I Got Angry at Freddie

[SharonC]

That's the second time I've shown anger towards him since he arrived. I was taking him to the bird room for the night. Normally we have a little sit down time together before I put him in his cage. I attempted to get him on my other arm, so we could sit...I've done this many times. This is the bedtime routine, and Fred is quite happy with it. He bit down hard without warning, on the thumb joint, which has been painful all day due to arthritis. The pain was so bad from the pressure on the joint that I shook him off...then attempted to step him up to put him in his cage. No go, so I got the stick perch. He flew and tangled in the sheer curtain, I stepped him up from the sheer, and I put him in the cage. All, without showing him much patience. I raised my voice at him, and then I turned off the light, and closed the door without saying Goodnight(another part of the routine)....Then I wiped the blood from my hand.

I'm not looking to be consoled...but do any of you wonder if you're the right person for your bird? I'm not considering giving Fred up, as that's not my style, but nights like tonight do make me wonder if I'm right for him. How do you know if you're not?????

 

[Spiritbird]

Perhaps this is why it is said that Amazons are difficult birds, especially the males. From all of your videos I would say you have a very bonded relationship with a difficult bird. I am sure as time goes by you and he will forget this incident. Guess we need an Amazon Supprt Group here.

 

[SharonC]

An Amazon support group...What a great idea!!! We can compare scars! LOL!

Seriously, the most frustrating thing is that Fred can go for weeks without a bite...and then out if the blue, he strikes...for no reason that I can see.

According to what I have read, my reaction tonight was WRONG...although I do wonder sometimes what is wrong with letting any pet know that biting hard is not acceptable, and it has negative consequences. Birds get angry at each other, so they must understand the reaction.

 

[greenbirdsf]

I have a super tight bond with my yellow nape and I have had her for 20 years but on occasion, she still bites. Usually it has something to do with me picking up something she hates (or is afraid of) while she is on me but sometimes they are just moody, like anyone else.

You need to keep reminding yourself that these little creatures are not put on this Earth to give us endless pleasure as pets, they did not ask to be captive and they are highly intelligent. The bird is at your mercy and his only defense is biting so you have to figure out what is happening for him to freak out on you that way and alter your approach. Or just learn to let it go if it only happens once in a while.

 

[HRH Di]

I think everyone has bad days...parrots and parronts, too. When the bad days coincide, it's lots worse. I know there are days that Jade and Max just feel out of sorts, but the next day they're just fine. I don't know what causes this, I try to find a pattern with food, weather, noises, household activity, etc and haven't found anything yet.

Without being in their little birdy minds, I doubt that we'll ever know. You've done a great job with Fred and hope you don't beat yourself up over this.

 

[SharonC]

I'm not really beating myself up...just thinking, that's all. I'm always thinking about something bird related...does the diet need improvement, are they getting enough "out time", enough exercise, and on and on. I wish I could just relax, and enjoy....

 

[Ozzy]

I totally feel for you. I have been working hard with Ozzy to get him bonded with me and it was going great. Until Sunday when without warning he leaped up and bit me hard in the face. I reacted with anger too and yelled at him. I agree that birds do correct each other in the wild when one does something that angers the other so while yelling at them is not the ideal reaction, and we should try hard to not react in anger, it probably upsets us more than it does them.

I also wonder sometimes if I am the right match for Ozzy. I know I am a better home than his previous ones but I always feel like I'm not giving him everything someone else with more experience could.

 

[Bobby34231]

Welcome to the wonderful world of being owned by an amazon I suppose, Joe took a chunk out of my forearm today as I was taking his fruit and veggie bowl out, just as I do every day, maybe the stars were misaligned in the amazon universe for all of us today :31:

 

[SharonC]

Gosh, I feel better already...maybe we do need an Amazon support group. LOL!

I wonder what specifically makes Amazons so moody and unpredictable...

 

[cnyguy]

What makes Amazons so unpredictable will probably remain one of life's mysteries . My old Yellow-crown George got mellower with age-- and it usually gets somewhat easier to read an Amazon's moods the longer you live with them (which isn't to say there won't be any surprises in the future).


Over the years, I yelled at George in frustration a few times, and I'm sure I felt a lot worse about it than he did; he always forgave me anyway .


I can also attest that mood swings and unpredictability aren't traits exclusive to Amazons; Quakers, for instance...

 

[lisamarie973]

Oh Wow, Sharon!! That stinks! I mean that he bit you, not that you scolded him. What a GREAT question though, because I've found myself asking the very same one. If other birds are able to "scream" at each other, when a bird is doing something that is frustrating or aggravating another bird and even attmept to "beak" them, then WHY is it bad to tell your parrot "NO" whe he's done something unacceptable? Everything I've read says 100% POSITIVE reinforcements too, i would imagine they've done some sort of studying up on this to be able to make such claims that i doesn't work to react negatively toward them.

That being said, You can only get violently bit (draws blood) so many times befoe you get a little "cranky" with your bird, ya know?

