Behavior advice

[Aggie]

Just need some thoughts and advice.

Echo now 11months old is getting aggressive around his cage, toys and food/water. Also when you try lock the cage. He fluffs himself up and lunges. Will peck and grab hold of your hand but never draws blood. He has also gone for my face and can run up your arm to get me.

Ive noticed that he listens more when we say 'no' when hes playing with something he shouldnt or trying to eat our food (despite having his own 5 star menu). He leaves grumbling and complaining but then when its time change bowls will get extra aggressive then normal. It honestly feels like if we let him do what he wants we wouldnt have these cage/food issues. Sometimes we can share our food and we see less of this aggressive behavior.

I have tried changing food containers when hes not around but this is hard when you have a hungry bird in the morning and its not always possible to remove him. We have tried feeding him on the bench but he has decided thats all his too and the sponge is evil. If i tell him no and to cut it out he backs down a little and lets me finish.

Recently being away thinking different environment and different cage would fix this. Nope same thing. I also dont pull away or make noises to ensure im not giving him a reaction. One day i was sure i was going to have my nose bitten instead i got a friendly little tap on my nose with a 'bop' and he ran off laughing.

Peoples thoughts and ideas would be really appreciated. Not sure what to do differently or if this is a stage we just need to ride out.

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Milo]

I'll try to write more about this in the morning. It sounds like a normal stage for your boy, and you may have to adjust some things in your house to make sure you're not getting bitten and to prevent those situations. Absolutely do not allow him to start eating off your plate!

 

[Aggie]

I'll try to write more about this in the morning. It sounds like a normal stage for your boy, and you may have to adjust some things in your house to make sure you're not getting bitten and to prevent those situations. Absolutely do not allow him to start eating off your plate!

Thanks Milo, that would be great.

I have tried a few little things differently last few days and we appear to have had two perfect days....not holding my breath!

It was like someone returned my original echo while i was sleeping.

Is it acceptable to get a peck but not a bite?

This is what ive done anyway:

- been home
- extra praise for good stuff
- telling him hes a good boy prior to putting him away ( got a little peck but no bite or fluffed up angry eyes)
- extra 1:1 playtime
- took him to park (only cos he was so good)
- tried to avoid his mood.

I know i cant keep avoiding but needed a nice day and now ive had two.

 

[Milo]

I doubt that he will connect his trip to the park with good behavior, although that is great mental stimulation assuming that he was in a harness or a carrier! Enrichment and finding non-pairbonding ways to interact with him are going to be helpful not only now but once he reaches sexual maturity as well.

The same will go for his cage, when you put him back I'd suggest making that the time for a really awesome treat (for Rosco it's an almond in the shell). That way there aren't mixed signals, you may think that you're being upbeat but going back to his cage is still a "negative" experience for him.

You know as well as I do that they're like little kids. Their moods change like ours and if they're in a bad mood or not in the right space for interacting that can lead to a bite. If you have learned that particular body language that's a great step!

I've found that eclectus will politely nudge you away before going to an all out bite, if he does that, respect it. I don't count that as a negative behavior per say because he is trying to tell you "please don't" and that's your opportunity to respect his boundaries. Of course there are exceptions to this, I do have a perch that I can get Rosco to step up onto if he's somewhere he shouldn't be and doesn't want to leave, I still praise him for stepping up in those instances and I'm able to avoid a chomp or a pinch. I move him to an acceptable area and offer him something fun to play with and we both move on with our day.

For me, Rosco is still very protective of his cage. My solution is to do cleaning and such when he is out of it. In his cage there are feeder doors that I'm able to get bowls in/out without allowing him to reach me, he will growl and maybe lunge sometimes but nothing comes of it because my hands aren't in danger. It sounds like part of what Echo is doing is a normal part of growing up, testing his boundaries and figuring out what he can get away with. If he's really aggressive around your meal time, I would keep him in his cage for that time and offer him his food and then once you're done try letting him out.

I also wanted to mention clicker training. I can't emphasize enough how valuable it can be! It will provide him with enrichment and can help you to avoid a bite or a nip. Start slowly and work up to stationing, i.e. getting him to go to a certain perch while you change his bowls! It will take time but it is worth it.

 

[Aggie]

@Milo

Thanks for all your advice

Day 3 and still an angel. I can even say 'no' and he listens....without attitude back.
Hasnt bitten the harness in frustration. Even lets hubby handle him more. Honestly if he wasnt so playful and chirpy i would think he was sick.

Ive been avoiding anything negative. Hes happy place us bathroom/shower. The fan noise or water running instantly gets him talking abd signing. I leave him in there while i run around sorting his cage.

If im interacting with him about colours i can touch anything i want in his toy box or on top of cage. Little weirdo that he is.

I have a clucker somewhere. Will try find it and give it a go.

Thanks again!!

 

[Shinobi]

We haven't any cage or food bowl aggression from Henry ever. Because we clicker trained him to step up and down from inside and outside of the cage, he is use to our hands inside his cage. The cleaning of his cage, removing and replacing of food/ water bowls are just watched. We used to sit at the table with Henry when we first got him, with a bowl of food, we would take a piece of food out of the bowl and give it to him. This made him associate the bowl / food / hands together.

We try to have meals all at the same time but that doesn't happen all the time. Henry and Angel have their own bowls on their bird stands. But Henry will steal food off my plate given the chance. usually when I get up, to get a drink from the fridge. He's quick too and likes green beans, they aren't hot, just warm. I just put him back on his stand and say "Eat your own dinner". We have meals together because parrots are flock animals and we don't like to exclude them from meal time.

We also played pass the parcel with Henry, I found this a really good way to socialise Henry with all the family members. Did this with Marlin, the Alexandrine we had. Henry has been trained to fly to and perch on designated spots, bird stand, play gym, top of cages, table, kitchen bench and of course us. Angel was a rehomed so she needs different handling, but she has been watching Henry and is picking up things. Like where she can perch.

Like Milo posted, Clicker training, IMO, is the best training method available. I used clicker training to adjust Angel's Behaviour, she was a biter, scared, hated hands and humans in general. She will step up and down for me from anywhere, I can scratch her on the head and touch her anywhere on the body But I don't do that very often. But she will only take food from other family members.