Angry and fighting with toys...

[echoskybound]

Wheatley has had quite a bit of anger in him ever since the day he came home from the breeder at a few months old. He’s always thrown little temper tantrums and been pretty bitey and impatient, but I feel like it’s gotten worse lately. He frequently goes out of his way to seek out hands (either me or my boyfriend) to bite them. Sometimes if we have our hands in our pockets, he’ll come over and start attacking our wrists to try to get to our hands, seemingly unprovoked. If he’s in a really bad mood he’ll fly over just to bite a hand. I’ve tried to nail down the things that cause him to bite, but it’s almost like he finds something new to be angry about every time we try to deal with a problem. Putting him back in the cage made him angry, so I worked with him so that he doesn’t bite when he goes back into the cage, but now he just gets really angry AFTER I close the cage.

He’s been having VERY aggressive fights with his toys. He puts on a very aggressive display: Puffed up with his wings up, beak open, lunging and screaming. I thought it was because he was afraid of certain toys, so I tried removing all the toys that seem to upset him, but then he just picks a NEW toy to fight with. He attacks them as if the toy is harassing or hurting him... he gets more and more upset, to the point that I worry that he'll hurt himself. I try to distract him if I can catch it happening.

It makes me really concerned seeing him so angry, and I feel sad because I wonder if he's ever happy. Is there anything I can do for him?

 

[evesta]

Is he getting enough out of cage and exercise time? My boy House has tantrums and will bite sometimes too(toes, ears, fingers, freckles). I keep correcting with a firm "no" and ignore him or move so he can't bite. I've noticed he needs more exercise than Wilson and they both need their sleep or they are grumpy. I say if he wants to take it out on his toys let him, that's what they are there for.

 

[KatherineI]

Honestly? My GCC Loki did almost the exact same thing. There was a period of time where I wondered if he hated us and Hubs was suggesting finding him a new home. We're not sure if what we did helped him snap out of it, or if he naturally did it, but I'm going to tell you what we did. Disclaimer: This method is not for everyone.

In order to even handle Loki for a few months, we had to use a towel. Just a small hand towel that he could be wrapped up in. We had to use it to remove him from the cage, put him back in the cage, etc. If he attacked us, as you're describing, we would get the towel and wrap him up in it. We would even cover his head for a bit so that he wasn't able to see us. We wrapped and held him just tightly enough to keep him contained and never more than that. After a minute or two, we'd uncover his head. We'd talk to him in a soothing voice. In the beginning we couldn't touch him, but slowly we were able to give him headrubs while he was wrapped. Slowly, little by little, he calmed down. Eventually, the towel became a fun thing! We did "Birdy Taco" (because we joked that when he was wrapped, he was a burrito since the towel was a light brown) and he would willingly jump in to the towel so that his feet and belly were enclosed but his back was open like the top of a taco.

We started doing that in late November and by February/March, we could handle him without the towel. By mid-march he was a happy little guy bouncing from Hubs and I in the evenings and getting head rubs and giving kisses, chewing on my hair and "preening" Hubs stubble. When he bites now, if he's on us, he do a wrist/arm flick that puts him off balance and often he ends up gliding to the floor. He gets nippy towards the end of his bedtime routine and that's our cue to put him away for the night. He still has aggressive moments that he takes out on his bell toy and occasionally his happy hut (that's usually when we've accidentally disturbed his napping and it's right next to him, lol) but he no longer does the "I'm biting to draw blood just because I want to" thing anymore.

GCC's are nippy birds all the way around, some more than others. I would also suggest that instead of trying to redirect his attention when he's having a tantrum, ignore him. Leave the room if you have to. We would ignore Loki's and now he doesn't do them hardly at all anymore. His toys are there for him to play with in whatever manner he chooses, what matters is the aggression that is displayed towards you and your boyfriend when he's not with/near a toy. Loki used to specifically go after Hubs - literally go from the back of his cage and LUNGE at Hubs to draw blood. He no longer does this. That's the behavior you need to worry about, not him throwing tantrums and being aggressive with his toys.

Edited to add: I also refuse to feed Loki IN his cage, except on rare occasions. He is fed on the play top portion. This helps him understand that we control the food, that we will feed him but he can't bite us if he wants food. This cut down on his cage aggression SIGNIFICANTLY. The only time he gets any food in his cage is if I'm not going to be home for longer than 2 hours. Anything more than 2 hours and I give him his fresh foods in his cage. Pellets are only outside the cage and he prefers his pellets over anything else.

