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Hi ! So I'm considering consulting a behaviorist for this, because I don't really know what's going on, but I'm gonna try this forum first.
(re-using this summary from another post)
To summarize Mocha a bit, he's 3 and a half years old, he's a male cockatiel, and I got him from a good breeder so he was very tame from the moment I've had him. He adapts very well to new things, he loves scritches, is very easy to handle (by me), he's food-oriented too but I've never really trained him before. He has a good diet (Harrison's pellets + veggie chop everyday), has a normal weight ranging from 85 to 90 g, he's got a big cage, looooads of toys (in and out of the cage) and is flighted (not clipped).
In terms of behavior, he very rarely bites because I've always tried to respect his limits as much as possible, and since he's been flighted (3 years), he usually just leaves if something bothers him, which is good. He's got an attachement to my hair in terms of mating, so I never let him go on my head because otherwise he'll start doing the mating dance and make a nest or something (I wear a cap on the days he's too annoying, which makes him stop). I spend most of my free time in my room (I go to college part-time), where he has his perch, and whenever I'm home he's out with me in there, where he's his most calm self.
So Mocha has been aggressive towards me on and off because of hormones (in the spring/summer), which has never really been a huge issue, but recently (I'd say since the past summer of 2016 maybe ?), he's been flying at me to attack very viciously. The behavior happens sometimes in my room, but mostly when I get out to go in the kitchen or living room. Whenever I change rooms he 'squeaks' and follows me around everywhere, which translates to separation anxiety, but it's been very manageable (worst case scenario : screams, but we're working on that).
More on the context surrounding the attacks : it seems to me it just randomly happens, or there's a trigger that I haven't yet identified. He'll be sitting on my shoulder, and then suddenly as I'm making toast or getting coffee, a really hard bite to my ear or lip will ensue. If I don't shoo him off my shoulder, it'll continue with the lunging and biting, so I have to shoo him, and once I do, the flying attacks start, and he'll be relentless, trying to perch on my shoulder to bite me, and if I try to protect myself with my arm, trying to bite my fingers/arm mid-air.
He'll perch on his cage or the fridge to regain his breath, and go back at it once I move (or not). I've noticed, now that I panic less than before, that I can actually redirect him while doing a finger move thing that he loves and that makes him 'sing', and he won't try to attack me if I do this. My usual move is to do this and then wait for him to calm down and catch him with my hand, while holding his head with my fingers so he can't bite me, to put him in his cage. Once he's in, he's back to being super sweet and acts normal again.
More on my reaction when it happens : At first I was very scared, angry and upset, so I would try to 'push' him away in the air and sometimes even end up 'hitting' him with the palm of my hand so he'd leave me alone... Now I'm able to be more calm, especially since I think this is hormones and not him being aggressive for 'fun'. But today it happened again and he got a really good bite on one of my fingers, and in the moment I was hurt physically/emotionally and ended up 'pushing/hitting' him once more because I didn't know what else to do. It breaks my heart to have to defend myself like this, because I don't wanna hurt him, but it's getting pretty scary and maybe a bit dangerous too and I'm clueless as to what I can do to help him.
So that's a (big) summary of what happens, I know I've let out some more side details but I think my post is long enough as is, so I'll leave it like that for now. Basically I'm looking for people who've had the same sort of situation, and what they've done to help change it, or if they've had advice from specialists/behaviorists.
Thank you !
(re-using this summary from another post)
To summarize Mocha a bit, he's 3 and a half years old, he's a male cockatiel, and I got him from a good breeder so he was very tame from the moment I've had him. He adapts very well to new things, he loves scritches, is very easy to handle (by me), he's food-oriented too but I've never really trained him before. He has a good diet (Harrison's pellets + veggie chop everyday), has a normal weight ranging from 85 to 90 g, he's got a big cage, looooads of toys (in and out of the cage) and is flighted (not clipped).
In terms of behavior, he very rarely bites because I've always tried to respect his limits as much as possible, and since he's been flighted (3 years), he usually just leaves if something bothers him, which is good. He's got an attachement to my hair in terms of mating, so I never let him go on my head because otherwise he'll start doing the mating dance and make a nest or something (I wear a cap on the days he's too annoying, which makes him stop). I spend most of my free time in my room (I go to college part-time), where he has his perch, and whenever I'm home he's out with me in there, where he's his most calm self.
So Mocha has been aggressive towards me on and off because of hormones (in the spring/summer), which has never really been a huge issue, but recently (I'd say since the past summer of 2016 maybe ?), he's been flying at me to attack very viciously. The behavior happens sometimes in my room, but mostly when I get out to go in the kitchen or living room. Whenever I change rooms he 'squeaks' and follows me around everywhere, which translates to separation anxiety, but it's been very manageable (worst case scenario : screams, but we're working on that).
More on the context surrounding the attacks : it seems to me it just randomly happens, or there's a trigger that I haven't yet identified. He'll be sitting on my shoulder, and then suddenly as I'm making toast or getting coffee, a really hard bite to my ear or lip will ensue. If I don't shoo him off my shoulder, it'll continue with the lunging and biting, so I have to shoo him, and once I do, the flying attacks start, and he'll be relentless, trying to perch on my shoulder to bite me, and if I try to protect myself with my arm, trying to bite my fingers/arm mid-air.
He'll perch on his cage or the fridge to regain his breath, and go back at it once I move (or not). I've noticed, now that I panic less than before, that I can actually redirect him while doing a finger move thing that he loves and that makes him 'sing', and he won't try to attack me if I do this. My usual move is to do this and then wait for him to calm down and catch him with my hand, while holding his head with my fingers so he can't bite me, to put him in his cage. Once he's in, he's back to being super sweet and acts normal again.
More on my reaction when it happens : At first I was very scared, angry and upset, so I would try to 'push' him away in the air and sometimes even end up 'hitting' him with the palm of my hand so he'd leave me alone... Now I'm able to be more calm, especially since I think this is hormones and not him being aggressive for 'fun'. But today it happened again and he got a really good bite on one of my fingers, and in the moment I was hurt physically/emotionally and ended up 'pushing/hitting' him once more because I didn't know what else to do. It breaks my heart to have to defend myself like this, because I don't wanna hurt him, but it's getting pretty scary and maybe a bit dangerous too and I'm clueless as to what I can do to help him.
So that's a (big) summary of what happens, I know I've let out some more side details but I think my post is long enough as is, so I'll leave it like that for now. Basically I'm looking for people who've had the same sort of situation, and what they've done to help change it, or if they've had advice from specialists/behaviorists.
Thank you !
I've considered taking an appointement to the vet to check if anything is wrong, they could help to at least rule out if it's a medical issue..
