From cute to ouch

[bettietheripper]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but my 11 month old conure, Pipa, went from being okay with my friends coming over (not even trying to pet her or interact with her) to puffing up, biting enough to draw blood from my lip, my neck and my ear, and actively trying to attack them.
I put her on time out or on the floor and walk away and she just waddles around like she owns the place. Sometimes she tries to run up to my friends, and other times she simply ignores everyone.
She is totally unstable and I'm afraid of bringing people over because she will hurt me bad. If I don't take her out of her cage, she will scream incessantly.
In terms of what has changed with her, I work 8 hours every day so she's alone until 530, and spends the rest of the night with me. Her Second main care taker is out of state for 4 months, and she screams in the morning, looking for her. I've tried leaving the radio on, leaving her with toys and treats, to try to ensure she doesn't start plucking. So far, the only changes I've seen have been the aggressive behavior towards friends.
What can I do?

 

[Allee]

It sounds like Pipa has bonded with you and she is protecting her perceived mate, you, from what she sees as a threat, your friends. When she attacks you, she is trying to get you out of harm's way.

When she screams and you respond by taking her out of her cage, you are actually rewarding the behavior, the same when you put her on the floor, you see it as a time out, Pipa probably sees it as getting what she wants.

It would be a perfect time to start training Pipa if you haven't already. Most parrots really enjoy training sessions and it will put you back in control. Have a look at our training section and see if any of the methods sound promising for your circumstances.

Training - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

If you have understanding friends, you could ask them to interact with Pipa until she no longer sees them as a threat. By interaction, I mean approaching her carefully and talking softly to her. Try to determine what it is that bothers your bird when friends visit. It could be a hat, coat, sunglasses, loud voices...

Good luck, please let us know how it turns out.

 

[MeganMango]

I think sometimes people are confused about bird behaviour because they automatically place them in a human-like hierarchy. Remember your bird doesnt think like that, she views everyone as being equally dominant in a situation or environment. When you say she struts around like she owns the place, its because she believes she has as much ownership as you do. She will never change that opinion, everything is hers including you. This is what makes birds so fun, but also makes these situations difficult. I agree it sounds like she has bonded with you and is protecting you from other relationships.

The first thing I would suggest is actually NOT allowing your bird on the floor. There are a number of reasons for this, but its generally less safe than being in a designated space for her. We have play stands and perches placed in areas where our parrot is allowed to land, and he is not allowed anywhere else. This protects him from dangerous items/situations and protects my house from his destructive tendencies (Ive replaced my TV remote more times than I can count).

I would start with teaching your bird that its OK to be in her cage. The training for this is ENDLESSLY frustrating, so you need a lot of patience. Positive reinforcement is your best friend. Place your bird in her cage, and offer her favourite treat. Then walk away. She is going to scream (my own bird did this for weeks, but it does get better). You absolutely can not reward the screaming. You MUST ignore her completely until she stops. She is going to be persistent because it has worked in the past. Stay alert and as SOON as she is quiet, reward her with a treat, lots of praise, and let her out. This is probably the hardest training I did with my bird. They can be loud and it pulls on the heart strings. Stick to it though, and life gets much easier. Mango now goes in his cage, and he talks/sings/whistles when he wants out. If I ignore him (cooking/cleaning/working) he will resort again to screaming, but it only last a minute or two now because it doesnt ever work.

Next you can start training her to stay in designated areas (play stands/perches/etc) where you want her to be. Consistency is important. When you first start, make sure its the same area in the house every time. Place her in the area, offer a reward and then walk away. When she leaves the place, put her back but with-hold the treat. As soon as she stays there, even for a few seconds reward immediately. Start with really short periods of time, like walk a few feet away and then turn around and come right back.She will eventually stay longer and longer, and if there is food and toys in the space she will eventually learn to play and be happy in her own bird-safe zone. If there are lots of places, she will go to them on her own because her toys are there. Use plenty of praise and reward lots when she does this. We now have reached a point where Mango knows exactly where he can and cannot be. He still tests the limits, but we are consistent and it works. Eventually when people visit, you can put your bird in her cage, or in her play-zone and expect her to stay there even if you are interacting with other people. Note that this training took well over a month of working EVERY day with Mango. Dont expect immediate results.

 

[bluecrownmama]

My blue crown made a similar change around the same time but we also had a new baby at the same time that didn't help. In addition to what everyone else said, what really helped our bird was making sure he had a solid 12hours of DARK sleep time each night. First we just covered his cage, but now we use a sleep cage in a separate room so we don't keep him up if we stay up late. This noticeably helped his mood. We're still working on everything else. I've started keeping a journal nearby to jot down notes of what "sets him off". For example I realized he's very weary of coats or longsleeves-I'm sure to get bit with that. I've also started paying closer attention to my mood and how much he reflects my energy. If I'm hurried, apprehensive of getting bit, annoyed by his noise etc-he's likely to be just as unsettled with me. And lastly he's less "irritable" if I get him out of sight of his cage.

 

[RainbowRose]

You and your bird are partners essentially, so she is yours but you are also hers. Thus her behavior may not be anger and hatred. The sudden change may play a part in this too if the second caretaker also had a major bond with the bird. So now she may be even more protective of you. Maybe she feels the other caretaker abandoned her so now she's holding onto you for dear life. Don't perceive it as entirely negative. Don't reinforce the behavior though, make sure she is quiet and take her out, and when she screams don't give in. She will soon realize what's going on. Also maybe she is hormonal right now. My last bird suddenly turned on me and became sooo aggressive but it turned out he was hurting from a bad molt that I could not see under his wings. It happens. Don't lose hope and be patient I am sure she will come around it's happened to me and I thought all was lost and I didn't take him out because he was biting but only when he was calm I took him out and successfully at that. Patience and training will help

 

[bettietheripper]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm not sure what sets her off, besides not sharing my food with her, and picking her up when she wants. She is fine with my boyfriend, but maybe the fact that the second care taker is gone could be a huge reason for why she's against visitors.