Leaving a serial biter "hands free" for good?

[mimi88]

Hello! As some of you may know (most probably will not know! lol) I had a gcc rehomed to me when he was around 6 months old due to aggression displayed toward the previous owners, mainly the 8 y/o child. I have had him ever since. I have worked with him and he has grown pretty fond of me, however after having our second child a year ago I haven't had the same one on one time with him as I did before, so I got him a pretty female mate and he is as happy as ever. BUT.. yes there is always a but, his fear of hands has resurfaced. He will sit on my shoulder by stepping onto my clothed arm, but give him a bare hand and he will shred you a new chunk. He does not like fingers, or hands. Nope. Also another issue that has surfaced is...... while him and his mate are on my shoulder he will not let any other human near me. Approach me and he will crawl down my arm fluffed up and rip you another chunk.

So the second issue I can deal with, because all I have to do is simply avoid anyone getting too close to me while he is there. But what I want to know is, is there a chance that this could escalate into him flying after other people and attacking them?

Regarding the hand/bare skin issue. I am thinking of just letting him be. I must be missing his subtle warning signs as I reach my hand toward him. I'm disregarding his warnings, then he is biting me. So it is my fault. It might be a puff of a feather, a look in his eye, posture..something that I am missing. Why do I have to touch him anyway, for my own pleasure? He has a female mate that preens him, snuggles with him and loves him. He is happy to step up onto my shoulder without hurting me, the only condition is that he does not want me to touch him with my hands. Can someone please tell me if I am wrong in my thinking. Should I do what makes him happy, or try to step over his boundaries?

Does anyone else have a parrot like this, that they simply don't touch because they're fearful? I have my other birds that I can cuddle with and that love interaction with hands. So it's not like I am deprived of that bonded feeling to my birds.

 

[MacawLoverOf3]

Every bird is different and have their likes/dslikes and there are some birds out there that just do not want to be touched and it appears he is one.

Will he fly over to someone and attack? Chances are that he could but chances that he never will. Only time will tell you that.

You already know what he likes/dislikes and sets him into a biting mode so I hope you are not thinking of rehoming him as he will probably ending up in the cycle of one home after another because most people only will want a bird that they can handle so I hope he has a permanent home with you. My only suggestion is to not allow him on your shoulder unless you are good friends with a plastic surgeon and even then, I still would not.

 

[mimi88]

I would never, ever rehome him. He will live out the rest of his days in my care.

Regarding the shoulder/face thing I get it is a gamble. Thus far he has not attempted or shown any interest in mutilating my face lol, but I guess I cant say that will always be the case.

 

[Bundiibird]

I too have a birdie that seems to hate hands. We have shown a lot of patience but it is slow progress. I still cannot put my hand anywhere near Bundii unless I have food. It is still something that we are working on but I have learned to respect her boundaries.

She is allowed on my shoulder and it the only way for me at the moment to be able to relocate her around the house. I trust her fully as she has never shown any signs of attacking the face area. That said, I am still always cautious as she has a really big beak and she knows how to use it.

I think time and patience and you never know maybe he will change his way of thinking.

 

[mimi88]

So we can relate then. How old was Bundii when you got her? And were you her first owner? Is she more of a one person bird, or is she ok on your other family members shoulders too?

 

[Bundiibird]

Bundii was approx 4-6 months old when we got her. We were her first home but I don't think the breeder was very good. Looking back now, there just seemed things that was not right.

Anyways, she is good for both my husband and I when she is on our shoulder. As there is only my husband and I at home, that is all she is really used to.

My parents visit occasionally and they also birdie sit her when we have holidays, she is ok for them but they usually just wait for her to go into her cage when they need to go out.

Where about in Oz are you?

 

[Storm]

I re-homed a a badly treated 11 year old Cockatiel a few months ago. He was very fearful of hands and fingers and humans in general. After hours of step up training and being mauled a lot he finally trusts that my hands wont hurt him. He will let me pick him up, give him cheek rubs and even cup him in my hands. He has bonded with my flatmate and adores her, singing to her and getting on her whenever he can but he still refuses to allow her to pet, stroke or step up onto her hands.

Each bird has such a different personality and they all have their quirks. I hope this gives you and idea of how crazy they can all be and even though Joey loves her he wont go near her hands and occasionally beats her up now and again.

Also to take into account would be hormones, having a mate making him more instinctively protective of her and you! Good luck with your lovely gcc

 

[mimi88]

Chichi my gcc is a bit quirky like that too. When he goes for a nip he often mumbles "Chichi good bird" or "Chichi good." Storm I was in a similar situation when Chichi first came to me, I would allow him to bite but I still pushed through with the touching and hand interaction. I had him to the point where the biting was minimal and he would let me flip him upside down in my hand and just lay there. Thats how far I came with him. But with pregnancy, having a new baby and toddler on top of that my one on one time with him suffered greatly. I am now just beginning to have a bit more "bird time" as my youngest has just turned 1 and isn't so demanding with her rituals.


Poor Bundii, you know it's hard for them to unlearn things that they have been taught from a bub, in your case with her breeder. I am from Sydney, n.s.w. No doubt spring is in the air for us and that means the hormone season is here. Chichi was rehomed to me around the same time as you got Bundii, around 6 months old. He was originally a present a mum got for her 8 year old daughter, who obviously became terrified of him and his angry beak (i am assuming some mishandling occured too). That would have possibly put that poor kid off birds her whole life, his bites HURT. Not a great idea for a kids pet huh.

 

[Scott]

I would never, ever rehome him. He will live out the rest of his days in my care.

Regarding the shoulder/face thing I get it is a gamble. Thus far he has not attempted or shown any interest in mutilating my face lol, but I guess I cant say that will always be the case.

I have a similar situation and commend you on your sentiments!

My first bird, Gonzo, a Blue-Fronted Amazon was handfed and extraordinarily tame for the first 2 years or so. In retrospect I cringe at the closeness we shared; he could be handled, touched, sat on my shoulder, etc. One day he bit me on the thumb and said "Uh oh." Uh oh indeed, and though I simply put him back in his cage, it was downhill from that moment. I found he was less pliable and one day he flew to my shoulder and bit me near the jugular! Tried to regress and engage him in simple "step up" behaviors, but he became a ferocious biter to the point he is no longer handled. I struggled with the notion of rehoming but decided to keep him and provide a safe and comfortable home. It's been about 27 years or so and he remains personable with an entertaining vocabulary, but he'll not get another chance to hurt. He's very moody; at one moment he enjoys getting stroked through the cage bars but will abruptly mock-attack moments later! He has plenty of nearby avian company in the form of an Eclectus immediately adjacent and several Goffins that will perch atop his cage in close proximity.