My green cheek is obsessed with my 22 year old son and biting men

[TonyaBThompson]

I need advice. My sweet little 2 year old (February 15th) green cheek has become obsessed with my son in the past week. She almost seems to be having separation anxiety when he’s in another room or away from the house. Initially she was that attached to me, but I know that’s because she was a baby and I was home with her all day. My husband and I have had her since she was weaned. She is the smartest and sweetest little thing and I love her as much as if I gave birth to her myself. Our son was away at college when we first got her. He moved back home last August and she’s always loved spending time with him but it’s become ridiculous recently. All she wants is him and will pace on the floor of any closed door he is behind trying to get under. Or will sit on the couch facing the front door squawking when he leaves. This, to a point, is cute, but she has taken up biting him and my husband out of nowhere. She can be sweet and playing and giving them kisses, then all of a sudden bite the “you know what” out of their hands, ears, lips, neck. I’m stumped because she doesn’t do that to me. Could this be a pheromone thing? She just finished molting, but the biting them was going on before that. Please help with any advice on my 2 issues (biting men, obsession with my son). I’m at my wits end because they are so upset and the bites sometimes draw blood. Thanks.

 

[Ellie777Australia]

Hi Tanya, Just bumping your thread here. Is there a chance that your son has been touching your GCC other than head and she is hormonal and attached to him as a result? Remove the 'hormonal' triggers (touch, nesting dark spaces, fatty foods, appropriate sleep hours etc) to rule out the most obvious. Others can chime in. Also check the Forum content for assistance in addressing 'biting' etc...

 

[Flboy]

Hi! Terrible twos for GCC takes on whole new meaning! It really will pass, and understand your little one is going through some difficult times!

 

[WhiteFlight]

Tonya, recommend both your husband and your son keep your green-cheek at arms length, off the shoulders, until she has grasped control over the impulses. Sounds like the terrible twos have kicked in with hormonal overtones. Pacing and obsession are indicators. Restrict handling to the claws and head to prevent stimulation.

When a bite occurs, recommend talking to the bird in a calm stable tone. Excited tones can distract from the objective of targeted objectives:

• Pain, associate to the word OUCH.
• Wrongful activity, associate to the word NO and BAD.
• If there is blood, SHOW IT.
• When the bite ocurrs, after the debriefing, put the bird in the cage with the cover, reflecting on the bird something unexceptable has occurred. Consider starting with thirty minutes.

To destabilize the hormonal overtones:

• Increase exercise if possible. Flight training could be effective.
• Increase sleep time.
• Increase destablized environment with activity changes.
• Avoid lounging relaxed time, particularly with your son or husband.
• Prevent access to closed quarters such as drawers and cabinets.
• Reduce fatty foods.
• Increase hydration, if possible.

Change will not happen over night. Recognition and association of the communication could be achieved over time.

As a last resort, spray both men with bitter-apple.

 

[noodles123]

It sounds hormonal (mixed with some behaviors that probably have been inadvertantly reinforced).


Make sure he has a bare minimum of 10 hours sleep nightly.
Remove access to any shadowy places in or around the cage (huts, boxes, drawers, under furniture, on the couch, under blankets etc).
Make sure your son and all others only ever pet on the head and neck only (the rest is sexual).
When your bird displays sexual behavior towards your son, he should put her down and walk away (without being mean-- just distance himself calmly)


My issue with bitter apple is that it contains alcohol, which is toxic to birds...even the kind they sell for birds.


Now, you also have to look at how you and everyone else respond to this behavior.



I would suggest you implement a solid sleep routine etc( to mitigate hormones) and then work on reading up on ABA for behavior (in terms of responding to behaviors etc).

 

[TonyaBThompson]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to write such detailed and excellent advice!! I will definitely be trying all of these and I’m sure we will make it through the terrible two’s quickly. Fingers crossed . She is an amazing, smart, sweet, and beautiful little girl and we all don’t know what we would’ve done without her. I look forward to getting her a same sex friend at some point when I feel she is ready. She is such a social bug and I hate when I have to leave her alone for many hours at a time. Those times are rare at this point, but as the country opens up again fully and everyone goes back to their normal routines, she will be alone longer at some points. Any advice you can give on a new friend would be most helpful. I’d like to get a different breed, maybe a little larger.