My bird has become evil...(or sexually mature)

[Minzer84]

Hey everyone, I'm new here, someone on another site said that you may be able to help me...I have a 5 year old yellow crowned Amazon who has been an absolute nightmare since around December. He started off by jumping off of his playgym and dinner stand to try to rip me open with his beak anytime I would walk by. Then he progressed to screaming incessantly anytime that I was out of his sight, and then wanting to bite me when I came back. I live in a condo and feel that it's not fair to anyone to have a screaming parrot in the building, but am not really sure what to do to change this behavior. I also feel awful being afraid of my parrot, who I used to be able to cuddle, hold, and handle. Is it normal for seasonal aggression to last 3 months?

I now only handle him while wearing an oven mitt, which he doesn't seem to mind, but I don't know how to work back to feeling safe enough to have him on my hand, especially when most times he gives absolutely no warning that he's about to bite. I took the top tier off of his playgym to keep him from perching too high, and just bought him a ton of toys today, which he seems to be enjoying. I've had him since he was 3 months old and he's always been such a great bird until now.

Unfortunately, if this behavior continues and I cannot correct it, I will have to find Iggy a new home, which I really don't want to do. Sorry for such a long post, hopefully you all can help me out. Thank you!

Lindsey

 

[birdcrazy]

sorry sounds like sexual maturity which I can't really help with. A vet visit may help I don't know if hormone shots would work or not? sorry I can't help but glad you joined!

 

[TexDot33]

I always hate to hear this type of story ... because BirdCrazy is right, Iggy is going through his/her sexual maturity ... and to make it worse, I think that a YC Amazon is one of what they call, "The Hot 3" which just means they are miserable when it comes to this type of behavior, and the hardest to handle during mating season.

What to do - well, the first thing you can do (NO HORMONE SHOTS ... BIRDCRAZY, I think you were just plain CRAZY with that advice :09: ) is to make sure that your Iggy is getting at least 12 hours of sleep a night (with this new time change, at least here in the USA, it's messing up everyones sleep cycles). And, if you try for 13 hours of complete darkness this might help even more too.

Another thing you can do is to pick up a good book ... "A Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot." would be a good start.

Another option is to find forums tthat cater to just amazon owners, they are out there ...

There is plenty of help out there for you, don't give up on Iggy just yet, but you are going to have to do something quickly, so make it a priority ...

Good luck!
~Tex

 

[TexDot33]

Lindsey -

This advice came from another forum, and from an individual who is very knowledgable about many, many types of birds. His advice has never steered anyone wrong ...

"Here is "the bible" for amazons:
http://www.parrothouse.com/bodylanguage.html

Here is Joanie Doss, one of the most experienced amazon people around, and her "problem" BFA bit the living crap out of her on a daily basis for about 18 months!

"ENJOYS BITING
When I first bought Pepper, my Blue Fronted Amazon, I was warned that he was a "difficult" bird. Indeed this was an understatement. He bit me every day for 18 months. He bit through a former owner’s nose and hung from it like a giant nose ring. He bit completely through my lip, attacked my eye, scared my arms from my wrists to my elbows and would tear chunks of flesh from my scalp. Pepper was a very talented and innovated biter. He enjoyed this activity greatly, pitting his mind against humans.

When a stranger would walk into the room, Pepper would fluff his head feathers, lower his head, and push hard against the bars of his cage. In his sweetest voice he would say, "Come on. Come on. Good boy." I would warn people not to touch him. His sweet demure and gentle voice would make people disregard my warnings. They would foolishly stick their fingers through the bars to scratch his head. In a flash Pepper would grab the finger with his foot and hold it against the bar so tightly that the person could not pull away. Then he would bite, and bite and bite! Pepper loved this game, however, very few humans found it amusing. Few birds fall into this category. Watch out for the smart ones. You are more apt to be bit by a smart bird than a dumb one."

Hope this starts you in the right direction.

 

[NicoleN]

Hey Lindsey-

How old is Iggy? It definitely sounds like sexual maturity to me too. In my experience, my Amazon gets into those behaviors starting early January to Mid-April.

I've read that sexual maturity usually occurs around 8 years of age, but have heard a few stories about these kinds of "symptoms" occuring as early as 5 years old.

Tex is right on about the "Hot 3", although that's interesting that he doesn't give you any warning signs of what he's about to do. Amazons are famous for their body language. Pinned eyes and flared tail feathers usually mean they're excited. It could be from a variety of reasons. I've learned that when my guys 'in heat', I won't put my hand anywhere near him when he's excited b/c it means I'm going to be in pain.

Good idea on moving the perch a little bit lower, does he have any mirrors in his cage? I noticed last month that Sisqo was sitting in front of his mirror all day, and actually moved his food from his other bowls into the bowl by his mirror, he was very cage territorial. Once I took the mirror out, he improved 100%.

