Help with gender aggressive parrot

[KikiJiki]

Hi! The problem I'm looking for advice on is my Quaker parrot Drizzt's behavior. The short story is that he's extremely cage-aggressive, but also bites if moved away from the cage. His aggression is only to females (however this includes myself, and 75% of the family).

Why I posted a new topic is because the long story is a bit different than most pre-existing topics I browsed.. This is not an abused bird, and not a new pet, and also not a result of a recent lifestyle or household change. Drizzt is a male, and 3-3.5 years old, and has been here since he was an old enough baby to be sold. He originally was my ex's pet [drizzt loved him, hated me even then], but had to stay with me when my ex moved away to Tn(quakers illegal) 2 years ago.
The bird viciously attacks through the cage bars every day when I change his food and water dishes (i find myself having to "distract" him with a some attackable item near the top of the cage so I can do what I need to do), when I clean the cage, or when I am in the room. He is not any better for the other females in the house, but his care is not their responsibility. I have tried a leather glove for holding, but he goes into terror instead, and is too spastic to "learn" I'm safe. His cage does feature a mirror he loves. Should I take it out? I feel guilty though, because I can't take him out of the cage for attention.

I guess the main question is, at this point, 3-ish years into our "relationship", is it even possible to change his aggressive behavior? If so, what do you suggest I do? He will not accept treats from me. He drops them so he is better able to bite. Also his wings are clipped.

Thanks!

 

[Auggie's Dad]

I guess the main question is, at this point, 3-ish years into our "relationship", is it even possible to change his aggressive behavior?

It is definitely easier to prevent a habit than to change it, but it is NEVER to late to change behavior. The idea of an old dog not being able to learn new tricks is just crap.

His cage does feature a mirror he loves. Should I take it out?

I think removing it may help a lot. I was always skeptical at first about the effect of mirrors (when I was told they were bad), since then I've heard many horror stories turned to happy endings by getting rid of the mirrors. Of course there will still be a need for training/retraining but it sounds like you have a good grasp on how to approach that - just make sure the mirror isn't working against you.

You may feel guilty taking it away because he loves it so much - but he will likely be able to turn that affection to you once the mirror is gone; and the good news is that you, unlike his reflection, can return his affection. So he may not like loosing the mirror, but you need not feel guilty as it is not just good for you but it may be the best thing for HIM to.


Perhaps some others will contribute as well, but I'd say first thing is to get rid of the mirror - give him a little time to adjust and see how things go and then we can see where to go from there.