March 16, 2021
Cockatoo
My cockatoo recently starting biting and chasing my daughter out of no where, they use to be good together, she was able to carry him and hug him now all he wants to do is bite her?
Question:
Answer:
Hi Janet,
This is most likely hormonal behavior. What stands out here is your comment that she used to be able to hug him. Cockatoos can be wonderful and they do love to cuddle. But, we have learned that this type of handling is one of the key triggers for hormonal behavior. In the wild, only the bonded mate would be allowed to have any contact with the body. When we hug our birds or pet them on the body, we are sending the signal that we are the mate. This can trigger hormonal behavior, but the bird ends up frustrated because we can’t be his/her mate. This leads to aggression, unwanted egg laying, feather destructive behavior or nuisance screaming. We now know it is really best to limit contact with our birds to the head and neck. It’s tempting to cuddle, but the results are often another bird ending up at a rescue center.
Male cockatoos are easily the most dangerous when they get hormonal. They were cute and cuddly, and “suddenly” they are attacking and biting. For the bird, it isn’t sudden or “out of nowhere”. He had the promise of a mate, and that didn’t happen. He has these hormones driving him, and doesn’t fully understand his wild instincts that he is feeling. And even if the hormones settle down, he has a new form of fun – something to chase! I’m assuming your daughter is a child, and like any child, she is going to react to a bird coming after her. I think the first action is to keep them apart for a while. If he has been allowed to stay out of the cage most of the time, then it is time to set some boundaries. He needs to learn he gets out when you take him out. And he has to be supervised. This is also time to change how to handle him. Stop any petting other than on his head and neck. Remember that birds do not respond to punishment – they learn from positive reinforcement. If you are handling him and he bites you, don’t react other than to calmly put him back in his cage. While this may partly be what he wants, you didn’t give him a big dramatic reaction which is really what he is looking for. The key is to pay attention to his body language and prevent the bite from happening. I’m going to give you the links to our pages on training and body language. Your daughter needs to read this information, too, if she is at an age to understand and learn from it. You need to keep them apart until she can understand why he is doing this, can read his body language to prevent a bite, and will not react if he does bite. A child, even a teenager, will tend to react by teasing and taunting. Her feelings are hurt because her bird turned on her. She is likely to lash out in her own way. She has to be able to understand that from the bird’s viewpoint, this isn’t personal. These are natural instincts that he can’t control. But if your daughter runs from him, screams from being bitten or yells at him – these are all reactions that will reinforce his behavior and turn it into a game for him. Then even when his hormones settle back down, he will still chase her and bite her. The chasing also needs to be addressed and stopped. He shouldn’t be on the floor, ever. I know our birds love the floor, but it is unsafe and has resulted in many tragedies – no matter how careful you are, we are human and one slip can mean the loss of your pet. If he is getting down on the floor on his own, then you need to teach him not to do this. If possible, get him a play area that he can’t reach the floor from. This is the easiest fix. Otherwise, you need to go back to basics, reward him for staying on his cage or stand. Ignore him if he gets on the floor – just pick him up and put him back where he should be. Wait for a minute or two, and then give him a reward for not getting down again. He will get the point eventually, but any time you give in, you lose more ground that you have gained.
You can make some changes that can reduce hormonal behavior. Limit his light to 8-10 hours a day by covering his cage early in the evening. Don’t let him roam the house – when he is out of the cage, he is being held or supervised. Don’t give him anything that can be viewed as a nest – no boxes, bird huts/tents, no dark cozy places when he is out of the cage. Don’t give him paper or cardboard to shred. Change the way you pet him, as I mentioned above. If you feed him a lot of fresh foods, stop offering these for now. After a couple of weeks, offer small amounts a few times a week. The reality is that your daughter may not be able to handle him. It may be that he sees you as his mate and has decided your daughter is a rival. The safety of your daughter and your bird is important. And it is also important that she not have a negative experience here. You may need to explain that while he was captive bred, he still has wild instincts – just like the wild animals you see in a zoo. Cockatoos mate for life, and once they choose a mate, they stop having physical contact with other cockatoos in the flock. It is possible that he will go back to his previous behavior when you make some changes. But if he doesn’t, it is not his or anybody’s fault. For now, assume he is not safe for her to handle. Take things one day at a time, and once his hormones settle back down, he might be safe for her to handle again.
Here are the links for you – there is a lot to read!
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
