Seeking advise on how to stop a parrot from biting
Hello everyone.
Several months ago, my boyfriend (Eric) and I took on a foster parrot from a rescue. It is a blue quaker (banded 2010) who was given to the humane society along with two others (a sun conure and a green quaker) temporarily by a couple when they were evicted from their apartment. The deal was the had to return to claim them by a certain date or else they would be considered surrendered and given to a rescue to rehome. Needless to say, they did not come back. Both the rescue and humane society did not have much information on them (including names) and they were all obviously not well socialized: the green was mean and a plucker, the sun was a screamer and a plucker and the blue was surprisingly neither, a bit fearful, but chatty and responsive. The rescue felt that this one could be rehabilitated more easily than the rest.
Naturally, I elected to take on the more adjusted of the three and after appropriate health tests were performed, and he was quarantined with the rescue for several weeks, he was then transferred into my care to be quarantined again. We don't know for sure, but we refer to it as a him and have named him Oats (..because he's a quaker, get it? I'm pretty proud of that name, actually). We suspect his name may have been Blueberry as he says the word very clearly and it seems kind of like an obscure thing to just pick up on his own.
Oats has a great personality and an extensive vocabulary. He doesn't yell or scream (when he does make noise, it's 95% hilarious talking and gibberish), he adores talking to/mimicing us and whistling back and forth, seems to genuinely enjoy our company, and totally digs music. All of these things add up to a pretty awesome pet, if you ask me... except for one glaring issue. He bites. Hard. And Often.
He has actually come a long way since the beginning. He will come as close to use as he can when in the cage, chatter/mimic/talk to us, he'll even let me change food/water dishes without much of a threat (although he does go to sit on his swing usually, or I just do it when he's on top of the cage). We often leave the door open and he'll go sit on top, bathe in the glass pie plate, or steal treats from the nearby jar if it was accidentally left open. He gets himself into an aggressive sort of posture when we approach but it usually goes away pretty quickly once we start interacting or if we bring food. We have been saying since day one that it really seems like he wants to be affectionate. Some days it feels like he tries but then changes his mind because he gets scared. The only times I have really been able to touch him is when he was having trouble flying and would fall/hit something and need help. In that situation, he will step up onto bare hands and I can hold him close and stroke his head and back without even a slight aggressive reaction.
The rescue made the decision to clip his wings when he arrived in their care despite the fact that he was not clipped prior. Eric and I elected to let them grow back because 1) he would try to fly when he got spooked or wanted to return to his cage and ended up falling quite a bit so we thought it was safer to allow flight, and 2) I just believe birds should be left flighted; they've got wings for a reason. He is definitely happier this way. He flies around the office where his cage is when he gets hyper, is able to fly back on his own from wherever, and often likes to take little self guided tours around our small house without landing.
But even though we've been trying to socialize him better (and I do honestly feel like we have made a good deal of successes there), we cannot handle him at all without a towel to protect us. We can barely give him treats except through the cage bars where he can only stick his face out so far, or if make him lean to reach it so that he doesn't have the ability to lunge. He'll take food nicely if it's big, like a piece of watermelon, because my fingers are far enough away.
He knows how to step up. He can say it- it was obviously something he was trained to do at one time or another. First, we tried to get him to step up on a perch, but even by putting it in sight and gradually moving it closer, then in the cage, etc... it hasn't worked: he bites and pushes it away every time. He is quite food driven and was actually not fearful of a towel when it needed to be used, so we quickly taught him to step up onto a towel covered arm and now he will do so maybe 75% of the time flawlessly. The other 25%, he'll tug at it a little first but will eventually step up - now even without a seed lure. Success, right? Yes and no. Once he steps up, if we don't immediately start walking around/out of the room or distracting him somehow, he'll inch his way towards exposed flesh and bite.
