we have a young African Grey. She might be 6 months old now. Lately she has been acting a bit odd. She's not usually a biter.

The other night I was talking to my roommate and she was on top of our cage. This is a person she usually gets along fine with and even whistles at in a specific way(mimicking him) when he walks in the door. She likes this guy. anyways, we were just talking and she growls and charges him so fast she almost ran off her cage. Her mouth was open like she was trying to bite. So he stuck his sleeve out to her and she jumped at his face, claws out, beak open. She just fell in the floor, because she's clipped(too close imo), but she was really pissed and was trying to bite him for no good reason.

Then this morning I was leaving for work at about 5 am and the roommate (different guy) who owns her and sleeps in a room with her was up too. I walked in to talk to him briefly and she did it again. She was inside the cage, just watching us, and then she puffed up and charged the side and bit the cage. He stuck his hand out to see if she was just trying to nuzzle and she bit the jebus out of him.

Both guys were wearing plaid at the time of the weird behavior. I was present both times as well. We're pretty new to the large bird thing and were wondering if anyone has enough experience to know wtf is going on and how we can stop it. She's usually so personable we had been letting children handle her, but she could do real damage if she flips out with a kid.

While I don't know about the bird's behavior, I do have a friend who knows a great deal about parrot behavior. I will send her your info and see if she can register here and reply.

Id prolly bite too if anyone wearing plaid came around me

I also have a friend with large birds - I'll ask her.

With the weather warming up then getting cold again the bird is thinking it is spring and the hormones are kicking in. More than likely this is phase and the bird will be better in a couple of weeks.

If you need a vet there is good one down in Norman it is called All Pets Animal Hospital. She is treating my cockatiel for bumble foot.

There is a website out there called tailfeathers it is run by bird owners it may help you Tailfeathers Bird Community (http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/community/)

As promised, I asked my friend who has a grey what she thought of the matter.

Here is her answer:

"First of all, the bird is simply JEALOUS! She (if it really is a she) wants to be the main focus of her owner's attention, and anyone who gets in the way is an enemy. Birds normally mate for life, so some can be really spastic about their owner's attention being given to someone/something else. What I would recommend is that the owner hold the bird when he/she has company and make sure she is right in the middle of what's going on. Grey's are not normally real friendly to everyone (unlike Cockatoos), they tend to be more shy and reserved when there are others in the house.

Secondly, there should be a consequence for the bird when she attacks. Two things that can be used as punishment for a bird are a 'time out' (put her cage in the laundry room for about 30 minutes each time she acts out) and/or getting sprayed with a bottle of water (this works real good). As she is being punished, be sure to talk to her and let her know why it is happening (bad girl, or stop that).

Finally, these birds (especially greys) are VERY intelligent! If you don't plan on spending lots of time with them when you're home from work, you probably made a mistake when you purchased her. Greys are perpetual toddlers and need lots of playing, talking, and hugging time each day."

Hope this helps...along with consulting the website listed above.

[\QUOTE] Secondly, there should be a consequence for the bird when she attacks. Two things that can be used as punishment for a bird are a 'time out' (put her cage in the laundry room for about 30 minutes each time she acts out) and/or getting sprayed with a bottle of water (this works real good). As she is being punished, be sure to talk to her and let her know why it is happening (bad girl, or stop that).


Hope this helps...along with consulting the website listed above.[/QUOTE]

Um... please don't. All you're going to do is make the bird scared of you and want to attack you even more.

Both of those behaviors are borderline abusive. Also, your bird needs to be bathed regularly- why make it scared of water like that?

I asked my friend and this is her e-mail response (edited to take out parts unrelated):


Parrots are very intelligent animals. They also develop a liking to one gender. Hondo is Gary's macaw. I feed him, give him treats, clean his cage, buy him toys, but he likes Gary and treats me like a step-mom! They also can be quite weird in the what and who they like or dislike. It could be the plaid. Does the parrot react that way when they don't wear plaid? If they have not tried approaching the bird without they plaid, they should try that. Since the bird is so young, I would not think that bird was abused by someone who wears plaid but you never know. Are they the only two males that approach the bird? It also could be their smell. Some animals react to a certain scent.

Hondo treats my sister worse than anyone. She has never been mean to him but she is very well endowed on the top and he may not like that. She has cared for him before and told me he tries to grab her boobs and then has this evil laugh (it is my laugh). Also, when someone leaves, he says "Bye, Bye" but when Kathy leaves he yells "BYE!" He has been that way with her from day one.

Our first macaw, a severe macaw, Toni was an abused bird. She was from Panama. She was a quiet 2 year old female that someone sold to a bird shop. Gary and I got her in the fall of 1980. That spring I bought a fly swatter. When I took it out of the sack, she went crazy. We only could assume that the previous owner had hit her with a fly swatter. Nothing else ever made her react like that.

Parrots are wonderful creatures but they can be a trial too! What kind of
parrot is it?

Another post from my friend when I told her it was an African Grey:


Ooooh, an African Grey. Tell him he needs to keep them entertained too. African Greys are one of the smartest of the parrots and if you don't keep them busy they will go nuts.

the answer is very simple.

your friend is a ninja

Is this your first experience with a bird? Parrots & Cockatoos ("Toos") are extremely intelligent animals and although this is a young bird, they tend to establish there status very quickly within the family. I too believe that your bird is probably jealous but also trying to establish "who's the boss" in your household (the bird might think he/she is that individual). Best to establish this quickly as once they've learned how to manipulate their master/keeper, it's hard to go back! Greys (my experience) tend to be very manipulative and cranky at times and tend to only take cues from one person only. Cockatoos are generally the most cuddly of the bunch and will tolerate multiple individuals and their personalities in the household (not always). Greys often don't care too much (as a breed) for a lot of "hands on" whereas the Cockatoos are extremely sociable and want to part of everything that is going on in the house. No offense but what made you choose an African Grey and did you really spend countless hours researching this life-long commitment? Birds are wonderful and their companionship can be very rewarding to those who love these beautiful, smart creatures. Were you truly ready to make this level of commitment? Most AGs that I have been around, seem to be happier when they don't have to compete for their owners affection. Other poeple in the mix may make you happy but might be frustrating to your bird. I wish you the best of luck as you continue bonding with your bird...