Biting Cockatoo

[Jazzy Bird]

Hello everyone. Jasmine, our umbrella cockatoo, has been biting me lately. As a result, I’m handling her less. She never bites my husband. During a vet appt last week we determined it’s likely hormonal. Vet recommended more dark time. I bought a black out cage cover that I’ll start using tonight. I hope this helps. Any other advice? I miss my bird!

 

[dianaT]

Time and patience I guess be careful she's not too hot this weather under that cover.

 

[Wendy Wolfe]

Dora gets pretty bitey (Senegal, so often nippy
anyway) when she's hormonal but never, ever bites my husband!!
I use a blank cage cover at night but make sure there is plenty of ventilation from underneath and when it's hot I leave the side open a little.

 

[DizzyBlue]

If it's hormonal then at the end of breeding season things will be back to normal.
If she's chosen your hubby over you then it's back to basics and retraining.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

The vet said “maybe she’s found her mate and it’s not you.”

 

[Jazzy Bird]

How long will breeding season last? It’s not too hot under cover but I did leave a small part open for some air flow.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

We adopted the birds after my mom passed, so have been learning as we go. Not sure about basics and retraining related to biting.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

She’s mostly quiet when it’s just me home. She sees him pull up in driveway and the screaming begins. Non stop. Until he isn’t around.

 

[Wera]

We had some success with trying to redirect hormonal behaviour… it didn’t go away just got better and easier … lots of foraging activities and making sure that parrots have right toys ( toys they like and play with)target training when outside … last year one of my parrots was particularly bad and I was handling her on T perch… funnily she never turned against my boyfriend

 

[Jazzy Bird]

Jasmine’s right side is bad, so she doesn’t and will never fly. Any specific recommendations for toys? She likes toys she can pick up and drop onto her cage, to make noise.

Does more dark time have to be consistent or can covering her for naps help? The vet said she had a U2 before who was hormonal and since she lived alone, she simply gave her food and water but otherwise didn’t interact with her for a period of time.

I miss her. It’s me who grooms her, holds her often, and spends the most time with her. I work from home. I know not to touch her besides on head and feet.




This has been going on for about six weeks or so. It started with her being really loud, even when it was just me home with her. And then the biting started. It almost seems like, by my husband having to pick her up for things like putting her in the shower, might just make the situation worse. She can’t step up on a perch because of her bad right side.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

Bites that have drawn blood and leave marks. I still have the marks from the last bad bite about two weeks ago.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

She will let me pick her up from shower perch when she’s finished showering. I’ve tried standing on a stool to be higher than her. I know she can sense my anxiety. Not sure if I should pick her up and risk getting bit to show her I’m not scared. Idk. Feeling sad about this.

 

[Wera]

Would she get on T perch? Bites were reason why I was handling Blu on T perch for while… I wouldn’t cover her cage during day personally, one of my girls likes to scream when inside cage and they used to cover her in previous house during day until now she is terrified of any kind of covers… I usually try to give my parrots longer bedtime so if they are particularly hormonal they sleep for 13-14 hours instead of usual 12… although I am not sure how helpful it is

 

[Jazzy Bird]

She’s never stepped up on a perch. We’ve never tried though. Her right foot is backwards, so she basically walks on her wrist. She gets a good 12 hours every night. Last night, she had 14 hours. We have a pool and typically take her back there with our conure, in other cages we have for them. Hesitant to take her back, thinking she may need alone time. Idk. I also wondered if me spending less time with her, could make her worse.

 

[Jazzy Bird]

She still lets me touch and groom her pin feathers on head. Just anytime I go to pick up, she makes her move like she’s going to bite. Sometimes hisses. A couple times when putting her back in the cage, she bit me also. Once on my chest which had never happened.

 

[Wendy Wolfe]

I'm hoping that @Roz might pick up on this conversation as she seems to both understand bird psychology and know all the training tricks. In the meantime have a look in the forum menu under the nehaviour and training sections which might have some useful info.

 

[Roz]

Hi @Jazzy Bird! Sorry you are having trouble with Jasmine. I can imagine those bites very painful! Hormonal times can be very difficult.

