My cockatoo bit my girlfriend in the eye! Help!

[Birdman666]

About his behavior, what puzzles me that it doesn't look like aggression (but my GF thinks otherwise). It more resembles a game of "snatch", when he takes an interest in some object, like pen, and suddenly lunges to grab it with his beak, sometimes biting human flesh that was unfortunately on the way. Earrings and earlobes are suffering in particular.

Anyways, we are reluctant to take any chances and will try to turn my GF's shoulders to "no fly zone".

Smart.

And actually, it would make sense that the bird was playing a game it knows, and has played before, and didn't understand or intend to hurt...

In which case, the bird is still pet quality, but is now, and for the foreseeable future a "hand bird" not a shoulder bird.

 

[strudel]

Eyeshadow is often shiny, it has shimmery/glittery qualities. If she was wearing it, his attention might have been caught by a shimmer. Doesn't mean he can grab at whatever catches his eye, but he might not have been 'having a go" at her.

 

[Kalidasa]

Just make sure you aren't talking in the same or similar voice with her that you do with him. At least not in his presence birds flip sometimes, there no need to make a federal case about it. Haha in his eyes he was shielding you from the pretty, sweet talking demon, and he didn't like you talking softly to her it's hormonal season for many of our birds, and they're more testy than usual. Forgive and move on.

 

[Kissed82]

I don't know much about cockatoos but I do know they are monogamous by nature.

NOPE! Toos (and eckies) are flock birds, not pair bond birds. They trade partners.

Pair bond birds are monogamous, that would be conures, amazons and macaws.

That doesn't, however, mean they don't get jealous and petty when some other person gets the attention that "rightfully" (IN THEIR LITTLE BIRD BRAINS) belongs to them, and don't lash out like spoiled little toddlers sometimes...

Which if I had to guess, having not seen it happen, is the probable dynamic here...

Thanks for helping me on that one I have a macaw, conure, and Quaker ..... Teach me for assuming! Another reason I love this site, I learn more each day! Next time I will try more research before opening my mouth

 

[mtdoramike]

I hope your girlfriend is OK and is still your girlfriend. If I were her, it would be time to lay down the law and either the bird goes or I do type situation. But with me, once the bird showed that kind of vicious behavior, he would be gone quick, fast and in a hurry. All I can see is law suits flying if he's not restrained when people come to your house. Yes, if his wings aren't clipped, this would be the first thing I would do.

 

[Birdman666]

I SO TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH THAT LAST STATEMENT!

Every bird room should have a sign:

"WARNING: Even tame, friendly birds, can and will bite, especially during breeding season, if a stranger approaches what they consider to be "their territory," if they become startled, or if someone or something is annoying them. A parrot's bite pressure could cause serious personal injuries. HANDLE AT YOUR OWN RISK. DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN UNATTENDED AROUND THE PARROTS!"

My own sign has four of those Fake Halloween Fingers pointing to it at each corner. In the middle of those two fake fingers, I have placed blocks of wood that the birds have bitten in half, to emphasize just how powerful those beaks are... The macaw blocks are thicker than a human arm, and I can point to it, and say "SEE THAT?!"

If you do that, you have mitigated your "Duty to warn" to the extent humanly possible. And, oh by the way, bird bites would most likely be covered by a homeowner's insurance policy. They have a duty to defend you. You did your duty to warn. If someone does something stupid, and gets bit.... well, especially if there is no history of serious bites inflicting the need for hospitalization, then this shouldn't be an issue...

Of 350 "Biters" I rehabbed ONLY ONCE did I encounter a macaw that could not be trained not to be aggressive... !!!

Precautions had to be taken with "the biters" BUT... this bird is clearly still "pet quality!"

HE'S A HAND BIRD NOW, AND NOT A SHOULDER BIRD, UNTIL AND UNLESS HE CAN PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT HE WON'T BE AGGRESSIVE AROUND FACES. AND GO BACK AND DO SOME REINFORCEMENT "NO BITING" TRAINING PRACTICE.

PARROT TRAINING IS A LIFELONG THING... IT'S THE NATURE OF THESE CREATURES.

YOU DON'T THROW THEM AWAY, YOU WORK WITH THEM AND RE-REINFORCE THINGS...

DO THAT AND THEY WILL LEARN.

EVERY SINGLE BIRD OUT THERE CAN, AND MAY BITE... IF YOU CAN'T ACCEPT THAT THEN DON'T GET ONE!!!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Birdman, there is no need to scream. We hear you - loud and clear.

