Help-White fronted Amazon brutal attacks

[csimmons18]

Hi,
I've had my white fronted Amazon for about eight years now. He never bites me except in specific circumstances. Every time he gets around a new bird or even a small mammal, he gets very aggressive.

I've recently moved back home to my parents who have another male Amazon. My bird, Morty, can't stay away from him and has started acting aggressive to everyone else, including me. He's flew down from the cage and attacked me when I was being careless and walked by. I know exactly what he looks like when he's about to attack, so telling me to be more observant won't help. The real problem is he now wants to attack me all the time, so I can't wait for him to calm down before approaching. I've let him stay with the other bird for the past few weeks because he flies and I can't keep him away.

I've recently cut his wings and put him in a different room, but I'd prefer if I could work with him, so he won't be aggressive around other birds. How can I change this behavior? This isn't just minor bites. He latches on my fingers and won't let go. My first reaction is to protect my face, so he hasn't got my face yet. Despite all this, I still see instances of his old personality once in a while. He still yells when I leave the room and he let me pet his head when I move him in another room and he couldn't hear or see the other bird.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Sorry to hear about your troubles What's his diet and sleep scheduale? A bird who eats well and sleeps well will feel better.

I highly recommend clicker training, it's fantastic for aggressive birds. When rewarding him you can use a small bowl to protect your hands if he tries to bite. You can buy a clicker at any pet store in the dog section.

 

[Jewelz]

Sorry to hear about your troubles What's his diet and sleep scheduale? A bird who eats well and sleeps well will feel better.

I highly recommend clicker training, it's fantastic for aggressive birds. When rewarding him you can use a small bowl to protect your hands if he tries to bite. You can buy a clicker at any pet store in the dog section.

Thank-you Copperarabian.... I've been looking for cickers in the bird section..... I'm S-M-R-T lol

 

[thekarens]

My guess is he's picked your parents bird as his new BFF. I don't have any experience with zons, but I know this topic has been discussed a few times, so if you use the search tool you might find some information that can help you. Good luck!

 

[Birdman666]

That is called displacement biting. He is afraid of those other animals, or what ever, and he is either (a) warning you to get away from them, or (b) warning them that he is a fierce creature capable of defending himself...

They do this by attacking the perch.

You just happened to be "the perch" at the time it happened.

He needs to be socialized around other animals until he is desensitized to them... and realizes they aren't going to hurt him. (I took mine to the park for this. Put him in a travel cage. Let dogs come up and sniff him, etc. Until he figures out that he's going to be okay.)

But until that happens, don't be the perch when other animals are around!

Does that make sense?!

 

[csimmons18]

Yes, I'm sure he's picked my parent's Amazon as his new mate to defend. The weird thing is it happens almost instantaneously when he sees a new bird or small animal. He was even aggressive around my sugar gliders. He's always had this problem, which is why I've avoided getting a new bird or friend for him. Jewelz, I haven't tried clicker training. I'll look it up. My other guess is this behavior has to be hormonal, only it's not breeding season, so he should be calmer. I've looked into a few things that supposedly reduce hormone levels but I haven't went through with them yet, mainly because I'm not sure they'd work and they require major consistency. For the time being, I'll try to keep him separated.

 

[Birdman666]

It's NOT hormonal.

This is CLASSIC AMAZON DISPLACEMENT BITING...

He is responding to a perceived threat, with a perceived threat of his own.

When he no longer perceives the other animal as a threat, he will stop doing it.

Until then, COUNT ON IT HAPPENING EVERY SINGLE TIME, and anticipate when he is likely to do it to avoid the bites...

If you can't change the bird's behavior, change your own. Don't handle him around other animals.

This is a natural instinct. They ALL displacement bite at times...

 

[csimmons18]

He's way more aggressive to me than the perceived threat and he won't stay away from the perceived threat. I had to clip his wings to keep him from visiting the other Amazon.
If this is the problem, I don't know what I could do to make him more comfortable. BTW, he's met this bird before. They shared a cage--it's a huge cage btw -- for a week while I was out of town. My white front, Morty, would chase the other, much bigger Yellow Naped Amazon around the cage if I watched. He'd also lunge at me. Eventually, Elvis, the other bird would lunge at him and Morty would go away to the other side. When I go away, Morty and Elvis would sit there peacefully. It's hard to imagine Morty being scared of this bird because he really seems drawn to him.

Ah just saw your original post Birdman. I'll see if that helps

 

[Hermit57]

My BFA's attacks are more a result of being hormonal, but I've started carrying a dish towel over my shoulder. When he flies towards me, I toss the dish towel between him and I (I don't throw it at him though). It keeps him from making contact in a harmless way. Now when he's sees me with the dish towel, he doesn't fly at me as much.