Weird random biting phase

[Skittles16]

A while ago my parrot Skittles was injured by getting her head caught in the door and the skin on her head came off down to the bone. After making some calls I treated her accordingly and It healed fully after a month. But now she has this weird biting thing where she'll bite someone if they have something on there head or face. She's never done this before and I'm wondering if it has something to do with her head? Maybe she still has pain. I know recently while I'm away my dad has said she stopped the biting but I just wanna know if it could have something to do with her head if it ever happens again.

 

[LaManuka]

Hi Skittles16, welcome to the forums! It sounds like your little one was very lucky indeed to survive such a serious injury!

It would be interesting to know approximately how old Skittles is. Green cheek conures reach sexual maturity anywhere between one and three years of age, so that may well play into the biting behaviour, as GCCs can become bitey and aggressive during this phase. She may be biting you because she has chosen you as her preferred "mate" (yes, it happens!), and she wants to keep you away from the threat to that relationship that she sees in your dad - this is called "displacement biting". Or, she may even have begun to show a preference for your dad so she is being extra sweet to him but bitey with everyone else!

You should ensure that your GCC does not have access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site, so if she has one of those hidey/cuddle hut arrangements made of synthetic fabric that will most definitely have to go as they can be a huge trigger for aggressive behaviour as well as a choking hazard in many species, not just conures. For my lorikeet Lilly it's dark little spots behind the cushions on the couch that get her going so I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets etc off the couch during the day. You should not pet or scratch anywhere other than the head or neck either as this will trigger aggression too, since they see this as "foreplay" and get very frustrated when those needs cannot be fulfilled.

Just occasionally though, sudden behaviour changes and aggression may result when a bird is ill or in pain, and this may indeed be relevant for you given Skittle's accident. For this reason it's often a very good idea to have them checked out by an avian vet, particularly if she has not been wellness checked in the last 12 months or so. Understanding that there may be limitations on availability in your part of the world, the following link may help you to find an avian specialist near you if not already acquainted with one...

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

Good avian vets are also an absolute gold mine of information around behavioural issues as well.

Thank you for joining, and I hope this helps you!

 

[Skittles16]

Hi Skittles16, welcome to the forums! It sounds like your little one was very lucky indeed to survive such a serious injury!

It would be interesting to know approximately how old Skittles is. Green cheek conures reach sexual maturity anywhere between one and three years of age, so that may well play into the biting behaviour, as GCCs can become bitey and aggressive during this phase. She may be biting you because she has chosen you as her preferred "mate" (yes, it happens!), and she wants to keep you away from the threat to that relationship that she sees in your dad - this is called "displacement biting". Or, she may even have begun to show a preference for your dad so she is being extra sweet to him but bitey with everyone else!

You should ensure that your GCC does not have access to anything that might even remotely resemble a nesting site, so if she has one of those hidey/cuddle hut arrangements made of synthetic fabric that will most definitely have to go as they can be a huge trigger for aggressive behaviour as well as a choking hazard in many species, not just conures. For my lorikeet Lilly it's dark little spots behind the cushions on the couch that get her going so I have to strip all cushions, throw blankets etc off the couch during the day. You should not pet or scratch anywhere other than the head or neck either as this will trigger aggression too, since they see this as "foreplay" and get very frustrated when those needs cannot be fulfilled.

Just occasionally though, sudden behaviour changes and aggression may result when a bird is ill or in pain, and this may indeed be relevant for you given Skittle's accident. For this reason it's often a very good idea to have them checked out at the vet, particularly if she has not been wellness checked in the last 12 months or so. Understanding that there may be limitations on availability in your part of the world, the following link should help you to find an avian specialist near you if not already acquainted with one...

https://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803

Good avian vets are also an absolute gold mine of information around behavioural issues as well.

Thank you for joining, and I hope this helps you!

Hello! She's about 5 years old now. Yeah she's bitten people before a little in the early stages. Never me but my brother is def a no no and ive been training her not to bite him but she's never bitten anyone else until after her injury. And it's weird because certain objects on the face make her fly and attack someone. It could be anyone. So yeah I'm starting to think it is because of pain because it did happen randomly and she doesn't have any nesting areas. She tries to nest on me at times but I stop her. My boyfriend was wearing headphones as usual and all of a sudden she flew at him and attacked him. It was horrible. I never seen her this aggressive before. And then with my dad she'll attack him with glasses on so yeah its like her whole behavior flipped like a light switch. But yeah as I said my dad did mention that she has stopped the biting a little bit so maybe its dimmed down but yeah when I get back home I'll take her to a vet.

 

[LaManuka]

At 5 your GCC will go through annual hormonal phases, but if she's decided she doesn't like glasses or headphones all of a sudden that's not unusual either. Plenty of birds have marked likes and dislikes about all sorts of things sometimes, up to and including if we wear a different colour nail polish, change the colour or style of our hair or they sometimes really hate us wearing clothes of a particular colour too! And just when we think we've got them worked out they'll change their mind again

I do think it's well worth having Skittles checked out by a certified avian vet though, given her accident, in order to rule out any residual trauma that might be involved. I hope you will keep us updated and let us know how she goes