Aggressive Caique Behavior

[soulgems]

My caique, Rascal just turned ten. For the first several years of my life, he was like my little best friend. He would hang out with me in my room, come in the bathroom to hang on the shower ledge during showers, he would eat with me, regurgitate for me on a nightly basis(gross but cute), and we had a genuinely great bond. For the most part, he was a really great bird. Sometimes he would get a little nippy, or get into moods where it was best not to interact with him, but I really never had all that many complaints.

Now for maybe the past three or so years, he has turned into a bird that isn't even like himself. It's become so hard for me to interact with him because he has turned straight up VICIOUS. Sometimes even walking by his cage will set him off. His behavior usually is as follows:

- Eyes dilate and become extremely small
- He will lay really low and sway back and forth slowly, or up and down
- He will open his wings up in a very threatening behavior
- He will bob up and down as if he's dancing. When he's happy(during bath time, getting a special treat) he'll dance like this, but it's very obvious this dance is a lot different than his happy dance
- If he is in the cage during one of these moods, he will go to the sides of the cage and start to slam his beak against it, as if he doesn't have any control over what he's doing
- Makes aggressive growls and chirps

Honestly, when he gets into these moods it's like he's possessed by something evil. If he happens to get into this mood while out of his cage, he'll attack anyone who's close to him with intentions to kill. At this point I have so many scars on my hands from him drawing his beak as deep into my skin as he could get.

I can't think of any events that may have happened that triggered this behavior, because he has always had a little peaceful life with my family. I've talked to the owners of the bird store that we had purchased him from, and their suggestion was to ignore him when he behaves like this and not give him attention, and to take special attention to shield his cage from light after a specific amount of time so he gets adequate sleep. I've followed these steps, but it's been so many years and he hasn't shown any signs of getting better. If anything, I think giving him less attention makes him worse, however it's so hard for any of us to want to give him attention when we usually end up with something bleeding...

Has anyone had these issues with their caique? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get my bird to go back to the way he was before when we had a great bond?

 

[WendyN]

I am so sorry you are experiencing this.
My caique, Joey, is 4 1/2 yrs. old. He does do the weirdo hormonal head pops and twitches, "angel" wings, psychedelic eye pinning and rockin-n-charging attacks and the "creepy-bird" stalking behavior.
I think these are hormonal mating/nesting behaviors.
Is he that way all year round or with other people?
When Joey is that way, i do turn my back to him, and let him be. It doesn't last long.

 

[WendyN]

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I'm so sorry you are going through this with your little friend. So nothing changed at all when this started? How much sleep does he get a night? Have you tried any training with him, like target training?

 

[MNR]

I have two female WB caiques (Loki born in 2003; Puck in 2006), so Puck is about the same age as your Rascal. Puck gets possessed by a demon, too. I don't know how else to describe it. She is totally sweet most of the time, but suddenly, without much warning, her eyes are pinned and staring at my hand (clear sign but too late; she will not let go of my hand) and she bites, not just once but as many times as she can. She oftentimes sways, too, when she is possessed. She gets all fluffy when she is in attack mode. I also do not know the trigger. She looks normal one second and then she is crazy! My other caique, Loki, does not do this.

I wish I know how to stop it, but I don't. So I just accept the way she is and avoid the bite as much as possible. I always have bath towels around when I handle my caiques (they love to rub anyway). I use bath towel to protect my hand (which is most likely place she bites), and watch her eyes. I think I avoid being bitten about 90% of time.

If she is in attack mode inside of her cage and determine to bite me, I just leave the room, and she is sweet self when I come back.

 

[soulgems]

@WendyN I've sort of accepted that it's hormonal as well, just because I can't really think of anything that could have triggered the behavior. It's somewhat interesting because his two favorite people used to be myself and my dad, but ever since he started getting aggressive he seems to hate the both of us the most. He seems to act this way with generally everyone, but for some reason he tolerates my brother, which is weird because my brother never made an effort to bond with him in the past and they never built a strong relationship. But he's least likely to get in these mood swings with him. But like Joey, my bird does the same thing. If I walk away and go into the kitchen, his eyes will instantly go back to normal and he'll start to chirp happily like normal. It's just difficult because I can't really ever guess when to expect him to lash out...

@Tiel Feathers I haven't tried any training yet, but that may be a good idea! We try to let him get at least 12 hours a night, and I always make sure to cover his cage with a black sheet just so he isn't disturbed if anyone is up and in the same room as his cage. I may have to look into some training though because that's the only thing I never actually tried to do with him.

@MNR Sounds like Puck is just about the same as my caique. :/ I'm taking similar precautions, we usually use bath tails or mitts when handling him in and out of the cage. The more I look into caiques, the more I'm finding out that many of them show aggressive behavior. I'm not sure if it's in the weird demonic way that you and I have seen them, but I am learning that aggressiveness is often times a part of their personality. I've also learned that he has triggers too that may make him particularly vicious(he doesn't like when I wear jewelry, he doesn't like when my nails are painted, or if I have certain types of clothes on). I was able to figure that out after realizing that almost every time he bit me, he always went for my ring finger that has a ring on it. So I can't help but wonder if there's something he doesn't like about it.

 

[WendyN]

Do you ever try to offer him a treat he can't refuse to get him to refocus his attention?

 

[MNR]

Yes, caiques can be difficult.

My Puck is mostly a sweet "angelic" bird that becomes possessed by a demon fairly frequently. Puck has milder personality than Loki, and Puck is less likely to attack a stranger than Loki. They are very complex and demanding (but so adorable ---- I just love them).

How is Rascal like when he is not in demon mode? Do you have any other birds?

 

[Tim]

Hi! I saw your post earlier, but didn't have the chance to respond until now!
Welcome to the world of sexually mature caiques! They are a challenge, for sure. Unfortunately, you have accidentally encouraged some of these behaviors. Don't worry. We have all probably done it at some time. There ARE ways to help, but you have to be consistent with them.
Issue 1: You should never have encouraged the regurgitating. Yes, it's cute, but it is mating behavior. He decided that you would make a good mate, and wanted to show you how good a spouse/parent he would be. Then you never mated with him. Not so much as layed a single egg. So he's disappointed, and only knows one way to show you--chase you off. When you get this under control, ALWAYS turn your back to that behavior. I tell Diego "thanks, but I've already eaten" and walk away. I love him, but not in THAT way
2: Make sure that your touching is limited to ONLY head, neck and feet. Full body petting is also mating behavior. You don't want to give him the wrong idea!
3: INCREASE dark/quiet sleep time. To get the hormones under control, give him 12-13 hours of complete darkness and quiet every night until the behavior changes. If this means changing to a seperate cage in another room, make it happen.
4: Severly restrict high carb/sugar/fat foods. Limit diet temporarily to pellets and healthy veggies ONLY. Dark leafy greens and peppers are great.

This article is great:

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine

I hope some of this helps!

 

[Tim]

It's somewhat interesting because his two favorite people used to be myself and my dad, but ever since he started getting aggressive he seems to hate the both of us the most. He seems to act this way with generally everyone, but for some reason he tolerates my brother, which is weird because my brother never made an effort to bond with him in the past and they never built a strong relationship. But he's least likely to get in these mood swings with him.

Of course! You have rejected his advances, so he has moved on to someone new!