Stranger agression

[mluce]

Hi,

Our 6 month old GCC is lovely and affectionate to both my girlfriend and I. However.. if any friend or family member comes in to the house he immediately flys at them, lands on their shoulder, fluffs up and starts savaging them He bites the fingers and ears as hard as he can.

We either have to take him out of the room, which is a massive battle as he even bites us if we try to get him off them... or just let him bite it out. He made all my sisters fingers bleed... and once he'd done that, about 10 minutes in to it... he calmed down and ignored her for the rest of the time.

What is this behaviour and how can we combat it?

 

[Princessbella]

Biting strangers until they leave is unacceptable. I don't have a GCC but for safety's sake your bird should be in its cage when strangers come over or you have to get him off the stranger with a no and then put him in his cage to let him know that it is unacceptable behavior. If a stranger comes and he doesn't misbehave, then you should reward him with his favorite treat. Birds are like children and sometimes, they need a time out.

 

[mluce]

Thanks for the advice! We have steered away from punishing the bird in the past. People on these forums have advised against any type of punishment behaviour. Instead just not acknowledging bad behaviour. Although i don't see how thats possible in this situation.

 

[Princessbella]

It is not a punishment per se, think of it more as actions have consequences and if you bite strangers, it will lead to time out in your cage. Also, don't forget to praise him when he does well.

 

[HollyT]

It may be best keep him caged when strangers come over at first. If they are willing to cooperate in training great! Have them say hello to your bird from a distance. But then sit nearby and engage in some conversation. If your bird is calm and watching. Take a moment to say good bird and drop a treat through the cage bars in a food dish. The idea is to reward the calm behavior. Eventually you can work up to allowing the guests to drop the treat. Eventually you can work up to letting him out on a play stand. It's a step by step process in teaching him that guests are friends. Calm easy behaviors are what you're going for. If you have guests that are not willing to help in training then provide your bird a safe foraging or chewing toy activity in the safety of his cage.
Never force your bird to interact with strangers. Learn to read your bird's body language. This will help you know when he/she may be uncomfortable in any situation.

I suggest you check out Barbara Heidenreich's Force Free Animal Training. Her methods are based on the science of positive reinforcement. Barbara Heidenreich | Good Bird Inc.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I just went through something similar with my female lovie. Every time she bit or pinched, she'd get "NO BITE" and "BAD GIRL" and go right back in the cage. So long as she didn't try to bite, she could stay with me and my friend (at no time did I try to put her on or near my friend). I even tried putting her on a little perch to sit around us yet not be ON anybody (plus offered toy and treat) to try to minimize the urge to be aggressive. Unfortunately nothing seemed to deter her very much (she actually left both toy AND treat to try to harass my friend), though she wasn't biting me as hard after a couple instances of return-to-cage. Maybe it just takes a while to get them to alter their behavior.

 

[BeakFace]

Wow I can't imagine letting any bird out with company with that behavior! It would only happen once at my house! I suggest you taking it slower maybe one friend willing to participate in socializing at a time. Read everything you can and just take it slow! I must say I'm surprised by such aggressive behavior at such a young age. Good luck .

 

[Monica]

Instead of punishing bad behavior, it's better to prevent bad behavior from occurring in the first place.

If you know people are coming over, and you know she's going to attack them, then put her away in the cage before they get there! Simple as that!



On the other hand, if you would like to have her out while company is over, then you need to teach your green cheek to be social with other people. You might need to keep her in her cage and have strangers offer her her favorite treats through the cage bars. If you can, teach her some tricks or behaviors she can do on cue, and then have the strangers request the same behavior and reward her for doing it. The more comfortable she gets with new people, the better she may be around them, and in time, you may not need to cage her at all.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

The base cause is that she sees the strangers a not being part of her flock and therefore, they must be driven out of the territory owned by the flock. Think about it on that level and then use the behavior modification ideas Monica gave you to slowly include your friends into the flock. Flock members not only share territory, but they share food and attention and affection. The easiest to accomplish is food; so have the visitors give the bird (who is safely in her cage) treats through the cage bars. If she does not take the treats directly, have the visitors speak to her quietly and happily and put the treat in the feeding bowl for later.