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Dealing with cage aggression

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Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month šŸ†
Oct 23, 2015
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1 YNA (Bingo)
1 OWA (Plumas R.I.P.)
1 RLA (Pacho R.I.P.)
2 GCA(Luna,Merlin) The Twins
1 Congo AG (Bella)
5 Cockatiels
In short, whatā€™s the best way.

I got two cases.

Bella.

Luna.

Bella out of cage is friendly with me and nearly never bites.
Only if I am going for a pickup and she is resistant am I in danger.
I feed her ever morning but.
She gets really angry with me. She really wants to grab and bite me if she can.
Itā€™s not a problem. I donā€™t need to get inside her cage for this (unlike Luna).
But should I just ignore the behavior?
I talk to her when feeling her, trying to be nice.

Luna is 50% a wild bird. Maybe more than 50%.
So I understand her not wanting me (or anyone) to invade her cage.
But the water dish can only be charged by reaching in.
Since I have to reach in I get the food dishes too.
Many a time she has reached out lightning fast and given me a nasty lump on my upper arm.
I could wait till they (Luna & Merlin) are out of cage in their morning fly.
But I canā€™t always do that on schedule.
If water gets dirty I need to change it when neededā€¦
I know Luna likes me in her own way.
But she is defending her home and her partner (Merlin).
So far I just try the old duck & weave and if she scores I donā€™t hold it against her.
 
Wes, for a dirty water mid-day change out, just use a good sized turkey baster with a piece of plastic hose on it to suck out the bad and put some fresh water in. Give the bowl a good clean when the cage is empty. WHen Salty is feeling onery, I'll pull the sleeve of a long sleeve shirt over my hand and forearm, or when he is REALLY pissed off I use a piece of carboard to herd him onto one side, but thats rare.
 
Have you tried switching to a glass water bottle? I use similar to what gerbils etc use. My grey would bath in water dish after EVERY change. In frustration I tried water bottle. Trial and error to get right style and material. It hangs on outside of cage, no problems. Except I had to find a way to keep it secure. When out of cage she'd worry securing latch loose then laugh as it hit the floor.Yes, she still bathes w it. But now it's like her personal shower.
 
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Have you tried switching to a glass water bottle? I use similar to what gerbils etc use. My grey would bath in water dish after EVERY change. In frustration I tried water bottle. Trial and error to get right style and material. It hangs on outside of cage, no problems. Except I had to find a way to keep it secure. When out of cage she'd worry securing latch loose then laugh as it hit the floor.Yes, she still bathes w it. But now it's like her personal shower.
I have never tried that type of water bottle before.

Bella sometimes uses her water dish to take a bath and I wouldnā€™t want to deprive her.

The aggression isnā€™t really the problem.
Itā€™s a question of how I should respond.
Should I just ignore it or should I respond?
Sometimes I will touch her beak when sheā€™s trying to bite me.
Sometimes I will touch her toes when she is scrambling around her cage trying to get me.
Is this teasing her, encouraging her?
Or is it better just to ignore.
IDK. Thatā€™s really my question.

Luna is a different issue.
When reacting in to change water/food dishes I move very slowly and very deliberately and she almost always moves out of the way for me.
Itā€™s just once in a while my arm (or some other body part) comes within lunging range .
Sometimes I think her aggression is defensive in nature, defending Merlin against my ā€œevil intentions ā€œ.
 
Dumb question here. Have you tried distraction? My grey becomes a cage tyrant on occasion. Puffy feathers etc. She likes to play w baby paper. I take some, rattling and crumbling it. I hand it to her in strips. She becomes distracted. Then I do want I want, I don't do 'coo talking' . I recite in normal voice, phrases from a book, newspaper or repeat phrases from actively playing audio book. Keeping behavior normal means that I am not 'sneaking to do harm or damage' since birds are considered prey. Parrots are smart. They somehow analyze your normal behavior. If you act weird aka anticipation of being eaten while reaching in cage, then some will be happy to oblige! Maybe your behavior encourages this.
 

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