Suddenly Aggressive :( Help me!!

[sora1989]

hi guys, (sorry long post but have to explain pls dont get mad)

ive just signed up out of desperation, about a year and a half ago I bought an amazingly gorgous 12 week old h/r princess parrot. He has been an absolute delight for the past year, always happy to see my family and I never biting never having any problems at all. He is completly spoilt, the first year spent everyday almost all day out and about the house while I studied. But around 4-5 months ago i noticed that he was becoming somewhat frustrated with everything, he started singing and calling all day every day even though im home all day and he was out right there with me, then it got to the point where when he was out of his cage If i even looked like i was going to move from the couch or the immediate place where he was he would scream then fly aimlessly around. I simply put it down to moulting stress etc. So I put extra time into him, maing sure he was out at least 2- hours a day and the rest of the time he was outside in the sunshine in his cage which he seemed to really enjoy. A few minths ago i got a female kakariki and all of these things intensified ten fold, at first he was utterly scared of her so when he was out i made sure she wasnt in sight. I did this for a few months, but all of a sudden one day when he was out the blaket over the Kak cage fell off and he saw her he flew over to the cage and started chattering away and getting very excited. I was so happy that he wasnt scared anymore and for a few seconds i thought of how they can enjoy playing together, then my sister walked past truly no where near the cage and didnt say a word or look at him and the princess flew on to her face and utterly attacked her! He ripped open her lip and scratched the crap out of her face. this was so out of character, ever since Ive have to organize all the birds and other animals in the house aronund him, and as a result he really only gets about 1 -2 hours out a day now before he becomes to aggressive even with the Kak not in sight. Today again by accident he saw the Kak girl and flew to her, then he sought me out and attacked my face like always when any of my birds bit or such I didnt react I knew If i did anything he would just get more angry, but it didnt stop he then attached himself to my ear and my husband had to come over and pry him off. There are more things that happened to end up to this but I dont want to ramble on, just that he has never been forced to do anything, he has never a day since being wioth me been neglected and i try to ulter my behaviour in all situations becuse I do understand our companion birds are not domextic animals. But today after months of utter physical and emotional exhaustion I have no more ideas on what to do, my whole day evolves around him which i would expect is mabe half the problem. If you have any suggestions at all please let me know, but after today and many attacks I think that mabe going to a home with no other birds or a breeding avairy might be best for him, is this true?

thnaks so much to anyone that can offer some advice

[avinet]

There is one word that describes the cause of your problems - actually two words, Testosterone and S**. His behavior is typical of a male Princess suffering from too many hormones and it is approaching breeding season for them and he is, at 2 years, a mature bird.

He has found a potential mate in the Kakariki and is determined to guard her from anyone who dares approach his chosen mate. I do however have to admit I have never known a pet Princess to have such a violent reaction - he must have a lot of hormones flowing at present!! And Princess males aren't that bothered about the species they court - even a Quail is fair game if nothing else is around, or even their own reflection in a a mirror.

Princesses are lovely birds - I have a pair as pets in the house who are around 15 years old - but male Princesses are not the smartest parrot on the block

See a video I took a couple of years ago of a male Princess chatting up a poor little embarrassed young cockatiel at that I took at my old pet shop.

The first and urgent recommendation I would make is to clip his wings - start out with 4 feathers on each side but eventually you might need 6 trimmed. That is primarily because a bird that will fly at a face and bite is dangerous. This time it was your ear (you did want that extra ear ring I hope?) but next time he could get the eye.

You may also find that his general behavior settles down with a trim - a clip with a bird that has become aggressive is often effective at calming them down. Princesses do enjoy flying, my own have always been un-clipped, but when it comes to personal safety then it is an unfortunate necessity. And he will soon adjust - Princesses don't dwell on the past, they only look with excitement to the future, whatever that may bring.

I would also not bother keeping him away from the Kakariki. If she is OK with his attentions then it will keep him occupied, and after the initial excitement his hormones will calm down and his behavior should improve, especially when coupled with the clip.

If his behavior doesn't improve then you are perhaps looking at an aviary situation with a Princess girl to keep him happy. That is probably the better choice than back to a single bird household - it sounds like he really wants a mate.

cheers,

Mike

[sora1989]

hi Mike,

Thankyou so much for the info. I know your very much right and the aggression has gone hand in hand with his wings growing back. When I first got him someone had hacked his poor little wings to death and from his behaviour and reaction to flying I believe that he was not allowed to take his first fledge flight so it has been a long road for him to get to this point of being able to fly a few feet.

