Ishtarte

hey everyone Happy New Year to all, thank you for your replies. The story is that when we first bought her she was not a baby but a fully grown parrot(but young). I regret to say but i think she was caught in the wild because she does not have the ring on her foot. Nevertheless my parents bought her from a pet store but one can never be sure. When i was a baby my mother was taking care of her. Yet she always loved my dad. While i was growing older (before i was clearly a woman to her lol) she was nicer, she would give me kisses and would let me pet her more than now. As i grew older and she realized i did not have testosterone she became more aggressive towards me. Thing is she was limited to her cage for many years because unfortunately my parents did not have much education on parrots and they bought her because she could speak (big mistake for those fascinating animals) so a year ago after i returned home from college i demanded that she would have freedom. so now she is out of her cage all the time. To a certain extend i understand that she was not socialized so she can't be the sweetest bird but on the other hand her affections for my father never changed. As for Irishchicky's theory i believe it may have a point. But i am very strongly convinced that even the parrots that were properly socialized will have personal likings towards the opposite sex. My experience with parrots has taught me that, even complete stranger parrots in pet shops will approach me if they are males. Also i have a cockatiel (male) that i take care of exclusively and although i made him social with people, he obviously prefers me. (not that we can compare a cockatiel's intelligence and complexity with a grey African's) The thing is because of her, i grew up loving parrots more than any other animal. To an extend i feel she doesn't hate me too much. Sometime ago she was sick and once she got better first word she said was my name. Then when i was away for college i asked my mom to let me talk to her on the phone and she called my name once she heard my voice although she had not seen me for about a year. Generally i see she likes me and calls on me but she does not want me to touch her much which i totally respect although i don't like it lol

I will have to agree with you, i give her treats and act like a clown to make her happy since her "person" doesn't share her fascination. I would not force her into liking me because i understand it's her instinct to act like this.I read they have the EQ of a 2 years old child. Yet she doesn't try to bite only when i try to caress her, but also when i try to change her food(ok let's say she considers it invasion of her territory) and when i pass by the cage, sometimes even when she's on the floor she comes under the table and bites our shoes (only mine and my mom's naturally). Is this some kind of a twisted game of hers?Does she enjoy inflicting pain? lol Once i passed by a pet shop and saw a male grey African, we immediately bonded.He let me caress him and even gave me kisses. The owner was astonished and told me that they usually have the parrot at home with his other brother but he never acts this way with them and they had him for 6 years.He would bite them often despite all the efforts they made. He would prefer a total stranger who happens to be a woman to the people that take care of him.How fair is that? :pinch: Anyhow, thank you for your time and patience and for letting me share my pain lol Best wishes for the new year!!!

hello everyone. i am new to this forum. I have a female grey african since 25 years (my parents bought it when i was a baby). I know that grey africans tend to be one person birds. Mine usually bites me and my mom altho we r the ones to take care of her. On the other hand she adores my dad although he doesn't spend much time with her and never ever bites him.In fact she's like a puppy with him. I know this is normal and i don't take it personally, sometimes she shows me that she doesn't dislike me as much i think, she calls me when i'm in another room or she dances with me. But she won't let me caress her head for longer than few seconds and she is always on guard.I tried everything with her, positive reinforcement etc in order to get her to stop biting me but there is no hope i think...any ideas?