It's helpful that you know what you can and can't do with her. Keep doing the things you can do successfully with her, such as grooming the pin feathers on her head and picking her up after a shower. Try not to do the things that lead to a bite, because it is only teaching her to bite more in those situations. At the moment she is giving body language to say she is going to bite (which is great as some birds don't!), so try to respect that to avoid getting bitten. I wonder if she could step up on a folded fat rope perch? Something like this. This is what I pick up Kobe (Pionus) with when he is hormonal. You could squeeze it together more so that the two sides support her:



Jasmine may have chosen your husband as her mate, but you can still have your own special relationship with her. The trick is to pair yourself with something desirable. I suggest training her to do something simple like targeting. This is teaching a bird to touch a target (maybe the end of a chopstick or other stick or toy) with a body part (usually the beak, but can be the foot) for a reward/reinforcer (a treat works well). If she is likely to bite, you can start off teaching her inside her cage - the bars with protect you. Whilst she has fun being successful at touching the target on cue and earning yummy treats, you also get paired with the whole fun experience. Win win! This is how you teach a bird to target:

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot

Target training is a fantastic first behaviour to teach. It can be taught inside or outside the cage.

thinkparrot.com

How is her diet? You could try reducing carbohydrates (pasta, corn, etc). Avoid warm mushy food too. Don't let her have access to any small dark places like boxes, drawers and cupboards.

You might like to read this about aggression in parrots:

Aggression In Parrots | ThinkParrot

What is the purpose of aggressive behaviour in our parrots? How to address aggression using the least intrusive methods.

thinkparrot.com

 

[Jazzy Bird]

I'm hoping that @Roz might pick up on this conversation as she seems to both understand bird psychology and know all the training tricks. In the meantime have a look in the forum menu under the nehaviour and training sections which might have some useful info.

Thank you!

 

[Jazzy Bird]

Hi @Jazzy Bird! Sorry you are having trouble with Jasmine. I can imagine those bites very painful! Hormonal times can be very difficult.

It's helpful that you know what you can and can't do with her. Keep doing the things you can do successfully with her, such as grooming the pin feathers on her head and picking her up after a shower. Try not to do the things that lead to a bite, because it is only teaching her to bite more in those situations. At the moment she is giving body language to say she is going to bite (which is great as some birds don't!), so try to respect that to avoid getting bitten. I wonder if she could step up on a folded fat rope perch? Something like this. This is what I pick up Kobe (Pionus) with when he is hormonal. You could squeeze it together more so that the two sides support her:

View attachment 36257

Jasmine may have chosen your husband as her mate, but you can still have your own special relationship with her. The trick is to pair yourself with something desirable. I suggest training her to do something simple like targeting. This is teaching a bird to touch a target (maybe the end of a chopstick or other stick or toy) with a body part (usually the beak, but can be the foot) for a reward/reinforcer (a treat works well). If she is likely to bite, you can start off teaching her inside her cage - the bars with protect you. Whilst she has fun being successful at touching the target on cue and earning yummy treats, you also get paired with the whole fun experience. Win win! This is how you teach a bird to target:

Target Training Your Parrot | ThinkParrot

Target training is a fantastic first behaviour to teach. It can be taught inside or outside the cage.

thinkparrot.com

How is her diet? You could try reducing carbohydrates (pasta, corn, etc). Avoid warm mushy food too. Don't let her have access to any small dark places like boxes, drawers and cupboards.

You might like to read this about aggression in parrots:

Aggression In Parrots | ThinkParrot

What is the purpose of aggressive behaviour in our parrots? How to address aggression using the least intrusive methods.

thinkparrot.com

We give her pellet, seed mix, fruit, oatmeal, uncooked pasta, peanut butter, and other random things. Def need more veggies. Pellet mix is a veggie mix of some sort. She does have box on top of cage that she chews up and goes in. She also goes underneath her cage, under newspaper sometimes. Should I do away with box for now?

 

[Jazzy Bird]

Thank you for the feedback! I sometimes play toss with her, which she seems to like. Small plastic bird toys. Gus likes it too. Good to know her giving me a warning sign of bite is a positive sign. We have those types of rope perches in her and Gus’ cage but none loose. I’ll def consider though. She’s never really stepped up. She does, however, raise her foot sometimes if she knows she’s being picked up. So maybe it’s possible. I’ll check out those links. Thanks again!!!