Help our new GCC is attacking me

[KermitGCC]

Hi everyone, I'm after a bit of advice. We recently adopted a 22 month old gcc called Kermit. He was a lovely affectionate boy who was happy to sit on shoulders and loved all family members (me especially). He lives in my daughters (13 yrs old) bedroom, and as she is home schooled he has lots of free space and time out of his cage. Our problem is that over the past couple of days he has been attacking me on occasion. I mean full on dive bombing and biting, he seems very angry with me. The only thing that has changed is he has been demonstrating a lot of hormonal behaviours. He is ok with everyone else, a bit grumpy on occasion but generally his normal happy self, with a bit of teenage sass thrown in for good measure. Can anyone offer any advice as I am the stay at home parent and the one who will be helping with him.


Thanks in advance.

 

[wrench13]

Yep, hormones. The bane of young parrots, as this is the time that most parrots get their first re-homing. That cute loving baby turns into the Avian Mr Hyde. You can minimize (but never eliminate) hormonal behavior.
NO dark hidey place, no huts or any drawers etc
NO access to shreddy type nest materials
NO touching anywhere except the head and neck
REDUCE or eliminate sugar bearing foods like fruits and high fructose stuff like corn
10-12 Hrs of solid quiet (maybe dark) sleep

And if he is divebombing and attacking consider a light trim to his wings, temporarily) until the flush of puberty is over. One of the important things to remember during puberty - you dont want any undesirable behavior to become a permanent one. And repeat "This Too Shall Pass".

 

[KermitGCC]

Yep, hormones. The bane of young parrots, as this is the time that most parrots get their first re-homing. That cute loving baby turns into the Avian Mr Hyde. You can minimize (but never eliminate) hormonal behavior.
NO dark hidey place, no huts or any drawers etc
NO access to shreddy type nest materials
NO touching anywhere except the head and neck
REDUCE or eliminate sugar bearing foods like fruits and high fructose stuff like corn
10-12 Hrs of solid quiet (maybe dark) sleep

And if he is divebombing and attacking consider a light trim to his wings, temporarily) until the flush of puberty is over. One of the important things to remember during puberty - you dont want any undesirable behavior to become a permanent one. And repeat "This Too Shall Pass".

Thank you, for your reply. So far we have removed all hidey places, including the top of the wardrobe which, while not dark was high, and he seemed to be getting very territorial over.

Can I ask what you consider best for feeding him at this time? The morning sees him having chop, which today included spinach, apple, broccoli, basil, and red pepper. He is a broccoli fiend and in the afternoon my youngest gives him some more broccoli and spinach, but larger pieces/whole leaves that he can hold and enjoy (lots of happy chirps at this time). The evening is a seed mix that the previous family gave him. This also contains corn and dried fruits, which may not be best for this time.

Thanks again.

 

[wrench13]

I would remove the apple and corn from his diet, until his puberty is over. Note a steady diet with spinach is not good for him, it causes issues with some nutritional intake, I forget which but I think its calcium. A bit is ok, but not every day. Any steady diet has to contain a wide variety of different veggies, to make sure he is getting all he needs. In the wild, parrots have access to all different types.

We have lots of different diets and recipes in the sub forum on Parrot Food, Diet etc
Here is the link.
Parrot Food , Diet

 

[KermitGCC]

I would remove the apple and corn from his diet, until his puberty is over. Note a steady diet with spinach is not good for him, it causes issues with some nutritional intake, I forget which but I think its calcium. A bit is ok, but not every day. Any steady diet has to contain a wide variety of different veggies, to make sure he is getting all he needs. In the wild, parrots have access to all different types.

We have lots of different diets and recipes in the sub forum on Parrot Food, Diet etc
Here is the link.
Parrot Food , Diet

Thank you so much. He seems quite picky and when he arrived would only eat fruit, mostly strawberries. I've gradually been adding things in, one at a time to find what he likes. I will use the link you provided.

Thanks again

 

[stephenst4470]

And if he is divebombing and attacking consider a light trim to his wings, temporarily)

Agreed, in this circumstance I would consider temporarily grounding him as well, as this dive bombing behavior could injure him as well as become lasting. Trimming his wings temporarily will put him in more of a dependent mind frame, and may help calm that behavior.