Aggressive Gcc rehomed twice...

[LoveMyConlan]

About a year and a half ago I purchased 2 gcc's, a Turquoise male(Luca) and a yellow sided female(Mira), from a reputable breeder when they finished weaning. They had already formed a bond so I left them together.

From day 1 the male hated me after I drove half way across the state to pick them up. I gave them about 2 weeks to settle in and then began positive reinforcement training. The female did great! But was always super skiddish.

The male never changed his attitude towards me. He was insanely smart, but any time I got within striking distance I was left with a skin-braking, blood drawing, bite. It didn't matter what I did, how slow I went, how I approached....I tried positive reinforcement, clicker training, trick training, allowing him to bite to show him I wasn't afraid, rocking my hand/arm when he would bite, asking him to step up from the floor.... Everything got the same result. He was 100% cleared by my vet, on good food with daily fruit and veg, lots of toys for enrichment... No idea why he's like this.

At first I thought he was protecting the female or the cage... But even if I took him to another room to work with him it never changed. For a year I tried to make it work, but nothing was working. Hell, I even put him on Avi Calm for 3 months... No change.

A friend's teen son had come over and was playing with my Conures and my male didn't seem to be as aggressive with him. While it took a few attempts, Luca eventually stepped up. Something he never did with me. And he fell in love with Mira.

So when she said she was looking into getting her son another bird (he'd had his bird for years) I offered her my 2 under the condition is she had to rehome them, they had to come back to me, unless I have her the OK to rehome them herself. She grew up around African Greys, and lives 2 blocks away so I got to see them regularly. I figured if Luca would be happier, why not?

Her son is leaving for college in another state and while Luca still nips at her son, he's not standoff-ish with him, but my friend isn't Luca's biggest fan and doesn't feel comfortable with taking care of all his needs while her son is States away. He's gotten her with blood drawing bites on many occasions.

Needless to say, they are coming back to me.

I'm terrified to rehome them to someone because God only knows what someone would do to Luca for his aggression. I've heard horror stories. And he and Mira are so bonded (note they've never been given any kind of nesting material) separating them seems cruel. They will only be 2 in October and when I tried separating them before they started plucking.

I'm honestly LOST when it comes to Luca. I have no idea what I ever did to cause this. He hates everyone, especially women. He seemed great with his breeder but from day 1 he hated me.

Right now I'm contemplating seeing if the local Parrot rescue could do a Birdy Bootcamp with him and see if they can figure him out, and if they can, do some lessons with him one on one with them to guide me.

I loved those 2, especially Mira, and I'm happy they are coming home, but I just can't come to terms with the fact Luca will always be 'just a cage orament'(as my groomer told me before). I want him to be happy and to be able to come out for playtime.... But even wing clipped, if I can't safely handle him, I can't trust him outside the cage.

The female is still just as sweet as before with people, though she's still skittish if you seperate her and Luca and she can't see him.

Any tips? I'm honestly willing to try anything to help Luca.

 

[Kentuckienne]

When you separated them before could they still see and hear one another? Mated birds die in the wild all the time, and the one left seems to grieve and then go on to eventually find another mate. But if they can still hear each other in the house, that would be stressful. Your little guy is simply exhibiting normal wild behavior that doesn't fit into a human world.

 

[LoveMyConlan]

When I separated them before they were in cages side by side. They couldn't touch one another, but they could see and hear the other.

The male didn't really fuss as much as the female. She has to be glued to him or she gets upset. She kept hitting the bars with her beak. Chewing on the bars. And only left that side of the cage to eat and drink.

The male just sat in the corner like he was trying to calm her, but he never attached the bars. After a few days I noticed the female plucking some chest feathers and the male started barbering his chest and tail like crazy.

I offered the female play time with me by she kept trying to get to Luca's cage. At one point she did get on the side and I had to pry her off

They literally grew up together, from 2 weeks of age when they were pulled from their parents(they are not siblings) the 3 green ckeek clutches were hand fed, fledged, and slept all together until they went to their homes.

Mira seems like she needs him, while he's more independent. But when she gets upset he does as well. Which is funny because when they are together she is the dominant one. She takes his food or takes his toy and he lets her and gets another piece of food or finds another toy.

But they still sleep the same way. Luca will not go to his bedtime perch unless she's up there and waiting. Then he goes up and places himself in his normal sleep position.

1 foot up, while Mira leans against him with her 1 foot lounging on the cage wall bars. Then they preen one another and they sleep.

What caused me to separate them was watching how Mira interacted with Luca when I was there. If he was calm she was cool and they would do tricks and she would step up.

But the MOMENT Luca's body language changed towards me or he lunges at me... She goes after him.

I thought she was trying to protect me so I took him out of the equation. But as soon as I did that she turned into a mess of insecurity and anxiety.