Extreme aggression out of nowhere

[dougk1989]

Hello everyone,

I acquired a yellow naped Amazon (male) that's around 25 years old around December last year. He was badly abused and I took him in a changed his diet, got a new cage and all was well for about 3 months. He likes to play aggressively and I generally don't mind it but lately (about a month now) he has become extremely hostile, to the point he lunges and bites extremely hard rather frequently. We do have good days where he doesn't put up much of a fight. But other days he's incredibly dangerous. I take him off the cage every day to play (which consists of him just sitting on my shoulder) but in that time he's very affectionate. But when he gets put back on the cage he becomes overtly hostile again. Sometimes he screams constantly. They aren't the average everyday calls they are shrill screams and he exerts signs of hostility. He has all the right food and toys, he has a regular bed time and some days are good other days he's a menace. I love him and don't want to re-home him but darkness and literally every training technique out there hasn't worked. I'm stumped on this one. Toys, food, affection, darkness, correct diet, etc etc. you name it I've tried it. I just have no idea what to do at this point. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[MommyBird]

Male YNAs are one of the "Hot Three Amazons". This means that when hormone time hits every year, some of them get worked up to the point where they do become a menace.

It is may be compounded in your case because first -
You are past the 3-month "honeymoon" phase when you get a bird and they feel mentally comfortable enough to relax and start behaving as they woukd normally.
And second, you have no doubt improved his physical health by giving him a better and healthier diet. He may never in his life have dealt with hormones hitting so strongly and is as confused by them as you are.

Sadly it is just the way some of them are. One important thing to do with any of these Amazons is (during another time of year) to get them trained to step up onto a stick so you can more safely move them around during hormones.
It really isn't personal and hopefully when breeding season passes he will return to being a more agreeable fellow. In the wild he would have been an awesome, protective mate and father.

You can search this site (upper right of page) for more info, or maybe @Fuzzy has some ideas that may help on the website Training & Behaviour Archives - Think Parrot - The Parrot Lovers' Information Source.
We have a lot of Amazon, Cockatoo, and Macaw owners who have gone thru breeding seasons that were scary and may have some ideas to share too.

 

[Fuzzy]

Hi Doug, just going to add on to MommyBird's great post.

He likes to play aggressively and I generally don't mind it

I would not interact with "aggressive" play as you are teaching him to act more "aggressively" in other areas, which could be some of the problem. As soon as his body language starts changing to show he is about to get "aggressive" stop play for a few seconds and wait for him to calm, then interact with him again. This way you are reinforcing gentle play.

I take him off the cage every day to play (which consists of him just sitting on my shoulder) but in that time he's very affectionate.

Allowing a bird on your shoulder may encourage hormone production as you are acting as his "mate". Reason being you are in very close proximity with him. Another clue is that he is very affectionate here. Only mates get that close. It's ok to briefly transport a parrot to other places on your shoulder. Training is an alternative way to interact with him. A way for him to earn reinforcers (treats) which you also get paired with. Feel good factor all round! Try target training:

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot

Target training is a fantastic first behaviour to teach. It can be taught inside or outside the cage.

thinkparrot.com

Has he got a playstand that he can hang out on rather than your shoulder? It can be enriched with toys and foraging items to keep him occupied.

But when he gets put back on the cage he becomes overtly hostile again.

Many parrots are cage or food bowl protective. This may or may not be to do with hormones.

How long is he out of his cage? A parrot should be out of his cage at least 3 - 4 hours minimum. Break this time down into twice a day. Just trying to figure out a reason for the screaming when in his cage. Screaming can be due to hormone production too, as well as due to being inadvertently reinforced, ie. how do you react when he screams?

Pamela Clark says that 12 hours darkness etc is a fallacy. How long does he sleep for?

Does he interact with his toys?

Diet - what is his diet like? Pellets? If so, which brand? Does he eat seed? Fresh vegetables and fruit. Asking because some foods are high in metabolized energy which again can increase hormone production.

Love that you are willing to work with him. You are an absolute star for taking him on!