 

[Birdman666]

I am not screaming. I am emphasizing... there's a difference.

I'm not ranting...

Really I'm not...

 

[mtdoramike]

"If you do that, you have mitigated your "Duty to warn" to the extent humanly possible".

No this is far from the facts. Yes, you may have met the burden of "Duty to Warn", which is great, BUT, you still have a responsibility to ensure that your pet can not do harm to someone else. The ONLY way that can be done is that the bird would have to be restrained when people visit. It's like having your dog in your yard with a sign nailed to a tree "vicious dog", but then the dog bites the mailman or mail person when they enter the yard to deliver the mail. But if the yard is fenced and the sign posted to the front of the fence would definitely mitigate responsibility.

 

[KeroRocks]

I agree with Birdman. These are wild animals. They are not domesticated dogs and cats. If you take in a parrot you have to be willing to work through issues. In the OP's case that might be caging the parrot when the GF is there and letting him out when she's not.
Usually a parrot bite is because WE did something wrong. Not the other way around.

 

[Birdman666]

"If you do that, you have mitigated your "Duty to warn" to the extent humanly possible".

No this is far from the facts. Yes, you may have met the burden of "Duty to Warn", which is great, BUT, you still have a responsibility to ensure that your pet can not do harm to someone else. The ONLY way that can be done is that the bird would have to be restrained when people visit. It's like having your dog in your yard with a sign nailed to a tree "vicious dog", but then the dog bites the mailman or mail person when they enter the yard to deliver the mail. But if the yard is fenced and the sign posted to the front of the fence would definitely mitigate responsibility.

Anyone can sue anyone over anything. That is a given. Whether that suit is successful or not is another matter.

Any animal that MAY bite and cause damage is legally the owner's responsibility. That includes pretty much every large parrot, out there, and quite a few of the little ones... And since they ALL have the propensity to bite, we have a legal duty to warn.

I believe keeping a wild animal in a domesticated setting only INCREASES liability for bites. It's not really a valid legal argument, that hey, technically, it's a wild animal, and the idiot stuck his finger in the cage. "Well then why did you have it..."

But, if the birds are clipped, and kept in their own room, and the sign is posted, and someone APPROACHES THEM and something happens, or they do something stupid... and get bit. Sorry... You ignored the sign and approached them...

Just like the idiot who wanted to pet the pretty tiger at Marine World because he saw a trainer do it. Ummm...the tiger knows the handler, who is a trained professional. You don't belong there. Marine World still gets popped for not securing the area better so that the idiot couldn't get in there, but the idiot who got bit is largely responsible for his own mauling.

And that's the difference.

We are going to be contributorily responsible even if someone lets their little kid stick their finger in the cage when we aren't looking. That's reality!

However, if you do your best to mitigate it, your responsibility, and your insurance rates, will go down. (Well, maybe not your insurance rates...)

 

[Kissed82]

I know I'm new to this site and new to learning about birds but I must say a few things. Mind you I'm new and only stating my opinion.

You brought a wild animal in your home, not only a wild animal but a bird. Biting is part of bird communication. Yes there are ways to avoid getting bit, but as a bird owner you and the people handling your bird will get bit. I understand that it sucks and you are unsure about how to handle what happened but I don't believe your bird shouldn't be in boarding because it bit someone? I think when people are at your house, lock your bird up, when no one is around spend time with your bird. I don't believe boarding will do anything to help the problem, might even make it worse...

Also every person that comes into my house is told not to touch my birds. I have also thought about putting a sign on my front door saying birds live here, they bite, don't touch.
It is my job as a bird owner to tell people that and if they touch anyways then that is their own problem. I would fight that any day.

I think you did a great job by looking for help. Now it's up to you to try out what people are suggesting.

As far as getting rid of a bird because it bit.... Maybe there is a lack of understanding birds before the choice was made to be an owner. Every bird will bite at some point. Can you imagine what would happen to birds if every bird owner got rid of their bird because of a bite? Woah.

I would like to end this on a good note. If I'm wrong point it out, I'm learning. Also I am not trying to put anyone down or be hurtful. Just wanted to throw my opinion out there.

 

[Birdman666]

Usually a parrot bite is because WE did something wrong. Not the other way around.

Well, that's not always the case. I worked with plenty of biters that bit because they expressed themselves rather forcefully with their beaks...

Others just didn't know their own strength and "played rough."