 

[echoskybound]

I also refuse to feed Loki IN his cage, except on rare occasions. He is fed on the play top portion. This helps him understand that we control the food, that we will feed him but he can't bite us if he wants food.

I'll have to try this. He has serious food aggression, although it doesn't seem to be location specific, so much as the bowls. I have 5 of the same bowl that I use for his food and water, and he's very possessive of them. I used to let him in the kitchen with me while I was preparing his fresh foods, but he started getting aggressive about it, even protective of a clean, empty bowl. Despite the fact that he's SEEN me put food in his bowls, he still has no understanding of the idea that I feed him.

I think I may have to consider getting a completely new set of bowls, feeding him outside of his cage, and making him do a trick before I give him his food bowl so that he understands that I'm the provider of food.

Then once I tackle that problem, another one will probably pop-up, haha! Strangely, Wheatley does love us. He wants to be with us ALL THE TIME, but he spends most of his time with us biting and being angry... but then when we put him away, he gets upset and desperate, and screams. I'm not sure what it is he wants.

 

[KatherineI]

Loki still shows some food aggression (I think it's the bowls too because he doesn't do it with food not in the bowls), but it has calmed down significantly since we started feeding him outside his cage.

 

[dishgal1]

My little Green cheek gets moody as well. If he is on my shoulder and I get the half and half out to put in my coffee he will go down my arm and pinch hard. Always leaves a bruise. It is the color of the carton I believe. He also doesn't like me to touch his food bowl. Some days like yesterday and the day before nothing hacked him off....sweet as pie, today a little agressive. We were laughing last night at how sweet he had been all day and wondering how long it would last. LOL I think it is just their nature. He spends most of the day out of his cage unless I go somewhere for a couple hours. Also when he gets in "attack mode" and uses my husband for a chew stick, he is put in his cage. Usually about 20 minutes. He calms himself down by going to the back and sitting on the Boing. Then after a while, he starts calling and saying "I love you" I let him out and he is sweet as pie. I don't scold him when I put him up, so he doesn't think of it as punishment. He just gets overstimulated and needs to chill. Also when he takes a shower, then he always wants to go to his cage until he dries. Showers calm him down as well. You might try giving him a mist shower.

 

[Sulphiria]

Be careful about using the cage for time out or you could create a whole new problem. If you use the cage as punishment, then when he wants to go to his cage, he will bite. Or when he gets put in his cage at night, he will think he's being punished. Try not reacting to the bite and putting him on the floor and ignoring him for 2 to 3 mins. They hate being on the floor.

 

[KatherineI]

Putting Loki on the floor is what we were eventually able to graduate to and currently use. Turning your back in them if you can after putting them on the floor also works well.

 

[Sulphiria]

Putting Loki on the floor is what we were eventually able to graduate to and currently use. Turning your back in them if you can after putting them on the floor also works well.

Believe it or not, so can a dirty look, lol. We had a sun for awhile and when he got nippy, my boyfriend would make eye contact and glare at him. The best way i can think to describe the birds reaction is the same as a dog cowering or knowing hes done something bad.

 

[KatherineI]

Lol, I can definitely picture it!

 

[RescueMe]

I am sure that you are a great parront, are all his needs being met ie, sleep, foraging, exercise,ect. I think the other suggestions are valid, just make sure to look at all the factors as well.

 

[echoskybound]

I am sure that you are a great parront, are all his needs being met ie, sleep, foraging, exercise,ect. I think the other suggestions are valid, just make sure to look at all the factors as well.

I try really hard to make sure he's stimulated, he gets all of his pellets through foraging toys, we practice flight training with him to get him exercise, and I work on some trick training to keep him interested. He gets fresh salads every day and he's in good health according to the vet, so I hope it's not nutritional.

However, I work embarrassingly long days... I started with 40 hours a week but it just kept growing and growing. I think that's a HUGE factor in his behavior, if not the cause. He's always with me when I'm home, but unfortunately that's not very long.

Putting him on the floor worked before he was flighted, but now as soon as I put him down, he just flies after me. It's strange that he'll bite me and be angry at me, but then when I try to leave he chases after me. I can never tell if he wants to be with me or wants me to go away!