Cage Aggression - HELP PLEASE

[EclecticEclectus]

Fellow bird people....

I have two parrots :red: . A Senegal who things he is a tiger and an Eclectus. The Eclectus, Blanche, is about 6 months old female Eclectus. Sweet as pie until just recently. She has bonded with me and not my partner (he doesn't take time with her) but lately she shows signs of aggression when I try to get her out of her cage or she gets on top of her cage. She has never "really" bitten me but she bites at me and fluffs up and even growls. I'm actually becoming afraid of her and don't know what to do. Then when she finally gets out of the cage she acts like a puppy snuggling and even giving me kisses in my beard.

Should I try to rearrange her cage? She I try new ways to get her to step up? I'm at a loss.

Thanks all!

 

[natv]

Interested in the replies to this too, I'm in a similar situation (except we don't cuddle yet, you're lucky

But Kiwi, who is 8 months old, has started to become territorial too, mostly in the morning if I approach his cage when he's eating. He lunges at the cage where I'm standing and growls.

Not sure the best way to handle it. So far I growl back, but in a playful voice so he can tell I'm playing. I don't want him to think his growling scares me off.

But as with the poster above, he only does this in his cage.

Nathalie

 

[Chikoo]

On a certain level, there is nothing you can do about this. It is instinctive for the birds to defend their territory, especially the females, who begin to identify with their cage as their nest.

The best suggestion I've come across is to have more than one cage, so she feels less territorial and identified with one cage. She could have a different place to sleep, and then a play-time cage, etc. Usually this helps with cage aggression.

 

[sodakat]

Youngsters do need to know that their cage is their safe place so try to honor their wishes when they clearly don't want to be fooled with.

You can do things to make it easier to get a step-up from them. Put a perch on the door so when the door swings open, the bird is sitting outside the cage. Much easier to ask for a step up from this outside perch.

If a bird on top of it's cage does not want to step up and if it is REALLY IMPORTANT that they step up, you can use a folded rope perch, with the folded end facing them, to offer a step up. Handy when you are short too.

With these youngsters, I'd try to encourage them to fly to you as much as having them step up. Then reward them with a small treat. If it's fun to be with you they are more likely to ask to be picked up, by lifting their foot when you are near.

Really though, don't worry so much about these little phases they go through. You have forever with them and they don't care if you aren't an accomplished bird trainer! Between the two of you (you and the bird), you'll figure out your relationship over time.

I would not ever house a female Eclectus with any small bird, and if you have two Eclectus, only house a pair of birds who choose to sleep in the same cage, instead of being forced to cohabitate.

 

[Llamalark]

I've also read that feeding them or keeping food in their cage all day seems to make them more territorial. I feed mine all of his meals on a stand in the kitchen. He's not territorial about his cage, but I get growled and lunged at if I put my fingers in his food bowl! I think this suggests food has something to do with territorial behaviors.

 

[erictheviking]

Youngsters do need to know that their cage is their safe place so try to honor their wishes when they clearly don't want to be fooled with.

You can do things to make it easier to get a step-up from them. Put a perch on the door so when the door swings open, the bird is sitting outside the cage. Much easier to ask for a step up from this outside perch.

If a bird on top of it's cage does not want to step up and if it is REALLY IMPORTANT that they step up, you can use a folded rope perch, with the folded end facing them, to offer a step up. Handy when you are short too.

With these youngsters, I'd try to encourage them to fly to you as much as having them step up. Then reward them with a small treat. If it's fun to be with you they are more likely to ask to be picked up, by lifting their foot when you are near.

Really though, don't worry so much about these little phases they go through. You have forever with them and they don't care if you aren't an accomplished bird trainer! Between the two of you (you and the bird), you'll figure out your relationship over time.

I would not ever house a female Eclectus with any small bird, and if you have two Eclectus, only house a pair of birds who choose to sleep in the same cage, instead of being forced to cohabitate.

How old is your ekkie? Mine is about 5 months and its not receptive to training at all. Not even jump to me from perch.

 

[EclecticEclectus]

Sodakat - THANKS SO MUCH!!! This is all great stuff to know. I feel like I'm doing things wrong at times. Oddly though today, as my parents are visiting and the house is louder than usual, I walk up to the cage and she is "waving at me" indicating she wants me to get her. A VERY happy daddy moment! Then she was the cutest thing ever showing off with my parents. Even flew over to my Dad's arm.

learning..... always learning.

 

[sodakat]

How old is your ekkie? Mine is about 5 months and its not receptive to training at all. Not even jump to me from perch.

Do you mean fly to you? If he's clipped you may not convince him to jump because they know when their wings don't work and they are careful where they go. They don't want to get hurt.

If you mean fly to you from a perch, well that is something you can work on. Talk nicely to him, just like you would a puppy. Call him to you. Keep doing that, telling him he can do it! Over and over you coax him. I hold my arm out towards the bird with my wrist flexed so the back of my hand faces the bird providing an obvious landing spot.

