Umbrella cockatoo help pls

[yalile Rivera]

Hi,
I am desperate for help.
My friend gave me a 1 yr old male cockatoo. I first went to meet him and he was shy, super sweet and playful. It seem they had a great relationship but she wanted him to be part of a family with a bigger home. So I felt he would be a perfect fit for us. 2 days later I picked him up and I noticed he was shy. I didn’t push anything. I opened his cage and let him out on his own, fed him and slowly got comfortable. Unfortunately he is becoming a bitter. Out no where he turns and bite very very hard. I would immediately try to put him in his cage but he would refuse and bites harder every every time we try to.
My teens are scare to hold him because how unpredictable he is. Today as soon as I got home I let him out, played his favorite song and he started dancing. He jumped on my shoulder which I don’t mind but then out of no where as I was sitting he took a bite of my ears and pierced pretty bad. I jumped and again he was avoiding going to the crate.
My ears is bleeding badly. I am scare this may get worst. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he misses my friend. How can I train this behavior? People say give him a treat or blow on his face but everything happens to quick to react.
Should I be concerned? Or would this pass with time as he get use to us?
Should I not let him out of the crate for a while?
Any one experience this?

 

[wrench13]

Biting, whether intentional or not, just over preening your skin or actually taking chunks of meat out - all are PAINFULL! In the wild that sort of behavior is not tolerated by the flock. They ostracize flock members who continue to act like that. We call it 'Shunning'. This WILL work, but needs to be done correctly to get the message across and it needs to be done IMMEDIATELY so the parrot can associate the bite with the shunning action. And it needs to happen every time and with anyone involved with the parrot.

When the bite or over preening occurs:

• Say in a forceful but not shouting voice "No Bite" or other endearments.
• Immediately place the parrot on a nearby, handy chairback. NOT the cage (that would only teach the parrot to bite when he wants to go back to his cage).
• Turn your back to him and ignore him for 1 minute. No peeking, no talking about or too him, NADA. NO eye contact. No less or the message is lost, no more or the bird will not associate the action with the bite.
• After a minute you can try to re-establish contact.

Rinse, repeat as needed. Most parrots get the message after a few times, some may need more. Also very important - make sure the bite is not your fault. Annoying your parrot, asking him to step up when he is otherwise preoccupied with eating or playing, bothering him during known moody times like mating season, or ignoring the warnings and body language of your parrot - these are bites that you deserve! Learn, and be a better parront !!

 

[Tanglwood02]

I'm concerned about you saying crate. Is it a cage or an actual small crate? Unbrellas need very big cages. At least 40" wide. If they are in a crate they are definitely not going to want to go back in it. My Goffins is the smallest of the cockatoos and she has a huge cage. She loves it and loves being in it.

 

[yalile Rivera]

I'm concerned about you saying crate. Is it a cage or an actual small crate? Unbrellas need very big cages. At least 40" wide. If they are in a crate they are definitely not going to want to go back in it. My Goffins is the smallest of the cockatoos and she has a huge cage. She loves it and loves being in it.

 

[yalile Rivera]

 

[Tanglwood02]

That’s a wonderful cage! You just had me confused when you said crate! My bad! I hope it gets better for you!

 

[Tanglwood02]

Oh and when I got my Goffins she was bad about biting. I did exactly what Wrench said and when she acts like she is going to bite now I say “no bite” very forcefully. She is getting so much better so definitely do what Wrench says. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[yalile Rivera]

Biting, whether intentional or not, just over preening your skin or actually taking chunks of meat out - all are PAINFULL! In the wild that sort of behavior is not tolerated by the flock. They ostracize flock members who continue to act like that. We call it 'Shunning'. This WILL work, but needs to be done correctly to get the message across and it needs to be done IMMEDIATELY so the parrot can associate the bite with the shunning action. And it needs to happen every time and with anyone involved with the parrot.

When the bite or over preening occurs:

• Say in a forceful but not shouting voice "No Bite" or other endearments.
• Immediately place the parrot on a nearby, handy chairback. NOT the cage (that would only teach the parrot to bite when he wants to go back to his cage).
• Turn your back to him and ignore him for 1 minute. No peeking, no talking about or too him, NADA. NO eye contact. No less or the message is lost, no more or the bird will not associate the action with the bite.
• After a minute you can try to re-establish contact.

Rinse, repeat as needed. Most parrots get the message after a few times, some may need more. Also very important - make sure the bite is not your fault. Annoying your parrot, asking him to step up when he is otherwise preoccupied with eating or playing, bothering him during known moody times like mating season, or ignoring the warnings and body language of your parrot - these are bites that you deserve! Learn, and be a better parront !!

Thanks for explaining. He is never bother. My teens don’t want anything to do with him after all of them got bitten. It’s only my husband and I handling him .

Oh and when I got my Goffins she was bad about biting. I did exactly what Wrench said and when she acts like she is going to bite now I say “no bite” very forcefully. She is getting so much better so definitely do what Wrench says. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

will do. I really hope it gets better.