Aggression and Biting!

[ginjaninja004]

Hello! I have a 5 month old GCC that I absolutely love dearly. His name is Ollivander (Ollie) and I have had him almost a month now.

The issue I am having is he is very aggressive when it is time to go back in his cage. He spends the majority of his time outside his cage unless its bedtime or i am at work. When I am home he is out for hours at a time.
But when it is time for me to go to work or time for bed he will aggressively attack me.. I don't mean like nip at me or anything because I know GCC are a bit nippy anyway.. He will leave marks and draw blood.
Sometimes I end up with bruises. He is very attached to me and doesn't like to be anywhere I am not currently. He will try to fly to me if i leave the room. (So i know he isn't scared of me)

I have tried coaxing him in his cage with treats.. He wants nothing of it. For a while he was doing well at the "step up" to get back in his cage.

I know he is a baby still and has a lot of learning.. but is there any underlining reason that he is so aggressive at cage time?
He has tons of stuff to keep him busy in there and I always make sure he has pellets and a snack when hes in his cage.


I am willing to do what it takes to work with him.. I just dont know where to start with this..

 

[Lodah]

Welcome to the avenue! It is still early days with your fid and he is more than likely not sure about his situation or the people around him. I would suggest target training at this stage so that you can build your relationship with your fid and also give him some indication of what you desire him to do!

Lots of praise and rewards when he accomplishes the desired action, patience and time are your greatest assets!

Is he flighted at all? You said he tries to fly to you, so not sure on that point!

Pictures are very welcome here!

 

[Parakeet88]

I work night shift so I put my birds to bed before I go to work. I always give myself plenty of time to get my GCC back in his cage because he likes to stall lol I'm not sure how he ended up like this (and I've only had him about 2 months) but instead of biting me when I ask for a step up he will grab my finger with only one foot and push his head into my hand asking for scratches. He will always step up for a walnut but I try not to bribe him unless I really need to.

I don't really have much advice besides maybe try spending some extra time giving him scratches before you put him back in. Also keeping a schedule seems to work well for my GCC. He knows that he has to go in his cage when I go to bed. Also, before I go to bed I fill his cage with treats for him to find. I think that he knows when I start putting the treats in there I'm about to go to bed and he's going in his cage. Maybe do something right before you put him in that will sort of give him a heads up that he's going in soon. I also rearrange and swap out his toys often to keep him interested and busy while he's in there.

 

[Whoviana]

Sunflower doesn't like it when I put her in her cage because it usually means I am leaving. I have started putting her in her cage during the day and then staying around the cage so she knows I am not abandoning her. She's gotten better about it. She also doesn't give my husband any trouble, but he works from home, so she never associated going in the cage with him leaving.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Your bird is having the equivalent of a child throwing a tantrum to try and get you to not put him to bed and go away. He is just simply trying to distract you from your actions and when you ignore his gentle behaviors (pushing his head into your hand for a scritch), then he gets aggressive about it. If he will not step up when you want him to go to bed and he gets too aggressive, you may have to towel him gently and carry him to his cage in the towel. However, target training, as suggested by Lodah, is a great way to change his behavior and achieve your objective.

Have fun with the retraining.

 

[KirstinStanley]

We have been having issues with Tiki as well with putting him back into the cage when we want to leave. He spends lots of time out of his cage and sometimes he will hide on the other side of his cage if he knows we are going out. I normally give him a treat and put it in his cage so he is tempted to go in his cage

 

[janicedyh]

Nelson doesn't like me putting him in his cage either but (right or wrong) all the fids get a bedtime sunflower seed. Nelson (GCC) went from biting me hard enough to bleed and holding on for dear life at bed time to me being able to say...its night night time, me picking up his sunflower seed and him actually acting excited to jump into his cage. Kiwi (IRN) is past the bedtime snack thing so all I have to do is say night night time and she starts making her way from the playtop to inside the cage.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Parrots love schedules and they also do very well with verbal clues which foreshadow happenings in their lives. Ten to fifteen minutes before I leave the birdroom at 2300, I announce "Nite, nite, birdy" and they know I am going to put out more fresh water, check everyone's food levels, turn off the TV and give SunnyShine a kiss and put her on her sleep boing. Emmie CAG answers the "Nite, nite, birdy" cue, goes to his night perch in his cage and pulls his toys around in front of him to hide himself in the shadowy corner. Everyone has found a perch, Sunny is at the top of the boing and I leave the room, securing the door for overnight.

