Pionus: Jealousy Problem

[LadyJemima]

Red-Bellied: Jealousy Problem

I am writing this as the recipient of painful bites. I am very close with the parrot's owner and spend a great deal of time at his house. His parrot has always taken to me very well. However, after a few months of being friendly, his Red-bellied bit me very hard; it's worth noting that the owner and I were in close proximity to each other. Totally out of the blue, she lunged for my hand. When this happened again a week later, I stopped holding her.

I've been slowly reintroducing myself to her, first by giving her treats (sunflower seeds) whenever I see her, sweet-talking her, and then slowly letting her back on my shoulder but not with my hands near. Everything has been fine for a few weeks (even giving her head scritches) and I've been very, very mindful of her body language. Unfortunately, after having a great morning with her, it just happened again with no warning; she bit me very hard on the base of my neck and then my hand.

Her owner is going to try to give her more attention when I'm in the room so that she doesn't feel so jealous. She really is a sweet, well-adjusted bird, but I've read that parrots can be jealous of other people. Is this true, and is there anything else I can do to make friends with her?

P.s. A bite is fairly serious for me, as I don't heal well and will often have residual nerve pain for weeks.

 

[RavensGryf]

First... DON'T let her on your shoulder!! My birds don't go there (or rarely and only for a moment) because depending on the bird, THIS can happen very easily! Your sensitive facial areas are right there exposed and you're extra vulnerable when you can't see.

Maybe jealousy, maybe hormones... Are you absolutely sure this is female?

 

[RavensGryf]

Don't push it. Don't get in the bird's "space". Let this bird get used to your presence in the house for a while. There is a possibility they might never really like you. Perhaps you are making her more uncomfortable because she may sense that you REALLY want a Pionus (from your previous threads) and might be inadvertently pushing yourself onto her without realizing it? Pionus can be very picky about people. An analogy - can you force yourself to become friends with that coworker that you just don't like for whatever reason? Good luck, hopefully she'll come around.

 

[Jayyj]

All I can think to add are some basics: Alice is allowed on my shoulder and her regular sitter's shoulder. Other than that, no one elses. She's never bitten anyone on the face but I just don't see it as worth the risk. I wouldn't let a bird I didn't know on my shoulder either for the same reason. I also have a set of ground rules for anyone who wants to interact with her: let me bring her to you, let her sit on your knee until I can see she's relaxed and wanting attention, wear sleeves if you going to offer your forearm to her, a few other things.

It seems a bit of a rigmarole but I had an incident early on with her where she took one look at a friend's offered forearm and promptly took a chunk out of it, and having seen how fearful it made my friend and how Alice reacted to that fear, tensing up and getting defensive, made the realise how important it was to regulate any interaction she had with friends to make sure we don't have any more incidents.

 

[LadyJemima]

Maybe jealousy, maybe hormones... Are you absolutely sure this is female?

Yes, because I totally mistyped the name of the bird; it's a Red-bellied, NOT a Pionus! So yeah, she's female. (I sometimes exchange words due to my fibro, sorry.)

First... DON'T let her on your shoulder!!

Ack, I know you're not supposed to do this! Her owner raised her this way though, it's the only place she ever wants to be!

Don't get in the bird's "space".

See, the odd thing is that she WANTS to be near me. She will even signal that she wants to be with (or on) me when her owner is holding her. I can tell when she's feeling agitated or feisty, and of course I don't interact with her then, but this time she was so happy with me and WHAM. Bite out of nowhere.

Thanks for the advice. I want to be friends with her, and I think she wants to be friends with me, but is it possible that she gets these "spurts" of jealousy out of the blue?

 

[weco]

On second read, I think RG's right about hormone involvement, because of the bird's on again off again attitude, but then isn't vacillation a prevalent trait in some circles?

As long as the bird is exhibiting hormonal tendencies and out of her cage, it might be a good idea to limit the closeness with your friend, lest the bird get some crazy idea about being scorned.....

Good luck.....

 

[RavensGryf]

Aahh, so it's a Poicephalus, not a Pionus now it's starting to make sense. Poi's are completely different. I'd never allow a Poi on my shoulder. I love them, I have 2, but Poi's are nippy little creatures, and now you know first hand they're pretty hard biters too. They can displacement bite very easily. They tend to bite first, ask questions later. It's just a trait hardwired into Poicephalus in general.

It might make it a little easier to keep in mind that even a tame parrot is essentially an exotic wild animal, and you can't just put the bird on your body anywhere you please, ESPEICALLY SOMEONE ELSE'S bird.

Oh, and Poi's are INFAMOUS for being one person birds, and many are this way even with heavy socialization from a young age. It could simply just be that.

 

[LadyJemima]

Thanks for the answer, Raven. By the way (a little embarrassed to ask) but what's a displacement bite?

 

[thekarens]

Thanks for the answer, Raven. By the way (a little embarrassed to ask) but what's a displacement bite?

Example: Sammie, my female sennie is on my shoulder. Zoe, my mac, flies over, Sammie chomps on me because she can't chomp Zoe. If you can't chomp who you want, chomp who is closest.

 

[RavensGryf]

Karen gave an example, but displacement is only one of the many reasons Poi's bite. They're well known for being biters unfortunately... Most long term Poi owners, or experienced people who are familiar with the family genus can tell you the same. Again, I'm talking about well adjusted tame pets. They freak pretty easily, and yes you guessed it, that can make them bite hard too. One thing which makes it hard to avoid, is that many times Poi's will show VERY subtle body language or seemingly none (probably only a second before striking, not giving enough reaction time to remove your flesh). When Robin was younger, he used to ask for neck scritches, then when my finger got there, bam!! He'd whip his head around for a hard bite. I've heard of other African species doing that too. Seems they're not as (what humans would call) straight forward as most South American species are? They definitely need LESS of a "good reason" to bite hard than some other species. Like I said, 'bite first, ask questions later' is in their nature.

I remember once reading a thread on a forum which was talking about the "worst" bite you've ever had from ANY parrot, and many people said it was a Poicephalus (Senegal, Meyer's, Red Bellied). Having not only been a Poi owner for 20+ years, but hearing many stories during that time, I can tell you it's true for me also. I've had substantially larger birds, and my beloved Red Bellied male has inflicted the deepest, hardest bites ever. Like these other people were saying. I'm not saying they can bite harder than a Macaw of course, but you get my point. They typically don't bite and release, it's hang on until they either have a piece of flesh, or you pry them off, and it's harder than you'd think. ESPEICALLY when hormonal .

That being said, Poicephalus are my all time FAVORITE genus of parrot. WHY?! Even after all I said above? Because they are the cutest, cuddliest, softest (extremely soft feathers), super independent, and most of the time very loving birds who make the most adorable little noises when they're loving you. Just makes my heart melt. Plus it could just be I'm used to that Poi attitude . It's every bit worth it