New as of last week, his self guided flight trips started to seem as though they were actually in an attempt to be social and land on us. Twice he tried to land on Eric while he was on the computer (he only stayed for half a second and then went back to his cage), and once he actually followed me out of the office and landed on my shoulder. He stayed then for maybe 20s as I slowly continued walking and then he again went back to his cage. Two days ago though, Eric put his arm up when he flew towards him and he landed... but bit immediately after. He said it was hard but he didn't think it was aggressive... maybe like he was trying to balance or something so we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Later that same day though, he landed on my shoulder again and I was prepared this time with treats so I gave him a seed, he ate it, and then proceeded to try to take a chunk out of the side of my neck. Today, again, he flew after me when I left the room... I turned around and put out my arm. He landed and bit right away. Now I'm starting to feel like the flying to us thing is not actually what we originally thought... since the biting has been consistent now, is he actually chasing us down because he's trying to attack? This point is particularly concerning because we often have guests over and leave the cage and door open the whole time. He will still come out and fly around as usual, and we tell people "Oh don't worry, he won't land on you..." but now he might... and the last t
I have been scouring the internet for information but I feel like all of the resources are giving advise based on actually being able to handle the parrot in some way or another, including RationalParrot(ie. touching the beak, preening, etc). I realize parrots use their beak like a hand, but let me assure you: if his beak touches your skin, you're probably losing some of it +/- blood. I'm stuck because I originally thought it was just fear biting and we have been working with him on that, but now I am starting to feel like it's legit aggressiveness because it seems like even though he is more social and eager now, he is more bitey. Before, when we would take him away from his cage, he wouldn't try to bite at all, but now he will whether we bring him or if he comes on his own. Maybe now that he is more comfortable with his surroundings, he isn't afraid anymore and thus is just resuming his natural aggressiveness that was hidden before? I try really hard not to say this because I feel like it makes it even more personal: but if he didn't bite so badly, I would strongly consider telling the rescue that I'd keep him. It's so heartbreaking. Does anyone have any suggestions? Please?
Here's a few notes to consider prior to making suggestions:
-He was on an all seed diet when he first arrived to the humane society but took to pellets really quickly (+ fresh fruits and veggies, seeds are a treat now and used for training) and this has been steady for 4+ months
-We have essentially been using the same techniques as clicker training, although not actually using a clicker: we work with him several times a day in short sessions, and praise ("good bird!") and reward immediately for good behaviour
-When he bites, we don't react (With the single exception of the vampire incident because holy crap &*&*%$%#$... will just be not letting him land there now)
-His cage is of a decent size (bigger than his previous one) and we leave it open more often than not to give him more room. There's another flighted bird in the house but in a different room so we just close the office door when the p'let is out
-He could have more toys... he has plenty but he only plays with his swing and one toy that came with him, the other toy that came with him plus the others I have tried are completely ignored even with the gradual introduction method as mentioned above
-His cage, even with him on top is lower than my eye level
-I get that not all parrots are particularly affectionate and I don't even care if he won't let us pet or cuddle him... but I need to be able to trust that he won't rip off the earlobes of us (or guests), and would like to be able to move him from point A to point B without bloodshed or special equipment
Several months ago, my boyfriend (Eric) and I took on a foster parrot from a rescue. It is a blue quaker (banded 2010) who was given to the humane society along with two others (a sun conure and a green quaker) temporarily by a couple when they were evicted from their apartment. The deal was the had to return to claim them by a certain date or else they would be considered surrendered and given to a rescue to rehome. Needless to say, they did not come back. Both the rescue and humane society did not have much information on them (including names) and they were all obviously not well socialized: the green was mean and a plucker, the sun was a screamer and a plucker and the blue was surprisingly neither, a bit fearful, but chatty and responsive. The rescue felt that this one could be rehabilitated more easily than the rest.
Naturally, I elected to take on the more adjusted of the three and after appropriate health tests were performed, and he was quarantined with the rescue for several weeks, he was then transferred into my care to be quarantined again. We don't know for sure, but we refer to it as a him and have named him Oats (..because he's a quaker, get it? I'm pretty proud of that name, actually). We suspect his name may have been Blueberry as he says the word very clearly and it seems kind of like an obscure thing to just pick up on his own.
Oats has a great personality and an extensive vocabulary. He doesn't yell or scream (when he does make noise, it's 95% hilarious talking and gibberish), he adores talking to/mimicing us and whistling back and forth, seems to genuinely enjoy our company, and totally digs music. All of these things add up to a pretty awesome pet, if you ask me... except for one glaring issue. He bites. Hard. And Often.
He has actually come a long way since the beginning. He will come as close to use as he can when in the cage, chatter/mimic/talk to us, he'll even let me change food/water dishes without much of a threat (although he does go to sit on his swing usually, or I just do it when he's on top of the cage). We often leave the door open and he'll go sit on top, bathe in the glass pie plate, or steal treats from the nearby jar if it was accidentally left open. He gets himself into an aggressive sort of posture when we approach but it usually goes away pretty quickly once we start interacting or if we bring food. We have been saying since day one that it really seems like he wants to be affectionate. Some days it feels like he tries but then changes his mind because he gets scared. The only times I have really been able to touch him is when he was having trouble flying and would fall/hit something and need help. In that situation, he will step up onto bare hands and I can hold him close and stroke his head and back without even a slight aggressive reaction.
