Help needed

[Cody123]

Hi,

I’ve had a pet Alexandrine parrot for just under a year now and we have had a good bond. I have been able to pick her up, play with her, clean her cage with no problems. However, we recently just got back from a 3 week holiday, so the bird stayed at a family members place.

Since having her back (it’s been 3 days) she has been very aggressive/scared towards me. She’ll take food from my hand, but I can’t pat her, get her to step up and I definitely can’t do anything in her cage, she advances towards me and bites very hard, whereas before I had no problems with any of this.

Any ideas to help get the bond/her trust back?

Thanks
Cody

 

[Laurasea]

Hi Cody,
I think just time. Every time I get stuck in the hospital for a week, my birds are weird to me when I come home. Then they warm right back up. So I hope that's true for you too. I just bribe em

 

[noodles123]

Start back at the basics. Don't push it--she will get over it, but she is mad. My Umbrella Cockatoo let me have it (not too long ago) after I left her for 3 days with my parents (whom she likes). It took almost 3 weeks for us to re-establish the same trust we had...She would step up, but then randomly bite and (literally) yell/lecture me off and on until around the 3-week mark. Give it time...lots of treats...try not to act scared or nervous, but don't be too eager either. My U2 bites me once in a blue moon (we have a very good bond) but all bets are off if I leave her for more than a day lol.
If it helps, here are the bite pictures that I got at the time (and that wasn't all)---but my point is, life is good again.
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/77440-bite-pics-welcome-home-mom.html
She didn't draw blood in the pictures, but she did the night after. Again, this too shall pass...I think I just made a cocka"too" pun without meaning "too" LOL...Oh man, I'm on a roll....

 

[Tami2]

OOOOO she is letting you know she is pissed.
You've gotten great advice, I have to agree reset & back to basics. You have to win back her trust.

I got Levi late summer 2016. We didn't go anywhere without him, until last summer. We went to Florida, Disney, Daytona Resorts and could not bring him along. I left him with my mother in-law.
However, we went to visit her twice a week for at least a month before I left him with her. So, he would get used to her house the sounds & smells etc... I also FaceTimed with him everyday. Thanks to Wrench & Salty for planting the seed.
Everything worked out fine & he didn't shun me upon return. The only heartbreak was he was stuck in his cage for two weeks straight, (for his and my MILs saftey of course) and everytime I called he'd lift his foot for me to pick him up. That was a killer.

I'm sharing this story, so maybe next time she won't be too hard on you when you get back home.