 

[SharonC]

That's true! It wasn't so much the bite, but the pressure on the painful joint that caused my immediate reaction to shake him loose. My arthritis will settle once the change in seasons is over, and winter settles in. We've had several days of 15 degrees Celsius, and then yesterday, the temp dropped from 12 in the morning to 0 in the evening. Today, the high is forecasted at 3. Sudden chamges like that wreak havoc. Of course, Fred doesn't know that I'm hurting.

Anyway, I just brought him out for breakfast. He's very gentle this morning, and morning is the time that I usually have to tell him to be careful. He knows what "Be careful" means. I wonder if he remembers that I got angry when bitten yesterday...

 

[Von1983]

We're all just human and it would be impossible for to keep our lids on for the whole time we have our fids. I can't imagine NEVER losing my temper with Cal in 30yrs lol....one day, it will happen.

Your bond with Freddie is clearly incredibly strong, you're a wonderful parront.

Cal bit the big scar that is sensitive on my hand once where I had a bad accident, and before I could stop myself, I yelled out in pain. It startled her because mum never shouts, but I'm just human! If I get hurt, there's some reactions I can't control. I have pit scars from how viciously she bit me when I took her from her carry cage into her new cage here at home. I didn't make a peep then because it wasn't a sensitive area!

We all slip up and deep down I think the fids recognise this as they can appear rather contrite when they've been in a bad mood!

 

[mellykyitus]

all my 'hands on birds' get days when they seem a bit cranky, mossy bit my ear last week and i yelped, he hung on to it though for dear life! OUCH!! i yelled at him (pms time) and put him in his cage, he sulked for a bit. he's been fine since, but still nips sometimes and other times falls asleep on me, i just figure humans get moods maybe they do too or pick up on ours!

 

[SharonC]

Thanks guys...it does make sense that we have to "lose our cool" sometimes. I don't feel quite as inadequate now...Other stories really do help!

 

[Gardeningfairy]

i have only had my amazon Dexter 6 weeks you have all got me worried are they really that moody?

 

[lisamarie973]

i have only had my amazon Dexter 6 weeks you have all got me worried are they really that moody?

Amazon's are definitely known to be moody, but, that doesn't mean that they ALL are or at least ALL the time. Other species birds get cranky at times too, to include MY baby, who's been rather "nippy" to say the least with my daughters and even ME a few times. It just all depends, I guess. One thing's for certain, Birds, in general are VERY complex beings, I think it takes a long time to really understand why or what has set your FID off for the day, but, it happens. I've seen plenty of Sharon's vids of Freddie, it's VERY apparent that he's a happy fella and that he really does LOVE Sharon, I don't think Freddie could be happier any place else in the world, even if he DOES bite the hand that feeds him sometimes I think it's a very natural and human reaction to get angry once someone or something has inflicted severe pain on us. It's irrational to believe that we can ALWAYS maintain our composure, but, I do believe this, I truly believe that we all love our birds so very much and we all try very hard to educate ourselves on HOW to properly care for them in all areas. None of us should feel badly if we react to a bite, as long as we know that we DO try NOT to and we do try to do what's best for the bird, most of the time.
Chipper up, Sharon, like Bob said, maybe it was a universal bad day for Amazons that day. Freddie loves you, you can sure tell that in the video that you took showing us how well you'd been handling his biting, the one where he kept trying to hold your hand, that was precious!! Hang in there, Freddie needs you.

 

[Ozzy]

Fairy- Dont be turned away by the horror stories! While my Amazon Ozzy is moody at times he is also extremly intelligent and affectionate when it pleases him. I think you just have to be more aware of their warning signs (which they make super obvious anyways and i dont know HOW you could miss them). In my opinion Ozzy is a lot more bark than bite.

 

[SharonC]

Thanks LisaMarie...that was very nice of you.

Gardeningfairy...don't be alarmed. I'm so sorry if I caused you to be. Fred is a very intelligent, loving, interesting, playful, sometimes cuddly companion. He has his "off" moments but that's OK. I have never regretted getting Fred, nor will I ever give him up. He fills my days with pleasure. My "whining" post was because I felt so guilty at not handling it properly. I think that in Fred's former home, he wasn't taught how hard is too hard, and he wasn't allowed to say NO. He has improved so much in that area. He bit hard a few nights ago, but has been so gentle in the past few days, that I think he's trying to apologize. Last night, I was sitting in the bird room with Levi having our cuddle. I then put my arm in Fred's cage and asked if he wanted to come out for his cuddle. He beaked me gently, and moved away. That's his way of saying "I don't want to". He's allowed to decide and say no, and he's learning that.
Enjoy Dexter...Amazons are amazing birds!

 

[antoinette]

Sharon you have come such a long way with Freddie, you are an inspiration to others.
My friend Barbara, who has a AG Jessie, 16 years old, has a real hard time with a moody and bad tempered bird most of the time.
Besides his mood swings and bad temper, he is still a lovable happy bird. He actually started talking this year saying a few words.
Just like us humans, good days and bad days, good moods and bad moods. The only difference is we can say how we are feeling, birds have to express it in their actions.