Don't know what to do with him...

959 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by sunnysmom, Jul 18, 2013

flyfightwinetc

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2013

I have a very pretty boy named Sunny whom I recently adopted from an ASPCA. I read his medical profile and it said he was five years old, which is way too old to be acting like this.

He's so funny and sweet until he realizes you're a person and are within his reach. I immediately recognized his aggression and that it was probably hormonal, so I've been keeping him covered for 13-14 hours a night, but I come downstairs at night and I can still hear him awake under his dark cover.

I can't get near him. I can't get near him with my face or arms or even legs. He comes out on his own, but attacks people if they even pass by him. I was just sitting here on my laptop and he was on the floor pecking at some millet left on his cage stand and he ran over to the couch and did this.

My females were (and are) challenges. They too started out pretty vicious and untrustworthy and have made some progress. They used to bite, too. I can at least scoop them up off the floor without losing an eyeball. I'm not unfamiliar with grumpy, distrustful birds, but this guy is something else.

He was previously bonded to a mirror in his cage, which might have something to do with this, but I get the feeling the person before him didn't know anything about birds and didn't care to socialize him. I try rearranging his cage (when he's far away, or he'll try to attack me) and I've moved it further from the females since they seem to drive him insane even though they aren't interested (much).

He does need his wings clipped more, but other than that, I don't know what to do. Can someone offer some advice on getting him to stop putting holes in me?

When he bites like this, I usually ignore it and tell him no. If he keeps biting, I just put him back. This time, I tried to ignore him but it hurt so badly and continued for so long that I ended up shoving him away and scooping him up with a towel and putting him back.

I've been reading all the threads about the aggression and they're great, but I don't know if it's the same issue this bird has.

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CaliTiels

· #2 · Jul 18, 2013 (Edited)

I recommend target training. It's perfect for aggressive birds. I practice it from my bird trainer. What you do is find a "Target" or something like a kabob stick or chopstick and have a go.

Here's a link: http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/single-handedly-target-training-your-bird/

And another thing, I wouldn't say it's hormones, it sounds more like a territory thing, because covering wouldn't do a thing for territorial issues. Especially if females are involved. Try some target training, it should help curb all kinds of behavior problems. If you have any questions on target training, feel free to private message me

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sunnysmom

· #3 · Jul 18, 2013

Here is a link on "mutual agreement" training for aggressive birds which has some good advice:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33824
Good luck and just be patient with him.

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