trying to understand Romo

[debstein]

A while back I posted about the problems we were having with Romo, our 3 yr old Timneh. He was attacking me on a regular basis and I was about ready to rehome him. With no warning, he would fly at my face or at my head and try to bite me.

I followed the advice given on this forum and Romo responded well. But someone on this forum posted that "greys don't attack" and I need to take issue with that statement. Even after everything we have done, Romo DOES attack, and I have no idea what causes his aggression. He is out of his cage 50% of the time, gets tons of attention from both me and my husband, has lots of toys and foraging items in his cage - but on occasion he still flies at my face or my head and behaves in a manner that indicates he is angry. Tonight, as I am typing this post, he is on my shoulder and puts his head under my chin to get scritches.....he is being incredibly sweet and almost loving. But 2 days ago, when I was getting his food ready, he flew at me and bit me on the shoulder hard enough to draw blood. I try not to react, but I feel like I have a schizophrenic parrot. Help!!

[Karcar]

Wow, Bless your heart that has to be hard to deal with , the first thing is to understand why the behavior is happening and then you can figure out how to work with Romo. Start paying attention to what is going on in the environment right before the behavior happens look for clues that can help you try and understand what it is that sets him off. Maybe he is jealous or trying to protect someone, perhaps you.

[Barbara2]

I wish I could help. My little TAG boy is not quite six months old and he is such a cuddler! I'm frightened to think that he could turn on me and become a demon. I hope to learn from you and figure out how to correct or not encourage this behavior. My heart is with you and I hope this gets fixed for everyone's sake.

[danmcq]

HI Deb, I have no idea who may have said greys don't attack, but as you are experiencing they will.

 

I will say, most the time when it occurs after you have had your grey a long time and raised it from a young baby, it is because they are either angry about something that just happened, are playing (Yes I said playing, at least Dayo does this when he thinks it's fun) or they want something you have or took away. Not all greys do this, but many do.

 

Dayo will even "Attack" my wife which is his cuddle muffin. He had never done this until hitting his twos and then threes. It is always if he is jealous, angry from not being the center of her universe or playing and he gets so excited he flys straight at her face or shoulder etc. He does this much more often to me than to her. But, we have both come to know the signs of this starting to happen a few seconds before he launches and turn or swoosh our arms to divert him. Once we have done this, the attack or playing (What ever he thinks in his mind it is) is done and all is well until exciting play or taking something away he thinks is his occurs again.

 

It's just one of those things most Parrot owners come to having to deal with at some point.

[chelseaB]

Hi Deb, like Dan said- you are not the only one who's grey does this. Biscotti, almost 18 mo., has been doing this for a couple months now. Also like Dan said- not sure if he thinks he's playing or really testing to see how far he can go. I can usually see this coming from his behavior, he kind of crouches down & stares at me then he will launch! I have taken to wearing a baseball cap in the evenings because he will dive bomb my head & sink his talons in whenever the mood strikes him. I try not to make a fuss and just dodge or swish an arm to send him off. It really doesn't seem to be a "mad bird" thing, I really think he is just wanting to stir things up. I hope this will pass, when he finds out I am not going to play that game with him.

Romo is behaving pretty normally, sounds like. Hope he tires of that behavior!

[debstein]

Thanks so much for the response and help! It is good to know that he is 'normal', whatever that is. I guess I need to identify what sets hiim off. Tonight it was that I let him out of his cage, but was on the phone and turned away to finish my call.......so I guess he was upset that he didn't have my undivided attention. But then again, he is SO much better than he was a few months ago when he was angry ALL the time. Now he interacts with us more and is more affectionate like when he was a baby.

 

Chelsea - I do wear a baseball cap most of the time when I am working around the house. Since Romo sometimes dive bombs my head, it provides a level of protection!

 

Deb and Romo in N TX

[Luvparrots]

I have not experienced this behavior with my 2 1/2 year old and hopefully never will. The only part of my body Ana Grey aims for is my shoulder or chest at least so far. The trip to the shoulder are few and far between as she loves to nibble my ears. I hope you find a solution to this behavior.

[Lambert58]

As folks have mentioned, our greys don't get aggressive unless we're ignoring their signals. Meaning, if I get a drink of water and one flies to my shoulder and nips me on the ear it's because he wants a drink, not because he's being "mean." We have a pretty large flock, so our dynamic isn't probably the same that you have. Our fids get a great deal of their attention needs met by interacting with each other. All I can offer is: be patient, and remember that they don't behave in a certain manner unless they think it's in their best interest. Good luck