Jane08 Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 Is this weird? Our female grey seems to like my boyfriends blood. She was on his chest and was gently preening him and when I looked aorund he had blood smeared all down one side of his face. She had bitten a small hole and smeared the blood. She now seems to have taken a liking to it as she always tries to get on him and bite a small hole to get the blood. We even found blood on his pillow last night as it seems she had bit a small hole in his neck. She constantly tries to do this to him, just flies to him to bite anywhere she can get. He tries to stop her, but sometimes it is impossible as she is so quick to land on him and then bite. She never does it to me just him and he is her favourite person. I wonder if she is lacking something? We have her yearly vet visit soon, so hopefully we will know if she has an deficiencies.
siobha9 Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 Jane08 wrote: Is this weird? In a word "Yes":ohmy: That is extremely weird! I have never heard of a grey liking blood... :dry:
danmcq Posted July 9, 2008 Posted July 9, 2008 Well, thats a new one!! Did your Grey come from Transylvania? ;-) It may just taste good to her. Your boyfriend should not allow that to take place at all. It could turn into a routine the Grey thinks is "Ok" and I don't think you want that. They eat chicken bones and especially like the Marrow. It is a source of nutrition for them such as vitamins and minerals.
judygram Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 Jane this is weird and you should stop it now before it gets out of hand. Obviously the blood tastes good to her or she wouldn't do it but this has the potential to be a real big problem.:ohmy: When she goes to do this tell her no and put her back in her cage for 10 to 15 minutes and turn your back on her, in time she will come to understand that this is not acceptable behavior and she will cease.
ImagoX Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 Ick. Maybe you need to change the bird's name to "Vlad". I'd nip that in the bud, seriously.
M2MM Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 This is certainly not normal, and your vet should run some tests to see if she's suffering from a vitamin/mineral deficiency.
Jane08 Posted July 10, 2008 Author Posted July 10, 2008 We started to lock the bedrrom door at night, just in case she sneaks in and puts the fangs in. No seriously, we are trying to stop it at the moment, but she is a persistent little madam. She holds on so tight that he has trouble getting her off him. Every time she flies to him he tries to put his hand up for her to land and as soon as she looks like she is going to bite he puts her off onto her perch. Needless to say she is not happy with this and screams blue murder, but she will get used to it. Hopefully the vet can shed some light on it, I will let you know what she says about it.
lovemyGreys Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 Yes jokes aside it is certainly a bizarre one.you are taking the appropriate action & returning her to the perch this is the correct route to follow, alongside that i would tell her a firm no & ignore her for a few minutes even leaving the room if need be,hopefully given time she will get the message that this is not acceptable behaviour .Will be interesting to have your vets view on this.
Lyric Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 I'm wondering if he gives her any kind of reaction when she bites him? They love drama and if he is gasping or giving some interesting sound when she bites perhaps she is continuing because of this. Just something to think about...
Raposa Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 This sounds worrisome to me. I will be eager to hear what your vet has to say. I would also question, as Lyric has, if your bird is getting a reaction that she likes from either your boyfriend or from you when she bites him. I hope you can figure this out, it has the potential to be a serious problem down the line. Keep us informed, ok?
dhorje Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Your Grey's past life could be a Vampire Bat. Sorry, just joking.
judygram Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Jane, it would be nice if you could update us on this, you posted this in July of 2008 so it has been quite a few months since but you did say you would let us know, well inquiring minds want to know.
Jane08 Posted April 30, 2009 Author Posted April 30, 2009 Judy you are right, I will update you on our little vampire. We took Kea to the vet for her annual check up and she had no deficiencies everything was fine with her. The vet actually said she was in fine shape and had a great body on her. Probably all the blood she had been drinking, hehe. That was last July so we only had her 3 months when this behaviour started. When I look back now I see that this was probably some sort of baby behaviour to gain attention. With a consistent effort from my boyfriend it didn't take long for her to stop this behaviour. She did replace it though with screaming which took us another 3 months to extinguish. Kea is now just over 1 and and a half and she is a well adjusted young lady with no other issues at the moment.
judygram Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 Thats great to hear Jane, I guess it was just a phase she was going thru, glad you got it resolved and she is happy and healthy, thanks Jane for letting us know that Kea is no longer drinking blood.
Azzie Posted April 30, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 One of my 'keets, Kip, also likes the taste of blood. 'Keets are well known for trying to pick at any mark or blemish on skin. Kip managed to removed a small scab from my arm and wasn't paying attention, and when I felt it I looked to see him licking up the drops of blood. Gross!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now