Night Bites (cockatoo)

[noodles123]

So, recently I have encountered some strange behavior from my 10 year old cockatoo. I think I have found a solution (maybe) but I am just going to give you the long backstory first.


My cockatoo normally is very sweet---she hasn't bitten me for a very long time. I pet her on the head only and she gets 12 hours of sleep + lots of sun and adequate nutrition.

3 times in the past month, she has bitten me/become aggressive without much warning.

Here are the similarities among these instances:
1. After 6:00 pm
2. Other people are present or were present right before
3. 3/3 times I was wearing a light blue button-down shirt (but once it begins, the behavior continues even when I change shirts lol--yes, tried that)---I also wear this shirt frequently and don't always get attacked, but all incidents have happened while wearing this shirt.
4. 3/3 times started away from her cage

Possible related factors:
1. 2/3 instances happened while we were traveling with her.
2. She was recently boarded for the first time, and 2/3 of these instances happened after boarding...The first, however, was BEFORE boarding, but right after a car trip...she travels well, at least outwardly.

The first time it happened, it appeared that she had become overly stimulated and it was past her bedtime, so I wasn't horribly shocked. The second time, again there was lots of play right beforehand, but it wasn't THAT late. The third time (last night), it was barely 6:30, and her bedtime usually ranges from 6:00-8:00 (depending on her mood).
Yesterday, my boyfriend came over and didn't acknowledge her on her terms. This may have aggravated he situation as well...don't know.


Side- note: when she wants to go to bed, she usually will go into her cage and bob up and down in a specific pattern.

In the past, when she has bitten other people during the day, I have removed her from the stimulation/attention that I know she craved (by placing her on or in her cage, away from the action). Then, she has gotten to come back after a time-out. This worked during the day, because she really DID want to be with everyone.

That having been said, I think she has determined that if she bites, she goes to her cage, so I believe that she now may be biting at night in order to get me to take her to her cage/BED! (WHOOPS!)

I know that she doesn't know how to ask to go to bed when she is away from her cage, so I think that this is her solution. Still, that doesn't explain the blue shirt, or the fact that she doesn't always go straight to bed once on her cage. I guess it could be like an overly tired child who swears they aren't tired while throwing a fit....?

My potential solution is to make sure that she has access to her cage from 5:30 onward each evening (so that she can "ask" to go to bed appropriately)...but I am still trying to understand what caused this to be an issue all of the sudden. I am sure that there have been times in the past where she was tired but did NOT bite, so it is a bit odd.

Has anyone else had experiences with birds that bite at a certain time during the day?

 

[itzjbean]

That's a tough one.

I'm wondering if you are right, that she realizes that if she bites she gets taken back to her cage, exactly where she wants to go. She may be playing you.

In an instance like this, just a suggestion but you could have an actual time-out carrier for her to go in when she bites -- going into a quiet room for a few minutes to calm her down. When she sees she doesn't get put back in her safe place but another place that's dark and quiet, it may give her an attitude adjustment. All birds need to know that they are not in charge, humans are.

Just something you could try if the biting persists, as a last resort. If you be more careful/wary about letting her get overly stimulated and allow her time to decompress/calm down after any traveling or ventures outside home, she may also stop the biting.

 

[noodles123]

I think she has totally figured out the pattern.


I have always wanted/needed a different time-out place (I have expressed concerns about this to my family, namely because I didn't want her to view her cage as a punishment). The issue is, there aren't many options (playstand, cage, travel cage) and she is most comfortable with her cage. I haven't wanted to scare her by placing her in a new location because she is so slow to get comfortable with new things. Despite my concerns, placing her on the cage in the day (post-biting) worked and she wasn't bad about going back to her cage afterwards (nor did she bite upon returning), so I am fairly certain hasn't associated her cage with bad things.



Unfortunately, I think she does associate biting with going to her cage now lol.