Hormonal behavior

[sudired]

Actually this post is really continuing about Billie's aggressive behavior - pretty much the same as my last post. I know he is still hormonal but is it usual for him to be trying to attack me? If I get him on my arm, he continues to bite all the way up my arm to my shoulder and then goes for my neck! He comes out to the table to eat everything and if I reach for something, he charges me. Same thing putting the food dish in, taking it out, closing the cage door, etc. This seems like serious territorial issues. Usual in hormonal birds? He showed no signs of this before the Breeding behavior.

[ellieelectrons]

Hi sudired

I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you are having with Billie.

I'm not looking forward to breeding season here this year either - it was quite traumatic. Our male is okay but our female gets very aggressive!

How old is Billie again?

From what you've said, I think you need to have Billie in his cage when you eat. You can give him special treats from the table whilst you are eating so he feels included but I wouldn't let him have free reign over your meal time.

Also, if you don't already do it, I think increasing the amount of time he spends foraging for food is a good idea - it will help take his mind off the hormonal behaviour - and it's what birds are supposed to do in the wild anyway. If you increase his forage time, hopefully then he might respond better to getting treats from you and he might be less inclined to bite you.

Something that might help with the cage aggression is trying to teach him to "station". Start feeding him treats at a perch away from his food areas. Move away and come back and reward him for staying on that perch. Gradually increase the time away and continue to reward him for staying on that perch. Then you can start to do a few things with his cage (eg. take out the water) and reward him for staying on that perch. It will take some time for him to learn it, but it is a worthwhile behaviour to teach him.

Given his current behaviour, please keep him away from your face.

The only other things to do are to change up his cage, try trick training and disrupt his routine.

Ellie.

[sudired]

Billie is a 20 year old rescue bird of unknown handling background.

I did increase his foraging opportunities but he goes thru them relatively fast and then goes back to spending the day throwing up on everything "feeding". I let him out and he does the same on outside items, especially mirrored objects.

I don't let him on the table when we're eating. only after, to pick up crumbs, etc.

What I want to know is how long this behavior lasts. I'm so anxious to get him step-up trained...he knows how, just refuses to do anything but lunge and bite right now.

I know this is very distressing for him but its also taking its toll on me. I know, I know, not supposed to take this personally.

Thanx

[ellieelectrons]

I think the length of the breeding season is determined by environmental factors - especially the amount of light the bird is receiving. Given that many of our birds live indoors and are exposed to artificial light, this can prolong the breeding season. I have heard of people manipulating indoor lighting around the bird's cage to simulate the breeding season being over (I think it's done by shortening the day length and I think they do it with UV lamps like those they use for reptiles??). I haven't researched this myself, I vaguely remember reading it somewhere. Perhaps someone else can give you details on this - or you could try to research this technique yourself.

Regarding the foraging, if he is finishing it quickly, then it might be time to make the foraging a bit more difficult for him.

Best wishes.

Ellie.

[sudired]

After what I was sure was a hopeless situation - I'm happy to report that Billy made a MAJOR breakthrough today. He flew and landed on my shoulder not once but twice. Stayed for a little bit and accepted a treat. Vocalized loudly and then moved on. I'm deliriously happy. Hopefully this is the beginning of a closer relationship.