crazy territorial BFA

[KevH]

thats it finally gave up on my BFA too much lunging biting u name it iv had all the bad things BLUES do so iv decided this bird isnt right or safe for me or my family gonna give it back to the breeder and exchange it for a baby CAG which im used too AMAZONS are far to hormonal and territorial and unpredictable my fingers can't take no more thanks for everyone iv spoke to kit just wasnt right.

 

[weco]

Sorry you're deciding to give up on your feathered guy...I just went back & read your first post & from that, I'm assuming you'e had him for just over two months...with your first post being around 4 weeks into the ownership.....I assuming your AGP is an African Grey Parrot and while there is some difference between CAGs and TAGs,there is a lot of similarities.....

Like I said. I've only read your first post and this one, but you don't mention what training methods you have tried or what training intervals, what training the bird may have had prior to your ownership.....

When you posted your first post, you were experiencing the lull before the storm, what many of us refer to as the "honeymoon" period, when a new bird sits back learning the routine of the new "flock" (his new home), then decides it is ready to introduce itself and test its boundaries, much like a 2-3 year old child that acts out to see what kind of reaction is gets and to what extent it can do what it wants.....

Virtually any specie of parrot will do this and go through this stage.....and usually any time it changes homes/flocks.....it is their way of establishing their pecking order.

Unless you know a breeder really well, one should always take their sales pitch with a grain of salt, because we often hear the best about a bird they want to hear and they really never tell us we might have to spend x-amount of hours acclimating that particular bird to the rules of our house.....

Quite frankly, 30-60 days is really too little time to get most birds acclimated to our rules & expectations.....maybe expectations is the wrong word, because they very well may never be realized, because every bird is different, with their own individual personality...and...just like with other humans, we sometimes clash personalities.....

If you are in fact set on getting a different bird, be prepared to spend the necessary time to learn about training...on going training, necessary, rather than relating back to any experience you may have had with a previous bird.....I have had birds that took over a year to hand tame.....hand taming, meaning that they would perch on my hand or arm and allow minimal handling.....anything more would necessitate much more training and trust on both sides of the experience.....

Good luck.....

 

[KevH]

maybe i didn't give jasper enough time but im thinking of my young children iv tasted his bites and iv been bitten by CAGS before but its nothing compared to amazon think i made the wrong decision buying an AMAZON without the proper research i had only just lost my own CAG charlie and just rushed in and instead of buying a baby i bought 19 month coz of the price. im going to buy a hand reared CAG and start from scratch no what CAGS are like and there not hormonal as AMAZONS wish id come on here before i bought jasper coz id av never bought him and wouldnt feel bad handing it back.

 

[MonicaMc]

Sometimes, it helps knowing how to work with new birds rather than working against them. =\


A Bit About Reinforcement | Lara Joseph

 

[CaitlinBird]

I second mona's post. I took on Jojo, my foster Moluccan, not knowing he would be lunging at me whenever I put my hand near him.

I often see people become too excited and want to interact with the bird right away. Jojo waited a month before he came out of the cage. Why? Because he had to settle down and follow the target stick reliably. If Jojo got out I would have a way to return him to the cage without risking my safety.

It's only been three months now and Jojo shows aggression no more! I'm sorry if you don't have him anymore, but knowing to go at the bird's pace and not smothering him in things he didn't like will help all bird owners.

Jojo has come a long way in three months. Here's a post of when we where midway in his training.
The Sequential Psittacine: What Jojo Has Learned

 

[KevH]

i never rushed him for the first month everything was fine he was friendly he was out of cage then one day he was all excited and talking and i stupidly approached him then he lunged at me bit my forehead and clung to me attacking me i had throw him off me it was really scary i thought id give him another chance but its been repeated over and over again i dont want to risk it happening to my children he dosant even like me by his cage now

 

[Birdman666]

BFA's are hot 3 amazons, and they can be very territorial. Especially the males. And if he's doing that, and you have kids around, in my opinion you made the right decision...

 

[Birdman666]

The key to amazon territorialism, by the way, is to move them away from their territory, where they don't feel there is anything to defend until they calm down. It's usually a breeding season issue, and it usually calms down within a few days of being removed from "the nest" area.

 

[KevH]

thanks birdman its not breeding time for him coz hes not old enough only 20 months old not even sure hes a boy mite be a girl ha. Going to stick with CAGS i know them more and there less territorial and hormonal wish things could of been different thinks its just a territorial thing with cage coz hes always pleased to see me when i come home from work
gets excited and starts talking and even when out sometimes flies to me so cant hate me. oh well thanks

 

[Merlee]

African greys bite too so I hope you do not have the idea that they don't.

 

[henpecked]

20 months old, i don't think 'hormones" were an issue. reading though this older post, many things become much clearer. I doubt you'll have much better luck with an untamed 19 month old CAG, or TAG, especially if a bargain price is that important.

 

[MomtoPercy]

I adopted my 5yo BFA just under 4 months ago. He disliked me on sight and bonded with my 17yo son within 2 days and my son is still his fave person although he's not so clingy with my son anymore. Within a month, he bonded with my 70yo mom who is home, and around him, all day.
For them it was easy to make friend with Percy but I had to work, and work really hard, to win him over. The previous owner warned that he hated women but he seemed to get used to and attached to my mom very easily.
Anyway, he and I are getting on much better now and I am the one who trains him. What I'm trying to say is this : it takes a lot of commitment and patience (and bites too, for sure!) But it can be done I believe.
That said, I don't have small children around and I may have felt differently if I did.
Good luck with your new baby.