Parrot Biting-Help!

[Cori]

My family recently took in a 2 1/2 year old Military Macaw. He seems to be warming up to my girls and myself (only a little), but he bites, hard and usually when I am taking him back to his cage. I can deal with that. There is a problem; however, with one oof my sons. Sarge seems to hate him, he is always lunging at him if he gets near, no matter where he is. Today my son was doing his homework and Sarge snuck up on him and bit his foot, seemingly for no reason. Can I stop this behavior or do I need to give up on him? I would hate to give up on him as he has been rehomed once already and I don't want to cause more confusion for him, but, I can't have him hurting my kids either.

[Wolf]

Who is the parrot bonding to? Some how the bird sees this son as a rival for the attention of the person to whom he is bonding to. Perhaps if the parrot does not see any physical contact between them he will stop.
Give the bird a nut in its shell to hold in his beak while being transported to his cage, and then let him keep it as a treat.

[Cori]

At first, he seemed to be bonding with me, he would not let anyone else near him. Now; however, he seems to prefer my younger daughter. These two are part of a set of triplets and are close, but nit in a lot of contact. Plus, my daughter can be elsewear and Sarge will still come after my son.

[Wolf]

I am trying to figure out why the bird is targeting your son with his aggression. It is in my mind, now, that it may have something to do with his previous home, although that may not be the case. Mostly they only single out someone like this after they bond with someone and then target whomever they view as a rival for the attention or affection of their chosen human. does your son resemble anyone in the birds previous home that the bird didn't like ? Does your son make quick movements around the bird, that may have been a precursor to the biting? If so, then the bird may have viewed them as threatening to him.
The best way to stop the biting is to avoid them in the first place, so you may just have to keep a close eye on the bird to keep him from going after your son. You may need to keep a towel handy that your son can drop on the bird, when the bird goes for him. Or perhaps a piece of foam pipe insulation that can be used to distract the bird.

[Pajarita]

Hmmmm, what I am going to say is not going to be to your liking but, my dear, children and parrots don't really mix. Puppies and children, kittens and children, potbellied pigs and children, etc do but not parrots and children. There are exceptions but that's exactly what they are: exceptions. The rule is that parrots bite and children get bit. This is not from a lack of love or because the children are cruel but because children are children. They move fast, they talk loud, they are impatient and they are not mature enough to constantly observe and analyze the bird's body language in order to learn when and how to handle. I have grandchildren and the parrots are hardly ever out when they are around PLUS they are forbidden to get close to their cages and, mind you, I do this only out of partial concern for my grandkids, my main reason is that I don't want the parrots to be stressed out. Wolf is correct in that it could be that this bird was exposed to another boy in the past and has learned to distrust them so he is just been proactive about it and biting him just to let him know he is not to be trifled with.

But, having said that, let's see if we can find a middle ground that works out for everybody. What can you tell us about his previous home? How long have you had him? How old is the bird? Male or female? Diet? Light quality? Light schedule? Housing? Daily routine? Children's ages?

[Cori]

His previous home consisted of mom and dad with to younger girls (ages 9 and 6). Sarge is 2 1/2 years old (hatched in April of 2012). They got him as a companion for their other macaw an told me the reason for giving Sarge up was that the two birds did not get along and they no longer had the time to devote to training Sarge. He came to live with us in early July. My house hold consists of my mom my four kids (2 boys and two girls) and myself. My oldest girl is 12 the other three are 9 year old triplets. I feed him sunflower seeds baught from a feed store mixed with parrot food (different varieties available at pet stores) plus fresh fruits and veggies. In his previous home he was given the occasional "junk food" i.e. chips and things of the like; I have no idea how often. He is right by a window so he gets plenty of light during the day, but, also gets a lot in the evening because I can't cover his cage (he destroys coverings). The boy he is targeting is the most laid back person in my house and the only difference that we can see is that he does not wear glasses while the rest of us do (no idea if apperances make a difference). He gets let out of his cage about 8:oo-8:30 AM and roams where ever he wants. I do not have a specific perch for him away from the cage yet. I then battle him to be put back in the cage around 6 in the evening. The kids all know about the biting and to give him his space and they do. He is fine with everyone except the one. He will be minding his own business and Sarge will run over to him from across the room to bite him. Out of everyone in this house, the boy he is targeting has avoided him the most. Now the boy os affraid of Sarge and will constantly move away from him if he sees him coming. Could Sarge be picking up on his fears and exerting his dominence over my son? Sarge gets down and plays with and cuddles with the others, but he just really seems to dislike the one and we can't figure out why or how to make it so that we can co-exsist. I really don't want to have to give up on him and possibly create more issues for him in the future or with another owner as I have read can happen.

[Pajarita]

Well, parrots don't know of dominance (it's a myth with parrots as there is no genetic trait for it because they are not predators or live in a hierarchical society) so that's not the problem. And I don't think the glasses would make a difference but parrots are like people in that they take an instant like or dislike to somebody so maybe that's what happened. Is it possible that because he is 'laid back' he did not pay much attention to the bird? Has your son tried to win him over spending time with him, offering treats and such? I suggest he does two or three 15 sessions a day (with the bird inside the cage) and talks or reads out loud to him, sings, dances (with music in the background), offers him treats and starts target training (lots and lots of praise). I also suggest you improve his diet (sunflowers from a feed store are not good for them) and put him on a strict solar schedule. I know you said that he chews the cage cover but you will have to figure something out (maybe a sleeping cage in another room or a black out curtain that separates his area from the rest of the room) because you do NOT want a hormonal large bird that goes after your kid.