repairing the damage of poor handling

[CaitlinRice413]

[CaitlinRice413]

[Michael]

Just take things waaayyy back. Put the brakes on. Stop imposing yourself on the bird so much. Instead of trying to start from where you want to be or halfway there, go back to square one. This is why in some ways complete beginners may be more destined for success than folks with some experience. They're more cautious and learning while so is the bird so there is no rush to get to the end result. Pretend the bird is completely wild, scared, unhandleable, and impossible to touch... and begin working from there. Don't go off the assumptions that you can do certain things. You're way ahead of the comfort level of the bird and it's hurting your progress. Instead of assuming it is ok with anything, work on things from scratch and take your time.

[CaitlinRice413]

[marie83]

Ollie went through stages like this, he would launch lightning quick attacks, literally running with tail splayed, beak wide open etc to get to whatever body part he wanted to attack even though he was completely comfortable with being handled. Ollie was also completely nippy, we were getting several bad nips per day and also loads of less bad ones.
This wasn't helped by my partner who used to react to his attacks though. Eventually with learning his body language, time and consistancy he stopped doing it to me, my partner still gets the odd attack though. His attacks were so full on aggressive and seemed to occur in a split second that I was wondering if I had made a mistake in getting him, my other conure never bit once so I was not expecting it. Ollie has always been a complete cuddle bug and wanted to be with people 24/7 so some of this may not work for others.

What worked for me was

- I stopped playing with or handing foot toys to him. These get him over excited which lead to the aggressive attacks. I don't believe there was any possesive territorial streak over the toys, just pure over stimulation and he got carried away.

- Starting from scratch with basic taming and rewarding for good behaviours when he was being none nippy, even the stuff he was already ok with- theres never any harm in reinforcing the good stuff, especially with a baby as they are growing in personality all the time so things can change.

- completely ignoring nips, attacks and letting him get on with it (sometimes if he was really chomping down I would gently remove his beak from me)or putting him down elsewhere and ignoring him depending on what I thought the cause for attack was. The latter bit was done in the case of really bad attacks where he wasn't calming down or if the nips were done for attention.

[Michael]

What am I doing that is ahead of his comfort level?

I pet him
I block him
I give him things
I am so used to handling parrots a certain way

If you are failing, then something is not right. It's safer to assume that everything is off limits and start from scratch (like it's a terrified scared bird that doesn't know anything) and work your way up from there. It seems like you jumped ahead of all the basic stuff and overwhelmed the bird. Like I said, new owners usually take more time to become comfortable with the bird themselves so they don't jump right into handling the bird and doing stuff. They sit and talk to it, watch it, start by giving treats through cage bars, etc. That ends up working out well mutually because it gives both sides time to adjust. You jumped ahead too quickly (at least for this bird).

[friend2parrots]

caitlin, there's a thread in the "parrot species" section called "Help! I just got a new Jenday Conure!" or something like that started by a member called "Mello" or similar. check that thread out - her bird was a rehome, but she seemed to be having similar problems - unpredictable aggression, adjustment issues, etc. you may not have to do everything that the thread suggests, i guess use your best judgement, because your bird might be further along than hers in terms of its comfort level with you, but i agree with what Michael is saying, that you should assume you are dealing with a really wild/unpredicatable bird, and then slowly progress forward while watching the birds reaction to your every action. since you already know how to read bird body language you are already one step ahead in the game. so start with the in the cage target training as michael says, and then proceed from there onwards after double checking that Stevie is maintaining comfortable body language.

i've been dealing with a similar situation as both you and marie - unpredicatable aggression - this whole past seven months since Ringo s spook out. i've had to be extra careful to make sure i dont allow Ringo to get worked up. i basically had to start from scratch retaming him through the cage bars. i wasnt able to touch his body (even for neck scratches) for a whole five months, he was so aggressive. and this was a bird that loved to be cuddled and trusted me completely, and had never ever bitten/nipped hard either me or my husband for five years. but for the past two and a half months, he's been letting me cuddle him again. i dont think you will have to wait that long, because Stevie does seem pretty bonded to you already - but the step by step increments in interacting with him will also help you to break down and analyze which of your actions might be overstimulating him - for example in marie's case she figured out that foottoys set ollie off. with me, i noticed that any rapid movement set Ringo off, so i had to be very slow in my actions.

[CaitlinRice413]

[Grey_Moon]

Jacko didn't express herself quite the same way Stevie does, but she had (if memory serves me) the same sort of 'fits' (though much smaller, because I think she would be hit or smacked if she 'resisted' by the junkies who had her). She would tensely offer her head for a scratch almost like a defensive offering. Kind of like 'well if they pet my head they won't grab me'.

Michael said most of what I would've suggested.
Empowering Stevie while still protecting yourself is the way to go.

I think, if the metaphor helps, that I would compare him to a human being who has had their boundaries violated a lot---sometimes in the end they end up being the sort of person who won't say no even though on the inside they're not comfortable---and occasionally they 'have enough' and try to stand up for themselves. Or (I have complex PTSD so I'm familiar with this) they have moments where they're triggered from the past and react. I'd also maybe compare him a bit to a child who has attachment issues---they still crave attention and love but they're a bit disorganized and afraid etc because of parental abuse/inconsistencies or maltreatment.

SO with that in mind, again, empower him (don't assume just because he lets you do something that he wants you do), and show him the world is safe, secure and will respect him.

Three things I did with Jacko that I found really helped was a) what amounts to attachment parenting (she ate, slept, bathed and was near me as much as feasible) b) I let her come to me (for example if she wanted petting I would place my hand like a foot away from her and offer a scratch---she had the power to choose to walk to me or not but I'd never reach for her even if she appeared to want it) and c) blanket sessions where I'd gently cuddle, pet and massage her under a blanket (especially when young being in small enclosed dark spaces calms them down).

He'll come around, don't worry

[CaitlinRice413]