Experiences with big bird bites

[Rico_Tiel]

Hey, everyone, i am doing a segment for a video essay, on bites from large parrots… and (for obvious reasons) I can’t show images of bites. So, I was interested in reading and sharing your guys’ experiences with getting bit by big birds!

I won’t share usernames, unless specifically requested, and you can share images of your birds, if you want them featured in the video, xD

Thanks so much!

Birds 4 birb tax!

 

[texsize]

It’s not always about the surface damage.
Sure a large bird can make you bleed.
But there is a lot of force applied at the same time.
And many birds bite like a pit bull and like to hang on.

I have been left with deep tissue damage (big lump) on the back of my head and near the corner of my mouth.

 

[wrench13]

I've been nailed more times and by FAR worst both by Double Yellow Head Amazons, which are my favorite Amazon species. They uniformly hate me on sight, which sucks! One took a melon-baller sized chunk of meat out of my left index finger! Still have that scar. Like a dope, I keep trying to make friends with them when I meet one.

Never had a parrot do the whole bear trap thing, God thats frightening to think of!

 

[PeentPeent]

My poor lad Budi he's a Mexican green conure . Big for a conure but not big as bigger parrots huge beak tho

He came from a dingy aviary locked in a plain cage by himself so he was very scared when we first got him

He busted my lip bit right through part of it and it swole up

He also would bite skin so hard it ablaised off like just pinched it so hard together the skin instantly died.


Now he likes us to pet his lil bird gums and give him chin scritch. He is a happy snuggly bug now

 

[Thechoplady]

My girl bit me so hard she gave me nerve damage for 6 months. When i went to the doctor, she insisted on taking pictures of the bite and actually made me do a full physical....i think she thought it might be a DV situation....i had to tell her that yes, im in a abusive relationship...WITH MY BIRD! lol!!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Hey, everyone, i am doing a segment for a video essay, on bites from large parrots… and (for obvious reasons) I can’t show images of bites. So, I was interested in reading and sharing your guys’ experiences with getting bit by big birds!

I won’t share usernames, unless specifically requested, and you can share images of your birds, if you want them featured in the video, xD

Thanks so much!

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Birds 4 birb tax!

The worst bite I've ever gotten was from Jasper when I first got him in 2018. We were having a difficult training session, and he eventually lunged at my face and latched onto my lip (which left a piece of it hanging). However, he doesn't bite super frequently, and it's usually because of me overstepping his boundaries.

My most frequent biter was a caique named Nutmeg, who left my fingers covered in scars. She could inflict a lot of pain (and blood loss!) for a medium-sized bird. She also once managed to bite through my fingernail (literally breaking it through the middle). Caiques are NOT gentle birds lol.

Good luck with that video essay

 

[Rico_Tiel]

The worst bite I've ever gotten was from Jasper when I first got him in 2018. We were having a difficult training session, and he eventually lunged at my face and latched onto my lip (which left a piece of it hanging). However, he doesn't bite super frequently, and it's usually because of me overstepping his boundaries.

My most frequent biter was a caique named Nutmeg, who left my fingers covered in scars. She could inflict a lot of pain (and blood loss!) for a medium-sized bird. She also once managed to bite through my fingernail (literally breaking it through the middle). Caiques are NOT gentle birds lol.

Good luck with that video essay

Good god! This one actually made me gasp a little! A chunk of lip hanging is… an extremely unpleasant visual, and was probably exceptionally bad to deal with. Did you get stitches? Or, was it like… removed? I do apologize if this question is a little invasive, you do not need to answer this if you’re not comfortable!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

My girl bit me so hard she gave me nerve damage for 6 months. When i went to the doctor, she insisted on taking pictures of the bite and actually made me do a full physical....i think she thought it might be a DV situation....i had to tell her that yes, im in a abusive relationship...WITH MY BIRD! lol!!

How in the— part of me is questioning how this was even possible… and then I realize “right… bird. That’s how.”

Christ, that’s horrible. Hope the recovery didn’t leave more than a scar! Because having perma-nerve damage from a parrot would probably suck a lemon, lol

 

[Thechoplady]

How in the— part of me is questioning how this was even possible… and then I realize “right… bird. That’s how.”

Christ, that’s horrible. Hope the recovery didn’t leave more than a scar! Because having perma-nerve damage from a parrot would probably suck a lemon, lol

the nerve damage went away. Your right though, the whole experience did suck a lemon! LOL

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Good god! This one actually made me gasp a little! A chunk of lip hanging is… an extremely unpleasant visual, and was probably exceptionally bad to deal with. Did you get stitches? Or, was it like… removed? I do apologize if this question is a little invasive, you do not need to answer this if you’re not comfortable!

