Ow... My face hurts!!

[RavensGryf]

Got bit in the face today. I have a light cut and a purple bruise on my cheek near my mouth.

Today before I left the house, I went to take the birds off of the top of their cages and 'playground ropes' and put them away in their cages like always. Same old routine.

Twigs was in already, Robin went in when I said "in", Griffin stepped up...
Who does that leave?........... RAVEN. The teenage male Pionus.

Raven usually doesn't like to step up for me, or touch him much (he's a daddy's boy, although he's MY bird). BUT one time where he WILL usually step up for me is when he needs to go in, provided that Griffin went in his cage first. I put Griffin away first like usual, and Raven then stepped up for me like usual in this routine circumstance.

What caught me off guard was the fact that Raven willingly stepped up before the bite. Even though he doesn't like cuddles and touching from me, he ALWAYS at least tolerated a quick snuggle (bring his body close to me and a brief neck scritch) at put away time. If he doesn't want that, he would normally scream and squirm away, not bite. This was when he reached up and grabbed my face!! .

It was pretty much a warning bite since I know for a fact he CAN bite harder. I keep going back over in my mind WHY this happened and how I could have avoided it. There was no body language preceding it, and Pionus are well known to warn you before striking (like an Amazon would). I'm thinking he was "experimenting" with what he could get away with??

I can see one of the Poi's being this unpredictable, but PIONUS are usually not. Any thoughts?

 

[riddick07]

Maybe he saw something?

Hope your face is okay. Folger got me on the lip the one time during one of my visits to met him. Luckily some ice on it right away kept the swelling down!

 

[Anansi]

Oh no, Julie! I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm grateful he at least didn't go all out, but still. I hope you heal well and swiftly, my friend.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with pionus parrots. But is Raven molting, by any chance? Maybe when you gave the usual brief neck scritch, you happened to rub across a sensitive pin or two? That would explain the sudden reaction and the lack of any body language warnings.

 

[JerseyWendy]

OUCH Julie!! I'm sorry!!! I wish I had more insight, but I truly know next to nothing about Pionus other than they are STUNNING birds.

I've been 'tagged' before on the face, too, ALWAYS unexpected, and the only thing it taught me was that is to always expect the unexpected. (Gees, that sounds like some sort of pregnancy book I've read decades ago :32

 

[Kiwibird]

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with pionus parrots. But is Raven molting, by any chance? Maybe when you gave the usual brief neck scritch, you happened to rub across a sensitive pin or two? That would explain the sudden reaction and the lack of any body language warnings.

My thoughts exactly! Or perhaps he was just in a bad mood... Kiwi bit my nose once out of the blue and left a very nasty would. I'm sure he had a good reason, but I couldn't figure out what

Either way, I'm so sorry Raven got you. Happens to the best bird owners sometimes. Don't beat yourself up over it, I'm sure Raven loves you and it won't happen again for a very long time. Perhaps it was just his way of getting up to some mischief on Halloween:43:

 

[RavensGryf]

Thanks guys. He is molting, though I didn't feel any pins there. Maybe, but in that case I'd expect him to just growl and squirm away. That is what I'd think he'd do in that situation. BUT in the past couple months he has been experimenting with biting a little more, and other bad behaviors that he's never done before, I think seeing what he could get away with. Boys!!!

I just came from the bird supply store owned by my vet. The lady who runs the store is a long time avian RVT. She says at his age 14 months it's not unusual for them to start with hormones already. They're medium sized birds, so it seems early, but I do recall hearing of male Pi's starting to act the part much sooner than they can breed. It does seem like I've seen subtle signs of that too. He digs in his pellet bowl with both feet. Maybe nesting behavior? Tries to solicit Griffin LOL. It seems like might be experimenting with different body language too. He sometimes puffs up in ways I've never seen before lately :52:

A little Pi FYI... Pionus are genetically close relatives of Amazons. They share some of the same traits. Similar shape as the smallest Amazons, they also give out the 'puff' of musty fragrance when excited, they're about as cuddly (or not) as your typical zon, and a very similar trait is the infamous "Pionus Strut" usually done by males, and looks similar to an Amazon displaying. Males are known to be harder to handle than females during hormonal times. Ugh...

