Bird Favoritism

[obsequious]

Hello!

 

My girlfriend recently decided to buy an African Grey. This was more her project and pet than mine, but I'm dedicated to the idea of having a bird around. Thus far, she has been fun and enjoyable to have around.

 

After a few weeks of having the new bird, her name is Bella, she seems to have chosen me as her favorite. Or at least that is how it appears. I cannot say for certain that is what is occurring. When I come to the cage, she always lets me pick her up, walk around with her, etc. And she tends to get visably upset when I walk away from her, etc.

 

On other hand, when my girlfriend tries to pick Bella up, she tends to get bitten. The past couple of days this has been progressively worse, where she cannot pick Bella up at all. Prior to this week, this was not so much a problem, but it is a pattern of behavior that has consistently evolved. The bird never seems terribly stressed or unpleasant and is very talkative but will immediately bite my girlfriend anytime she tries to pick Bella up.

 

We have not had Bella more than three weeks or so, so I am not sure what ongoing patterns of behavior she is preferring in me over my girlfriend. I do come home for lunch, and am usually the first to greet her (first home for work, first out of bed, etc). I don't feed her or clean her cage much. I talk to her a lot, but so does my girlfriend, but I am not sure how to compare the levels of interaction.

 

Another thing we have heard has to do with cage height. I'm tall, nearly six feet. I am level with the cage. The cage is tall, and my girlfriend is short, at 5'2". So when Bella is on top of the cage (not in it), she is higher than my girlfriend. I've heard this may make a difference. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

Any other advice would be good. I'm inclined to somewhat ignore Bella until she warms up more to my girlfriend, but does this seem like a good idea? I'm not sure what to do here.

 

Thanks! =)

[Toni]

I'm having the same problem as you.I bought a male bird and he is preferring my b/f over me. As for the cage being higher I'm 5'1 and my cage is like 6ft I bought one of those folding step ladders its the white one with the black stoop on it. I keep it beside the cage.

[Hannah_Rae]

Read the instinct and detachment thread. They answered my similar questions there.

[lovemyGreys]

Hi & Welcome,please come & introduce yourself in our welcome room.

 

You dont say how old Bella is ? Is she a baby ? if so she may be useing her beak to test ,feel,If it is an actual bite, dont react as hard as it is.Just say a firm No & return Bella to her stand or walk away for a few minutes, if you show a reaction she is getting the attention from you, so no response will teach her that biting gets her nothing.

 

If Bella is higher on top of her cage than your girlfriend then yes this can lead to a dominance battle, she will see herself as leader of the flock, which she is not to be, you have to show her that you & your girlfriend are higher in the pecking order than she is, this will help her in the future if she knows where her position in the flock is.

 

You both need to interact with Bella, i would take a step back & let your girlfriend do all the good bits, getting her from her cage, giving treats etc..If a bird decides to bond with one family member there is not an awful lot you can do, but socialize her well with lots of people if you can.<br><br>Post edited by: lovemyGreys, at: 2007/09/27 20:46

[BMustee]

Very good advice form LoveMyGreys...I could not say it better. What she said about the reaction to bites is so true and is also something that a lot of people do wrong. If the bird gets what it wants from a bite it will keep doing it and even start to bite harder.

[loviechick]

Great advice Lovemygreys, although from what I've heard and from what I've read in a couple books, more specifically For The Love of Greys, it said that African Greys don't necessarily have the height dominance issues that other birds will have. From what I understand they prefer height for safety, but not necessarily due to a dominance issue. Also I doubt it's from the female choosing you because you're a male. Maybe she likes the way you talk or whatnot. It also could be due to if the breeder was a male, or if she has been abused by females. You didn't mention if the bird was a baby or not, that can make a difference also.

[obsequious]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Bella is in the 13 to 14 month age rage, if that helps at all.