This got so out of hand !

[Williamsong]

So some of you may know that cookie recently injured his wing because my son threw a towel at him when he was trying to attack, this has happened many times before, cookie has even flew on top of my son as he was doing homework and ripped out his hair. We have tried getting cookie to tolerate my son by me sitting with cookie and my son sitting next to us and offering treats to cookie, cookie loves him if he has food. If my son is sitting on the couch with food that cookie wants he will climb down off the cage and step up on my sons hand to get some food, but then in 5 minutes he will start attacking again as soon as the food is gone and cookie is done, my son is 14 so he isn't little, and Desiree the tag and baby the gcc are technically his birds and cookie is my bird, and he is very good with them so it's not like he isn't experienced, I need to know how to stop this so that there are no further injuries to my son or cookie.

 

[JerseyWendy]

So I take it Cookie's wing is all right then from what happened yesterday evening?

There is no easy fix or answer to Cookie's behavior towards your son. It sounds as if she's chosen you as her to-go-to person, and perceives everyone else as a threat that must be dealt with (in her own way).

Throwing a towel at Cookie has obviously proven not to be the best method.

Have you tried putting her in time out each time she goes on the attack? Have you tried putting yourself between Cookie and your son? If so, what was her reaction? (Many Amazons display misguided aggression, where they bite the person closest to them if they can't get to the one they REALLY wanted to bite at that particular moment.)

What have you tried to stop this behavior? Once we know what all you've tried, and what hasn't worked, we may be able to come up with a solution.

 

[Williamsong]

Well I have tried getting in between cookie and my son but whenever I do that cookie will not show any affection towards me for the next day or two because he's mad at me for protecting my son and getting in the way of him flying at my son. We've also tried putting him in his cage when he attacks or after but that never really work because he's a pretty independent bird already so when he's in his cage he's fine just sitting there playing with his toys and it doesn't really affect him to lock him in his cage. But again if Gage has a type of food that cookie really really wants he will immediately forget all differences that they have and step up on Gage just as if Gage were me he will step up with no problem and sit On Gage's lap and eat food but I soon as Gage takes the food away he will go back to his normal self and attack Gage. That's all we have tried.

 

[Birdman666]

Well, I have said this before, and I know it's controversial for some folks...

But birds that are aggressive and attacky need to be clipped. It is a safety issue. Wings grow back, and can be allowed to grow back when the behavior improves. Until then, safety for all concerned is a priority...

Then go back to basics. Basic step up. Basic socialization. Disfavored person training.

Start over... with repatterning. Fix what is broken.

 

[henpecked]

Sounds like Cookie is in charge. when the bird is the flock leader in a human household ,chaos is the result. your son needs to put Cookie away before cookie bites him , cookie's way of saying "i've had enough". i agree with clipping in this case. In fact everyone needs to start making decisions for cookie. Start by winning small battles that you can win. Like when it's time to go back to the cage. Stop petting him/giving attention before he's ready. maybe only one treat instead of all he can eat until it's gone. You need to take charge and show him how things will be in YOUR flock. (and just who the leader is) If you're aggressive to others when moms around then mom will put you away. just my .02 worth

 

[keikoasmom]

So sorry you are going through this, but I have all of my birds clipped mainly for
safety reasons, but also control.
Only two are unclipped, Bubo because she chews her feathers and Little Bird, because
we can't catch him, lol!
Of our tame birds. Keikoa and Friday might bite several people.
Keikoa in particular holds a grudge against two of our sons, and has bit all four
of the kids. It is frustrating, we want the kids to like them, but the birds came here
after the kids were grown, and especially with the two boys, Keikoa did not like them arguing with me.
Loudly. And birds have long memories.
With Bubo or Brandy (Goffins) a bite is only saying, "not now" or "I've had enough".
Friday is "bitey" because her former owners never handled her or let her
out of the cage for 25 years. She loves my hubby and one son, but will still bite
if scared or annoyed.

I would (after clipping) keep Cookie away from your son, but let her
observe you hugging him and him interacting with the other birds, but
not expect her to love him. He may never be able to handle her, just like
our Friday. I feed her and give her scritches morning and night (for 6 years) and
she still tries to bit me. The last time I forgot who I was trying to pick up,
she bit me to the bone, and Keikoa has never forgotten. (much worse than my wound).
I ALWAYS use a stick to pick up Friday, and if she is aggitated, I use the Womach
method of two sticks, one to gently touch her with if she tries to come up the stick
at me, or lunge at me. I try not to make her worse. I also try to "gentle" all
of them or when they are aggitated.
Best of luck!

 

[Kiwibird]

I agree with all the posters, clipping sounds necessary. This situation is not safe for anyone as-is and clipped wings that can be grown out again once Cookies behavior improves are a lot less harmful than Cookie getting accidentally hurt or killed when he attacks. I was just saying in another thread, some of these older zons have been in charge for so long (in prior homes) they just automatically feel they are in charge of human interactions in your home too. Clipping will knock him down a notch and give your son an opening to start non-contact trust building to at least get Cookie to a point he doesn't try to attack him (or at best, may grow to like him).

I personally wouldn't have a bird who didn't step up to or who went out of their way to attack any permanent member of the household, but if Cookie isn't your sons bird and being at his age, in a few years he'll be moving out on his own anyways, it may be a case of him simply avoiding Cookie when he's out of his cage. Though, I still support every member of a household to at least be on non-attacking terms with a bird. Makes things simpler. They may never 'love' each other, but it's not beneficial to either when Cookie is being that aggressive.

 

[95talongirl]

I have to agree with everyone else here, too. Cookie needs to be clipped. Once he learns to behave again, can let them grow back. So sorry you have to go through this. I wish you the best of luck. Don't really have anything more to add, as a bunch of really good advise has been given already.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

My birds are ALWAYS clipped. Amy Will lunge at my brother,even when he is feeding her. Even after 26 years,I also use a stick to get Amy to come up..At times she is fine with getting on my hand or arm,other times she'll even lunge at me. She can also sit for hours on my leg or lap and just let me scritch her head and neck,with her eyes closed and beak laying on my leg.
At one point,even being clipped,she ran down the hall with her arms out wide,chasing my ex wife! lol it was funny,and scarry
She still asks me if I have that "damn bird" lol

Amazon's are tricky,and unpredictable in my experiences with them.

Jim

 

[thebirdnerd]

This bird really needs to be clipped, for everyone's safety. In my experience when certain species are fully flighted, especially if they aren't trained, they tend to start showing wild tendencies. You don't want to take the chance here, especially with an aggressive large zon. Clipping, when done properly, doesn't harm the bird in ANY way. I hope everything works out for you.