Why is my Rainbow Lorikeet trying to attack me?

[Deleted]

Hello.
I've been having a problem with my rainbow lorikeet, Spunky.
His behaviour has really changed towards me and I don't know if it is because of the breeding season or what ....(it's started around the same time as when spring started, this year).

If I try to touch his cage, he lunges at me from within the cage and tries to bite me through the bars. When I have to get his bowls out, I have to fully cover my arm, as he jumps at my arm and starts biting as hard as he can. If I let him out of his cage...he has mood swings...one minute he's ok then lunges at me , or tries to chase me so that he can bite me.

I don't know whats up with him. He's never been this grumpy with me before, and he seems to be like this towards me daily.

He's always been very protective of his toys and gets angry if I touch them but otherwise he used to be fine with me...until all this started.

Does anyone know what is going on? Will this stop. I'm getting scared to go even near his cage

[carlsandclan]

How old is he? I'm having the same issues with my galah. Territorial, hormonal and just plain cranky. I see the wild rainbows squabbling a lot now, too. Loads of food for them, warm weather, and into breeding mode they go!

Rainbows are masters of bluffing, too. They will really put on a show and push you until you either leave them alone, or call their bluff. Our rainbow, Bowie, is still young, so it isn't as bad - but still there.

I'm still learning what I can do to get around it, so can't really help much. I'm going to start target training with both Bowie and AJ in their cages, and hopefully I'll be able to move up from there.

Another reason could be health related. Do you do regular vet checks? Even molting will make them cranky. My birds can't have enough showers right now!

Hopefully Mike will come along and offer some words of wisdom.

[twr]

I wish I could offer advice, but I am lucky that whatever other issues I might have, none of my birds are aggressive (well, the Sun doesn't like the lorikeets & lunges if they come near me) but I'm meaning that no bird here is cage aggressive or aggressive towards the humans.

Is spunky 2 years yet? Apparently that is when Rainbows hit sexual maturity, so it could be spring & thoughts of breeding (frustration) has brought this on. Spring brought on an increased level of agression from my sun towards my lorikeets.

I hope things settle down soon.

[teddy24]

hi i had a blue ringneck that was handraised that was very friendly but then changed at 1 year old. i had it dna tested * it turned out to be a hen the vet said that was normal for the hens to get moody & attack when breeding season was starting & that she would change beck to her friendly self but she didnt. i hope that might help

[flossy]

Sadly this is a common thing with Lorries. Mine have done it too. There are some earlier threads about this, if I remember Elyse? with her lorrie Peeps was having similar issues and we had a discussion about that,so it might be worth you going back over the previous threads to check that out.
They do go through a hormonal/bluffing stage - and some never go back. My guys have started attacking me again at the moment - with breeding season upon us, I guess it's just that.....however, it's quite daunting. Percy was my baby.....with me 24/7 - one day....BANG! Attacked me so badly - have never trusted him since sadly. It was a long time ago, and I've since learnt a lot since then.....but lorikeets are known for doing this. I think half the time it's a game to them....but is sure isn't to us! This is why I would NEVER sell a lorrie to a young person as a pet. I've turned people away who have come to purchase a baby lorikeet from me - they are just too unpredictable.....! I'm not being much help - but try and find those earlier articles, you might find something useful in them......All the best, goodluck with your Spunky.

[Robyn]

www.realmacaw.com/pages/wild.html

www3.upatsix.com/liz/articles/biting2.html

Rainbowcat maybe you can relate to something in the links above.

This is not a problem in just Keets, all companion parrots are capable of biting their owner for 1 reason or another, I always believe that when i get a nasty bite from 1 of my birds it's something i have done wrong. I haven't read their body language or taken into consideration my own mood, normally owners won't take on board that they are or can be the problem.

A companion parrot doesn't have to be on us 24/7 or need constant attention they also need to be able to chill out on the playstand or cage. They are capable of entertaining themselves.

