Lunging - attack or play?

[allie]

Neko likes to have his beak stroked, and when you approach his cage he'll often poke it through the bars so you can give him some affection. But sometimes he lunges at you first, clanging his beak on the bars. I might interpret this as "get away", except that his next maneuver is to put his beak through and patiently wait for some lovin'.

 

At first, I would react to this with a disapproving "Ooh!" growl. But then he began mocking me. He'd lunge, issue the same growl, and then wait for his pets. What a turd!

 

Now I just walk away silently and don't give him the affection he's looking for. This seems to be working better, and he doesn't do it as often.

 

My real question is, what is the meaning of this attack lunge? What does he hope to gain from this? Perhaps he did it early on when he was genuinely fearful, but now he just does it because I rewarded him with a funny sound?

 

This is definitely not what I need! Do you think he might actually bite if he could, or is this just an amusing prank?

[Dave007]

He's first telling you that you're messing with his cage. Then he's sticking out his beak to pet it. It's just an individual bird thing. Other birds do it and others don't. A definite explanation can't be given.

 

**Do you think he might actually bite if he could,**

 

Maybe, maybe not. Again, it's just an individual bird thing. It's not a good idea to be doing all this touching with the bird in the cage. The cage is his property and he may react in different ways when someone is sticking hands/fingers through the bars. The bite will be fast and painful.

[allie]

That's fair advice.

 

I have no good way of letting him out when my husband is away, so I try to do what I can to bond with him while I work through my own fears. I'm trying to get a handle on when he's feeling threatened or feisty. I can leave him alone, or just talk/dance/play games with him from a safe distance rather than getting all up in his grill.

[Thomas J.]

My girl does the exact same thing to me all the time when she's inside her cage, but I know in our case it's how we play together. Her bites are always the playful kind unless after she warns me to stop it and I persist, she will give me a few nips that keep getting harder until she really lays one on me. We have a really good relationship especially since we've only been together three months. I think she trusts me very much and knows the bond we have for each other.