Our mean Green Machine has had me again!

[Welshanne]

Thinking I was being caring I gave my five darlings a washed leaf off our Greens ready to be cooked for our Sunday lunch.
While concentrating on threading a leaf through Chaz's cage roof, my right arm was resting just above Jay's ( the current jaws of Skerrylake) as quick as greased lightning he grabbed a beakful of MY flesh, just above my elbow joint at the back of my arm. Talk about pain, did I yelp!
Well it could have been worse as he did not draw blood, only now I am sporting a huge coloured bruise. Gritted my teeth, smiled and told him I still love him, and believe you me I do, but it is making him think he is inflicting all this pain and it has no effect. (well not the effect he is looking for, as I was invading his space, I suppose.)
He really believes he is living with a looney because I can still care.

 

[Juhi882]

Awwww what a pretty boy, he can't be a meanie!!!

Pssst.. i know how mean they can be. Me too have a mean green machine (chhotu) but a smaller version

I'm so sorry your in pain though

 

[Brigidt36]

Ouch!

 

[tracie]

Awww sorry you got bit, but what a beautiful face!

 

[suncoast]

Ann

Don't give up hope. It took 3 years before Zamir gave up, almost, biting me. Now granted she's a little Lovie, but ye gads she packed a bite. Now, unless she's hormonal we have a pretty good relationship.

Ginger

 

[Welshanne]

Catastrophe hit tonight. Jay was out as per usual with John and flying around landed on his shoulder while sitting on the settee. John did not want to move him and annoy him so left him there, bad move. He paddled around to the front of John and bit him on his lower lip badly and flew off.
Then he went to attack Scooby who was sitting on my head, she flew off and Chaz attacked Jay for having the audacity to attack his girlfriend! CHAZ! the most timid of the lot. We got Jay back into his cage for his own safety.
Tomorrow it is back to the drawing board and he comes out yet again on his own, solitary confinement it will have to be until things die down yet again.

 

[WenM]

Boy oh boy that Jay is such a character!!! He is just so aggressive. Is there any particular back story that would help pinpoint why he began to be that way to start with?

 

[TITANIS]

Catastrophe hit tonight. Jay was out as per usual with John and flying around landed on his shoulder while sitting on the settee. John did not want to move him and annoy him so left him there, bad move. He paddled around to the front of John and bit him on his lower lip badly and flew off.
Then he went to attack Scooby who was sitting on my head, she flew off and Chaz attacked Jay for having the audacity to attack his girlfriend! CHAZ! the most timid of the lot. We got Jay back into his cage for his own safety.
Tomorrow it is back to the drawing board and he comes out yet again on his own, solitary confinement it will have to be until things die down yet again.

Well Anne, it really is back to the drawing board I'm afraid. This is beginning to emerge as a volatile situation at your place. Jay is endangering your whole flock and causing your other birds to get aggressive to defend themselves. Even though you and John can accept bite after bite with composure, your flock cannot. You know where I'm headed and will spare you the discourse.

 

[GG.]

oh my - he is determined to whip your household into shape - Amazon style

hope John's lip is ok

 

[Anne & Gang]

oih gosh..so sorry you have to go back to the drawing board again....

 

[Saemma]

Yikes!! Sorry for the bite.

 

[GreenParrot]

Ouch! Sorry you both got bit. He can be a little devil when he wants, can't he?

 

[Welshanne]

If any of you experienced wise bird keepers out there, can throw me some crumbs of wisdom on how to move forward with Jay, I would be so grateful.What I am not prepared to do is give up on him, ever.
The old lady who had him, and gave him up with four others because of her failing health, never ever saw this side of him. This was his third home and he had been with her over ten yrs. Jay loved her to bits and spent his days watching over her and just loving her.
He then went to his next home, six hours travel away and was there a month. The lady who had taken both Jay and Chaz to keep them together, suddenly contacted the Society who had placed them with her to say she could no longer cope and they needed to be moved urgently.
The only way was splitting them up and I just could not bear the thought of that happening on top of the trauma of losing his loving home. We travelled half way and met up with another member for the handover and brought them back to my home.
All I can think is that month on top of everything else, just tipped him into this behaviour pattern. Jay was presenting me lots of symptoms. Bereavement. depression, lack of sleep, being bullied by Chaz who even made the decision on when he could go to the food dish to eat.(they shared the same cage)
He tugged at my heart strings the way he acted like the older responsible brother to Chaz. They were like joined at the hip despite the bullying, he worshipped Chaz and looked after him. Allowed him to overgroom his head until it was bald! yelping when Chaz tugged out his new growing feathers yet again.
I took the decision to give them a cage each next to one another. that way Jay at least had his own space and could rest, eat, and catch up on his well needed sleep. His depression lasted a lot longer, but slowly he changed for the better. The day he had me in tears, yet another attack, I put my mobile phone close to his cage bars and his previous owner talked to him. He had not seen her for six months by then and he went mad. Tried all ways to climb into the phone through the bars! From then on he changed dramatically for the better, but this attacking has always been there in the background rearing its ugly head for no apparent reason at the time, other than he wanted to vent his frustration on us.
We took some of your advice and John made us a T stick to move Jay from cage to outside perch etc. When he first clapped eyes on it he went beserk and it was a no no. Think there was some bad experiences in the month he was away, connected with the stick or something. Anyway moving on, he is now good at stepping up on it and being transported from A to B etc.
My sticking point is he wants to come more up close and personal and neither of us has the courage to allow it anymore due to the attacks that ensue. He can be so loving and happy on these encounters and then just before flying off to another perch, you get a vicious bite.

 

[Juhi882]

Oh Ann i'm so sorry you are having a hard time with jay
i'm sure he'll realize one day how much you love him

 

[Welshanne]

Well today he was cleaned out as per usual and enjoys his shower but takes ages to dry not like the others who seem to take half the time. I put on my hairdryer on just warm and stand like a lemon drying him while he lifts his wings and enjoys all the attention. I have stroked his beak and scratched his head but we will have to see what today brings when he comes out on his own.

 

[WenM]

Good luck with that and stay vigilent!!!

 

[Welshanne]

Thanks Wendy, I put on a fleece even if it is boiling! and John dons his hat to save his head, as he has no hair to protect the top of it.
Jay is like grease lightning though if he decides he is going to strike, there is not a lot you can do only grit your teeth and hope it is not going to be too painful!

 

[Bahama's Momma]

My heart goes out to you and John so much. I know the road you are on with Jay and traveled it a few years with Chewie. I can only say that I really think the biggest break throughs with him were when I had more confidence around handling him. I know easier said than done because no one wants to get another bite from those big beaks. Believe me he had me very intimidated and knew it. He could sense my anxiety around him and used that to his advantage. When I finally overcame that and became more comfortable around him he reacted to it. I don't know how to describe it but I would stand up to him more and he started to see his intimidation no longer worked on me and I was not going anywhere if I had to be in his "space" for whatever reason. I would respect his comfort level as much as possible and not push him for physical contact but he got more and more used to the idea that I was going to be around. I would keep my eye on him and stand my ground if he was starting to walk over to try to chase me away till he backed down. I took an awful lots of bites from him but I think we understand each other a lot better now and he's more comfortable with me because both of our anxiety levels have decreased.

I wish you the best as you both continue to work on building a better relationship with Jay.

 

[Welshanne]

Shauna, you are the first person who really knows where I am coming from.
To myself I have known for awhile that the next move has to come from me. He is aware of my fear and plays on it.
If there was nothing else important going on in my life at the moment, he would have priority and I know we would eventually have some kind of a break through.
Trouble is my mind is elsewhere and once I have sorted and come to terms with what is important and happening now, I will get around to giving Jay my full undivided attention.
Until it happens all I want is to let him know with no uncertainty that he is truly loved and no way is anything going to be happening to him. If I can let him realise that fact, then perhaps we can both "tread water"as it where until it can be tackled.
Today he has truely tried to do his best, and at times I know it has been such a trial for him. I have met him more than half way and think we may be building a foundation for a future trust and friendship together. Fingers crossed it will work.