[Deleted]

Hello again. Thankyou all soo much for all this info...wow...I'm learning new things as I read on. I must say, I didn't know about this behaviour and their bluffing and crankiness. I've never had a problem like this with any of my current or past birds. I will go read on the links you guys suggested.
Spunky was born in 2009 so he's hit the 2 year stage, thats for sure.

[silverbreeze]

My Laurie is doing that sometimes as well. There might be different reasons for that. As for my little lady, she's doing that when:
1. She is in a bad mood (almost never happens with mine - the reason could be anything: too hungry or thirsty, not enough food or water left in the bowls, or territorial behavior (don't touch my toys!), or maybe she desperately need a bath because new feathers are coming and it makes it very itchy. . Even not enough communication can be a reason - birds love to communicate and it makes them feel really scared or even angry when you ignore them.
2. She is just too excited and forget to control herself during her play.
3. She laid an egg or two and protects her territory (cage). That period of time she may become a bit grumpy too.

But the most important reason... and a very interesting too... is because she is jealous. If a bird would love someone in your family very much, that much she might think he or she is her partner... she might attack you when you would come too close to that person! Because that person is hers from now on! . That is a very funny behavior which happened to my little bird toward me and my brother. Now she is trying to bite me every time I stand close to him and he is holding her. . It is not too bad though - a bit of training can change the situation quickly.

Also... It is quite interesting how she can try to bite you and then laugh after that. That means lorikeets can sometimes see that behavior as a part of some kind of a funny game I guess.

[Deleted]

Thanks for that info silverbreeze

[flossy]

I agree with everything written above too. Lorries are the idiots of the bird world......it is all about reading their body language. We aren't all experts though so need to learn as we go......I find the most fascinating thing about having pet birds is they are all different in their "body" language......it's just knowing when to back off I guess....and knowing when they need time out. Also a good sleep is so important for them, I've found a tired bird is a nasty bird! lol.......

Funny things they are.....Goodluck everyone.......Here's to happy birdies!!

[oldmanbeefjerky]

I have found that my own lorikeet Rio, only attacks me when provoked.
The thing is, what provokes him is completely random, all the known things which provoke him are: Carrots, being near oranges, flurescent orange things he can rip apart, sitting/lying down on my bed/ground hiding my right hand under something, putting him in his sleeping cage, scaring him, foam, sponges, newspaper scrunched up in a ball, red hair, giving him a time out after doing something bad, putting him near cats ( he automatically gets very bossy and will get increasingly violent and aggressive until the cats fear him or at least respect him), and the list goes on.
Im not talking about a one off bite followed by some warning lunges, that goes away when you take him away form whatever it is, im talking about him turning psycho, ruffling up his feathers, pupils going tiny and general eratic behaviour.
I find though, so long as i keep him away from these things/situations, he is fine. incidentally he calms down once i put my gloves on, or rather glove, he never bites my left hand when my right hand is in view.

[avinet]

This is a very common problem with young Lorikeets, and there is no quick solution. A search of older threads of the Forum will turn up quite a few situations similar to yours. A Google search will turn up lots more.

All I can suggest is to have a read at the article at web.archive.org/web/20091017225526/http://www.mooloolabapets.com.au/html/lorikeets.html - this is an archived copy of my old shop's web site, now closed down so only available in archives. It might not help your immediate problem but may give you useful background about Lorikeet biting.

Another good site is at www.kcbbs.gen.nz/lori/ar/behaviour.html

The good news is that many seem to grow out of it as they mature, it seems to be a "teenager" stage they go through, but my experience is that many Lorikeets are always liable to give the odd unexpected nip, for reasons that are not always clear. Basically it is a case of recognizing those situations that can lead to a bite (and you have a very impressive list there ) and trying to avoid those situations.

Over the 20 odd years of owning a pet shop specializing in birds, I handled hundreds of lorikeets, from super tame babies (and adults) to aviary birds whose only desire was to rip the heck out of your fingers. They were the only birds I would resort at times to using a glove for, everything else from Cockatoos to finches was bare hands, or maybe a towel for occasional Asiatics.

Good luck

Mike