Like someone else said, maybe the shimmer in the eye makeup caused it. Just something the bird was attracted to and wanted to get a beak on.

My red lored has, on occasion, decided I had a freckle on my shoulder that did not belong there, and has tried to remove it with her beak. That was not a bite. My bird was grooming me... trying to be "helpful" and affectionate. BUT, OH GOD, THAT HURTS...

One size does not fit all when dealing with these types of issues, and of course, if hormones are running amuck that only complicates things further.... (Just like you don't blame a pregnant woman for mood swings or crying over nothing... it just happens sometimes.)

 

[Birdman666]

As far as getting rid of a bird because it bit.... Maybe there is a lack of understanding birds before the choice was made to be an owner. Every bird will bite at some point. Can you imagine what would happen to birds if every bird owner got rid of their bird because of a bite? Woah.

And that's why the rescues are overflowing with Hot 3 amazons during breeding season... It happens more often than you know.

I was the guy who rehabbed "the biters." To me, it's a training issue. Nothing more.

 

[strudel]

To me, it's a training issue. Nothing more.

Can you please link to some resources as to how to deal with it, or give some advice? I would imagine that the first step would be to figure out what you are dealing with, or am I wrong about that? If the bird was "trying to groom" or attracted by something, that would be different to where it actually lunged deliberately to get you, wouldn't it? Where it's sudden, how can you tell the difference? If somebody goes all "attack mode" and looks angry, you can tell what's going on, but when it's a nip out of the blue, how can you figure out what's going on and what to do?

 

[Kalidasa]

^^^many times you can't tell why. They're birds. They pay the heaviest prices living with us. We just have to forgive.

 

[t0mmick]

you could be on to something here, my Irn bit me the other day for the first time just so happens it is that time of month, and I've only had him long enough to have one cycle with him but otherwise he has always been sweet , never bitten me not even the first day at my house!lol if it happens again during that time ill know for sure!!

 

[Allee]

I am not new to birds or bird owners but I admit I am still shocked by some people's attitudes toward birds. I have three throwaways and last week I had to say no to two more. I understand that there are circumstances where re-homing is the only solution. But treating them like trading cards or a piece of furniture that needs replacing? Where should these birds go the first time they bite and are no longer pet quality? And the pluckers? And the ones whose owner just discovered a more attractive species or a species more likely to talk? It's fun to pick out a cage and furnish it with all the adorable toys, and birds are beautiful and the first photos are fun to post. After that it really doesn't take very long to train the parrot to bite. It takes a lot longer to re-train them not to. By then it's easy to write them off as a learning experience or trade them in on a newer, prettier, smarter, sweeter bird. I know it's all been said before but when you spend your days with birds that have to live with past owner's mistakes for the rest of their lives it's hard to understand why those owners chose to get the birds in the first place. To enjoy!!!
I feel very bad for the man that started this post. I feel bad for his girlfriend, but didn't he say he's had this bird for ten years and biting has never been a problem? I don't know, if one of them had to go, and I hope it doesn't come to that, it wouldn't be a tough decision for me. A ten year commitment or a one year trial period?

 

[Alex_3112]

Thank you, everybody, for your help and support!
Here is my update.

My Too is back home for a week now and neither biting nor aggression happened so far.
Bitten eyelid has healed all right, but my girlfriend lost all of her affection for the bird and does not want it anywhere close to her.
I clipped my parrot's wings, which left him quite confused at first, but now he'd pretty much figured out how far he can fly - about 5 feet, and definitely slower than before. Thank God, now the parrot no longer trying to fly onto my GF's shoulder, and I don't have to act like Dikembe Mutombo blocking a shot.
Now the bad part - every time I'm out of the room, I have to lock my Too in the cage. And if at that time my GF is around, he just can't stay inside and keeps screaming. I think that either he will eventually learn that she won't let him out and calm down, or become a compulsive screamer.

Also, I noted one thing that may explain his earlier behavior. It turns out my bird is scared of my GF's hairstyle when her hair completely obstructing the sides of her face. I think at that time he might be wondering if she's a human at all. And on the evening of eyebite, that's what was her hairstyle.

Or course, this is just my theory, and it's doesn't sound convincing to my girlfriend at all.

 

[TessieB]

I don't blame her for not wanting the bird near her. She's being smart. And the bird should not be allowed to be near anyone's face for quite some time.

Don't blame the bird. Don't blame the girl. Don't blame anyone. It happened, and most likely the bird has forgotten all about it.