If I just leave the room without the verbal cue, they keep calling to me to come back and are very restless until midnight or even one am.

 

[Familyof12]

I'm not there with you and your baby has only been home one month. That isn't very long. For some, it takes a while to settle in, especially when they are young. It more sounds like your GCC has anxiety being alone. We have a baby lovebird who was allowed to be fed by her parents for too long and unweaned! We're giving her soaked pellets with seeds/chopped veggies mixed in now. She had been biting us quite a bit and I was surprised. Now we realize, she's terrified but doesn't want to be alone. She's never been alone before but I'm also not her feathered mommy. So it's for her it is a push/pull. It was a week of this! I would put her back in her cage when she bit me (drawing blood), then she would scream at the doors, slamming her body against the doors. If we brought her out, she'd quiet down, then bite over and over again!

We started moving our fingers around allowing her beak to tell us what to do, felt like finger twister to me. I figured out, she wants to sit on the palm of my hand (not on my finger), push a finger against her beak, and pet her at the same time! Then she started making the cutest noises. I'm sure she is frustrated that we didn't understand what she wanted when she first tugged with her beak. We probably didn't understand and she just bit us harder as she got more frustrated! I can totally understand that!

I remember my daughter when she was 2. She asked for "long bread," I showed her a loaf of bread and she said "no...long bread" over and over. Well, by the time we were done showing her all the bread in the house, she was really angry we didn't understand and threw herself on the ground screaming LONG BREAD!!! Well, a month later, I found it turned out she was talking Naan the Indian bread we ate the month before! I had given it to her in strips to eat. How would I know she named it LONG BREAD? LOL. I put the new bird's (no name yet) biting me to be a similar situation as my 2 year old daughter. Can understand and is smart, but can't communicate.

In the end, I feel terrible I didn't understand her sooner and she went through this for four days (throwing herself against the doors of her cage) and screaming at us when we put her in and biting us when we brought her out. Dang, I feel like she was patient compared to me.

 

[Parakeet88]

@Familyof12 I had a really similar situation with my new GCC. Whenever I go to give him scratches he will sort of bite my finger (not drawing blood but just uncomfortable, more than a nibble). I now know he is just positioning my hand/ fingers to how he wants to be scratched. He almost always grabs my middle finger with his beak and brings it close enough to grab with one foot then he shoves his head between my middle and index fingers. He expects me to scratch him around his cheek with my thumb and he will twist his head to the exact spot he wants. He's so demanding! Lol! But whenever someone else goes to scratch him they think he's going to bite because he goes after a finger with his beak. Anyway, no helpful advice for @ginjaninja004 but it just blows my mind how they know exactly what they want and they try their best to communicate it.

This is how he likes to be scratched lol

 

[Familyof12]

I heart your bird @Parakeet88!! Your's turns his head!!! Mine demands her head is straight with a finger on her beak. I sure wish I knew you when this was happening! I felt so bad she had to suffer my dumbness for that long when all she wanted was comfort.

 

[Parakeet88]

I heart your bird @Parakeet88!! Your's turns his head!!! Mine demands her head is straight with a finger on her beak. I sure wish I knew you when this was happening! I felt so bad she had to suffer my dumbness for that long when all she wanted was comfort.

I've only had him a couple months so I'm not sure I would've been much help lol yeah he twists his head all over the place, one of his favorite spots is right under his beak and he'll twist his head all the way upside down so I can reach it lol I don't know how I figured out he wasn't really biting, he just wanted scratches. I guess since he wasn't biting that hard I let him keep going with it so it gave him time to position himself since I wouldn't pull my hand back right away and now I expect it. This might be helpful stuff for new bird owners to know, I had no idea he was going to position my hand for me and it seems like more birds might be this way. If you don't know or understand what they want you would think they're just biting you.

 

[Familyof12]

I'm in love with your baby so much!! How adorable! He turns his head to let you know where and uses his feet! Mine is funny, she's happy if her beak is pressed and one eye covered with head and neck scritches done in a certain pattern (she lets you know when you miss the beat) but her whole back end is out!! I don't think she knows. She is still young but I crack up. I would probably sit and stare (most rudely-I apologize, please forgive) at your baby feeling fuzzy inside!