 

[Terry57]

Julie, I am so sorry! How is your face feeling this evening?
Talli is feeling hormonal, and has chosen me as his object of frustration for the last few weeks. He is also so easy to read usually, but got me good a couple of weeks ago with no puffing up or any of his usual signs. I hope that Raven soon is back to his old, loveable self, please tell him Auntie Terry said no more face biting!

 

[RavensGryf]

Thanks... My face feels fine but with a little bruise in an odd spot. Oh well!

It's weird, but now I feel a little skittish around him. I feel like I want to keep him permanently at least an arms length away from my face now lol!

 

[thekarens]

Well that sucks! Hope you're feeling better.

Sydney gave Karen a nice chomp yesterday. She had the audacity to stand too close to his cage. Thankfully her clothing prevented it from being too horrid.

 

[RavensGryf]

Well that sucks! Hope you're feeling better.

Sydney gave Karen a nice chomp yesterday. She had the audacity to stand too close to his cage. Thankfully her clothing prevented it from being too horrid.

Thanks . I'm glad Karen's clothing was in the way. Poi bites are no fun! Robin has bitten me in the face several times before, but always under the chin. This is on the front of my face, so it making ME act a little differently. I've usually only ever been bitten on the hands or arms in the past.

 

[Allee]

Julie, I'm sorry Raven chomped you, and really sorry he chose your face. It's frustrating when it's a bird you know so well and you have no obvious explanation. Maybe Raven expected a free pass on Halloween, nasty trick to play on his mom though.

 

[CCyrus]

Ouch..
Does anyone know what bird bites hardest?
I doubt it's budgies...

 

[Scott]

Owwww, hope the pain has subsided and you won't have a permanent mark. Have no experience with the Pi species, but have been bitten many times by my BF Amazon - he has a strong preference for the jugular!

My hunch is parrots distinguish between the face and extremities, with the latter more likely to receive the harshest of wounds.

I have the faintest of scars* on my lower lip, a cherished remnant from Sasquatch, a magnificent male Eclectus who passed at the hands of an incompetent vet armed with a laser-scalpel.



*The ideal scar, so faint you'd have to look carefully under the right lighting conditions.

 

[RavensGryf]

Well tonight Raven is trying to be an extra GOOD boy lol. He knew he was bad today when I immediately after the bite said a stern NO! and put him on the bottom grate when I shut his cage. As soon as I came in the room tonight he gave a strange sounding louder than usual scream, and he usually doesn't make any sound when I walk in. I don't know what that meant, but he is being unusually friendly to me tonight. He's usually pretty standoffish with me.

He came to where I was sitting and tried to 'help' me type. I even laid down for a moment and he walked over to my face (yeah I'm brave lol) and very gently beaked, including the place he bit, as if to say he's just checking it to make sure it's okay .

 

[RavensGryf]

Ouch..
Does anyone know what bird bites hardest?
I doubt it's budgies...

Well I can tell you it's not budgies!! Twigs THINKS he can bite hard but can't even draw blood if he wanted to.

 

[Kiwibird]

have been bitten many times by my BF Amazon - he has a strong preference for the jugular!

LOL! Yours too:16:? Kiwi used to be a nasty little demon bird, but now he just does a lot of lunging if he's unhappy, so unless you practically jam your [body part] in his beak, he really doesn't bite anymore. He knows we know how hard he can bite:22_yikes:

Well tonight Raven is trying to be an extra GOOD boy lol. He knew he was bad today when I immediately after the bite said a stern NO! and put him on the bottom grate when I shut his cage. As soon as I came in the room tonight he gave a strange sounding louder than usual scream, and he usually doesn't make any sound when I walk in. I don't know what that meant, but he is being unusually friendly to me tonight. He's usually pretty standoffish with me.

