hi all, need seroius help!

[mariamcsorley]

hi i have a green cheek conure who my husband and i got when he was 5 weeks old.
we both finished off hand feeding him. my husband and i both held him and both got him out. i might have spent more time with him but thats because my husband is in the navy! but when he was home he clicker trained him, and did all the tricks.
in the last month or so Kiwi (our GCC) has been visiously attacking my husband! as in taking chunks out of his face and hands!!! the hardest thing is we dont know why! i mean he bites me every so often but nothing compared to my husband.
Kiwi is fully flighted so can easily fly away, out of his cage most of the day, good diet etc. we have tried saying firm no, making a hiss noise everything and it just doesnt make a difference just makes him clasp tighter.
We have said NO and the step up with a trear but nothing seems to be working. Kiwi has had no bad experiences all i can think is my husband is sometimes away during the week.
I have looked for a parrot behaviourist in my area but doesnt seem to be anyone for about 2-3 hours drive.
what can i do? this is my baby and i dont want to have to get rid of him- but cant have him bitting my husband all the time.
i thought maybe having his beek trimmed so wasnt as painful bite, and i dont know whether having his wings clipped might help as then he is dependant on us more?!
really need any help that you can give. we have never had a bird before and it was me who talked my husband into having one as i have always wanted a bird.
many thanks

[born2fly]

I guess you have a "one person bird" on your hands, the only answer I can give you is socialize, socialize, socialize it.

When I first got my GCC I thought saying no was the answer was but it made it worse as it got him excited and reafirmed his biting behaviour. As Michael here would say ignore it. Browse this forum there a lot of helpful tips on the subject.

As for clipping I wouldn't do it, nothing worse than a pissed off bird unable to get away. But that's my opinion

[jade_my_one_love]

Does your husband where any cologne? Birds have a very sensitive to smells. Also if he is wearing a hat while he is around the bird, that may be another reason. I know of quite a few birds that dislike hats, and will bite the people that wear them. Those are just a few suggestions.

[zazanomore]

You are his chosen person.

I've had little experience with aggressive birds (thankfully), but perhaps your husband should try interacting with your at a distance. Try having him go alone to the bird cage.

I think having your husband directly interact with him is causing some major territorial issues.

Anyways, I'm sure Michael has an article about this somewhere.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Sounds like a fairly classic case of bird bonding to one person and attacking "rivals". There is a good article on addressing one-person aggression, I don't recall offhand which section it is in, but it is a "sticky" and should be easy to find.

DO NOT TRIM THE BEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a sensitve structure, not a dead structure and could cause much pain as well as making it hard for him to eat. Beak trimming should only ever be done on a vet's recommendation, to address an issue with the growth of the beak.

I have clipped birds (although we are considering letting our Cape grow out his flights, which will instill great shock amongst the regular readers here) and, in this case, it might allow you to keep your bird because he won't be able to fly to your hubby to attack him, but it won't address the behavior at all, it will just render his range of travel smaller. And being able to sit in the same room without being attacked might IMO help address the problem as opportunities for "safe" out of cage interactions exist. You can't make your bird love your hubby, but you can encourage positive interactions, and you can stop him from being attacked no matter where he is. It won't physically damage the bird and its a completely reversible process. Just don't overdo it and make it so he drops like a rock, he should be able to land gracefully but not gain height. MHO.

FWIW I apparently have an issue (has now happened twice) with my GCC, who is primarily bonded to me but good with my husband, "viciously attacking" me when I return from being away on a trip. In my case, in both times it resolved itself after a couple of days of interaction mostly at a distance and via reconnecting on "neutral ground". I don't know if this is a GCC tendency -- even though they are very popular birds I'm having trouble finding sources of information that are really specific to this species -- but I wonder if they tend to either forget us or develop separation anger readily. Since your husband comes and goes, if that's the case... it could play a role.

[Kathleen]

This will take a lot of training as well as you and your husband understanding bird body language and learning to be more cautious. Sounds like this will take a lot of changes in the bird's lifestyle since you keep it out a lot. That probably needs to stop so that you can use attention to reinforce behavior you want.

He needs to be the sole trainer of the bird the times he is around to make up for being away. He needs to be giving the bird it's meals, and act as the only source of a rare very favorite treat. He needs to avoid invading the bird's territory so the bird won't become defensive of it.

I feel like there's a lot you're not saying because you haven't described the situations that lead up to the bites, so I really cannot give any more advice until you explain more about what is going on.

[jade_my_one_love]

It can be very frustrating when your bird decides to specifically bond to one person. When my mother and I had our pet store, we had several birds who decided to pull this number. My Hahn's macaw plays favorites, however she does not fly over and attack my mother, only biting her when my mother gets close to her or tries to pick her up or pet her. We are not sure why she has issues with my mother, as at first my mother was the only one who could handle her, and now its only me.

Our African Grey, however, has a totally different reason for being a one person bird. She's sexist. She only likes men, and there are VERY few women she will step up for. She absolutely ADORES gay guys. So perhaps your GCC is sexist as well? Try and see if he will attack any other male, and if she does, but for the most part does not attack women, you have yourself a classic form of sexism in your bird. This can be very hard to change, as it usually is caused because of who the bird was originally raised by. Sometimes a bird that is raised by a breeder and later sold, will be sexist against the sex that they were raised.

Also be aware of their breeding season, for when they are at a mature age they will most likely behave differently during this breeding season, or when their natural instincts tell them to migrate.

[Marnie]

i feel for you, my sennie is a one person bird too. my husband is completely left out.
but neither one of us has ever been "visciously atacked" by either of our birds.
i don't know how i would handle it but i agree with NOT TOUCHING THE BEAK.
however, i would clip the wings and keep this unpredictable fellow from flying and attacking ever again. if i were your husband i would not feel safe in my own home right now.
husbands have priorty in the house and i would do it for him. then you can work with the bird and try to work out these issues however long it takes. t
the wings will always grow back, but clipping will give you the time you need to work on this.
Kiwi needs to learn his place, and its not at the top looking down on both of you.
he is the peanut gallery and it can be a great place if you're a good birdy.