New GCC attacking hands

[GCCinYYJ]

Thank you both so much this is extremely helpful! We aren’t using our hands to get her off our shoulder because she will lunge and bite at our hands as soon as they are near to her. Fortunately she will hop off our shoulder or head onto her cage pretty readily and when she tries to run away and doesn’t want to we just twist ourselves around and keep presenting her back at her cage and she will go back... I feel very fortunate that we have an alternative way of calmly getting her back to her cage without stepping up because without that I don’t think we would be able to have her out and on us. Currently she is sitting on the arm of a chair preening next to my husbands arm, occasionally she stops and nibbles on his arm hair but she is calm and collected. She was on my shoulder a few minutes prior and I had my hands down in my lap and she just suddenly barreled down there to give me a big bite... I saw it coming and said her name and started whistling which she loves and she decided that coming up on my shoulder to dance was probably more fun. I’m going to keep reading over all of your posts and really digest what you have said and continue to just have calm positive interactions with her. Also regarding the play stands. Yes we do have a few and so far she isn’t interested in them but we have them loaded with tempting treats and I try to sit near them when she’s on my shoulder and hope that she will eventually come around to them!

 

[noodles123]

That's great and in that case- she may be more trusting than I thought, but you do still eventually want her to accept some form of hands (but for her to hop off like that is very good and means that Laurasea could be right about it being a hand-specific issue).


I would take it slow though, as 5 days is very short and they can sometimes be a bit odd in terms of trusting and then not during honey-moon phases etc (although not all birds do that).

 

[GCCinYYJ]

One more thing to add actually... she was rehomed to us and her previous owners sent videos of her before we got her where they were picking her up and she would do a squeak and a little bite to them. They also told us that they usually let her fly around to tire herself out then their daughter would hold her and she would just sit there frozen and completely still while the daughter held her but that otherwise she would just attack the kids when they tried to touch her unless they were feeding her... in hindsight these were probably red flags? Then I go and put her in a new home after a long car ride and towel her... oops.

That definitely does sound odd (like they had no idea what they were doing eek!) BUT don't worry. You can repair this-- now, there is no way of knowing whether your parrot will gravitate towards one family member more than the others, but with time and patience, you will (worst-case-scenario, at least be tolerated)..In all likelihood, you will be more than that, but you really have to work on reading her/trust etc.

Also-- NO SNUGGLE HUTS....if you have any, move them out when she's not looking because they kill birds often and they are notorious hormone triggers.. Also-- only pet on the head and neck and prevent access to shadowy spaces of full-on cuddling--- no matter how much they want it, it's a sexual response and can lead to behavior problems. 10 hours sleep nightly in a quiet/darkish place= super important as well (not just for hormones and behavior, but also for immune health).

Her cage came with a fabric thing looped around like a little nest and her previous owners said it was her favorite spot... I was planning to remove it but was also wondering if changing her living space too quickly would be a stressor? She frequently tries to rub up against our necks and under our chins and raises her tail which makes me wonder if there is a hormonal element? But of course I don’t want to fall in the trap of just assuming it’s hormones and not examining my role in her biting if that makes sense. I will say it again... thank you so much!!!!

 

[noodles123]

If it were me, I'd remove it..but don't let her see you do it....You are right, it could stress her out. I am not saying my choice is the right one. It's hard to say because of the whole toweling thing, so I don't know how stressed she actually is, but you are smart to consider that.


I understand wanting to make it gradual...I guess you could wait a bit, but that "favorite thing" is could definitely be a trigger and probably why he sat still and cupped in the daughter's hands while attacking others...He's at puberty and all of that is sexual. At the same time, she is in a new space, so I can see wanting to wait some. I'm not even saying that is wrong-- it's something to consider.


I don't have a solid answer, other than that you need to remove that thing eventually and that if it is a hammock, it can kill them through blockages etc... You are already on thin ice though, so make sure he doesn't see you if you take it out lol--- I'd honestly even consider having someone else remove it if you think there is any chance he might see you...


When you remove it is up to you, but that qualifies as a sexy/shadowy place (guaranteed to be a hit with 99% of parrots, but also unsafe/triggering).

 

[Laurasea]

Be sure to praise and reward with treats when you get her back to the cage!! Soon she will get better at hoping off, when she gets those treats.

I do use sleep huts that are not fuzzy for mine. The fuzz is dangerous and can lead to crop impact. Any threads can lead to crop impaction. But I do not have hormonal issues with mine. Nor do they rub on them, tgey only use to sleep. If ever a hormonal issue developed I would considered changing.

Mine will seek out shadow spaces out of the cage abd get excited about those. But not her canvas hut.

Warning graphic pictures of crop impaction. But a good article
https://www.currumbinvetservices.com.au/toy-cage-accoutrements/

 

[noodles123]

The tail raising is hormonal and the other things aren't always, but they are likely hormonal if they are happening in conjunction with butt showing/tail raising. Again, pet on the head and neck only *excluding medical procedures etc*

 

[GCCinYYJ]

The vet environment is different because who cares if the bird learns to hate him/her? That distrust doesn’t transfer to the parront!

This is why even simple things...like clipping nails if needed...is best left to the vet.

It’s not like the bird is going to blame YOU for bringing him there, more or less.

100% agreed! It was a moment of panic on my part because we were having what I thought was a calm interaction and suddenly she hopped down to my feet and started biting them so hard she drew blood and to be honest it really scared me (and hurt!!!). I definitely regret it and agree that it set our relationship back.

 

[noodles123]

but don't give up-- it can seem so slow..painfully slow... but you will be okay if you are positive, patient and understanding (assuming her needs for food, enrichment, medical etc are also met)

 

[Laurasea]

Before I forget. Get a digital kitchen gram scale. And start weighing your bird weekly.
As you know they hide being sick. Often the very first sign is wright loss. As I have sick birds its a valuable way to catch a sick bird.
More than 3% weight-loss see the vet.
Amount lost divide by normal weight × 100 = % lost

 

[noodles123]

Ps: I know you didn't ask about this, but as a new bird owner, you will likely encounter screaming issues at some point (as we all have or do) so I am posting a link on that for you if you are interested as well--- http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/88616-ignoring-my-conures-don-t-get-them-stop-screaming.html




Also-- if you can sell her on a play-stand, that will also help (to help with this, research *station training* and target training-which can be complimentary to the process). They can be scared of playstands etc-- so try and figure out what she likes (other than you) and see if you can associate time on the stand with treats and time with her preferred people etc-- attention from preferred people can be more powerful than food , so do remember that. If you act interested/attentive to the stand and she wants to be with you, she will be interested at some point. If she goes on it, sit there with her while she explores, give treats etc...Make it a fun place to go. If she gets a little scared and leaves, don't force her back, but do try again tomorrow etc. With me, I have my desk (where I work on the weekends etc) and Noodles has her own table and perch that she stomps and plays on. She can see me from a lot of angles on this perch and she eats her breakfast and dinner on it as well. It's actually an awful perch, but now she's so attached to it that I am scared to change it for something new and "scary" lol!

 

[GCCinYYJ]

I just can’t tell you both how appreciative I am for all of this wonderful advice. Thank you so much!!!!!!!