He came to where I was sitting and tried to 'help' me type. I even laid down for a moment and he walked over to my face (yeah I'm brave lol) and very gently beaked, including the place he bit, as if to say he's just checking it to make sure it's okay .

He KNOWS he did wrong and I'm sure he didn't mean it. I think you hit the nail on the head that he may be experiencing some hormonal behavior. If he's anything like a zon, he will probably get worse before he gets better. Zons typically go through a year or 2 period where they are REALLY bad, but then all calms down and it's just those certain times of year (and they mellow out even more as they age). Awww.... Raven is becoming a teenager Good luck lol!

 

[RavensGryf]

Owwww, hope the pain has subsided and you won't have a permanent mark. Have no experience with the Pi species, but have been bitten many times by my BF Amazon - he has a strong preference for the jugular!

My hunch is parrots distinguish between the face and extremities, with the latter more likely to receive the harshest of wounds.

I have the faintest of scars* on my lower lip, a cherished remnant from Sasquatch, a magnificent male Eclectus who passed at the hands of an incompetent vet armed with a laser-scalpel.

*The ideal scar, so faint you'd have to look carefully under the right lighting conditions.

It's actually not that bad... He didn't bite near as hard as he could have. It hurt my feelings though.

If I were you, I'd keep the BFA clear away from my face and jugular, especially after being bitten MANY TIMES by him! . I'm so sorry about Sasquatch!

 

[RavensGryf]

He KNOWS he did wrong and I'm sure he didn't mean it. I think you hit the nail on the head that he may be experiencing some hormonal behavior. If he's anything like a zon, he will probably get worse before he gets better. Zons typically go through a year or 2 period where they are REALLY bad, but then all calms down and it's just those certain times of year (and they mellow out even more as they age). Awww.... Raven is becoming a teenager Good luck lol!

I know it will get worse unfortunately. If this is the tip of the iceberg with hormones, I'm definitely not looking forward to when they're full blast. He's not even sexually mature yet! Does that mean years?!

My vet (one of 10 exclusively avian vets in the US) with decades of experience says Bronze Winged Pionus males are some of the worst hormonally. Even with all his expertise, I hope a lot of that is just his "opinion" . He then pointed to Robin (Red Bellied parrot male) in the carrier, and said "those guys too"... I do know for a fact Red Bellied have the reputation, and it's true. I just hope he's wrong about Bronze Winged Pi :11:

So Raven is becoming a teenage boy. Oh no... I'd better be on my toes from now on! He's even changing color right now which I'm excited about. I can't wait to see his new colors. I'm not sure if it will complete within one molt or not.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Ouchies! It hurts both physically and emotionally when you get bit in the face... and it's so darn hard to build that trust again sometimes. I'm wary of Avery at times because she can be unpredictable, and she's no longer a shoulder bird - though she still loves to preen my face. But it's so frustrating when your bird decides to surprise you with a nice lovely chomp when they normally give you very, very clear warning signs. I feel that hormones definitely play into that, because Avery is going through hers and her behaviour has become unpredictable as a result.

I hope your face feels better soon, though! It's so sweet that he came up to your afterwards and apologized with nice preening and beak kisses on the face And you'll have to give us pictures of him enduring his teenage angst and colour changing! I think Bronze Winged are just absolutely gorgeous. Their colours are phenomenal.

 

[Echo]

Ouch..
Does anyone know what bird bites hardest?
I doubt it's budgies...

I would say Cockatoo's bites are the worst maybe? Don't have one but have heard they are really powerful as their beaks are wider and big! Also, from members pictures of bites shared on this forum...

HOWEVER, from the species I have, my Pionus bites are the worst! I have 2 females, 1 has never bit anyone (Blue Headed), the other can be temperamental and I have received I believe 2 bites from her (Dusky). Usually I can tell by her display if she's gonna bite, but these 2 occasions, no warning. It is VERY painful, surprisingly from a rather small parrot. I can't imagine a FACE bite!!! OUCH! I'm very sorry for you.