I’ve raised and hand fed my Indian ringneck when he was just 2 weeks old and as he grew he didn’t like going outside, socialising with my family members and always attacks my other pets. He is also very protective of me and always regurgitate when he sees me and hes currently 1 year old now. Recently he randomly pounces or attacks my face specifically while screaming! I stopped paying attention to my other pets for him to stop being jealous so what else am I doing wrong and why does he specifically attack my face? What should I do to stop him? Should I lock him inside a room or inside his cage? If I ignore his behaviour he will try getting my attention and attack me.
Answer:
Hi,
Your bird has formed a mate bond with you, which as you are finding out is not a healthy situation. You need to take a step back and consider how you handle him. There are many hormone triggers that owners accidentally set off, so you need to be aware of these and avoid them. To begin with, never pet him anywhere but his head and neck. When you pet him on the body, this is something only a mate would be allowed to do. So no cuddling, hugs, snuggling in bed – limit all touching to his head and neck only. If he is fully flighted, it might help to get a minimal trim just to settle him down some. A flighted bird that is attacking is very dangerous, and often a modest wing trim can stop this behavior. His feathers will grow back the next time he molts. Don’t let him roam free in the house. He need to come out of his cage on your hand or a stick and remain with you or on a playstand. Some birds get more aggressive if allowed to play on top of the cage and come and go as they please. When he shows signs of attacking or does attack, put him in his cage, but don’t say anything to him. Parrots learn from positive reinforcement, not punishment. So it’s best to just say nothing, or say let’s go to your cage for now, being careful of your tone. The cage should not be a punishment, just a good place for him to do his own thing and settle down. While you may not recognize when he plans to attack, he will give you a warning or signal, so you need to be more aware of his body language. As for going for your face, this is what most parrots do when they attack a person. I’m going to give you some links to our behavior and training pages, as well as to a webinar about hormone triggers. He won’t stop this overnight, but the more you understand what is going on and how to handle him, the more likely he is to reduce or stop this behavior. Be consistent with him and remember to reward the desired behavior and ignore unwanted behavior. He is an exotic pet, so his behavior is based on instinct and can’t be trained out of him lie a dog or a cat.
