My wife (who I met a year ago) has had a Meyer's parrot for about six or seven years. He has occasionally bitten her but mostly on the fingers and not very frequently. He has always been pretty well behaved with me, with one exception. (A week or two ago he was somehow startled by my fingers and bit, but did not draw blood).
Today something unusual and scary happened. Her daughter (who gets along quite well with the bird) was petting her. The bird then flew halfway across the room and bit my wife a few inches from her eye.
Of course, no bite is a good bite but this was startling for a few reasons:
1) often when I read about biting it involves young hormonal parrots and her bird is well past adolescence;
2) some stories of biting parrots involve jealousy of visitors, but my wife has spent more time with the parrot than the daughter (who has been out of town for most of the past year) or myself;
3) my sense is that when this parrot has bitten he has been startled by something nearby, but this time she flew halfway across a room to bite; and of course
4) this bite came awfully close to creating serious injury.
What's going on and is it solvable?
Today something unusual and scary happened. Her daughter (who gets along quite well with the bird) was petting her. The bird then flew halfway across the room and bit my wife a few inches from her eye.
Of course, no bite is a good bite but this was startling for a few reasons:
1) often when I read about biting it involves young hormonal parrots and her bird is well past adolescence;
2) some stories of biting parrots involve jealousy of visitors, but my wife has spent more time with the parrot than the daughter (who has been out of town for most of the past year) or myself;
3) my sense is that when this parrot has bitten he has been startled by something nearby, but this time she flew halfway across a room to bite; and of course
4) this bite came awfully close to creating serious injury.
What's going on and is it solvable?