BirdLady13
Sprinting down the street
Almost 2 weeks ago I brought home a 4-5 month old male parrotlet. I have experience hand-feeding and raising birds, but this is new territory for me. I know the bonding process will take time, but just when it seemed like he was finally settling in and I was beginning to gain his trust he started heading in a different direction. Yesterday he was taking millet from me, and then randomly bit me. He's gently nibbled on my finger before when the millet I was feeding him was gone, almost as if to ask for more, but this time was different. While it didn't draw blood, he definitely did it deliberately (despite there being plenty of millet left). Also, when he gets excited/hyper he tends to get aggressive. Not only does it look like he's attacking his toys rather than playing with them, but if I go anywhere near his cage (not in it, just next to it) he strikes at the side, beak wide open. His body language is much different than any of the other birds I've worked with. He was quiet when I first brought him home, but he has steadily begun freaking out whenever I'm not sitting right in front of his cage. Any tips & tricks you guys can provide would be much appreciated; I'm trying to avoid getting frustrated because I can't figure out how to have positive interactions with him. At the very least how can I get him to step up without angrily biting me?