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View Full Version : Unwarranted biting.



NickyBeth
01-09-2011, 12:01 PM
Hey guys, hope all has been well with you. I've been dealing with a problem for about the last month/6 weeks and I am just at my wits' end on how to solve it.

I should preface this thread that by saying that in November, my family and I had to attend a wedding in PA. My neighbor graciously volunteered to take care of my bird, but could not bring him into her home as she has a dog that barks at anything that isn't human. So she came down once a day to give Cherry food and water and socialized with him for about 15 minutes while she took care of his cage and brought in my mail. She didn't take him out of the cage, as she was afraid that with our high ceilings (in some places, 22 feet) that he might get up where she could not get him and he'd be stuck up there. But she talked to him all the same.

I came home, and Cherry seemed to be fine. He was excited to see everyone, and we went about our routine. A few days later, I had him out and I was doing my morning chores. Normally, the little guy follows me wherever I go, like a puppy. He hopped up the flight of steps where I was doing laundry in the upstairs hallway and crept up to me like he always does. Except he viciously attacked my pinkie toe on my left foot and actually broke off my toenail in the process. I yelled out in pain, as I was bleeding and he just bit down harder. I picked him up, yelled at him, and put him in his cage. I did not let him out for the rest of the day, but every time I walked by his cage I told him in a loud voice "Not nice to bite Mommy"!.

Everytime he is now out, he seeks out either my oldest daughter or myself and bites us. Hard. It's gotten to the point where we can't take him out anymore, and that's not exactly fair to him. I have been putting him on the lanai where he can at least get out for a little every day...but none of us can be in the room with him and I have to watch him from behind the glass doors. I asked my neighbor if anything happened when I was away, and she said that nothing happened to her knowledge. She even said he was such a good boy! She has taken care of birds in the past, so I trust her completely when she said everything was normal. It seems that he is angry that we went away, but I am at my wits' end. It's getting to the point where either I have to think of rehoming him or something. He's a good boy in the cage, just not out of the cage. Nothing is different, nothing has changed in my home to upset him. No new items, no new toys, the only thing that might have been different was the fact that we put Xmas decorations out...but he bit me before I even put them out.

What's even weirder is that my oldest daughter and I look nothing alike. My youngest could be my clone, but he leaves my youngest and my husband alone. Only attacks me and the 6 year old.

Any suggestions??

linda040899
01-09-2011, 12:45 PM
NickyBeth,
I'm going to leave a link to the article on biting in parrots from our Resource Library, as it may offer some insight as to what's going on: http://www.naturalencounters.com/images/Publications&Presentations/Biting_Its_Not_For_The_Birds-Steve_Martin.pdf

My own thoughts about what's going on is that it has nothing to do with your trip to PA and the time you were gone. I think Cherry was fine with that when you came back and put it behind. I think the problem started when he bit your toe and enjoyed the reaction he got as a result! Loud noises excite parrots and he got quite a thrill from your reaction. Putting him back in his cage also taught him very quickly that a bite means a one way trip, quite possibly back to where he wanted to go.

What happened when he bit your 6 yr old the first time?

Another question. Who is Cherry's favorite person? If it happens to be your husband, you could also be dealing with displaced aggression. Cherry could be defending "territory" that he considers to be his.

Hard to say. Perhaps a bit more input might be helpful in figuring out what's going on. :)

NickyBeth
01-09-2011, 12:52 PM
I am Cherry's favorite person. He doesn't care for my husband at all. His second favorite person is my oldest daughter. My youngest will tolerate him being near her, but if he tries to climb on her she freaks out. Then again, she is only 4.

When he bit my 6 year old, she was doing homework at the kitchen table. She was coloring with her colored pencils and he came over to see the pencils. When she went to change pencils, he lunged for her finger and bit down hard. She was more restrained than I was, and just started crying as kids cry. She didn't call out, the tears just started with the tiny wails of "Cherry bit me!!". Thinking that it might be that he wanted to go back in his cage, I picked up a perch and put him on the lanai to climb on the screens while I tended to her finger. I then returned him 15 minutes later, being insistent and touching his beak and saying "No bite".

Pips mom
01-10-2011, 01:14 PM
Very strange......I don't know what to tell you with this, as Pip has always been the same when it comes to biting and nipping......he gets a little better as he gets older, but I have never seen a bird suddenly change like this......unless it was a female??

NickyBeth
01-10-2011, 01:57 PM
Very strange......I don't know what to tell you with this, as Pip has always been the same when it comes to biting and nipping......he gets a little better as he gets older, but I have never seen a bird suddenly change like this......unless it was a female??

Yeah, Cherry is a DNA'ed male. It's really weird. He's fine in the cage, sweet as sweet can be. Take him out and it's a whole different story. He did get a wing clip so maybe that will change his attitude. ;)

linda040899
01-10-2011, 02:10 PM
I wonder if the biting is so you will put him back in his cage....... Males aren't usually as aggressive as you describe Cherry to be. I'm as puzzled right now as everyone else. Give me a little bit to give it some thought.

Dave_K.
01-10-2011, 02:18 PM
We DNA test most of our little ones..... one male came back to us two years later with two eggs!! She is now the proud mother of five new little ones.... it happens. As for the biting we have also experienced this change but only in hens. How old is Cherry?

NickyBeth
01-10-2011, 02:48 PM
Cherry is about 5 years old now, but that is mainly a guess. I adopted him from my vet's office. Cherry was his late mother's pet. I have had him for almost 3 years. He didn't have juvenile coloring when I got him. He/she has never laid an egg.

The only thing I can think of is I did have my hair cut. Not radical, but a trim. Normally, I do wear my hair in a ponytail, but since I got the trim -- I don't need to pull it back as much anymore. Going to try wearing it back over the next few days to see what happens.

linda040899
01-10-2011, 04:14 PM
How well I remember my Quaker Parrot's reaction to a major hair cut (long to short) and replacing glasses with contact lenses!! I suddenly became an evil stranger and she wanted nothing more than to bite the living daylights out of me. My Tiel, on the other hand, recognized me by voice so nothing changed for her.

Anything is possible! Too bad they don't all express themselves as well as Kokoro!!!