The rescue made the decision to clip his wings when he arrived in their care despite the fact that he was not clipped prior. Eric and I elected to let them grow back because 1) he would try to fly when he got spooked or wanted to return to his cage and ended up falling quite a bit so we thought it was safer to allow flight, and 2) I just believe birds should be left flighted; they've got wings for a reason. He is definitely happier this way. He flies around the office where his cage is when he gets hyper, is able to fly back on his own from wherever, and often likes to take little self guided tours around our small house without landing.
But even though we've been trying to socialize him better (and I do honestly feel like we have made a good deal of successes there), we cannot handle him at all without a towel to protect us. We can barely give him treats except through the cage bars where he can only stick his face out so far, or if make him lean to reach it so that he doesn't have the ability to lunge. He'll take food nicely if it's big, like a piece of watermelon, because my fingers are far enough away.
He knows how to step up. He can say it- it was obviously something he was trained to do at one time or another. First, we tried to get him to step up on a perch, but even by putting it in sight and gradually moving it closer, then in the cage, etc... it hasn't worked: he bites and pushes it away every time. He is quite food driven and was actually not fearful of a towel when it needed to be used, so we quickly taught him to step up onto a towel covered arm and now he will do so maybe 75% of the time flawlessly. The other 25%, he'll tug at it a little first but will eventually step up - now even without a seed lure. Success, right? Yes and no. Once he steps up, if we don't immediately start walking around/out of the room or distracting him somehow, he'll inch his way towards exposed flesh and bite.
New as of last week, his self guided flight trips started to seem as though they were actually in an attempt to be social and land on us. Twice he tried to land on Eric while he was on the computer (he only stayed for half a second and then went back to his cage), and once he actually followed me out of the office and landed on my shoulder. He stayed then for maybe 20s as I slowly continued walking and then he again went back to his cage. Two days ago though, Eric put his arm up when he flew towards him and he landed... but bit immediately after. He said it was hard but he didn't think it was aggressive... maybe like he was trying to balance or something so we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Later that same day though, he landed on my shoulder again and I was prepared this time with treats so I gave him a seed, he ate it, and then proceeded to try to take a chunk out of the side of my neck. Today, again, he flew after me when I left the room... I turned around and put out my arm. He landed and bit right away. Now I'm starting to feel like the flying to us thing is not actually what we originally thought... since the biting has been consistent now, is he actually chasing us down because he's trying to attack? This point is particularly concerning because we often have guests over and leave the cage and door open the whole time. He will still come out and fly around as usual, and we tell people "Oh don't worry, he won't land on you..." but now he might... and the last t
I have been scouring the internet for information but I feel like all of the resources are giving advise based on actually being able to handle the parrot in some way or another, including RationalParrot(ie. touching the beak, preening, etc). I realize parrots use their beak like a hand, but let me assure you: if his beak touches your skin, you're probably losing some of it +/- blood. I'm stuck because I originally thought it was just fear biting and we have been working with him on that, but now I am starting to feel like it's legit aggressiveness because it seems like even though he is more social and eager now, he is more bitey. Before, when we would take him away from his cage, he wouldn't try to bite at all, but now he will whether we bring him or if he comes on his own. Maybe now that he is more comfortable with his surroundings, he isn't afraid anymore and thus is just resuming his natural aggressiveness that was hidden before? I try really hard not to say this because I feel like it makes it even more personal: but if he didn't bite so badly, I would strongly consider telling the rescue that I'd keep him. It's so heartbreaking. Does anyone have any suggestions? Please?
Here's a few notes to consider prior to making suggestions:
-He was on an all seed diet when he first arrived to the humane society but took to pellets really quickly (+ fresh fruits and veggies, seeds are a treat now and used for training) and this has been steady for 4+ months
-We have essentially been using the same techniques as clicker training, although not actually using a clicker: we work with him several times a day in short sessions, and praise ("good bird!") and reward immediately for good behaviour
-When he bites, we don't react (With the single exception of the vampire incident because holy crap &*&*%$%#$... will just be not letting him land there now)
-His cage is of a decent size (bigger than his previous one) and we leave it open more often than not to give him more room. There's another flighted bird in the house but in a different room so we just close the office door when the p'let is out
-He could have more toys... he has plenty but he only plays with his swing and one toy that came with him, the other toy that came with him plus the others I have tried are completely ignored even with the gradual introduction method as mentioned above
-His cage, even with him on top is lower than my eye level
-I get that not all parrots are particularly affectionate and I don't even care if he won't let us pet or cuddle him... but I need to be able to trust that he won't rip off the earlobes of us (or guests), and would like to be able to move him from point A to point B without bloodshed or special equipment