Sugarloaf Animal Hospital

 
 
 
 

Aggressive Behaviour in Parrots towards Humans

 
 Birds that bite and are aggressive towards their owners can be very intimidating and ruin the relationship between a bird and its owners. There can be several causes of aggressive behaviour:
  1. Fear biting
  2. Conditioned aggression (dominance aggression)
  3. Territorial aggression
  4. Mate attachment
 
1. Fear Biting
A bird that feels frightened by people will try to defend itself. This is not a behavioural problem as such but a natural defence behaviour. These birds are usually not socialized well when young or have had bad experiences.
Fear biting is defined as birds that only bite when cornered or caught.
Treatment strategies:
  • Patience is needed to gradually desensitize the bird to the presence of people and over time progressing to handling.
  • Using food rewards can be useful.
  • Gloves can be used if owners are likely to pull away from a bite as we don’t want to condition this behaviour further. Perhaps start with the bird stepping up onto a perch/stick confidently before offering a hand.
 
2. Conditioned Aggression
Often referred to as dominance aggression. Birds are conditioned to behave this way by people backing off or rewarding this aggressive behaviour. Other forms of aggression such as fear aggression can become conditioned aggression by the birds behaviour being rewarded each time by a withdrawal so the bird becomes confident in this behaviour. The bird then learns how to control the owner and certain situations.
The behaviour is more common in birds with owners of little experience and in larger birds, likely due to the fact they are more intimidating than small birds.
Birds may bite certain family members but not others. The bird may even bite the person they are most bonded to.
Situations where these birds commonly bite are when the bird is taken off the shoulder, put back into the cage, removed from a perch or when a person stops petting them.
Aggression may become worse before it gets better as the bird is not used to the owner being assertive so it tries harder.
Treatment strategies:
  • This is one situation where wing clipping is recommended to allow the owner to have greater control over the bird. It prevents the bird getting up high, out of reach of the owner.
  • Practice “step-up” exercises in neutral territory away from the cage.
  • Confident and consistent handling. Use gloves if required for owner confidence, start with a perch, instead of the hand.
  • Shoulders should be off-limits. If bird is jumping onto shoulder then use a towel so the towel with bird in place can be quickly removed.
  • Do not yell or use physical punishment. Quiet voices will make the bird stop its behaviour and listen to you more intently.
  • Recognise threat behaviour and distract them from it with a familiar command and give a treat for good behaviour.
  • The longer the behaviour has been going on the harder it will be to correct.
 
3. Territorial Aggression
Common in certain species such as Quakers. All breeding birds will be territorial about their nests. Aggression is classified as territorial when the bird is aggressive only around its cage, playpen or other living area. It may also be combined, however, with other forms of aggression.
Training strategies:
  • General obedience training is essential, the “step-up” command should be automatic for the bird. Use food treats as a reward.
  • Remove the bird while cleaning the cage
  • Use towel restraint to remove the bird if necessary and take to a separate area.
  • Some birds can be allowed to voluntarily leave the cage first for training.
  • Try to make the bird less dependent on the cage, this can be done by using a 2 cage system where they have a day cage for foraging and play and a night cage for sleep. This is a more natural set up for the bird. The day cage should be large and rearranged frequently to encourage activity and adaptability. The night cage should be small and sparse and placed in a quiet area of the house. This system also ensures the bird is handled at least twice each day.
  • Feeding birds meals twice daily in locations away from the cage may also be useful.
  • Use portable perching stations to integrate the bird into the family life.
  • For training step-up, start with a T-stand perch away form the cage and then as the bird improves, move the stand closer to the cage so that eventually the exercise is performed with the bird in the cage. Ensure the door is large enough to easily remove the bird.
 
4. Mate-Related Aggression
Parrots will often develop unhealthy pair bonds with one of their owners. This is more common in male birds and in larger parrot species. Usually this behaviour is seen when the bird’s favourite person is approached by someone else and the bird will attack and chase the person away.
Training strategies:
  • To prevent this happening it is important to socialize birds well with different people.
  • The bonded person should avoid cuddling and petting. Do not allow birds close to the face as this encourages pair bonding.
  • All family members should participate in the birds training of simple things such as “step-up” and “step-down” exercises preferably in an unfamiliar location for the bird so it sees them as being the more familiar object.
  • The favourite person should do all the unpleasant tasks and otherwise largely ignore the bird with non-favoured people giving treats.
  • During an attack the bird should be gently captured using a towel and placed in the cage.
  • If an attack can be predicted the favoured person should promptly leave thereby removing the cause of aggression.
  • In some cases hormone therapy may be used by your veterinarian to reduce the influence of the sex hormones on behaviour.
 
Notes on Training:
Step-up exercises – this basic command should be taught to every bird. The handler states “step-up” and moves the hand or perch towards to bird. It should be steady and in a position so it is easy for the bird. Initially the bird may need some coaxing by lifting one foot up onto the perch or hand. If the bird resists not because it doesn’t understand what is required then the hand should be swept past the bird to show the handler expects the bird the step-up straight away.
 
Step-down exercises – This is an important exercise to remove the bird from the hand. The handler states “step-down” and then the bird is encouraged to step onto a perch. If possible have the bird step backwards onto the perch so the motion is different to that of “step-up” and therefore reducing confusion. Do this by holding the hand lower than the perch so the tail touches the perch which will cause most birds to step back. Otherwise place a foot on the perch.
 
Stay – is a useful command when birds are having free time out of the cage on a stand. Give the command and gradually increase the length of time you expect the bird to stay on the perch. Replace the bird on the perch if it leaves and repeat the exercise.
 
Positive reinforcement – all desirable behaviours during training should be reinforced with a treat and/or vocal praise. Use special foods for treats that are not normally made available such as sunflower seeds or a piece of dried fruit etc. Never use punishment as this will just make the bird fearful.
 
Ref: Luescher, A. (2006) Manual of Parrot Behaviour, Blackwell Publishing 
 
Recommended Literature DVD’s available from Sugarloaf Animal Hospital:
 Captive Foraging the next best thing to being free
M.Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl ABVP – Avian Practice.
 A Positive Approach to Parrot Behavior
A clear step by step guide to understanding your bird and modifying or avoiding inappropriate behaviours
Corina Lupu DVM, Dipl.ABVP,Avian
 
Internet Resources:
 The Gabriel Foundation
This site provides online courses and support for bird behaviour problems.
Go to Education and Training > Classes and Conferences > on this page you will find details about their online ‘Beyond Birdie Basics’ course.