I hope you're right about the behavior going away after puberty. We blocked the fridge so he couldn't get under it, and he was actually much better today. He wanted attention and cuddles and I didn't get any nasty bites...
Thanks for the advice. I don't touch him except for his head mostly. We are trying to keep him from dark places, but it's difficult. He tries to get under all the furniture and appliances...it's hard to block the whole house! I didn't know that about the warm food. I will keep that in mind.
Today he came to me and i was petting and scritching him and he seemed happy. Suddenly he just started biting me viciously. I don't understand why he turns on me like that. I got bit several times until i could put him in his cage. I can handle bites but these kind of bites are meant to do serious damage. My fingers are all cut up.
@mrs. brisby I'm so sorry this has happened!! Even at the worst with my Baci he never flew to attack me as bad as that, lucky for me he was a bit of a reluctant flyer! Before I had so much success with the "laddering" thing the other thing I was going to do was take him to my avian vet for a health check. Sometimes, just sometimes, really heightened aggression like this is a reflection of pain or illness they may be sufferering, we've seen it here on the forums before. At the very least a good avian vet is a WONDERFUL source of advice and info at a time like this, even if illness is not a factor. I would urge you to take him in for a check - I'm not sure where in the world you are or if you already have an avian vet (VERY important in a case like this that it's a bird specialist) but the link below might help you find one ...
Yes. That sounds like either hormones. Or he is molting. My gcc has been this way this month as well! No fret. Just keep doing what your doing, don't hold him. When he bites just say "no bite" or something along those lines and put him down. But it would be best keep it at a minimum
what do I do when he comes to me to be held?
A lot of people think gloves scare the bird and can make it worse. I prefer pulling my sweatshirt sleeves over my hands to protect them when necessary. If it's a sweatshirt you wear frequently he shouldn't be afraid of it.
when you say "mood" do you mean something that has gone on for weeks? lol
good idea. I might try that
When I first got him it was about 8 weeks before I could touch him without him taking skin off. Since we’ve bonded, it’s just a grumpy day here and there. But I know it’s not exactly what you’re going through
Don't feed him anything sweet, fruits etc.. I would duct tape some melamine strips to the bottom of your appliances he can fit under. You can buy a piece (or plexiglass) but melamine is more flexible). He's just growing up is all, good luck and with patience an the advice here, you'll get through it. So far the only bird of mine that hasn't gone thru this is my ringneck.
People think I'm crazy cuz I won't get a gcc, every one I've met has grabbed and pierced my nose and won't let go and they scream. Nuh uh, no sir, not for me. And I have a DYH Amazon. So it's not beak fear, it's GCC fear!!!Yes, Baci would do that to me too, but I just stuck the band aids on the areas most likely to get bit, like my forefinger, and left it at that. In the mornings I'd generally let him get himself out of his cage and try to get him to step from the top of the cage, or the cage door, or the back of a chair, just to lessen the possibility of "cage aggression" where he'd be defending the cage as his territory. Once he realised he wasn't getting the same kind of "payoff" in the reaction he got from me every single time he bit me, he really didn't bite nearly as much. As you say, you're concerned that he'd still go for exposed areas of skin if you just wear band aids, the same would apply with gloves, he'd just go for areas further up the arm or elsewhere, plus the gloves would probably frighten him. I really do wish you all the best of luck!
oh wow
I just went through & am still a little bit-a hormonal male bird who turned into a little monster almost overnight. I did take him to the vet & he needed some milk thistle/dandelion lactulose solution because his liver values were a bit off, but other than that it was a major hormonal issue. This is what I did per my avian vet & it really worked well. Eliminate all high fat (limit nuts to one small piece a day, & limit seed), NO TABLE SCRAPS, eliminate all high sugar foods (sugary fruits, corn), & excess carbs (all potatoes, corn-again, pastas, beans) & all estrogenic foods from his diet (estrogenic foods are beans, green beans, cauliflower, soy-you can google what veggies, etc. are high estrogenic foods) from his diet. Super important-reduce the amount of daylight he gets a day & make sure he gets 12hrs. MIN. of dark/sleep time. 13-14hrs. is actually better. If he behaves too crazy when he's out (dive bomb flying you, flying at your face, attacking other pets, flying erratically where he can crash & injure himself), put him back in the cage. You may have to do this for a few days (I had to w/mine-like 3-4 days) before he mellowed out. Don't put paper on the bottom of the cage where he can try to rip it up for nesting (if he's doing that), put it under the bottom grate instead. Don't let him have sleep huts in the cage or any nest box type things. Block off the bottom of your fridge so he can't get under there. Put some cardboard, wood planks, something. That's super dangerous to let him get under there-he can electrocute himself on a wire. Get his wings trimmed so he can't go crazy w/the flying. I found that the diet adjustment during this time & especially the reduction of light hrs. started switching off his hormones in about 4 days & it made a huge difference. Mine went hormonally nuts after I was having to get him up a couple hrs. earlier than usual due to landscapers doing work. Just a couple hrs. more light can really get their hormones raging it seems. Try all that & in a couple weeks if he hasn't improved, you can get an anti-hormone shot at an avian vet. I believe they work for 3-6months & this is used if all other attempts fail. I haven't had to go that far yet, but he is still plucking some thigh feathers-which started when he went apesh*t. Fact I learned from the vet: male birds testicles are located on either side of their ureters. When they get hormonal, they can swell, which can start pinching off the ureters, causing them to start drinking tons of water & thus giving them polyuria (super watery poops). It can also cause plucking of the legs or lower back, because it's irritating them. This happened to my guy. Once his hormones went down, the swelling went down & he drinks normal amounts now. I had no idea about this. You can't visually see the testicles are swollen. It's a good thing to be aware of though. Good luck!
thanks for the advice. I started putting him to bed earlier, so we'll see if that helps. For diet, were you giving him mostly pellets?
thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. We started putting him to bed earlier to ensure he is getting enough sleep and dark time. The last 2 days he has been better behaved. No bites for 2 whole days! I'm relieved but still cautious. It's hard not to flinch when he lands on my shoulder, wondering if he will attack my ear again. I think I have ptsd now! lol