 

[dougk1989]

Thank you for all the replies everybody! To answer some questions: He is outside his cage pretty much all day. He is allowed to perch on his top rung and that's where he likes to hang out all day basically. He usually puts himself to bed around 10pm by himself. But honestly he doesn't go to sleep he kinda just stares at the wall for a few hours. He is on a fruit, vegetable diet with his normal grain? Seed? Bird food diet. Sorry I don't know what it's called. Just the normal large bird food bag from PetSmart. He is absolutely terrified of new things ie: new perches, new toys, new anything really. And it takes days for him to get used to anything new. The reason why I put him on my shoulder is because that's the only time he is receptive to new things, otherwise he refuses to accept anything new. New stick? Noway (unless he is on my shoulder) new toy? Noway (unless he is on my shoulder) new person? Noway (unless on my shoulder) etc etc. it seems like any training method just doesn't work with him. He's terribly afraid of full darkness and will scream bloody murder. We've tried every treat under the sun and he just doesn't seem to be motivated by food and treats so bribing him with treats is useless. When he screams non stop, I've tried leaving the room and coming back when he calms down but that doesn't work because he seems to have an over abundance of willpower to just keep screaming louder to get me back in the room. He screamed for an hour straight one day. I've exhausted every option I have with training. He's simply not receptive to traditional training methods. And short timeouts for bad behavior just seem to make him more upset. I'm not going to give up or give him away, I just wish I knew how to figure this guy out.

 

[MommyBird]

Right now, cut back on the fruit. The extra calories in it make him think food is abundant and time to have babies.
Check out this thread to see what chop looks like.
Pictures - What are your birds eating today?
Amazons should get extra vitamin A via more beta carotenes. Like from red peppers, broccoli, carrots.
Try veggies cooked and raw and cut up different ways. Try more than one time - like for several weeks. Eat in front of him and smack your lips and say yum, try to hide it when you are eating, like - you can't have this it is mine yummy.

Please post a picture of the bag of food from PetSmart or give us a link to it. Does it contain pellets? It needs to. There are many pellets to try. Some companies will send free samples or sell smaller sample packs. Try Zupreem Naturals Parrot/Conure size or Zupreem PastaBlend Pellets. Caitec Classic for medium size is another. Harrisons, Lafebers, Higgins, TOPS....the list goes on.

Is he eating the sunflower seeds out of the bagged mix? Pick them out and only give by hand as training treats.

Don't feed peanuts. Does he get almonds and walnuts? Almonds provide calcium, walnuts good for Essential Fatty Acids.
See if he can crack shelled almonds and walnuts, gives him something to work at.

Put new toys somewhere across the room and slowly move them closer. The Gabriel Foundation for some birds presents all toys in a paper bag they learn how to tear open so all new stuff initially looks the same.
Try balsa big blocks. Whole Mahogany Pods. SeaGrass mats. (all big Amazon favorites here) I order from https://cabirdnerds.com/ who I see is on vacation for a few days. Check out other vendors on AA List of Vendors and AA Store Profiles
One favorite toy for a scardycat Amazon I live with is Stacked from TNT bird toys 058-Stacked. Can't resist the bark!

And start learning a little parrot Psychology from Pamela Clark Pamela Clark, CPBC and Susan Friedman. Written Works: Learning and Behavior - BehaviorWorks.com
Susan Friedman really saved me when I got my first Amazon! I am positive there is training out there that will work for you. Give it time. Honestly you can't do too much when you have a bird crazy on hormones. You can try training while inside the cage.
oh, and someone along the line trained him he now has to scream for an hour to get a response. And look up Extinction Burst. It gets worse before it gets better.

 

[Fuzzy]

When training, you need to find a reinforcer that he will work for. A reinforcer is anything that maintains or increases a behaviour. It sounds like right now, it is reinforcing to be on your shoulder. Let's leave that for the moment - it might be that in his old home that's where he used to hang out/feel safe. With a "new" bird that hasn't got many reinforcers you can work with, food is often the way to go as all birds have to eat. Where does he eat? Inside his cage or on top? You could try putting a few different items into an empty bowl next to his usual food bowl, or on top of his cage, and see which he picks out first. Maybe some sunflowers out of his seed mix, some safflowers out of his seed mix, a pumpkin seed, a piece of walnut, a half cashew. The item(s) he chooses first will be his favourite and you can then work on getting him to take them from your fingers (carefully!).

A seed diet isn't the best as it is sorely lacking in nutrients. Try introducing a few pellets into the bowl too. Harrison's High Potency would be great to start with. Or Roudybush (although this has less fat and will therefore be a little less appealing). These two are lowest in metabolizable energy. Also see if he likes Nutriberries. (https://www.amazon.com/Lafebers-Gourmet-Garden-Nutri-Berries-Parrots/dp/B0002ARFQ0/ref=sr_1_15?th=1) These are balls of seed and pellets, but are also lower in metabolizable energy - can be a helpful transition from seed to pellets.

