Attack bird after being left with friend

[janetafloat]

So I had to go to a training 2 1/2 hours away today and knew it was going to be a long day so asked my best friend to dog/parrot sit. I was gone from 8 til 7 and he came over for the last 5 hours. My friend is over most days and Alfie likes him and flies to him as soon as he arrives , but isn't obsessed or anything - he goes back and forth between the two of us when my friend is over. So when I got home I let Alfie out of his cage (he'd been out with my friend so hadn't been in his cage the whole time) and he immediately flew straight at my face and bit my cheek so I shook him off onto the sofa and he flew at me again, ran up my arm baring his beak at me and bit my ear! I was amazed, I've never seen anything like that from him. Though I should say he didn't really hurt me but he was definitely giving me some kind of message.

After I shook him off the second time he flew to his training perch and I turned my back to him for a minute, then had him step up and gave him a treat and he was okay after that, though mildly cranky with both of us until he went to bed.

How weird! Has anyone got any thoughts about what was going on?

[pennyandrocky]

he punished you for leaving him now he's over it. perfectly normal for me anyway.

[cml]

It seems like he's used to you being at home all day, and hasnt been subjected to changes in his schedule alot. Do you work from home?

I think you should start to slowly randomize your interaction with alfie, sometimes leave him for an hour here or there and slowly build up his tolerance to you being away for longer and longer periods of time.
You really should be able to leave for a day, and especially so if someone else comes over . Infact, its very beneficial for them to learn to tolerate you being away for a few days every now and then, because otherwise its gonna be a hassle if you want to travel, get sick, or something else that could keep you away for some time.

Its great that you've got a friend with whom you can socialize alfie btw .

[Pajarita]

LOL - That's a sennie for you! They can be the sweetest things ever but don't do anything they don't approve of or you will feel their wrath (they are intensely stubborn, too). And yes, he was punishing you for abandoning him (males are much, much worse than hens).

The truth of the matter is that parrots need their mates close to them 24/7/365. It's the way Nature made them and although we can get some birds used to loneliness (and make no mistake, a parrot by himself IS lonely), it never makes them happy. When you observe parrots in the wild, you see the bonded pairs always together. The only time their bodies are not touching is when they feed and one might be munching on a bud on one branch while the other is on another one but they don't only keep themselves in direct line of sight, every little while, you will see one of them stop what it's doing, move close to the other one and touch it for a minute or so and then and only then move away again to continue eating. I've never observed Senegals in the wild (and doubt I ever will as I don't see myself traveling to Africa this late in my life) but I've had four of them (I have only two now), including a mated pair and wherever one went, the other followed.

[janetafloat]

Thanks for the input, it's so interesting to hear other people's take on birdie behaviour. I figured there was two possible explanations, one being that Alfie was upset with me for leaving him and the other was that he was upset with me for coming back and spoiling his little idyll with my friend. In fact a couple of days later my friend came over and Alfie was hanging out with him. When I came over and offered Alfie my shoulder he again rushed at me and bit my cheek (not hard), so go figure. He's a feisty little thing and I love him!

It seems like he's used to you being at home all day, and hasnt been subjected to changes in his schedule alot. Do you work from home?

It's true, cml, I work part time and I'm home a fair bit but I'm gone for some time every day, a different amount of time and at a different time every day, but often for maybe 4 or 5 hours. If it was just him I would leave him all day very occasionally if necessary but couldn't have left my dog anywhere near that long, hence the friend coming over. I'm working my way up to leaving Alfie for a weekend at my local pet shop that 'bird sits' though I'm not looking forward to it - I know I'll worry about him! I'd much rather leave him with a person but haven't worked that out yet.

although we can get some birds used to loneliness (and make no mistake, a parrot by himself IS lonely), it never makes them happy

I hear that, Pajarita. I struggle with the awareness that this active, sociable little creature lives such an unnatural life (for him) in his existence as my pet. It seems very selfish.

[cml]

I'm working my way up to leaving Alfie for a weekend at my local pet shop that 'bird sits' though I'm not looking forward to it - I know I'll worry about him! I'd much rather leave him with a person but haven't worked that out yet.

I wouldnt do that unless I absolutely had to. The risk of infections is quite large, since they will have a lot of birds coming in and out, and there is no way of being sure its gonna be safe. Better to get a relative or friend to birdy-sit if youre going away =)!

[Pajarita]

I second CML's input MOST strongly. Petstores are the worst place you can leave a bird in -they NEVER vet their birds and usually get them from bird mills so it's anybody's guess what disease they are carrying. Plus, the comings and goings of strange people are VERY stressing to them - the light schedule is real bad and, let's face it, nobody who thinks of a bird as merchandise to profit from will care properly for them. Please, I urge you to find a private birdsitter in your area.

[janetafloat]

Thank you for expressing your concerns and I'm certainly going to have to rethink it. As it is, I've agonised over what to do. However, I should stress that the 'pet shop', like a lot of pet shops in the UK, doesn't actually sell animals, only pet supplies though they keep an Amazon parrot in the store as the 'store pet', which is why they bird sit. I can't think that it's an ideal existence for the Amazon but it does at least look well cared for. The birds they are boarding are kept in a back room. And, really, if I had a friend or relative who would be willing to care for Alfie do you think I'd be going that route? My nearest relative is hours away and I've been 'sounding out' my friends for several months and no-one is willing.

[marie83]

How much do they charge for boarding? sometimes petsitters that come to your home work out cheaper, at least this middle part of the country it does, you are alot nearer to london so things may be different.

[janetafloat]

£3 a day, which is pretty reasonable. Not that I feel too happy about it, which I don't. I don't know what to do! Thanks for the suggestion, Marie. Having someone come and stay in my home isn't an option though - not that I know anyone that would do that - and I can't imagine leaving Alfie on his own and just having someone come in and feed him twice a day, he'd be very lonely and bored. Really, I've been thinking about this for a couple of months and I just can't come up with a solution that I'm happy with, yet anyway.