I did get a couple stitches, but that was just so it would heal better. It was only a piece of skin (a thick piece, but he didn't cut all the way through) so it wasn’t nearly as horrific as it sounds lol. It looked terrible in the moment (and was painful) but the damage was honestly minimal.

 

[20brio19]

Well my Pionus is almost 5yo now and he hasn't bitten me badly in a long time, since after he finished puberty probably.
He seems to be an expert on hand/finger anatomy as he places the bites exactly on the softest, most vulnerable spots. Pretty much always made me bleed when he decided to bite hard and the tip of the beak would go deepest sometimes hitting a nerve, taking weeks to fully heal.

It sounds bad but I have no lasting feelings about it, maybe I'm not squeamish and have a high pain tolerance. I just really hope he never manages to bite other people, he does try as he is jealous this one.

 

[wrench13]

I can honestly say that Salty's never really bitten me badly. Yeah a pin prick of blood where his needle sharp upper beak penetrates but its a 'leave me alone' kinda bite, not a evil one. His body language is pretty clear, and I know it well after 9 years!. Parrots and bites are like motorcycles and accidents. Its not if , but when. One of the reasons my friends all think parrot owners are crazy. "If my dog bit me, I'd put him down!" is the usual blab from them. Yeah but does your dog say he's sorry after? Literally?

 

[Suzette]

I can honestly say that Salty's never really bitten me badly. Yeah a pin prick of blood where his needle sharp upper beak penetrates but its a 'leave me alone' kinda bite, not a evil one. His body language is pretty clear, and I know it well after 9 years!. Parrots and bites are like motorcycles and accidents. Its not if , but when. One of the reasons my friends all think parrot owners are crazy. "If my dog bit me, I'd put him down!" is the usual blab from them. Yeah but does your dog say he's sorry after? Literally?

That's pretty sweet, after such saltiness... a "sorry" would definitely mean Salty should continue to exist. Lol!

 

[ScottinSoCal]

It's only happened twice, once by Boo the Amazon, and once by Scooter the Gray.

Boo's bite was 100% my fault. We'd just met, I wanted him off my shoulder, he didn't want to be off my shoulder, so my hand was chasing him around, trying to get him to step up. After enough chasing, he warned me off with a bite on the skin between my fingers and thumb. Got me good, I was bleeding all over the place. But as soon as he saw what he'd done he was back at my ear, saying "I love you". That was the only time he bit me.

Scooter's bite was no one's fault, just an accident. Also at the parrot rescue, I'd just put her back in her cage and she was letting me know she wanted back out and with me. I reached down to stroke her beak just as she snapped onto the bars of her cage. As soon as she realized my finger was in there she released, but it bled a bit.

Both parrots wanted to grab my fingers in their beak, but not to hurt me, just to explore. Boo was and Scooter is very gentle about it. I make sure I never do anything that would make them nervous about my hands being around them.

 

[rheashard2]

Reading these, I think I am VERY lucky. Granted only had 2 greys who were hand fed babies. I've only been bitten hard enough to draw blood 2x in about 4 decades. #1 was when I got the cutest, sweetest, little puppy. The second was when I had my brother's dog as a guest for a couple weeks. Both times there was a small puncture. It was the location that was problem. Ear lobe and lip. Lip required medical attention. I was assessed for DV. When I had follow up, I put the culprit in my coat pocket, smuggling her to doctor. When he saw size of the beak I had 0 more problems with being DV evaluation. I do what breeder suggested. Birds especially parrots express emotions with their beak. That's a given. They all should have a sign saying, Yes, do I bite? Training is geared to reduce the severity. I do shunning methods she recommended. I see there's a lot here. I noticed that I do a combination of techniques altered to my parrots personality.

 

[OscartheGrouch27]

Hey, everyone, i am doing a segment for a video essay, on bites from large parrots… and (for obvious reasons) I can’t show images of bites. So, I was interested in reading and sharing your guys’ experiences with getting bit by big birds!

I won’t share usernames, unless specifically requested, and you can share images of your birds, if you want them featured in the video, xD

Thanks so much!

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Birds 4 birb tax!

I recently got bitten by my guy. He’s just turned 3, it’s about to be summer and I wasn’t having a great day and missed his changing cues. He is hormonal as! We have put him on a diet and he now has a bedtime and he is returning to his usual self but we are still being cautious.

We were singing in the shower when he bit me. He asked for a kiss, something he usually does perfectly fine, and went to comply as I usually do but the showering and singing had gotten him riled up and instead of a kiss I got a bite on my lower lip. Backed out of the shower, shoved a flannel on it. Saw blood pouring everywhere, put Jasper back in his room then back to bathroom to sort out the face. Ended up having to go to A&E and get glued and only just avoided stitches. 3 weeks later it’s healed well but can still feel the damage inside. He had gone almost all the way through with his lower beak. Not how I planned to spend my Saturday!