Our pet amazon parrot Emerald and dog have been been living together for years in harmony until recently. My parrot now started to attack and chase our dog who is well trained and tolerant of our pet bird. However, we are concerned of him snapping at the bird one day if the abuse continues.
Emerald climbs down off her cage to try to bite him and to chase him out of the room. She also does this to other family members or visitors. She never did that before. She seems to be jealous. She will even come after me if I stop her from attacking others.
Our pet amazon parrot Emerald and dog have been been living together for years in harmony until recently. My parrot now started to attack and chase our dog who is well trained and tolerant of our pet bird. However, we are concerned of him snapping at the bird one day if the abuse continues.
Emerald climbs down off her cage to try to bite him and to chase him out of the room. She also does this to other family members or visitors. She never did that before. She seems to be jealous. She will even come after me if I stop her from attacking others. I hate the idea of keeping her locked up all the time now, but what is the alternative? We need HELP! R
This appear to be a case of…
This appear to be a case of hormonal aggression and this is one concern that we hear about on a regular basis. Amazon parrots are known for that; although some other parrots are also quite difficult come breeding season. During this time they are very protective of their mates (in this case: you) and nesting territory (cage / nestbox or the entire room). This webpage provides some information on how to reduce it . You can’t eliminate natural behavior. It’s as natural as PMS in human females. However, there are ways of minimizing it. This webpage has relevant information: http://www.avianweb.com/sexualbehaviorinbirds.html The good news is that this only happens when they are in nesting mode / broody. Once the breeding season is over, they will usually settle down. The webpage linked up provides information on how to delay breeding mode and how to shorten it. Certain food items and environmental factors create broodiness in birds, while others reduce it or potentially even prevent a female from becoming broody. At the height of broodiness, keeping a bird caged most of the time may be the only solution. If she is okay when you are alone, I would close all the doors, keep everybody out and just hang out with a female for an hour or so in the evening, and – if she is flighted – allow her to fly around the room for an hour so that she gets the exercise she needs to stay healthy. Again, at this time, do not allow her out if the dog or another person is in the room … This could end in injury and potentially result in your opting to give her up. It is so difficult to find good homes for larger parrots, such as the Amazon parrots, that I would hate for that to happen. This is a challenge for sure – but one that you can overcome with a little planning. Some visitors claimed that playing classical or other calming music also seems to help settle them down. They will also pick up nervousness from us – so never approach your pet when YOU are upset. As prey animals they will bite before they think. If you approach her in a manner that she perceives as threatening, bites are likely. So whenever you approach her quickly, she may bite (she doesn’t have time to analyze why you are approaching her quickly). When you or your pet parrot are upset – never pick her up with your arm / hand. In these situations, use a wooden perch to pick your pet up and place her back into the cage. I have a couple of wooden T-perches (one long one and one short one) that I use for those purposes. Once you and your pet are calm, you can slowly approach her. Only touch her when her body language is telling you that it is safe for you to do that. There are clues: http://www.avianweb.com/communicatewithyourbirds.html … Best of luck! Sib
Emerald has been a great
Emerald has been a great
broody birds
broody birds
So it seems that the problem
So it seems that the problem
Amazon boy
We got a boy that was extremely abused and neglected by an older woman who killed his mate, he has bonded with my daughter and doesn’t like anyone else or bird’s we have rescued over the year’s here. He is a wonderful boy but I’m trying to find out how I can get him to trust or even like me, whenever my daughter is around me he will flip out trying hard to actually attack me while he is in the cage. The other day when we were done with his bath he got a hold of my hand and almost took off my finger. He was so happy that he finally got me and was so proud of himself. 🙂 I can’t get mad at him for providing protection to my daughter or for himself at that and all I could do was pull my finger up and say *ya got me* lol I was rushed to the ER where he took a lot of the bone out but I still got the finger. I deal with a lot of birds that sadly were abused by scumbags and I won’t ever give up on caring for them but I would like to know if there is anything I can do to make life a little more easy on me around him and him also as I believe a lot of this anger he has also is because of the abuse he had in his pass and my hair looks just like her’s so I know that can’t help. I sing to him and give him lots of treats… He is really a favorite of mine because he is such a wonderful boy who truly just needs his space and understanding of what he has been through. I don’t believe in a bad bird as many veterinary care providers here may say but I do believe in a bad owner and bad vet’s, I also know for a fact that anyone who has a bird should understand that sooner or later you may lose a finger or two but that doesn’t mean that you stop doing what you do for them. Our bird’s are for life and I would die for them all, I just need additional information about how to be a better idea of what I need to do for him so my body can have a wonderful time enjoy being around him also without losing to many fingers in the process. We have had him now for one year as the first five were all about getting his health up and him knowing how to eat and play, he was put in a box most of his life and abused so we are the only human faces he has ever seen other then his abusers. Anyways thanks for your time and attention and sorry about this being so long winded.