More Chatboards | Print | Share | Report Post

Re: Just starting to bite
Posted by Jeff Reed on 8/15/11

On 7/11/11, Elle Mott wrote:
> On 3/07/11, alexmiota wrote:
>> I have a 3 year old umbrella cockatoo. When I got her 3
>> months ago she was very sweet and I could trust her. Now
>> that my wife has been taking care of her during the day
>> when I am at work she has taken to biting me sometimes
> very
>> hard. She can be a real sweetheart but then turn into a
>> devil bird and I would very much like to deal with this
>> problem before it gets worse. Is there anything I can do
> to
>> keep her from acting this way toward me. I have never been
>> afraid of birds but this one now makes me uneasy. I am not
>> afraid of her but have to be on my toes and watch her like
>> a hawk now that she has gotten unpredictable with me
> It sounds like your cockatoo has reached sexual maturity and
> has bonded with your wife. The problem with parrots I find
> it that for some reason they decide they like a male or a
> female person and usually only that person can handle them.
> I have been working with all different species of parrots
> for over 25 years. I have never found parrots to be a pass
> around pet like you see at Theme parks. I think for those
> purposes they use very young had fed babies and as they get
> alittle older they must be replaced. This probably gives
> people a false perspective about the true nature of parrots.
> I doubt you're going to change this behavior. We've had
> parrots that came to our sanctuary as babies and from the
> start decided they only wanted males to hold them or
> females. You are correct on protecting yourself from the
> bites of the parrot because a cockatoo can cause serous
> injury with their sharp beaks. In a home environment, I
> would recommend keeping flight feather cut to prevent the
> parrot from flying at you and attacking. Parrots don't nip
> they bite with their powerful beaks. Don't get me wrong I
> love parrots for all their qualities but ultimately you have
> to respect them for the wild animals that they truly are.
I have a 4 yr old male and he is my babie but I live in a house
with 6 kids and 2 dogs and 1 cat. My cockatoo bites others but
he is not mean he just wants every ones Attention.. He also was
so much sweeter before me matured but most times I find that he
loves everyone and but if you show fear he can tell..

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Just starting to bite, 3/07/11, by alexmiota.
• Re: Just starting to bite, 7/11/11, by Elle Mott.
• Re: Just starting to bite, 8/15/11, by Jeff Reed.
• Re: Just starting to bite, 2/16/12, by LESA Ryea.