My bird has turned on me :(

[JasmineGCC]

My GCC went very aggressive when puberty hit this spring. Thankfully we are coming out of it now. The way I handled it was to back off physically. I never gave her the opportunity to bite me - if I got her out I withdrew my hands into on old jumper. The only time she saw my fingers was when I gave her a treat - but even that may be too much for yours. On her worst days Every time I walked past her cage I drop a treat into a treat pot - no finger feeding! I also trained her to touch the end of a chopstick for a treat - we did this with me outside and her inside the cage so no touching or biting opportunities. You want your bird to associate you with yummy nice things but not biting. Jasmine gets very cage territorial so I only go in her cage when she's out. I can't top her food pot up with her nearby as she does run down and bite.

When you do get a bite take a moment to think what you just did to trigger. Or what the bird was doing. At her worst hormones raged and I couldn't get near her 'personal space' without aggression so I stopped trying - I did despair I'd ever touch her again but then after a few weeks Jasmine started coming to the front of her cage for a handfed treat - then wanted to step on my arm - then demanded a head scratch. It took a long time though.

Hope this helps

 

[BabyPumpkin]

I know how you feel; feeling lost and sad. Hang in there. We have a sun conure that had gone through a bad nesting phase and had turned aggressive towards us. She had always been very sweet but when her hormones kicked in, she became very protective of her box that she sleeps in and which she started to make her nest in. It became so bad that we had no choice but to clip her wings, removed her sleep box and kinda confined her in her day cage for a week. The alternative was to find her a new home which we didn't want. Eventually, she cooled down and didn't bite or attack us but we are still waiting for another week before we give her back her box. It has been a month now and thankfully, she has become timid again. She now sleeps on top of her cage under a small towel and she is not confined in the cage at all. So, it might be hormonal for yr bird too coupled with some jealousy and you just got to wait out this period. Don't give up.

 

[Kalidasa]

Sometimes with parrots you just have to take your lumps, so to speak, so they can get it out of their system. He doesn't hate you, but he's probably pretty upset, especially if he's being locked in the laundry room. Sometimes you just have to go ahead and take the bite, don't react, and it will be curtailed. I'm just offering you another option, no one thing works for all parrots. Sometimes, you need to earn their respect back, and that means not reacting to ANY bad behavior. You'll have some bites on your hands, but you mite get your friend back.
Good luck with him.

 

[GCally]

How should I react when he charges at the cage when I walk by? Should I ignore it, or stop and talk to him nicely? The past few days I have had him out with us, and giving him time outside on the porch to get some fresh air and see other birds. He has seemed calmer in general, but I have not tried to get him out of his cage or anything.

 

[Mayden]

How should I react when he charges at the cage when I walk by? Should I ignore it, or stop and talk to him nicely? The past few days I have had him out with us, and giving him time outside on the porch to get some fresh air and see other birds. He has seemed calmer in general, but I have not tried to get him out of his cage or anything.

Always ignore bad behaviour. AFTER he is done lunging and lashing out, respond with calm tones and praise. You want to give him attention for the good things he's doing, not rewarding his bad behaviour with attention.

So far you seem to be doing good, everyone has given you sound advice and you seem to be following it. KEEP IT UP.

Every bird has the ability to be nasty or nice, it all depends on how you read and respond to them. Your baby used to be your number 1 in your house by the sounds of it, but your actual human baby has replaced him and made him get shunned, so you'll need time, patience and thick skin, both figuratively and literally.

You can get through this, just keep going! x