Ask Lafeber

African Grey turns aggressive toward roomate

My 22 yr Timneh African Grey, Tiki, used to like everyone and let my roommate hold and pet her. A year after having Tiki, she tries to jump on my female roomate and attack her most days. It was just sporadic at first. Tiki would step up fine, then suddenly bite her. Then sometimes she’d be fine. Now she seems to jump on her and attack if she’s not paying attention. Yet, if my roommate is accross the room and Tiki starts getting into something she shouldn’t she will listen to my roommate when she tells her no. She’s tried positive reinforcement, but Tiki is very unpredictable with only my female roomate. My roomate is terrified to go near her now.

Hi,

Parrots in general tend to be one person birds. It may be the person who is in the room with them at the time. In the wild, adult parrots have one mate, and do not physically interact with other flock members. A parrot definitely would not interact with another parrot if their mate was there, too. All parrot behavior is driven by instinct, so when they have a close bond with their owner, they can be aggressive with other people, especially if the owner is around. You can try hiring a behavior consultant to get some help. If your roommate is scared of the bird, the bird isn’t going to trust her. This is not a quick fix, and one that would go best if you have an expert helping. One of our webinar presenters specializes in Greys. Her name is Lisa Bono and she can be reached at [email protected]

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda