Attacking Parot

[meddum]

I have a green Amazon Parot that has always been sociable. She would sit with us and watch T.V. loved for you to scrach her head etc. but now she has started attacking me, I mean jumping on me with wings flapping and bitting hunks out. What can I do to get her back to normal?
Please help!
Thanks in advance
Meddum

[budgies4ever]

I can help you but I have to know how old she is and if you clip her wings.Write back the info.Thanks!

[meddum]

Step,
Thanks for replying. She (Peaches) is 8 years old. We have had her for a little over 6 months now. She used to when my 6 year old grandson (or any child) was here only associate with him and would attact the adults. Then when there was no children present she loved everyone me especially. We could handle her, pet her, scrach her head, etc. The last weekend my grandson was here Oct 4-5, when she tried to attacted me for the umpteenth time, I locked her in her cage until he went home. Since then she will not have anything to do with me. She still followes my husband around trying to get him to pick her up and starts talking to him the min. he comes in the house. But if I am anywhere near her she will come running at me wings flapping, mouth open, and tail feather spread. When there is no one at home but me, she will not get off her cage, but launches ambushes if I get too near the cage. Her wings have not been clipped since we had her. She shares a five foot tall three foot by three foot cage with a yellow nap McCaw (Mickey) we have had for several years that belongs to my husband and only my husband can handle her. She is not a sociable bird at all. Both birds get along well they are not closed up in the cage during the day, they stay on top of the cage where their play gym is. At night Peaches goes "nighty nighty" inside the cage with the door closed and Mickey perfers to stay on top of the cage and snuggle up under some newspaper. I really hope you can help me with this I have scars all over me from her attacks. Just one more thing before I close, when she attacks me she laughs and says "Did it hurt?" She calls me a dirty word, noone else, when my husband is home she will not let me talk everytime I open my mouth she starts yelling "shut up! shut up!l shut up!.

Thanks for your help,
Meddum
[email protected]

[budgies4ever]

Where did you get her?

[spunkadelic]

(I hope you don't mind me butting in)

You said that her wings weren't clipped and this won't solve it, but you should definately have them clipped. It does not hurt the bird, rather it is a very good saftey precaution. When their wings are clipped they can't 'fly' away from you, and thus when they realize they have to stay there, they usually tone down their attitude.

If you approach her, cowered and afraid of her, she knows it. She knows she will have the upper...wing...so to speak. Don't look her in they eyes, and stand taller then her. Always be taller then her. She thinks she's above you and she's reprimanding you for it...you have to be above her.

Hope what I said helps (and I hope that last part is right, maybe budgies4ever can tell me if that last part is right...it's what MY breeder and vet told me, but I'm not 100% sure)

[budgies4ever]

that is correct

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by spunkadelic
(I hope you don't mind me butting in)

You said that her wings weren't clipped and this won't solve it, but you should definately have them clipped. It does not hurt the bird, rather it is a very good saftey precaution. When their wings are clipped they can't 'fly' away from you, and thus when they realize they have to stay there, they usually tone down their attitude.

If you approach her, cowered and afraid of her, she knows it. She knows she will have the upper...wing...so to speak. Don't look her in they eyes, and stand taller then her. Always be taller then her. She thinks she's above you and she's reprimanding you for it...you have to be above her.

Hope what I said helps (and I hope that last part is right, maybe budgies4ever can tell me if that last part is right...it's what MY breeder and vet told me, but I'm not 100% sure)

Very well said. While I have no idea why she changed to be this way, clipping their wings DOES help. I got my birds as babies and they really are such sweethearts by nature, whether I clip their wings or not. Even when they aren't clipped, they don't fly. Its not the same for every bird though, and clipping does help, no doubt, because the bird feels it must depend on you, and really starts to *respect* you. Its only temporary and the feathers grow back, so even if you don't want to keep them clipped, doing so once could really help in mending your feathered friend's attitude towards you, and by the time they're grown back, his/her behavior will be different.

Sometimes a medical condition can cause a bird to suddenly change in behavior..........sometimes its related to courting behavior, boredom, frustration.........or it could even be an illness. I would recommend calling a vet for advice, and they do have bird behaviorists out there that might be able to help. Good luck!