With the screaming don't worry about staying out of the room when he does it. Get some earplugs (Loop are really good) so that they block out most of the noise. Go about what you have to do, but completely ignore (completely blank) him when he's screaming. But most importantly, reinforce ANY other acceptable sound he makes as soon as he makes it. This could be replying to him, going up to him etc. Whatever he finds reinforcing. If food/treats were reinforcing, you would bridge/mark any acceptable sound with the word, "YES!" and follow it up with a treat. You can't do that yet, so if you think it is your presence that is reinforcing, bridge/mark the acceptable sound with "YES!" and follow it with praise or approaching him. If he gains more reinforcement for making the acceptable noise than he does for screaming, the acceptable noises with increase and the screaming will gradually decrease. Be aware that some screaming morning and evening is normal - dawn and dusk chorus.

MommyBird has spoken about toys/materials to try, to keep him occupied.

Parrots - Stop Excessive Squawking or Screaming | ThinkParrot

How to address the problem of excessive screaming in your parrot using the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis.

thinkparrot.com

 

[tka]

Welcome! What's your bird's name?

So, building on what's already been posted...

It sounds like he finds your presence and being allowed on your shoulder very rewarding. That becomes his reinforcer and you can interpret his behaviour in light of it. Ideally, you will eventually find a better reinforcer for him but for now, work with what you have.

Bear in mind that every interaction with him is a training session. You need to think really carefully about what you are reinforcing every time you interact with him. Birds are exquisitely sensitive to our behaviours, so even something like looking at him could reinforce a behaviour.

If he screams and you manage to hold out for an hour but eventually go to him, he will learn that he just needs to scream for as long as possible and he will eventually get his reward. If the amount of time you can hold out for varies, you are intermittedly rewarding him which can lead to a stronger response. He is learning that sometimes he needs to scream for 15 minutes, sometimes he needs to scream for 45 minutes, sometimes he needs to scream for an hour...but by screaming, he will eventually be rewarded with your presence.

As @Fuzzy says, you will need to reinforce noises that you want to encourage. If he beeps or whistles or talks, then you need to reward that. He will work out that producing the acceptable noise is rewarded whereas screaming is not. However, be prepared for an extinction burst - an escalation of the unwanted behaviour that he tries as a last-ditch attempt to get rewarded. You must be absolutely consistent and not reward the screaming, no matter how bad it gets, otherwise you would undermine your own training.

You will need to introduce toys to him very slowly and carefully. Choose easy stuff to begin with - paper, cardboard, balsa, mahogany pods, sola. Most birds appreciate the sensory experience of something crunchy and easily shreddable. He may find big toys too intimidating so just offer something small like a balsa block. As @MommyBird said, introduce it carefully: let him see it in the room, let him watch you play with it, and gradually bring it closer to him and invite him to interact with it. You can turn this into a flock activity: our birds like to help us shred confidential documents so we all get some paper to rip up

As an Amazon, he will probably be extremely good at shredding stuff. You may have to move him onto harder materials eventually unless you want to spend all your money on balsa, but while he's learning to play you will want to make it easy and fun and highly rewarding for him.

You will need to learn about managing hormonal behaviour. Unfortunately the thing that he finds most reinforcing - being on your shoulder - is also the thing that will cause problems down the line. Intense, sustained physical contact is what pair-bonded parrots do, and humans do not make good mates for parrots. We go out to work or to run errands, we hug our family and friends, we're physically affectionate to our partners...and we also have our parrot on our shoulder. This is confusing and frustrating for the parrot. By having them on our shoulder and having that close physical proximity, we're saying that we are pair-bonded...but then we leave for hours and touch other people which is unacceptable within a pair-bond. The poor parrot may react with aggression, feather destruction or other behaviours.

Avoid the Pair Bond: Social Relationships with Parrots

At the heart of many behavior problems is a social relationship that has taken a wrong turn. Why? Because, despite our best intentions we often misunderstand what parrots really need from us social…

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

I know how hard it is to convince a bird that hanging out on your shoulder all the time is not desirable. My wife and I rehomed a young parrot who had spent a lot of time out of her cage, but all of that time was on someone's shoulder while he worked, watched TV, read and so on. She didn't know how to entertain herself out of the cage. What helped us was having lots of perches around the room with toys and other activities. I know that at the moment your bird is too scared of these things for this to work, so see it as something to aim for and work towards..

I've linked to one of Pamela Clark's blog articles above. She offers behaviour consulting sessions: Pamela Clark, CPBC

They seem expensive up-front but you get tons of follow-up support: you essentially pay for the two hour consultation AND eight hour-long follow-up appointments, so you get ten hours of behaviour consultation overall. I've used this service before and found it very helpful.