I have been wanting to clip him because I noticed his behaviour change and he became completly dependant on me and became flighty. He has been my little baby since I got him! As much as most might laugh, but i didnt want to clip as I felt bad for doing so but I agree it should have been the first thing I shouldve done after the first little face rip up!

All the information i have read over the past year has told me that my man is not the usual, and that they are never aggressive towards people or avairy so I felt as though it was my fault for his behaviour. My only worry with allowing the kak interation is that she might lay eggs as she has been keen since she was 4 months old! If I dont allow the interacton will his frustration increase, or go away after time? Im not really savy with cock birds I have always had hens as companion birds, will his hormones settle eventually or will it simply get worse if im not proactive in allowing the interation or getting a female for him?

Thankyou so much again for the wise words, hope i didnt ask to many questions!

ash

[avinet]

Hi Ash,

It is nice to let them fly - and we do that with our pet birds as far as possible, and we have 25 pet birds living in the house. However it isn't always possible. For instance we have an 18 year old Ringneck hen who hates with a vengeance our older Plumhead girl - now 13 - and will attack any chance she gets. So the ringneck has to be clipped so the Plumhead, who can fly, can keep away from the ringneck.

Also my daughter moved back in with us late last year bringing back her 11 Alexandrines (yes, eleven!) and they had always been kept clipped since she was in rented accomodation. So, she decided it would be nice to let them moult out and fly again. It was nice, but 11 flying Alexes in a home, each of which is on a mission to chew as much as possible, wasn't nice and regretfully they are gradually getting a light clip again.

Your Kakariki hen is quite likely to lay eggs whether she is courted by the Princess or not - girl Kakis can be quite strong on the hormones in their own right. Personally I would let them interact if that is what they want to do. He is an exception to the rule with Princesses - the good news is that birds like this will calm down anyway once the breeding season is over - the bad news is that might not be until early next summer, depending where you live. In succeeding years he will be more mature, more in control of his hormones and better behaved. Think teenage boys - they mostly do grow up eventually

cheers,

Mike

[flossy]

LOL! I love it Mike! You must have to duck for cover with 11 alexes flying around.....how funny! I'd love to see that....and chew they do!! Argh........mine are bad enough, let alone 11!! Eekk!!

Goodluck Ash with your little man.....don't feel bad, these things happen...and don't stop asking questions! It's the only way to learn...every one of us on here has asked what we perceive to be a silly question, only to get others saying...Oh yes,I wanted to know that too....so we are all in it for ONE main reason! Our birds!! You go girl! Ask away! Let us know how he goes!!
Take care
Flosssy

[sora1989]

thanks for the support guys! So I have taken on board advice, as much as I hate to clip (and I mean hate!) I have a birdy friend who I trust not to mutilate him to clip. I went today to do it myself but Im a massive sook and couldnt :{ The house was never truly large enough for him to fly well or comfortably, just horribly and narrowly mising solid objects. So i really should have done it a while ago but as I said big sook :}

So after the last few months of feeling somewhat trapped by trying to find the right rountine for my birds, I have come to the conclusion that I need to make time for them everyday but they shoudlnt rule my day as in whose out where at what time. At the moment Ren my princess will be spending some much needed quality time in my bedroom, which is quite large and very bird safe and he seems to feel safe i their anyway, and I found that today he was alot calmer just hanging in there. My room is 3 walls glass windows so he pretty much feels as though your outside, but my husband has put the screens a few inches in on the inside so that if a bird flies into them they pretty much bounce off. plus we have random stickers and those shower stick to window perch things for birds which he love too. So the kak fully flighted has the house to her rule at the moment.

Today was 10 million times less stressful with my new routine and attitude, we will be having to move in a month or so, so im hoping that our new place may provide more room to spread them out. If after a few months I still have a mega aggressive little man on my hands i will save up to by him a girl!

thnx again for the advice,support and not thinking im a complete crazy lady! I have a new outloook on the situation, and im not taking it so personally. If anyone has any other info on princess parrot behaviour and ecology please share if you can as their isnt alot of info on them. either post here or send me a message, I have had one for almost two years and with all the seraching I have 2 books with 1 page each of the same info and the internet is the same story!

thnakz!!!!!!