 

[Parakeet88]

He does like a beak rub sometimes and he doesn't mind if I give him scratches/ rub right over is eye lol He will also press his head into my finger sort of like how a cat would rub on your leg. I can never scratch him enough, just spent 30 minutes trying to get him in his cage for bed but he only wants scratches. I think that's why hes careful to use only one foot because he knows if he puts two feet on my finger he might go in his cage. I'm so glad he just begs for scratches instead of biting, hes so good

 

[Familyof12]

Yes, I'm positive I'm in love with your bird @Parakeet88!! Our lovebird wants to be in my pocket or inside my shirt 24/7. She wants me to do the head, neck, and chin scritches the whole time while also pressing her beak lightly. I think you are right! She does not get off my hand when I put her back in her cage. Instead she starts screaming. *sigh*

 

[Parakeet88]

Ive been trying to get him to go in my hoodie pocket but hes afraid of it, maybe one day. We've completely turned this thread into a love fest over our birds lol

 

[BrianB]

I found with mine that it took a lot of consistency and routine to get bed time to go off without any biting or cage aggression. I work from home, and the cage is in the office with me. In the morning I take her out of the cage about 7am. The office light is a smart light that comes on at 5:30 am and slowly brightens to 100% over about 15 minutes. I start working at 6am, and I take her out of the cage at 7am. This gives me time to get my day started without interruption. She usually starts to want out of the cage a little after 6. If I don't pay attention she will bang some things around and start to squawk at me. At first I would let her out just to get it to stop. Now I ignore her until I'm ready for her to come out. Now she fusses for a bit, then goes to amuse herself with something until I let her out. I put her back in the cage anytime I leave the room. This got her used to being picked up and put in the cage multiple times a day. At first she would try to bite when I put her back. She has since stopped because she knows I'm coming back. If I leave the house for any length of time and I can't bring her back out, I turn off the office light and tell her to take a nap. When I come back I turn the light back on and bring her out. The consistency has made a real change in her trying to bite or nip at me. It's also taken a while to know the difference between biting because she's unhappy, and using her beak as leverage to move herself. I had issues with cage aggression when feeding her. I reached in to get food dishes one day and she just went after me, biting and screaming. I formed a cup with my hand and gently pushed her to the end of one of the perches, away from me and away from the food dishes. She stopped and just sat there. She no longer tries to bit when I'm in her cage cleaning, or feeding, or fixing something. She just does whatever she was doing and ignores me. I'm not sure that was the best way to handle it, but it worked. When it comes to bed time, the same thing happens in reverse. I put her in the cage, and at 9pm, the office light starts to dim. It takes 15 minutes, but during that time she will talk to me a little , get a few bites to eat, and then crawl into her hut and go to sleep. That's not to say that sometimes she isn't just impossible to deal with. She's about 8 and a half months old, so some days it's like having an angry toddler and a moody teenager all in one. At least there isn't any more biting.

 

[Familyof12]

I'm really digging the lights that turn on and off slowly to give you time to adjust!! Wish I thought of that! I wonder if it's just a switch we can purchase and install. I'll have to look. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BrianB]

I'm really digging the lights that turn on and off slowly to give you time to adjust!! Wish I thought of that! I wonder if it's just a switch we can purchase and install. I'll have to look. Thanks for sharing!

I'm using the Phillips HUE light system. The office in particular is on a brighten / dim schedule for mornings and evenings. It helps me unplug at the end of the day and go do something else so I'm not sitting at the computer all night. I have my night stand light come on as well. I know if the light wakes me up, then I've missed my alarm and I need to get my butt out of bed. As for the birds, the slow dimming gives her a chance to calm down and get settled for bed, instead of an abrupt lights out. There is still dim light in the room from a small lamp, so it isn't completely dark. It also works in the afternoon when I'm done with work. If I want to take a nap, I put her in the cage and dim the lights. She sometimes naps, and sometimes she just hangs out, but she's never noisy when the lights are dim. Helps me sleep

 

[Lesley Yeung]

Bird is funny about bed time also. We have to tell him good night in stupid voices. My husband always adds "that's a good bird. Love you". If he isn't around, I have to say it or Bird will not go to bed. He just stomps back and forth.