Sudden aggression!

[JLcribber]

When she bites I say NO and look at her very sternly I don't shout but it's always a vicious bite I end up bleeding,

This is called a drama reward. "Any" reaction to an undesired behaviour is actually going to "increase" the behaviour. A reward does not have to be good or bad. Just a reward. "Withdrawing your attention" and walking away for a moment is much more effective. No drama, No verbiage, no eye contact, nothing. Just walk away.

Tonight she came to be stroked so I stroked her for just a minute then said good night and she just sat there looking at me but I didn't want to keep going until the biting started.

Tonight you finally figured out just how long you can scritch and wisely stopped before you got bit.

 

[NirAntae]

This is called a drama reward. "Any" reaction to an undesired behaviour is actually going to "increase" the behaviour. A reward does not have to be good or bad. Just a reward. "Withdrawing your attention" and walking away for a moment is much more effective. No drama, No verbiage, no eye contact, nothing. Just walk away.

Tonight you finally figured out just how long you can scritch and wisely stopped before you got bit.

Yep. No reaction is the best reaction when it come to birds, even a "stern no" can turn it into a game.

Also, not to derail the thread, but JLcribber, your user icon made me When I first looked at it, my brain didn't process 'two birds' at first, it looked like a single 'too in a "Rosie the Riveter" pose..

 

[MrsM]

how is she doing? is the aggression still the same?

She's sometimes aggressive and sometimes I can pet her for a very short time. I've decided to take her back to the vet just to make sure there's no hidden reason why she's doing this but unfortunately my avian vet is on vacation until next week. If I feel she really needs it there's another avian vet I can take her to but I prefer the regular one we have.

Thank you for asking.

 

[MrsM]

This is called a drama reward. "Any" reaction to an undesired behaviour is actually going to "increase" the behaviour. A reward does not have to be good or bad. Just a reward. "Withdrawing your attention" and walking away for a moment is much more effective. No drama, No verbiage, no eye contact, nothing. Just walk away.

Tonight you finally figured out just how long you can scritch and wisely stopped before you got bit.

It's still puzzling since for years she has loved to be scratched and suddenly this behavior has started.