by Pajarita » Wed Nov 23, 2016 1:18 pm
He is getting over his 'honeymoon period'. All rehomed birds go through what we call the 'honeymoon period' when they are on their best behavior (it's a wired-in survival technique) but, as soon as they start feeling comfortable, they start showing their true colors. Now, usually, people make the mistake of interacting physically with them as soon as they get the new bird and that, believe it or not, makes things worse because it's always better to allow the bird to get used to its new people (and home, and diet, and schedules, etc) on its own and wait for it to choose its human and make the first step to take that relationship further.
The sad truth is that parrots, with rare, rare exceptions, don't make good family pets. They evolved to 'cleave' only to their mates which they will love and protect to death so, when more than the 'chosen one' presumes to have a close relationship with them, the result is biting. But it's not the parrot's fault, he is just acting the way that nature told him to act.
Cockatoos that feel extremely comfortable and secure in their home and their relationship with their chosen one will accept other people as flock mates so the first thing you need to do is to observe the bird and determine who his chosen one is (they change allegiances, sometimes immediately after the end of the honeymoon period, sometimes later) and for only this person to interact physically with him. The others can interact with him but only by talking, singing, whistling, dancing, offering treats, etc. We, humans, are used to having pets like dogs or cats which can love everybody in the family even though they also usually have one single recognized 'alpha'. In my house, my husband is the cats' favorite but I am the dogs' and birds' and he has had to work hard and long to make the birds accept him as a flock member (meaning that they won't go out of their way to attack him). It takes him years to get some of the birds to accept him but this is entirely his fault because he is not a parrot person (so he doesn't understand why they do what they do), he is afraid of them (and acts accordingly) and it takes him a long time to change his mind about any bird that have bit him ("He/She is a BAD bird!"). And, when I say years, I mean years because I've had parrots since 1992 and he has only recently began to establish good relationships with them - it has only been a couple of weeks with Freddy Too even though I've had him for three years or so and Freddy Too doesn't have a single mean bone in his entire body!
So, don't despair, what is happening is actually normal and the only thing you all have to do is for all the non chosen ones pull back with the physical interaction and dedicate themselves to wooing him into friendship. He will always only love one person but the others can be friends.