Really though, sitting in the room with him, reading or having a snack that he can share is probably the best way to get him interested in you. Let him come to you on his own. When they make the effort to fly/climb to you they are more relaxed. Once he is used to making his way to you on his own you can start working on the recall, where you ask him to come.

 

[moni.k]

So Nalani also has started to show some territorial behavior with her cage. However, she's only territorial when she's on the floor of the cage. When she's on the perch or swing she's totally fine. What I've started to do is let her approach me, if she's on the bottom of the cage I crouch down to her level (just get on my knees) and sweet talk her to approach me. Once she does, I know she is willing to step up. But there are a few moments where she backs off to a corner, unless it's an emergency (which is basically never) I just leave her alone and come back 10 minutes later and try it all over again. Sounds a bit tedious, but I want to respect her space and what she wants also. I like to call this the "ask instead of force" method.

 

[Chikoo]

Is there a way to prevent her from being on the bottom of her cage? That sounds like nesting behavior. My female goes to the bottom of her cage sometimes, and I used to find her papers shredded. This was around the same time she would fly under my futon when I would leave the room, and start scratching away. They become VERY aggressive when they are in nesting mode. Chikoo would lunge out from under the futon like a little red demon, literally lunging out a foot or so. I was amazed. I had to throw a towel on her and pick her up to avoid getting my hand mauled.

 

[moni.k]

I have the grate so she doesn't have any access to the paper. She's still pretty young... about 8 months old. I like to put trays of either home sprouted wheat grass or just trays of grass from the local nursery once a month on the grate. But that's about it as for preventing her from getting to the bottom. What I have noticed is that she sleeps on the perch throughout the night. But during the day she likes to sleep on the bottom of the cage to take a nap. There really is nothing there to attract her, no toys, food, etc. Do you think at her age she is already starting to show hormonal behaviors?

 

[sodakat]

Very smart to get her attention and call her out to you instead of reaching in when she is in puffer fish mode! Again my mantra on using folded rope perches. Once they "come to" they are their normal selves again. These girls take nest seeking and protecting very seriously.

Last year after I finished building my outside aviary I observed that my girls don't become territorial with each other nearly as much out there. But there is absolutely nothing that can be perceived as a nest. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Once back inside their bird room they revert to the nest hunting mode. I do give mine cardboard boxes to work on, but first fill them with pinecones so they have to work to get inside. Because I have 4 girls I have to monitor and separate them or they will try to take over each others box/cage/space.

I know people who allow their females to sleep in boxes and huts. Eventually these females usually lay eggs. I think it's an individual decision.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Loki has started to do very similar, thank goodness for the human body because the chunks of skin I've lost today I'd definitely like back.

Loki does the same where if he is at the bottom I just sit and talk to him until he climbs up and then I can approach him. However, he is now biting. Not lunging but holding and squeezing until he draws blood. I make no noise or move, I just bare the pain.

What's odd is when he's out the cage you can't get him off me, but in he doesn't like anyone.

Il take the advice and remove food faster and attempt to feed outside the cage more if that's a good idea?

Move his cage around and use the "ask instead of force" that Moni.k suggests. I don't push on his belly or anything anyway to force him up unless I really have too x

 

[natv]

I tried to pretend the bites don't hurt but I couldn't take the pain (and I'm convinced I would lose a finger one day

I now tell give him a stern NO when he bites (I still feel these are mostly accidental bites... As if he just doesn't realize he's biting into me hard. So I think he should get some kind of negative reaction from me), it does seem that lets go faster when I yell out a NO.

 

[drlisaort]

I have found moving Oliver around on different stands for feedings and using his carrier for outings and long weekends away (in another home with a cage set up completely different) has helped tremendously. I think he doesn't have enough time in one spot to get territorial. Of course he's only seven months old and I could be telling another story in the near future! As far as "step-ups go, " I began gently and respectfully working with him when he was seven weeks old and he steps up like clock work no matter where he's at and no matter what hand I use. Again, this could change too...as his little personality matures...

 

[sodakat]

The idea to suffer a bite and not react drives me bonkers. It isn't normal. Have you ever seen a bird bit by another bird just sit there and take it? Of course not.

If you get a warning from the bird before he bites, such as him moving back when you approach or raising the feathers on his upper back and shoulders when you keep on approaching but insist on ignoring his warning the bite that follows is well deserved, IMO. I think at this point you'd better scream because the bird's entire purpose was to tell you "NO!". If you ignore that bite what on earth can he do next to convince you he does not want you to do what you are doing?

But, if you are asking for a step up and he leans over to steady himself on your hand/arm with his beak, then squeezes a bit too hard, well that is a time that you can ignore the "bite", IMO. If the pressure becomes to great, of course you have to tell him.

Don't forget that our own reflexes sometimes come into play and if we jerk back after a bad bite that we didn't see coming, we may take the bird right along with our hand/arm because they have such a strong hold. That reflexive move might result in the bird being flung off. This is another reason why it's important to pay attention to the bird so you can avoid a bite. No matter how much you think you'll be able to stand, sometimes we just physically react.

My talking birds say, "ow!" when they are reciting their vocabulary. They definitely hear that word.