Need advice

[ladytulsa]

My husband and I just recently rescued an Umbrella. She has settled in rather well, but out of the blue the last 2 days she has started biting, and biting very hard. She went all the way to the bone on my husbands wrist. She is some where around 5 or 6 we think. The people who had her kept her caged and in a dark room almost all the time. She can be doing great and then just lunges at my husband. We do know that the wifes husband that had her hated her and tormented her. She was getting to where she was screaming all the time, and because of the husband she had to go. She goes to the vet tomorrow for nails and exam. She has started plucking a bit, but not much...I guess my biggest about Lily, is what is the best thing I can do about the biting. I have been bit by big birds before but never like this. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...ty

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

First thing I do with rehomed and biting 'toos is leave them alone. I let them watch me and the girl that works for me and my family. I let them get use to the routine and environment. I talk nicely and offer treats (especially white cheese which is a 'too favorite ). Keep the environment calm and then after they seem to be settling nicely I will ASK them to step up. If not I'll ask again later. The biggest mistake made by people with rehomed 'toos is the want to "kill them with kindness". Early bird ownership biting is usually born from pushing them too fast. (Just my experience and opinion)

 

[suncoast]

Bird time and human time are not the same thing. 2 week human time ='s 10 seconds bird time. The most important thing you can do is to avoid the bite in the first place because your setting up a continuing pattern. Also if your hubby is getting bit, he should back off and not handle her at all unless it's an emergency. To her men are mean and cruel. She doesn't know your husband at all. She needs to be able to observe him and he needs to be sweet and nice to her CONSISTENTLY even if it takes 10 years. He can certainly talk to her and offer her treats through the bars, but be aware of her body language, if she puff's up and looks distressed or threatening that means he's too close. And you need to get the idea of "dominance" out of your head totally, by allowing her space to acclimate and learn, doesn't mean she's the boss, it means you love and respect her enough to let her go at her own pace. Too's live to be 60, so you have a ton of time to form a relationship. The hardest thing to learn with any bird is to totally ignore the behavior you don't want, (biting and screaming) and make a big happy gi-normous deal about the behavior you do want. Any show of friendship should be met with a ton of praise, happy talk and a treat. Too's are about as smart as a 4 year old so be prepared. They require a tremendous amount of attention and interaction. Not just cuddling. They need play time, eating time, shower time, screaming time, nap time, cage time, and most importantly they need a dark undisturbed place for sleep time. A smaller cage set away from the TV and hub bub of the busy areas so they can get uninterrupted sleep. Good Luck we are here for you.

Ginger

 

[ladytulsa]

Thanks for the advice. Today we have just pretty much left her alone and not tried to push her. I guess we just didn't expect her to bite since we had been told she would not bite, and I may have tried to push to hard to soon. I have had other birds and I have been bitten, but not like this...so I will be taking stuff a little slower with her for a while....good advice, thanks a lot

 

[JLcribber]

You might want to give this a read because she "is" most likely going to choose a favorite person in some amount of time to the possible detriment of other people in the house. You weren't told the whole story about how she was or will be which is most likely why she's a rescue and that's pretty common.

Sex and the Psittacine (Parrot)

From what you posted about the tormenting of the previous owner, your husband is going to have an extra burden of trying to gain her trust and hopefully she will overcome these memories in time and actually be his friend.

It doesn't really matter what kind of birds you've had in the past or how many. Taking on a cockatoo is a whole new ball game and is going to require more skill and understanding than all those other birds combined. Everyone in the house is going to have to step up their game and become informed about "behavior" and start presenting yourself and acting "properly" in the bird sense to make this successful for all.

Your in for the ride of your life. Buckle up and hold on.

This is another great article that everyone in the house might want to read for insight.

Understanding/Treating Behavioral Problems in Imprinted Birds - Michael Doolen DVM

 

[melissasparrots]

I think sometimes they get over stimulated by too much petting. Plus being in a new home, her tolerance for almost everything could be low. Generally I look at how long the bird was out or recieving petting before it bit. Then next time put it back before that much time has passed. My goffin's will sometimes do an out of the blue bite while I'm petting her. If I really watch her body language, it becomes apparent that she's no longer really into it after a while. I just give her lots of breaks from petting. I'll pet her for a couple minutes, then remove my hand and wait for her to initiate more petting before I start again. Sometimes she just wants to sit on me without really getting attention or petting. Other times, she's mad because she's sitting on me and I'm ignoring her. You just have to watch their body language all the time and look for patterns. What was going on before the bite, and then change the pattern before the bite happens. You're bird being new and still settling in might just need more space. Also know that a cockatoo in crest up bouncing around display mode isn't always in control of itself. Trying to handle a bird that is displaying like that would be a classic cockatoo bite situation for some individuals. I can handle my sulfer crest when she is like that, but sometimes not my goffin's.

 

[ladytulsa]

again ty for all the advice. Tonight we r trying a sleeping cage in my room and see what happens tomorrow. I just think that I have pushed way to hard and fast. I would appreciate hearing what any one has to say about sleeping cages, every thing I read is different, so any advice on that will help me a lot to..

 

[Lauren]

I've never interacted much with cockatoos, so my opinion may be disregarded here.

However, I would give her more time to settle in before you start removing her from her cage that she has more than likely spent every day of her life in, including sleeping

Sleeping cages are a great thing for most, if not all birds. But with your scenario, when you're trying to settle your girl down and have her learn your routine, I would keep her with what she's used to. Especially if she's resorted to biting your husband.

Like I said, I've never owned (nor will I ever own) a cockatoo, so I'm not sure how far you can push one of these birds without bringing forward feather destruction issues, behavioural concerns or other problems

 

[JLcribber]

again ty for all the advice. Tonight we r trying a sleeping cage in my room and see what happens tomorrow. I just think that I have pushed way to hard and fast. I would appreciate hearing what any one has to say about sleeping cages, every thing I read is different, so any advice on that will help me a lot to..

Parrots do not roost in the same place they live, eat and play. A bird that is as high strung as a cockatoo needs the dark and silence to truly calm down and get a restful sleep. If things are going on around them such as making them sleep in a living room (even if it's done quietly) they always stay somewhat aware and on guard until it is quiet and dark preventing them from getting that full 12 hours of sleep.

You will undoubtedly notice a better behaved bird with this type of sleep arrangement.

Sleeping cages are a great thing for most, if not all birds. But with your scenario, when you're trying to settle your girl down and have her learn your routine, I would keep her with what she's used to. Especially if she's resorted to biting your husband.

When a bird is brought into a new home, they are not "used to" anything that is happening from that day forward. There is a window of opportunity to make these changes that does not last long. Everything is new and it takes months for things to become familiar and routine. For that reason we should start out right from the beginning how we want things to be going forward. The sooner we start to do that the sooner everything we are doing will become normal and routine. By starting out differently than this will mean that just when things start to become normal and familiar we will need to make "changes" yet again. Change is what they do not handle well so IMO get these changes over and done with now so we only have to do it once.

 

[Lauren]

John, I agree 100%!

 

[ladytulsa]

Well we tried the sleep cage, and I can tell u for the first time at night we did not hear a peep out of her and she didn't make a sound until she heard my voice. She seems a little calmer this morning. So we have the vet this afternoon and we will see what happens there and then again tonight....I am not pushing her anymore, I am just talking to her and observing so we will see where we are in a few weeks...ty to every one who has given us advice...