Ask Lafeber

mango again

well your great advice helped get the screeching calmed down now he has started biting my fiance and being aggressive whats a bird mom to do?

Hi Adrienne,

Mango just can’t stay out of trouble! 🙂 I am very glad to hear that Mango is doing better with the screeching. He has finally settled in and you have done your part. As to the biting, this is a bit more complicated. While most birds live in flocks in the wild, they do not have physical interaction with flock members once they are mature and have a mate. In captivity, we want a pet bird to be friendly to everyone, but this is not in their nature. Pet birds will tend to form a mate bond with the owner, but this can be avoided or changed. When you handle Mango, you need to limit any petting to head scratches. When you pet him on his body, this is something only a bonded mate is allowed to do, so you are triggering his hormones and sending the message that you are the mate. This makes him want to be with only you, and be aggressive towards anyone else. Hopefully by limiting yourself to scratching his head, he will settle down and be more receptive to someone else handling him. However, some birds still prefer only one person. You can’t force him to like other people – all you can do is avoid having a mate bond with him. It is best for each of you to handle him separately. If both of you are trying to handle him, he still may get jealous and be protective of you. Try putting him back in the cage, leaving the room, and letting your fiance try to handle him without you being around. Mango may end up being a one person bird, or it might be a seasonal thing. Either way, avoid the body petting and give him time and hopefully he will be less bonded to only you

Thanks for the update,

Brenda