Attack Mode & Other Questions

BernadetteReilly

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  1. BernadetteReilly:
    Hi All! Its been some time that iv been active on this group! Since i rescued my blue fronted amazon. Well i had thought it was going good for the first 2 to 3 weeks, he let me scratch his head, he was taking food from my hand. All of a sudden hes done a 360 and just in "attack mode" anyone that walks past his cage he jumps at you as if he wants to bite you. I struggle everyday to give him his food because he just wants to bite me. My heart is broken and i really thought we were bonding.
    26 minutes ago
  2. BernadetteReilly:
    Hes been acting up for the last 2 months i would say. Iv spoken to a few experts and come to the conclusion that perhaps he feels safe and protecting his "domain" judging from where he came from to now.. hes definitely spoilt!!! Iv gotten him into routine, give him his regular showers which he loves, he loves his birdie bread. Iv done everything and i dont know what iv done wrong here
    19 minutes ago
  3. BernadetteReilly:
    Iv been really patient thus far... and now im really questioning myself and if im doing an injustice by keeping him? Perhaps he would be better off not being a pet bird and be with birds his own kind... i really dont know what to do. Im now considering rehoming him but not to a family that wants him as a pet, it wont work and he will get passed onto the next person. I wont allow that.
 
I will say this it's breeding time and my two male Amazon's are fired up with hormones but it's just something I observe and work around until it passes
Hopefully Roz will get you heading to the right path and it will all settle down again but don't give up it happens to a lot of us your not alone :besos:
@BernadetteReilly
 
Yes, you’re not alone, Bernadette.

Could certainly be hormones making him more sensitive to his environment. Also the first 2 or 3 weeks could have been, as some people call it, the “honeymoon” phase when the bird behaves differently when moved to a new home. Useful knowledge but it doesn’t tell us what to do about it. 🙂

Bear in mind that the more an animal does something the more he is learning to in that situation. Can people be more careful walking past his cage, or even move the cage to an area with less traffic? It may be worse if you make eye contact with him or walk directly towards him. With Kobe who used to do the same I’ve been known to zigzag past him pretending to walk elsewhere. What I’m getting at is to do everything thing you can to keep his body language as relaxed as possible… ie do your best not to let it happen in the first place.

When doesn’t he behave like this? What is he doing? What are you/other members of the family doing at this time? See if you can build on these times. You’ve already mentioned showering. What else? 😊

Doing some training with him is a good idea. Targeting is a very useful behaviour to teach. Plus if you are having trouble slotting in food bowls or cleaning the cage you can simply get him to target to the other side of the cage for a yummy treat. Win win! Here is a link on how to target train:


Also you might be interested in these threads about aggression and biting:


 
Also if it is hormones carbs like birdie bread or warm mushy foods may make it worse. Plus don’t let him have access to what could be perceived as nesting sites like large cardboard boxes, or drawers or the gap under the sofa etc. You may want to put him to bed slightly earlier to shorten daylight hours. Keep petting to head and neck only.
 
I can't add to the excellent advice from Roz, but just wanted to sympathize! If it is down to hormones, it's just something you get used to. I used to be really upset when either of our birds turned into little Jeckyl and Hyde's. I thought we were doing something wrong, but once you've eliminated/changed what you can to help them, whatever behaviour is left is not really avoidable unfortunately.
At the moment our darling sweet little girl is the most stubborn and highly strung banshee, and our cheeky little boy thinks he can take on a pack of wolves! They're blowing smoochy kisses one minute and swiping for us the next. :lol:
You can learn to manage it though so it doesn't become 'normal' behaviour.
 
It sounds like hormonal behaviour to me, which isn't usually for this time of the year. Roz has given some excellent advice in her posts. You really need to cut down on high carbohydrate and fat foods, but don't cut out of the diet completely.

At this time of the year I give Marley unlimited vegetables and I cut down on the fruit, seed, grains and pluses parts of the diet. I also remove some of his toys, such as his bell and his chain toy, as I have found that these have increased his hormonal behaviour. I replaced the toys that I have taken out, with things that keeps his beak busy, ( busy beaks are happy beaks). Don't put any shredding toys in the cage, as he might think they are nesting materials.

You won't be able to suppress these behaviours completely at this time of the year. Marley is in his cage alot more at this time of the year, as his behaviour can be unpredictable. But he still gets out of cage time, but usually just before bed time. Unfortunately blue fronts are one of the hot three, which are extremely aggressive during breeding season. You haven't done anything wrong it's just the time of the year and around the end of August things will be back to normal.

Please remember that you have chosen to live with a wild animal and parrots are far away from being domesticated. So we have to accept these behaviours and learn how to manage them to the best of our knowledge and capabilities.
 
thank you all so so much for all your tips and advice. I appreciate it so much. This helps alot. My mother has a blue fronted amazon (male aswell) and he is the total opposite. Every chance he can get to sit with someone he will. He slides down his cage legs like a fire man and walks straight to you and climbs up your leg. I'm hoping My little guy will get there eventually. I cried eyes out yesterday, getting myself all worked up because I don't know what iv done wrong. But this all makes sense. Breeding season and hormones could play a big part. Thank you all again for taking the time to respond and give me the greatest advice !
 
Remember every bird is an individual @BernadetteReilly. You haven’t done anything wrong.

Most people say Pionus are gentle and sweet and wonderful with children… they haven’t met Kobe my Blue-headed Pionus! I wouldn’t change Kobe for the world, though, as he’s such a character. 😁
 
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