Breezy is biting my husband

[Breezy2013]

Wasnt even going to post this here but I am not sure there is anything I can do but my husband suggested asking about this. Breezy just took a HUGE chomp out of him and broke the skin. He had been handling him up till now, no problem. I got a timneh rather than a congo because they are less likely to be one person birds, however I am aware it can still happen. My problem is my husband he actually suggested I should get rid of him. I do NOT want to do that but can see his hesitation about keeping him. We had the unfortunate experience of having a scarlet macaw who actually became dangerous to him when she reached breeding age. So I can see where he would be hesitant to go through something like that again. We did place her in a breeding situation and she is very happy. Reality check, the bite was not vicious. My husband is overreacting and may just calm down with time. My question is is there any way my husband could work with Breezy to get him a little more accepting of him? I told him to back off and not try handling him for a while, just work with him hands off. I actually think Breezy likes him but is just a little scared of being handled by him. Breezy is very responsive when he talks to him leaning towards him and paying close attention. He also acts happy when he sees him but is just a bit unconfident. I have no intention of getting rid of him. That is just ridiculous!

[Breezy2013]

He has a solution. He is handling him with a glove on his hand. He nibbles on me and sometimes gets carried away and breaks the skin but it is definitely not malicious. All baby parrots do that. I told Carl at least he isnt a macaw that beak is MUCH smaller.

[JeffNOK]

I would suggest reading some of the threads here on biting. I don't know if your hubby might be misreading some body language or reinforcing a bite in some way. He may be reacting so strongly because of the experience with the Macaw. Good luck!

[Breezy2013]

Thanks! Breezy was acting scared when he picked him up so it was definitely not understanding body language. He went for a little walk in the livingroom and was sitting on my hutch I heard him peep at me and saw him turn his head to look at me. Carl said he was blending in with the room so much he had no clue how I saw him but he went over and picked Breezy up with the glove and played with him a few minutes and Breezy was happy to see him. Think he was just nibbling. Sometimes he picks up a big fold of my skin in his beak and then pinches but it is just baby nibbling not biting. I just tell him ouch and then no bite so he knows it hurts and hopefully he will stop doing that. Then I put him in time out for a few minutes in his cage.

[danmcq]

Just my opinion, but no one should use a glove so they can pick up a parrot with out fear of a pinch or bite. Your grey is a baby and beaking is what a parrot does naturally. They beak everything to learn texture and firmness. At that young age they have no idea if they are applying too much pressure or not unless it is a living thing that gives feedback such as you are doing. Drawing blood or a firm pinch means your grey did not want to be picked up by your husband. As already mentioned, your husband needs to at least put enough effort in mentally to watch and learn body language. It's not the birds fault when someone ignores body language then gets a hard pinch or bite. Having and caring for a parrot must be unconditional love and understanding. If your husband never wishes to get a pinch or a bite, he should not even try to interact with your grey. Getting mad and saying you should get rid of your grey because he was bitten is ridiculous and coming completely out of pure anger at that moment. Your grey is very in tune with emotions and feels that anger from your husband. They respond to anger with a defensive bite because they are fearful of being harmed. If the grey was as big as your husband, it would knock your hubby on his ass and then your husband would know he needs to change his attitude and how he interacts with a grey.

 

Here are some links you and husband should read, print them for your husband since he does not belong to this forum:

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?109373-Body-language-most-frequently-seen

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?126227-Grey-Personality-changes-in-years

 

Your grey being a baby right now is going to change rapidly over the months and years to come. The present age of your grey is very dependent on the parents for everything and this is the time they learn not only how to survive and food types and sources, it is also when they learn how to interact properly with the flock. It is crucial that you and your husband learn all you can on teaching and training your baby grey how to interact with humans. It is your utmost responsibility how to interact with a grey. They are wild creatures and not like a dog that has evolved it's relationship with humans over thousands of years and become "Domesticated" and seek out a relationship with us. It us us that must learn how to properly interact with parrots properly and understand they are going to be a wild parrot no matter what. As your grey hits 6 months, 12 months, 2 years etc. You are going to see your grey become much more independent and display it's wants, desires, likes, dislikes etc. If you ignore anyone of these, you can expect a bite are possibly even an attack. I am not saying this to scare you, but to forewarn you so you understand the importance of what your teaching your grey at this point in time. It will determine how your grey interacts with you and other humans the rest of it's life. It is a huge responsibility to taken in a care for a wild creature. It's life and how much it enjoys it is hanging solely on you for the next 40 to 50 years.

Edited December 31, 2013 by danmcq

[Breezy2013]

Thanks for recommending those threads, I read through them once and I will print them out for Carl to read, he will be very interested in them, I am sure. So far today has been good, Breezy has been very friendly to both of us. I am sure he is still settling in here he has only been here about a month. The whole idea of him telling me he wants to get rid of him was stupid, he was mad and I told him it was stupid and he agreed with me and said he wouldnt really want to get rid of him. Carl says some seriously stupid stuff at times but he has actually been pretty patient with him and didnt stay mad long at all. I think I will reread those two threads you posted about too, they were VERY interesting and I enjoyed reading them. I love greys because they are so intelligent. I dont care at all if he talks I can tell how smart he is just watching the way he interacts with his environment. My macaw is very intelligent too and what I like about parrots is they have a sense of humor and can always make me feel better if I have had a bad day.

[danmcq]

Thats good to hear breezy. You are both going to have a wonderful life time journey with your grey.

[Breezy2013]

It will be a lifetime journey. I am in my mid forties so he might just out live me. I had my amazon parrot for 23 years. We estimate he was like forty or fifty years old when he died.

[Inara]

Breezy, when Inara first came to live with us at just past 2 years old she had been becoming very beaky and bitey with her original people. She was and is fine with me, but was bitey with my husband. He is a first time "parront," and was a bit intimidated by her beak after having read what kind of damage a good solid bite can do. His apprehension, I believe, played into Inara's bitiness with him. She never broke the skin and would go for his thumb about 98% of the time. It was my assumption that 1) she was feeling his nervousness which transmitted itself to her and so her bitishness was a peck to say, "Buddy, I can tell you're nervous, we'd better get the flock out of here now! Let's go!" and 2) naturally the more she did it, the more apprehensive Joe became.

 

So I let him know to take a deep breath, and just really relax his body before having Inara step up. Also if he saw her moving to bite his thumb, I had him just gently twist his wrist backward a bit which turned Inara's attention away from his thumb and onto balancing. In no time at all they became best buds. She hasn't so much as beaked him in so long that I can't recall the last time. Joe now is relaxed and confident about picking her up from any place at any time and knows that even if she puts up a noisy fuss that she is just bluffing, and it's all squawk and no bite these days. If he sees that she sincerely does not want to step up out of her cage, then he does not force that issue as it's our philosophy that her cage is her home and it is up to her if and when she wants to come out barring a natural disaster or major emergency. Inara is likely to be more beakish when tired, hungry, or hypervigilant about something new. OR if she has been roughhousing with one of her toys. You will learn Breezy's rhythms and bluffs and serious times as you all move along together. I can understand your husband's initial trepidation given the background, and am glad to know that he's more receptive to Breezy now.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Inara

[Breezy2013]

That is great advice, Inara. I think Breezy is sensing his nervousness. Carl has been giving him a ride from his cage to his playgym frequently and they seem to be getting to be better friends. Breezy's body language toward Carl is very friendly and he seems very interested in him and responsive to him so I think Breezy does really like him. I just asked Carl and he did say he is a little nervous to handle him because of the nipping so I think your theory is the correct one.