my lorikeets going nuts

[adamcarolan]

this is my (Adam) first lorikeet,at first she bonded with us all me my partner (Catherine) and our 3yr son but in the last couple of weeks she has began to become progressively more aggressive, charging at my son and attacking my partner . my partner whistles a soft whistle and she (we think its a she) replies the same whistle as well as a soft squawk chatter my partner then thinks she is being friendly and tries to give her a pat and she attacks. the squawk chatter she now does when anyone other then myself is near her but in saying that she does not return my whistle yet everything my partner whistles she picks up, which is confusing my partner to why she is still being so aggressive with her. so our question is do you think this is just seasonal behavior or is there something you could suggest for us to do to help.

[avinet]

You don't say how old she is but I am guessing around 12 months. Given that it is spring the chances are it is hormonal and she is in love with you and everyone else is regarded as a competitor for her mate. A very common problem with lorikeets of either sex and one reason I don't rate them as long term pet birds in a family situation.

Many birds seem to find a woman's voice easier to copy that a man's - must be the pitch and tone is more in tune with their ear Copying doesn't have to equate to liking unfortunately.

If you have a Google search for "why is my lorikeet is biting" or similar you will turn up many people with similar problems, with plenty of thread on this forum on the same subject. Also have a look at web.archive.org/web/20091017225526/http://www.mooloolabapets.com.au/html/lorikeets.htm - it is an article, now in archives, that was on the website for my old shop. I really must get it moves onto a current web site, it is a problem that occurs so often.

cheers,

Mike