question about my grandfathers bird needing help

[ShannonC]

My grandfather has taken in an abused home recently. He is 26 years old. Can a new owner win him over because he can get mean and bite. Almost waits for the attack. He just wants to be able to love this bird and not have it be so afraid. Any help wiLL be appreciated

 

[ShannonC]

Also he got him in April so has not been a year yet. He has a personality but he is just mean. My fear is he will always be mean....

 

[Kiwibird]

What kind of bird is he? Any history on the bird besides he was abused (i.e. how many homes, in what way was he abused ext...)? Has the bird been to an avian vet, and if so, was he deemed healthy? What is the birds setup? Toys? Flighted or clipped? Cage bound? Cage aggressive? DNA or assumed male? All these things can help us help you have a better plan to work with your new feathered friend Sometimes with older rescue birds, it can take quite a bit of time and patience, but 99.9999% of the time, a bird can lear to love and trust again. Knowing more about the bird can help come up with a better plan of action:

 

[ShannonC]

His name is Kenny. He outlived his owner and was cages bounded. He has been to a avian vet and they said he was starving and ate all his feathers. He is now better, bright green and pretty. He does talk a lot. He's angry it seems. Bit the vet and if my grandfather puts hand in cage he goes after him. He has hanging toys. Our concern is he is aggressive

 

[Kiwibird]

Well, I would be angry too if I had been locked in a cage without proper nutrition and forced to gnaw on myself out of hunger for god knows how long! Obviously that's not the fault of anyone in your family, and you are clearly wanting to help Kenny. However, Kenny has no reason to trust humans in general right now. What kind of trust building activities have you tried so far? Typically, good started activities to gain trust with abused birds would be to sit by the cage and read (or talk) softly to the bird. It doesn't matter what exactly your's reading/saying, it's the soothing tone of voice that familiarizes them with your presence and associates you as an individual as a non-threat. As he becomes more comfortable, you can bring over some favorite foods and eat (or pretend to eat) some then 'share' with him, all while he is still safely in his cage. Whenever he comes near, reward him with a treat. This process can go quickly or slowly, it depends on the bird and they set the pace. Once he starts gaining trust, then you can start working on the issues with being cage bound and quite possibly not knowing how to step up (it happens that some birds have never been taught). Baby steps with these guys. It took several months before our bird was ready to come out and explore and even longer before he was ready to start learning how to step up.

Toys are especially important for aggressive birds and feather chewers, so I'm glad he has some. The toys give them something to occupy themselves, vent their rage on and a distraction from chewing on themselves Is he playing with or chewing on them at all yet?

And understanding he had an extremely poor diet for some time and years of poor nutrition won't be undone in a few months- What kind of diet is he eating now? Any acceptance of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables? Any luck converting him to pellets or fresh food? Did the vet give any guidelines? Nutrition can play a huge factor in behavior. If the bird is feeling run down and icky all the time due to poor nutrition (amazons are especially prone to these issues, especially if on an all seed diet or eating lots of unhealthy human food), it makes them crabby. And I think just about everyone who's ever rescued a bird knows getting them to eat healthy foods can be extremely difficult, so no judgment on you, just curious how he's progressing diet wise

Just a heads up too- One more thing is expect for his aggression issues (if he is in fact a male) is for the aggression to get worse here shortly. Males (even old ones) get hormonal around this time of year, and even birds who've been in a loving home their entire lives can get perturbed by their 'natural urges' Aggressive male rescues can backtrack on any progress made and/or may not make any new progress during the breeding season. It usually subsides after a few weeks and is totally normal/healthy.

 

[ShannonC]

He does eat fruit and veggies, peanuts, papaya, and seesee food. Another thing is he can clean his cage and change his food no problem but if his girlfriend is in the room Kenny will attack him. Not sure if jealous thing? But he is very calm with her. He is calm with my grandfather if alone. We just want ideas on getting him comfortable and we know it will take time. He does leave radio on for him when they are not home too

 

[jthorntonwillis]

@kiwibird You are the best ! you need to open a rescue!!

 

[Kiwibird]

That is excellent news that he eats his fruits and veg willingly One less issue for you to deal with (it's a very common one, and a serious matter).

What he's doing in response to the girlfriend is most certainly a jealousy thing. It's called displacement biting, and is very common in amazons once they take to a person. The good news it it sounds like he is indeed warming up to your grandfather, but needs further socialization with everyone else. This is an *excellent* thread on biting:
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48616-types-biting-behavior-mods.html
In fact, Birdman666 is one of the "resident experts" on bird behavior on the forum, so I would definitely heed his advice on how to handle bites. Displacement biting is covered on the second page of the thread, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to read the short blurps on the many other reason a parrot bites and what to do about it.

The radio is a good idea. Most birds like it. Many (especially older ones) take the opportunity to nap when humans aren't around he needs to keep an eye on.

 

[Kiwibird]

@kiwibird You are the best ! you need to open a rescue!!

Haha, I'll let my landlords know I'll be taking in a bunch of parrots with behavioral issues and see how it goes over:09: I would actually love to volunteer at a rescue, but I don't live near any that I can be of any help to (not in the position to foster, and theres only foster networks here)

 

[ShannonC]

Thanks so much any help much appreciated he loves this bird

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks so much any help much appreciated he loves this bird

Sounds like Kenny is well on his way to loving your grandfather back! Don't be afraid to ask further questions as things progress or if theres any behaviors you don't understand

 

[henpecked]

It's good he likes someone in your household. He may be aggressive to nonfavorite people however the more friends he has the easier it is for him to make new ones. One personess , is common with many zons, if he likes more than one person, that's a good sign. Don't make your self too "available", play hard to get ,if your not one of his favorite people. Don't make him "drive" you away when he's with a favorite person. Always leave him wanting more of your attentions instead of him calling the shots and driving you away. Leave him wanting more. Find a favorite treat that only you hand out to him, he get's them from no other source. Only hand them out after he does something you like. YOU BE INCHARGE , of some same part in his life. Don't let him have the chance to boss you around, ( Control the situation). IMO that bird has a good chance at being a good family pet. Thanks for giving an older zon a chance at a good home.