Problems with a human

[theocnoob]

I live with my Mom. I'm 34. I know... it's sad.

Anyways, George has been occasionally nippy when he doesn't get his way right now with the illness and the breeding season and just coming out of a molt. I don't take it personally when he bites me, and I'm pretty good at hand-dodging his bites. He becomes a sweety 2 seconds after.

My mom though, she gets a bite and she's actually mad at him (like she forgets he's a bird or something) for 2 days. She won't touch him or talk to him much and if she does talk to him its in a grumpy voice. George tries to get her attention and calls to her and asks her to pick him up but she stays mad at him for so long.

This has to be upsetting George and I was wondering if there's something I could do to help her understand why George is being this way right now.

 

[WendyN]

It is not an easy feat to live with a mom. And I think that you help out more than you give yourself credit for and it is safer for her to not live alone thses days.
Please don't be upset with her about holding a grudge.
You may have to give her the birdie "hormone/sexual maturity" talk.

 

[Wasabisaurus]

Poor George. Maybe your mom will mellow over time. I hope she doesn't stay mad at you like that.
Non bird people just don't get it. If you handed her a story about hormones, would she read it?

 

[Dartman]

George is being George, basically a wild bird who has decided he trust you as a friend but will correct anything that anyone does that offends him. They don't come with manuals or alarm bells to tell you when it's a good time not to touch them. My Mom got bit pretty good by Lurch one day when he was bluffing her and he tried to nip her finger. She pulled away and he hung on tighter and got pulled off the chair he was on and of course bit her much harder trying to not fall and hang on. She said it was her fault for pulling away when he took a shot and pretty much forgave him.
Tell her he's one step away from being a wild jungle creature and they have their own rules that usually make no sense to the mere human that just got a bite but they will stick to them and we need to learn to read them and respect them and they will eventually give us some respect back, but biting is one of their only defenses and a way to communicate as well, like don't do that.

 

[MeinRabe]

My mom reacted the exact same way when one of my former birds bit her (he lives in a new home now, long story). She never forgave him. So I can't offer any real advice.

Is George a sennie? My bird was also a sennie. It now attacks people's faces. They can be nippy one person birds. But they love their owners with burning intensity.