Terrible Twos?

[Heidielise]

I've heard rumors of such a thing as "The Terrible Twos" for parrots, & my adorable Pineapple Greenie seems to be displaying evidence thereof. Connie is becoming quite nippy, and on most occasions it is with me. The fact that I am the one who handles/interacts with her the most could account for my being the primary object of the bites, but what are your thoughts? Is it because she wants to be Alpha? Is it sexual maturation & frustration? When my husband handles her, she is calm. Oftentimes now when I handle her, she becomes agitated. Connie spends the day alone with me, much of it on my shoulder as I go about my daily routine. Is familiarity breeding contempt? Has she chosen my hubby as her "mate"? Is this a developmental norm as she matures, and will she outgrow it? I leave it to you experts-- thanks for any insights you may have!

 

[Heidielise]

I apologize; this is my first day as a member, so it took me a while to find & read previous threads on this topic. Unfortunately there are some contradictions in these discussions. Some people say this nippy phase is part of the maturation process; others say it is not a norm for parrots in the wild. But I'm still curious as to why it has started occurring (nothing has changed in terms of feeding, environment, routines, etc.), & why I have been targeted for the fits of pique. So, I guess my questions still remain: is this an Alpha behavior & an Anger Management/Control issue? Is it an issue of sexual maturation/familiarity breeding contempt ("I have chosen my Beloved, & you are Not The One.")? What gives?

 

[BoomBoom]

Hi there! I have an almost 2 year old sun conure, Boomer, but have not experienced the terrible two phase yet. He did go through something similar to what you are describing where he became very nippy with my ex whenever he got handled by him. I account this to sexual maturity as opposed to wanting to be Alpha.

My sun displayed the favoritism at about 10 months. He nipped a bit and pooped on my ex just to 'get away.' At about 1.5 years, he started to attack my ex in flight (around this time my ex already was out of the apartment so he probably saw him as a threat or as an intruder). At this point, it was clear he saw me as his partner. Anyone and anything he perceived as a threat to me will get attacked including red heads and blondes on YouTube, noisy brown paper bags, phone cases, etc.

In your case, I would say that your bird is beginning to perceive your significant other as the favored human. He might be seeing you as competition now but it might not be too late to develop an equal bond with him. Maybe let your SO do the bird chores while you do the fun stuff with your bird. Training, treats, play time, that sort of thing.

I also heard if bluffing with GCCs so it could also be that. Don't have much experience with GCCs so maybe others can chime in.

I could be misreading the whole thing but that's my 2c. Good luck!

 

[legal_eagle]

I have never experienced the type of dramatic changes in my GCC that some people attribute to hormones or the like. But I've found that things I otherwise wouldn't notice can cause nippiness. For example, my GCC will nip if my daughter uses a new color of nail polish or if she has on some new piece of jewelry. Maybe you could pinpoint something in particular that may be causing her to nip you.

 

[SunnyGirl]

well Sunny will be 2 years old in around 2 weeks.... she is turning into a monster... we do things the same, handle her in the same way, but she just bites all the time, became a screamer, yells when she is left alone for a few seconds (which was never a problem before, I left her alone for an hour or more and it was ok)... aaaand she always runs after my grandpa and forces herself on him (well he is annoyed after 5 minutes, then the fun part starts when she beginns to bite him or annoy him even more) now what to do!?!?

 

[Heidielise]

Thank you all for the insights! I have, indeed, played detective & found some things that set her off-- the telephone charger cord (big bad snake?), my wallet (?!), a new nail polish (as noted), & a few more things. I have also been keeping her up past her bedtime (family visiting, holidays), so I'm thinking there could be a strange logic tonConnie's behavior. Again, many thanks!

 

[mimi88]

A big part may be that you're keeping her up past bedtime. To birds longer daylight hours singal the start of spring aka breeding season, aka find-a-mate-and-attack-anything-and-everything-else mode lol. Try putting her to bed earlier (around 6.30pm - 7:00pm)