As far as the screaming, I don't know what to tell you on that. Sisqo's a quiet guy, so he doesn't get too rowdy. Probably just the standard stuff like whispering to him and ignoring him when he screams is all I can offer.

Try this Amazon forum if you want:
http://www.fluffies.org/en/amazon-parrot-chat-forum-vf3.html

They're all Amazon owners, so they may have more advice too.

I hope everything goes well, and just remember...only a few more months of this nasty behavior and he'll be back to his old self.

 

[NicoleN]

I forgot to ask where Iggy sleeps. If he doesn't get the recommended hours of nighttime, as Tex suggests, it could be adding to his Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde -ness. If his cage is in too common an area that he wouldn't be able to get that much sleep, have you thought about getting a sleeper cage? Usually just a smaller cage in a quiet, darker area (or room) that he can get @ least 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep (although more is recommened in the springtime). It's also advised not to give them more than 14 hours of darkness a day.

Sorry, just another thought.

 

[Tracy842]

Welcome to the Forum. Ok so first of all your kind of at a disadvantage because you do have one of the "Hot 3" Amazons. They are beautiful birds but need a person that can take on the challenges they will come with when they do start to reach sexual maturity. Now welcome to sexual maturity with an Amazon Parrot. During the seasonal aggression amazons (especially males) will become quite "moody". Yes this is normal for it to last 3 months or even longer. Everyone has diffeent opinions on how to deal with this but you need to find what works for you and Iggy. You can try leaving him in his cage, more to himself during his seasonal aggression. That may not work for you but its worth a try if you want to.

The sleep thing is very important. Make sure you cover Iggy's cage every night and try to keep him in the most quiet place possible.

As for the screaming (I have the same problem with my Amazon and live in an apartment building )

Heres a couple of tricks I used for getting Pepsi to stop screaming.

-Talking quiet when she is screaming. She wants to hear me so she'll quiet down and stop screaming.
-When I walk in the room and she screams I stop moving and stand very still, then when she stops I will start walking towards her again. If she starts again I stop and don't move at all until she stops again. This has been working really well but you do need a bit of patience.
-When she makes her quiet whistle sound that she does, I will whistle back or give her attention, but not when she screams. This is a low process but it sometimes gets her to whistle when she wants something. Then its just figuring out what she wants before she gets frustrated.
-And as a last resort I will cover her cage and give her a couple of minutes to calm down if she is being too bad. I don't like to do this but I also don't want too much noise because I am in an apartment.

Hope this helps!!! Don't give up on Iggy, this will only last for hopefully no more then 3 months a year and it won't be forever. Let us now how everything goes.

 

[Peta]

Hi and welcome to Parrot Forums, nice to have you and Iggy join us.

You have been given some great advise there and can't really add anymore than what has already been said. As for the talking quietly when Iggy starts to scream, it really does work wonders. When Bucc has his screaming moments I do exactly the same thing, it sure quietens him down. When I first started doing this I would turn my back on Bucc and talk really quiet, by doing this I had gotten his attention and he probably thought I had something really wonderful to eat. lol. Now Bucc isn't an amazon, but a Grey so it seems that the whisper works great with most birds. lol.

Please let us know how you are both getting on, as you can see we have our own amazon parents here who would be willing to help out when and where they could.

 

[Minzer84]

Wow, thank you guys so much for all of this great advice. Iggy's been cooperative since yesterday, he has his good days and his bad days, of course. He has his very own bedroom in my condo, complete with a 3' x 3' x 6' cage and cover...I will make more of an effort to get him to bed earlier, I must admit that sometimes I lose track of time and he does not get to bed until 10 p.m., when I wake him up at 7 a.m....He doesn't have any mirrors in his cage, he used to but it was taken off when I moved up to where I live now. I'm hoping that the new toys I'm going to put in his cage will make him happy for awhile.

That horror story about Pepper almost makes me grateful for Iggy I will try out these tips and visit the links you all posted, and hopefully Iggy and I will be on our way to getting along again! Thank you all SO much, it's so nice to know that I'm not alone in the angry amazon world. I will definitely keep you updated.

Lindsey

 

[Peta]

We look forward to hearing how Iggy is getting on. Good idea on getting him to bed earlier, but I know just how easy it is for the time to just fly by.

 

[NicoleN]

Lindsey-

Also check out this site. It's about Amazons. You may be able to find some more info there.

www.tgpa.com

 

[karen]

Hi Lindsay,
Glad u visited site I told u they were thee most helpful supportive bunch.
Good lick wi Iggi and I hope someone out there can reassure me the females are NOT as aggressive when sexually mature:51:

 

[Tracy842]

I hope someone out there can reassure me the females are NOT as aggressive when sexually mature

If you got a female you lucked in Karen!!!! They are not known to be as aggressive as males. You also got an Orange Wing they're pretty docile compared to the Yellow Naped, Double Yellow and Blue Fronted.

 

[karen]

Oh Joy not thug just a clown then:29: