The Parrot "Bite Me!!!" Club

[Muse]

I suppose I should join the club. My first year with the Greybies was filled with frequent bites. Megan now obeys a firm "Don't bite!" in situations where I know she is prone (like when I have to reach in her cage to clean or feed) so I am not losing blood or skin nearly as much. She still attacks my head but that is less a bite and more hair pulling, lol. Mar, however, is hormonal at the moment, just in the beginning stage. I stroked his back the other night while he was on daddy, and he gave me a warning 'nip' - fast and aggressive with a very gentle bite at the end - to let me know he wasn't in the mood. Most of the time he is super cuddly and affectionate and welcomes all touches, but when he starts to get hormonal, he can go from cuddly to biting in less than second. He's a bit less gentle with his bites to daddy at this time, as well, often bruising or breaking skin. He bit me on the finger last night because I was moving him to the stand for his "pooportunity" (a word coined by my niece). Normally he willingly moves over, does the deed, and is immediately praised and put back where he came from without incident. This time he decided he did not want that, and let me know by chomping a finger. No broken skin, just a nice, beak-shaped indent. I am always glad when hormones subside and I get my sweet baby-bird back.

[katana600]

With Megan's fly-by ear chomp, I wasn't even smiling. You are in a transition and being given the what for. It did have to be a shocking moment to jolt you to attention. But Sterling, with your description, I was laughing until I snorted and then got to Dan with the memories of his neck pinch postings and I was a goner. I know it isn't funny but its like that instant when you are walking and hit an ice patch, just as your feet go up over your head, the horror of it gets me every time to laugh like a maniac, even when it is me. I am sure it won't be so dang funny when its my neck getting the big pinch sometime in the very near future.

[kittykittykitty]

I am really angry when Precious bites. It is difficult to control my anger and the time out is usually much longer than five minutes. I do tell her what a naughty (interpret that bad) bird she is.

[MKparrot]

IT IS FOOL MOON TONIGHT. PARROTS TURNS INTO WERE-WOLFS AND BITE!!! BEWARE OF PARROT BITING THESE 2-3 DAYS

The Full Moon influences the psyche of animals with noticeable intensity. Veterinary staff and Animal Control keep busy during this phase. When an animal is upset during the Full Moon they tend to be restless. Dogs and wolves are known to howl during the Full Moon phases, while birds become agitated and become disoriented. Cats hide. The Full Moon tends to rattle both humans and our pets' emotions.

Just to remind you to watch your parrots next 2 days and to see if they are more nervous with no obvious reason and, of course, if they bite. Of course, in case some of you are curious about this.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I believe in full moons! As a nurse, I see it daily. I am sure it affects our birds as well! Nancy

[MKparrot]

I've posted yesterday evening (09:47 PM Macedonian time- GMT +1) that it is a fool moon and to consider the possibility that parrots may bite due to the moon phase. Now, I am serious.... this morning Poly was out of the cage waiting for me to give him fresh water and food. When I ask him to step on my hand to bring him back in the cage to eat, he bite me twice. It was fast and hard. I used the whole "no, no" routine and tried to take him to the cage with my other arm and he bite me there too. So I got 3 bleeding wounds. There was no warning body language, no signs... It was all the same during the last fool moon when I have posted the thread about fool moon influence on parrot biting. For me it is confirmed - my CAG bites during the fool moon phase. Next time I will try to record this on camera.

[murfchck]

Hmmm, my entire flock was aggressive yesterday, I just posted about it in another thread. I thought it was because the cat had gotten herself locked in their room and was crying to get it out all night and maybe they were just tired. The full moon though makes more sense. Step ups were not happening and Cotay was lunging at me to the point she was pulling herself off the branch and fell a few times in the process. And this lasts for how long?? I may need to get a hotel!

[Muse]

Ha Ha Dan! Sooo glad you are NOT seeing fangs! Honestly though, the full moon DOES affect humans. Alzheimers patients get worse, the number of shootings increases. When I get up early at 430 am and see a full moon when I am getting ready for work, I know the night shift has been busy! Nancy

 

Yes, I am a nurse also. I worked in a psychiatric hospital and I can tell you that things always got busy during the full moon.

 

As for the birds? The full moon passed and none were much different. A bit sleep deprived as mommy had a lot of work and tended to work late into the night. These birds don't settle down if they can hear me anywhere in the house. Taking them to their sleeping cages doesn't work well if I am making any noise at all, because they will just call for me. They do settle down and roost if I put them in the room I am working in. I finally gave up (after Megan's disciplinary bite) and moved the kitchen stand into the living-dining room. After all, shampooing carpet is good exercise for mommy, right? We have one combined room for a very small seating area and our dining room set, because what was the last homeowners' dining room has become one of the bird rooms. They have that and cage space in my office (because heaven knows that is where they MUST be!). So while I worked on the living-dining room, the bird stand stayed in there, and so did Marden and Megan. Unfortunately, this means work goes very slow - constantly interrupted by "NO, Megan, don't chew that. NOT YOURS!" or "Mar! Get DOWN from there. Don't poop on the china cabinet!" and a lot of doing work (glass cleaning and sweeping) repeatedly instead of once and done. We finally got through it all, and the room is done and everything in its place. The table is wearing a nice scar where Megan decided to taste-test a corner of it. For a brief moment I considered taking a picture of her with the piece she bit off in her beak and using it to make one of those "And this is why we can't have nice things" pictures for the rogues' gallery on the fridge....hehe. I can't blame it on the full moon, though. That is just what Megan does. She's very destructive.

 

I think the only one who really ramped up for the full moon was me, but BOY did I get a lot done!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

So sorry Muse! I always encourage " listen to your birds!" BUT.... if it doesn't work, then stick to your guns with your expectations. As far as shampooing carpet, save yourself! Get painters plastic from Walmart and spread it 16 by 20. I have one carpet in the entire house. Hardwood floors everywhere else. I don't even try to clean the carpet by myself anymore. Hire Stanley cleaners every three months. Sounds like the relationship is going to be great in the same room with you. Give them that. BUT... when you really have to get work done, let them know, mom is going to do some work. Close and lock the doors. Get some work done for a few hours, promise them when you are done, you will let them out. Always follow up with that promise. They will be waiting and patient. Nancy

[Muse]

Nancy,

I try to be firm on discipline with doses of rule-bending where common sense allows the rules to bend. Sometimes I have to ask myself, am I making this rule for THEIR safety or for my convenience. Generally if there isn't a safety concern, I lean towards listening to what they want. There really isn't much they can do in the living/dining room that could hurt them with the exception of minding them around the lamp because it has a cord and I don't leave them in that room without me right there. Their room has no electrical cords, only a flush-mount ceiling light and lots of bird-safe plants as well as cages and play stands.

 

Eventually there will be no carpet in the house. I have dust/mold allergies (not to bird dander, thankfully) and have found hard floors alleviate the problem. Plus with birds, it just makes life easier. I have a really nice carpet shampooer that is not much bigger than my vacuum cleaner, so I don't mind shampooing the rugs (for now...hehe...soon... they will be gone). I have a steam mop for the hard floors that I LOVE, and am begging for a professional grade steam cleaner for Christmas. We will see how that goes. I have a tiny consumer grade one that goes about 15 minutes then it has to be cooled down and refilled. No fun when cleaning five cages, two of which are 'duplexes'.

 

They are actually pretty good about when I am working. Mar sometimes gets impatient and "digs to China" in his cage. He will beak onto a bar and use one foot to "dig"at the floor of the cage. I try my best to ignore the behavior but sometimes can't resist picking him up. They are also pretty good about keeping it down when I am on the phone. I usually only need to say "Mommy's on the phone, inside voices!" and they pipe down. Megan does like to try to mimic my phone calls, but once I tell her inside voices, she does it very quietly. They are very patient birds most of the time, though. Usually once I get off the phone we have what I call "Birdy Fun time" (the polar opposite of "Birdy Quiet Time" where we put on either Marnie the Ringneck parrot videos (from YouTube) or wild bird sounds. We turn them up very loud and we all make lots of loud noises. Mar loves to fly laps and just screech at the top of his lungs. About fifteen minutes of this and everyone is wound down and ready for "Birdy Quiet time" again! Mar and Meg fight "going back" but the little birds often put themselves up with the exception of Maks who likes to think he's going to spend the night on the top of the trim around the windows and thus he poops on the drapes. We are having a little war over this behavior and so far I am losing. Heh. He's the headstrong one of the bunch.

 

I got them a "young coconut" the day before yesterday, and found that is a GREAT pacifier. Both birds spent over an hour gleefully shredding the husk from the shell. This one is a bit OLDER than it should be, as the shell had already gotten somewhat hard - if they truly are YOUNG, they can usually bust through and then the real mess begins. Shredded plus wet and sticky. I got a lot of stuff done while they were enjoying this fun treat though, and it only took me a minute to sweep up the shredded husk.

[Timbersmom]

My house is all tile and hardwood and I love it. It is so much easier to keep "really clean" than carpet. We have a basment, so coldness of the floors isn't a big issue.

 

Interesting about the coconut! I'll have to find one for Timber, though he will probably be terrified of it (like he was the pumpkin).

[SRSeedBurners]

Our birdy floors are going in currently. Tile in the kitchen, dining, front entry room (whatever that's called) and laundry. Distressed hardwood in the living room and hallways. My wife wouldn't let me set the carpet on fire before they removed it - probably a smart move. The house is 32 years old and it was the original carpet and counters so you can imagine what it was like. Lookup 'Butcher block Formica' - that's the crap countertop we've been living with for 13 years and some nasty linoleum floor along with dingy dirty smelling carpet. Our place was embarrassing to bring anyone over.

 

Yesterday we ran into a snag that has stopped the hardwood installation until we can get a foundation company out. So now we have a concrete living room and hallway. I love it. Anything but that nasty carpet.

 

Would love to hear what you all use to keep tile and hardwood floors clean. Muse - do you have a 'professional grade steam cleaner' picked out? I want one too but no idea about brands at that level.

Edited November 25, 2013 by SterlingSL

[Muse]

My house is all tile and hardwood and I love it. It is so much easier to keep "really clean" than carpet. We have a basment, so coldness of the floors isn't a big issue.

 

Interesting about the coconut! I'll have to find one for Timber, though he will probably be terrified of it (like he was the pumpkin).

 

Yeah, I just showed Megan her organic pumpkin. She flew to the top of the fridge.... maybe if I cut it open and show her there is a messy inside... hehehe.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Muse...you are a GREAT mama, and you've got it! You know what you need to do! Put Santa online... we will reiterate what you want for Christmas! Ha! Ha! Threaten Santa with 100 dollar bill every three months until you can get hardwoods. I gave up on the curtains. Removed them all. It was very hard for me, since I made the curtains and was tons of work. Oh well!

SterlingSL make sure once your hardwood floors get installed.... ask them to do several layers of polyurethane. Of course you know to remove birds from the area for a few weeks. Even though it is easier to clean hardwood floors... it does take a toll on the finish. Hence... LOTS of finish. Nancy

[Muse]

Muse...you are a GREAT mama, and you've got it! You know what you need to do! Put Santa online... we will reiterate what you want for Christmas! Ha! Ha! Threaten Santa with 100 dollar bill every three months until you can get hardwoods. I gave up on the curtains. Removed them all. It was very hard for me, since I made the curtains and was tons of work. Oh well!

SterlingSL make sure once your hardwood floors get installed.... ask them to do several layers of polyurethane. Of course you know to remove birds from the area for a few weeks. Even though it is easier to clean hardwood floors... it does take a toll on the finish. Hence... LOTS of finish. Nancy

 

Nancy-

I don't know about "great" - I still have so much to learn. That's one of the reasons I am glad I found this forum. We did have a pretty good breeder who was working at the store where we got the Greybies, and he gave us a LOT of information. However, it's impossible to learn all you need to know in a month or so - which was about the amount of time we spent bonding with the Greybies before bringing them home.

 

I learned very fast just how much I DON'T know. It amazes me sometimes how much different life is now, and how differently I actually THINK. Even nursing school didn't change my thought processes this much. I'd already had a "critical thinking" kind of mind-set. But now I find myself looking at life so differently than I did before the Greybies. Buying a houseplant takes HOURS instead of minutes, because you have to research every single plant. Shopping for food becomes a nightmare of trying to decipher labels and search for natural, organic, and pure ingredients. We recently bought an electric heater for my 'office' to keep it warmer in here because Little Budgie has been sick. Instead of just going to the store and buying what looked best, I did DAYS of research on bird safe heaters. Here's another example. I saw Jiffy-Pop at the store. On impulse, just for the nostalgia, I picked it up. When I got home, I noticed the pan is now BLACK. Could that be a non-stick coating on the aluminum? I don't know. I emailed ConAgra and got no response. I am going to give them a little more time, then it goes in the trash and I stop buying their products. But I won't even think about using it if I can't be sure it's PTFE-free.

 

I have friends that think I've lost my mind. I don't care. I love my babies and want the best for them. If it means altering my lifestyle, so be it. All in all, the changes have been better for me. I eat healthier. I am more active. And when Megan says "I love you" or Mar flies over, lands on my shoulder, and proceeds to give me an unsolicited kiss, I know it's all worth it.

 

And I need to get my husband signed up here. He's been on the "Bite Me" list this week. Several pretty hard ones, and even some blood loss. From both Greys! (Better him than me, I say!)

[Timbersmom]

Isn't that the truth! From scratching my candle warmers, which I loved and had all over the house, to replacing my cookware with stainless steel, to realizing that I will NEVER be able to run the self-cleaning cycle on my oven, it changes so much! And after a year and a half I'm still learning things I didn't know. As you said, it's worth it to me!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Its worth it to all of us! We have all made such serious sacrifices, everyone calls us crazy and we just agree! My friends get it now. It took awhile, but they knew it would never change, and learned to " respect" my commitment. As I am the most senior nurse in my department, I orient all new nurses. Last new nurses will tell new " orientees", to ask about Sophie.LOL! ( I am actually an easy orientor), and they know it! Now I introduce myself, and tell new people, there will be NO brownie points to ask about Sophie! LOL!

Over Thanksgiving, I went home for the first time in three years. They got close to a family " intervention". My sisters are rich, have no idea what it is like to work, and work hard. BOTH of them started.... they got shut down immediately by their husbands.I was grateful. I had the nerve ( youngest of the three girls), to say, " I think it is more important, to point out, Al is sick!" He obviously has Bronchitis, if NOT pneumonia!( I carry a stethoscope in the car). I listened to his lungs... he was full of fluid and wheezing. The focus turned to Al. He needs to go to the doctor! I carry a nebulizer where ever I go if my kids need it, as they both have asthma. I nebulized Al, he felt so much better! I left a day early, but did tell my sister Cindy, to get him to the doctor. It was a GREAT trip... had fun... but left because my sisters don't understand ( in my mind), what is important, and what is not Nancy

[Muse]

And yet more proof that our cockatiel, Maks, is psycho. Absolutely minding my own business today in the playroom. I had Maks and Alex in the playroom when Daddy brought Mar and Meg in. Mar went up on the swing and was entertaining himself, and Meg was on Daddy. Alex flew over to give me some kisses when suddenly Maks swooped down from the play stand, landed next to him, proceeded to reach around Alex to BITE ME IN THE FACE. No warning, no provocation. I guess it was somehow in his little feathered mind MY fault the Greybies came in HIS playroom.

 

I am glad he has a tiny beak. I just thank God he's a cockatiel and not a macaw!

[Brat Birds]

Well, he did it again. Last April I posted about Peanut dive-bombing me and biting my nose then a couple of days later my ear. He has been fine until yesterday. I was on the phone with my sister and I was very emotional. I am wondering if this isn't part of the problem. Anyway, I now have a great U shaped bite on my forehead. He spent a while in his cage and has been just fine ever since. Never know what they are going to think next.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Brat Birds.... Awwww! Peanut wasn't attacking you...he was attacking that " emotion" that was making you feel bad. Sometimes with birds, you have to think " out of the box." We as parents deal with life " rationally". There is nothing " rational" that birds do, unless we try to think like them.

Ryan home from college with his rescue pup one year old. Recovering from knee surgery. Other knee went while here. She was limited to kennel. Sophie and Callie liked each other right off, but couldn't hang together.Callie kenneled mostly. Once Callie went back to school with Ryan, I could tell Sophie's life and routine had changed. I'm home on disability due to a broken foot. Zoey has been having more seizures lately. Her phenobarbital level was low... they upped the dose. she started being confused and too sedated. One night after Callie and Ryan left, I was in my room with Zoey watching TV. Sophie went up the stairs, one by one. ( not sure why she didn't fly.) Went into Sean's room. He played with her for an hour, then brought her to me. Ten minutes later... Sunny flew up to my room. Neither ever fly to my room unless very stressed.I could tell both felt like their world had changed. No.... it was time for a sleepover. Birds slept with me and Zoey.( I can always wash the sheets.) Zoey's phenobarb dose back to original until her behavior is normal, then we will increase slowly. Sophie and Sunny feeling better and acting normal again as well. Back to work on Thursday. Geez....crazy household! Nancy

[Brat Birds]

I understand that 'crazy' household!! Yes, I agree, the emotions are what set him off. He has been fine ever since. I will have to be more aware of what I am 'transmitting' to them in the future.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Brat Birds... it is important that we as parrents are allowed to feel emotionally.It is part of life! Sophie has been with me long enough to know if I cry... I just need a little support which she gives. She knows I am going to be fine in the long run....she is more than happy to sit on my shoulder and give a snuggle. Thats what you get with a trusting bird. There is nothing like it! We meet each others needs. It may take awhile to get there with you and your bird, but I promise... the end result is amazing! A best friend that never goes away. Nancy

[Brat Birds]

Nancy, Peanut has been with me for 8 years. I am thinking there is something different between when I am crying and when I am emotionally upset. I have cried before and he comes and pushes his beak into the side of my nose -that is how we 'kiss'. What happened last Sunday was much different and I don't think he knew how to react. He has been just fine since. I think this is just something in his and my personalities that we will have to be careful with and take things slow and easy when I feel myself getting emotional about something.

[bluedawg]

Miss Dayo bites me regularly though usually not too hard. She has even learned to say "Ow, Ow, Ow" Just like I say it after she bites me. Sometimes she beats me to it. She usually does respond to a quick sharp "Ah, Ah". That will get her to stop the bite and look at me. Then it is up to me change the dynamics of the situation quickly.

[bluedawg]

Ok, so what's up with the biting! Dayo broke my skin for the first time the other day. She's been really crabby and is lunging at me for what seams to me to be no good reason... I'm just minding my own business and she flies down, looks me in the eye and kapow she lunges at one of my hands. I've started picking her up and making her step from hand to hand when she bites me. I don't think it's working though as she's still biting whenever she gets crabby. Is this something that all parrots do or is it that I have not done a good job with her?

Edited March 5, 2014 by bluedawg