't let go! I had to dump him off on the couch to get him to stop. My dad put him in his cage when I went to get a bandaid I couldn't help crying about it, because I felt like a bad bird mom. I have felt guilty lately because I haven't been giving him as much attention, but he has been getting attention from other people, now I feel worse because he is acting out physically.

Usually after he bites me (if he is still out of his cage..) he comes over and coos and me and rubs his head on my hand like he is sorry. Today he just screamed and was acting wild in his cage.

Anyways, this was a long rant but I thought maybe someone else could sympathize with me! Thanks!

 

[Mayden]

Sometimes yes! Sometimes my bird is just being a bit nippy because he loves to chew and thinks my fingers occassionally make a good toy. But he often bit me after I did physio on his leg (or goes and craps on whoever did the physio) it was obviously a 'IM NOT HAPPY WITH YOU!' kind of bite and it did make me sad and a little bit of reluctant to do physio with him, it's sad but it happens to the best of us. Just make sure you give him some attention (not in responce to biting!) soon and I'm sure he'll forgive you.

 

[c3honey84]

Three days ago, I was holding Roxy on my right arm. I had my left had near her and she kept lifting her foot up and putting it on my left index finger as if she wanted to step up onto it. So I moved my hand closer, and instead of stepping up onto it, she leaned down and bit the spot on my hand below my thumb. I have never experienced so much pain in my life. I couldn't help but cry. I threw her down onto floor. I immediately put her into her cage. I try not to take it personally, but it's very hard. Especially in this case, I don't see what I did wrong. The next morning, she was just fine. I don't think I will ever understand birds! By the way, it's been three days, and my hand is still numb in that area. I'm pretty sure I have some nerve damage.

 

[ronnie_jsph]

dude. @ the guy who got bit. i have an alex for over 20 months now. i have had him since he was 15 days old My alex get angry at me when i show him some alien object. Even if he is very angry and he is trying to bite me i don't shy away. i let him take my finger in his beak. As soon as my finger touches the inside of his beak, he realizes that it is mine and stops biting all together.
It seems u haven't had ur parrot since it was very young. Maybe that's the reason why he bites u. I am always out on outstation work assignments ( for 40 to 50 days at a stretch). , My alex doesn't complain at all. on the contrary, he loves me a lot and immediately recognizes me

 

[izmail1215]

My amazon will "over test" me he will keep on nipping my fingers till is make a hisss noise thats his NO to him cause he wont listen to no

 

[IolaniAviary]

I don't take it personally, you have to remember a parrot is like a 3-4 year old child. Once your a mom you understand that children say and do things because they are children, not because they want to hurt you or your feelings. Paco bites me all the time, he's like my naughty child. I tell him no just like I would my son, and give him something else to do. I just took a nasty bite from a Lovebird the other day, it was 100% my fault and the bird would not let go she was literally shaking my finger. I ended up with a nice welt and some blood. But again, it was my fault and it wasn't a huge deal.

 

[Prettybird11]

My Red Head Mexican named Cuco(means boogie man), usually bites me whenever my daughter is present. He generally prefers her over me, which he has made quite clear throughout the years. 10 yr experience with parrots, I've learned that parrots can be a one owner type of pet.
I've noticed that my Cuco loves the attention I give him when we are home alone, but if my daughter happens to walk in during our play time, he turns aggressive bites me then flies towards my daughter. I never took his aggression personal , except once when he grabbed my nose and wouldn't let go. Today, I have a nasty scar on my nose from him, so whenever he approaches me for play time I make sure my daughter isn't around. I almost feel like I have to sneak to play with him.

 

[Netty]

I had a bird once who i got through a rescue who needed blood work done i helped the vet hold him and he bit me i never blamed him i felt bad for him because i knew he was just scared.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Abything more than the occasional bite really warrents a need to consult with an avian behavoirist... I'm not an expert on biting, but I do have about 40 birds and rescue birds come through all the time and I average about 2 bites a year.

The most common reason I see biting is that an owner has allowed a bird to claim their person as territory and anytime someone the bird doesn't like (or more accurately considers a threat to his relationship with his person) the bird bites their person first, and often goes after the threat person. To understand this, you only need to watch a flock of cockatoos (they do it most, but not exclusively).... birds will bite at eachother, male will bite the female to get her to flee from a threat the male sees first. If you allow your bird to think of you as "his" then you are just asking for bites (particularly in the face

I was gone for five days, and when I came home I didn't just jump back into playing with all the birds, I assessed their mood, and gave them time to settle down for a day... (I let a few out, but I was very alert and catious), I knew the birds would percieve my absence as an injustice and would be like small children throwing a temper tantrum when I returned.

Yelllow Collar Macaws are also (in my experience) best described as moody. They are pretty happy most of the time and then prone to pissy temper tantrums. If his goal was to get you to leave him alone in that moment, then he won and you are more likely to receive future bites. Especially if he's been enjoying your dads company and then your dad was the one who picked him up and put him away. You need to give him time when you know he's likely to be angry and re aquaint yourself slowly... additionally, you need to make it clear that you are not afraid and that you don't approve of that behavoir. IF IT CONTINUES PLEASE FIND THE ADVICE OF AN AVIAN BEHAVOIRIST

And lastly, owning a bird and learning to understand them will often result in a bite (at least occasionally for most people. While other people can go decades and never get bit by a particular bird.

Even small macaws are "beaky" birds and if you didn't catch the problem before it started, you can have a fairly long road in correcting it... BUT IT CAN BE FIXED …

Best of luck, and take your time

 

[mele]

My scarlet likes to do the pinch. It's that nasty grinding bite from the side of the beak and he refuses to let go. I cant help but take it a little personal when it happens right after he sees me playing with other birds accompanied with eye pinning.

Once he decides to let go he walks away and says, "your ok baby".

Little buggar