More on our DYH Amazon

Question
Once again I need some advice. I was the one who had adopted the neglected DYH Amazon from the Humane Society. I didn't tell you before but the bird is 20 yrs old. He has came around quite nicely. Hes making more noise and even talking a little. The only problem is now that he's got his strength back he can be a terror. My wife is the only one who can handle him now (unless I have food), but once he gets on the floor and walks around no one is safe. He has lunged at me several times. The vet we take him to said that it is probably because it is around mating season and he's got a crush on my wife. What do you think? And if he is just being a terror how do you go about fixing that.

Thanks again for the help!
Brock

Answer
Hi, Brock.  I'm glad to hear your DYH is coming around.

I think his behavior is more than because it's mating season.  I think you'll find this behavior will last throughout the year.  Most parrots tend to bond/become close to a single individual in the household.  This doesn't mean they won't interact with other household members, but when his "favorite" person is around, everyone else needs to watch out!  Why he has chosen your wife could be that his first trusting human relationship was with a female or your wife resembles this person in some way (hair color, length of hair, voice, mannerisms, etc.).  Perhaps she spends more time with him than you do or there is something special about her that your DYH likes.  Perhaps he remembers his previous mistreatment that could have been at the hands of a male person, and you resemble this person somehow to him, and he is trying to get back at this person and/or prevent mistreatment again.  Regardless, you should be careful around him when your wife is present because he considers you a threat to the relationship between himself and your wife.  Sounds crazy, but this is how amazons think.  He will go to great lengths to keep you away from "them" including chasing you (and others) around on the floor.  Some examples from my experiences:  one of my male blue fronts who is bonded to me flew off the top of his cage and landed on the back of my son's neck biting him profusely when my son entered the room where the bird and I were; this same blue front behaves as you describe by chasing any feet on the floor when he is also on the floor and I am in the room (or he'll get down from his cage to get to the floor); same parrot jumped on a male friend's face biting close to his eyes when this person came close to me.  Beware...don't be affectionate with your wife when you are within range of this parrot or he will probably attack you and cause injury!  

What you need to realize is that the bird is not purposely trying to be mean to you; he considers you a threat to his "mate" and he is trying to protect her (normal bird behavior).  Usually, when this "mate" is not in the room/cannot be heard or observed by the bird, there is no threat, therefore, you handling him should not be a problem.  It's when the "mate" is present that results in the problem behavior.  However, some parrots do not like male people and some don't like female people.  This might be because of bad memories relating to either sex or sound/tone of voice (male deeper voice sounds), hair color (some birds don't like certain colors).  I have another blue front that dislikes females because he was raised by a young boy.  Some parrots dislike children because of bad experiences relating to children.

This is a situation that is difficult to fix because you have to change how the parrot views you and his relationship with your wife.  With this bird's age, he has had many experiences with humans and, obviously, prefers females.  All of your interactions with this parrot at this time should be WITHOUT YOUR WIFE PRESENT (or able to be heard by the bird...hearing her voice is all it takes).  When there is the occasion that this bird misbehaves, you must let him know that his behavior is not acceptable.  When he's good, immediately reward him with his favorite treat.  Your goal is to "win him over" by building a trust relationship with him (without your wife present), i.e., making him understand that you are not a threat to him or your wife.  When he's bad, tell him "bad bird" and then completely ignore him (don't even look at him).  This will work even better if your wife is the one to let him know that he's being a bad bird, i.e., when he misbehaves toward you and your wife is in the same room, both of you should let him know his behavior is unacceptable.  When he chases you/others on the floor, throw a towel over him to stop him and then put him in "timeout" in his cage.  Learn the warning signs that this bird is about to become aggressive...his eyes will dilate/contract meaning he is excited/angry, he will spread his wings out some to make him look intimidating, he'll spread his tail feathers, he could rock back and forth on his perch, and the feathers on top of his head might stand up.  Avoid the bird when you see these warning signs, as he is trying to tell you that he is an unhappy bird at that moment and he is about to take some action!  At this point, this amazon has control over your household and you/your wife need to regain control by doing your best to control this bird's behavior (similar to a young child who is out of control).  

The way I see it, you have a couple of choices.  You can leave the bird alone and let him continue his relationship with your wife (and terrorize the remaining household).  Or, you can try to change his behavior.  This could go different ways, depending on how you handle the situation and how the bird reacts.  Since we already know the bird likes your wife, it may be best if YOU start interacting a lot more with him and your wife stay away from the bird as much as possible until you see signs of change.  This will be hard at first, as you might be biten many times in the process (depending on how he reacts when your wife isn't around).  Another option could be that you both work together to change his behavior, realizing that he prefers your wife and might react more to her than you (don't forget the warning signs from above).  You might have to try different approaches depending on this bird's personality.  As a last resort, you could try to find him a mate, but this would mean you and your wife would lose the ability to interact with him at all.  He's learned a lot in his 20 years, so don't underestimate him...he is very intelligent and will use his knowledge to his advantage...you have to out smart him psychologically.  Be sure to keep his wings clipped so he cannot fly at you and will be at your mercy to get where he needs to go.  Make sure he cannot get down from his cage to chase others around.  ALWAYS reward positive behavior immediately and NEVER reward negative behavior.  There are no guarantees that you will be able to change this bird's behavior, but it's definitely worth a try.  It's normal for a parrot to pick out a particular member of the flock to be that special someone, but doesn't mean he has to be hateful to the rest of the flock members!  It's a matter of what they are allowed to get away with.  At his age, it may be hard to turn this around completely.  However, you should work on this right away, with consistency, if this is what you choose to do.  One thing to remember, the way to most animals' hearts are through their stomachs...a parrot can be controlled by using their favorite food/treat when you are trying to work with them.

Don't hesitate to come back if you need to.  Thanks.

Chrys