Why is my Quaker suddenly aggressive

[Kiwiii]

Hi, so I recently got a Quaker. From the start I (thought) he was amazing friendly, because he had flew out of his cage well trying to put him in and instantly stepped up with no issue. And crawled up my arm to shoulder before I could put him back in. And went right off and into his cage. He was quite and a good bird. The next day he was eager to be let out so I did and let him go to his play thing on top (his previous owner did not have a cage or toys and now dosent understand toys and hates being in his cage). Later on he went back in and was fine a few days past, still friendly but now only towards me because he had attacked two of my family members one 3 times and the other once. I was always careful and friendly as him to me. But suddenly today when I let him out of his cadge he had flew to me ( luckily I had a blanket thing to cover myself with ) and started biting me all over untill he was done. Since he seemed to have calmed down I let him out again leaving him completely alone. after awhile he had to go back in cause I had to leave and he the second I went into his room he flew to me to attack me. Again I managed to somehow get him back in. I don’t know why out of nowehere with me doing nothing wrong he’s being mean.

 

[MonicaMc]

Unfortunately, there could be very many reasons for this behavior. A lot of people would recommend clipping him, but I can't. To me, clipping a parrot that is showing undesired behavior is like putting air into a tire with a nail in it. At best, it's a temporary solution, worst case, it doesn't do anything at all.


What I would recommend is caging him. This might not be easy for any of you, him especially, but do not let him out of his cage. We want to prevent and redirect this unwanted behavior, and if allowing him out of the cage results in the behavior we don't want, then we need to prevent it.

Next, we need to find a target. This could be an acrylic stick, a craft stick, chopsticks, empty pen case, etc. Hopefully something the quaker isn't afraid of!

We also need to know what his favorite treats are. Is it millet? Sunflower seeds? Nuts? Dried fruit? Whatever his favorite treats are, we'll use these to train him with.


While caged, you start working on teaching target training through the cage bars and learn how to deliver the treat in such a way so as to not get bitten. Another member here has a video on target training an eclectus!j

Once your quaker is able to target to any place within the cage through the cage bars, then you can open up the door and start target training through the door, then eventually around the outside of the cage and then away from the cage.


It's a lot easier if you have a big cage for him with a big door! The point of all this training is to start a foundation of positive experiences between you and him. You're family can also help out with the training so that he learns that everyone is "good".



You can also work on station training within the cage, foraging activities, and once he's out of the cage without issues, you can start training new behaviors that give him direction. Simple things such as turn around, come, pick up an object, put the object in something, etc. Training these behaviors can help stimulate his mind and teach him to interact positively with others.

 

[EllenD]

I'm just going to add something here...You've only had him for a week or so, correct? So there was the immediate period where he was taken from his home and his person/people, and then put into a new house with new people and into a cage, which he had never been-in before...he was most likely being "nice" to you because he was scared/anxious...

You have to understand that a Quaker is extremely intelligent, and your's has just been taken from his home and his people, and put into a brand new situation. He's not at all being "mean", he's being an adult bird that was just put into an entirely new world. Imagine if that happened to you, how would you react? It does sometimes take time to get an adult bird you adopt comfortable in their new home and with new people. And whether you target-train him as Monica suggested above, or you simply take the "hand-taming" approach of working with him inside his cage to slowly get him to first step-up, then out of the cage, etc., whatever you choose is going to take time. And I'm talking months, not days...

Also, Quaker Parrots are extremely vocal birds, I hope that you knew that before you adopted him. I don't want you to think he's not being a "good bird" if he is not quiet, as Quakers typically talk/yell all day long, and they aren't "quiet" birds at all. My 2 year old female spends the entire day playing and talking to herself, to me, to my other birds, etc. Usually she's the only bird in the house who is constantly talking and yelling, singing and dancing, laughing and flying around having fun. So please don't think that he is being a "bad bird" when he starts to feel more comfortable and becomes very vocal.

This is just going to take time...a marathon, not a sprint. Adopting an adult bird who has had a prior owner for a long period of time sometimes takes a lot of patience and work with the bird to bond with him. Sometimes it happen very quickly, it just depends on the bird...but it's usually not like adopting an adult dog from a prior family, birds are more like humans than animals in their feelings and behaviors. Just be patient with him and spend as much time with him as you can each day, talk to him a lot, etc. It will happen, but it's going to take time...

 

[susan10575]

I would agree mostly with what's being said..give him time to get adjusted to you..however this biting thing bothers me..I have 6 Quakers..God help me..lol..I just got they're wings clipped only because one got loose and flew away..they say it calms them down..hmm more like they're wondering why can't I fly anymore..but it did make them more reliable on me and stopped my one from biting because he didn't want to go back in his cage..you could try that..their flight wings grow back pretty quick. It's a thought as I'm always petrified someone will open a door and c'est la vie!. Good luck with him and so happy you got him back.

Hi, so I recently got a Quaker. From the start I (thought) he was amazing friendly, because he had flew out of his cage well trying to put him in and instantly stepped up with no issue. And crawled up my arm to shoulder before I could put him back in. And went right off and into his cage. He was quite and a good bird. The next day he was eager to be let out so I did and let him go to his play thing on top (his previous owner did not have a cage or toys and now dosent understand toys and hates being in his cage). Later on he went back in and was fine a few days past, still friendly but now only towards me because he had attacked two of my family members one 3 times and the other once. I was always careful and friendly as him to me. But suddenly today when I let him out of his cadge he had flew to me ( luckily I had a blanket thing to cover myself with ) and started biting me all over untill he was done. Since he seemed to have calmed down I let him out again leaving him completely alone. after awhile he had to go back in cause I had to leave and he the second I went into his room he flew to me to attack me. Again I managed to somehow get him back in. I don’t know why out of nowehere with me doing nothing wrong he’s being mean.

Sent from my LGMP450 using Tapatalk