Joolesgreyuk Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I was wondering if anyone on here can help me understand Beau's behaviour which seems to be getting a little more agressive each day. The first day he was with us he was incredibly cuddly and docile but he seems to have taken a dislike to my 11 year old son who has showed him nothing but kindness, even handfeeding him titbits. Yesterday he bit me a couple of times - through my clothes which I put down to him being over-excited but today he bit me whilst on my shoulder - he meant it too, he makes a stroppy noise before biting. Another thing he is doing all the time is rubbing his face and beak on everything be it his perch, the carpet or on my cloths I'm wearing. Does anyone know why Beau is behaving in this way? He is eating well and seems otherwise fine. Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Perhaps he just wants a little space. My Ana Grey is a very sweet grey but some times she just wants to sit on the top of her cargo net and watch and preen and have some alone time. If she won't step up then I know to let her alone. Everyone needs some time to relax. There are times that Ana Grey stays in her cage when I open her door in the morning and comes out a couple of hours later. It does not need she dislikes me, it means what it is, "I just want to stay home right now." Perhaps Beau just wants to chill. Be patient he will be a member of the family a long time so let him gradually adjust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Beak rubbing usually means he is just cleaning his beak. In terms of the biting.. parrots usually bite for a reason. it may not be obvious to us humans but there is always a reason and before the bite occurs there are physical signs that it will happen. {Feel-good-000200B9} It is your duty as his Momma to learn how to read his body language before the bite, in order to prevent it. Perhaps he was just feeling crabby and tired, maybe he was overstimulated or scared etc..I can't remember how old Beau is or how long you have had him. Could you remind us? Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 22:29<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 22:29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks for the advice. We have only had Beau since last Tuesday but his behaviour seems to be deteriorating by the day, a trend I find quite worrying. He is about 15 weeks old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Is Beau biting or is he just using his beak to test things out. Ana Grey was 4 months old when I first got her and she used her beak to see if my finger was a good perch, we settled on my arm for awhile because she would grab hold so strongly with her beak it hurt. She was not trying to bite me, just hang on. Birds use their beaks like a hand for balance and to hold on to things, especially young birds. As for the beak rubbing, my grey cleans her beak that way on anything handy, including me. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Well that's put my mind at rest regarding the beak rubbing lol! luvparrots, yes Beau does give friendly nips too and these are acceptable - even funny but tonight it was a definate bite he also "growls" if that's what I can call it before attemping to bite. I don't understand why he doesn't take to my son either. Is this normal for parrots - do they take to some family members and not others? I know that greys are very intelligent and can relate words or actions to other things so when he bit me I put him back in his cage, if I do this every time he bites he may begin to realise why. I would never shout at or punish him though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 You have only had the bird for a few days. I would back off and give him some time to adjust to the new home. He is probably feeling a little overwhelmed with all the attention. Give him some space and some quiet time. It could be something in your behavior or the way you are approaching him that is scaring him and causing him to bite. Give him time to learn to trust you. Approach him slowly and gently until he learns to trust. If he is growling is is probably fear. My bird is afraid of children. My grandchildren cannot get near her. Their movement are too quick and jerky for her.<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/11 23:44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 {Love-0002011D}Aww.. he is just a baby. Is Beau getting 10-12 hours of quiet, darkness and uninterrupted sleep? Is your energy when your around Beau, calm, serene and gentle? Believe it or not that really makes a difference too. At about 4 months old Emma went through a stage where she'd lunge and bite me at least once every time I would visit her. Once she drew blood and really upset me. I felt extremely discouraged, exasperated and even resentful. I hated being bitten and couldn't imagine what I was going to do when she became an adult. I understood that she did not understand how powerful her beak was and at one point I was strongly considering not taking her anymore. At that point, I decided to give it just one more week. If she bit me one more time then that was it... I was done. This decision did not come easy.... but I did make it. although not without coming up with an action plan. I thought about all of those times she had bitten me and what had happened before the bite.:dry: I was determined to not give up or fail. One of the things that I started with was when I would visit her I would consciously make sure to center myself and although I still remained loving towards Emma, I also was adamant about not being bitten by her anymore. I decided that I had to be the one to change my behaviour so one of the things that I did was to make sure that when I was with her... I was really with her giving her my undivided attention. It was our special time together. In the past if some other client would stop to talk to me I would stop what I was doing with Emma and chat... I realized that this often would be punished by a bite. Believe it or not .. I didn't get bitten that week nor for many months after that. I am so glad that I stuck with her. Look at us now!{Love-0002011D} Sometimes I do get bitten but I can usually figure out why...then I give her a time out and I leave the room. Emma is pretty bonded to me so when I leave she usually gets the picture. Today she bit me and when I walked away she said "super sorry!" but I still walked away and ignored her for 2 minutes. She definitely knew that I was ticked off. 5 Minutes later I went back to her and had her step up.... which she did perfectly and I lavished lots of praise... so she knew that all was forgiven. It's really important to set our parrots up for success. With that being said.. try to be mindful about what is going on before Beau bites you. It will help you to learn more about him and therefore avoid getting bitten. Your Beau is so young, I'm sure that he isn't wicked or mean, he just needs help learning that biting is not appropriate. Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 23:49 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 23:50 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 23:53 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 23:54 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/11 23:57 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/12 00:17 Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/12 00:18<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/04/12 00:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 lovethatgrey, thank you so much for all your advice. I have taken everything on board and will try to go figure. Karma for you for being so helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Like everyone said, the beak rubbing is normal. Some do it more than others. You've been told about making sure you can see your bird and learning how to read the body language so you know what he's about to do. But, you should stop letting him on your shoulder. That's one area you can't see and your bird may just be one of those types that like to bite ear lobes or jewelry or necks or pieces of clothing that are being worn. Lots of greys do that and the more they do it, the better they get at doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joolesgreyuk Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thanks Dave, yes he loves biting earlobes but is quite gentle there however he is more rough when biting clothes and jewellery and he is getting better at it. Thanks for your advice. Thanks everyone for the advice, I have taken it on board. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I was just wondering how are things coming along with you and Beau these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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