Chicken hates my momma

[bonnie]

Ok, I will start a few days before Christmas. Momma came over and the visit was okay. Chicken let her hold him and pet him and all that good stuff. Then when she went to leave he lunged at her. I tried to take him from her and she said she could handle it. He lunged again, this time punching a hole in the shoulder of her LEATHER jacket. I took him from her and proceeded to put him in timeout.

Now for today. Momma came over about noon and the hubby and I went to eat with her. After that, momma and I went shopping and the hubby went skating. I got back home about 4:30, let him out and started dinner. Momma was in the living room on the computer. Chicken would not stop screaming and pacing. He screamed and threw a fit the whole time I was making dinner. His favorite dried cranberries made him quiet, but just long enough to devour them. I made him a bowl with some noodles and momma and I sat down to eat dinner. Chicken would not touch his bowl. Just kept pacing and running his beak on the floor. (which I know is a sign of posession) The second momma left after eating Chicken got quiet. He went into his cage and started eating the noodles I had made for him. Not a sound, nothing. I am SO frustrated. Someone, please help me figure this out...:confused:

[Anne-Samantha's Mom]

well they dont like everyone you know....it could be something as simple as her hairstyle...or you may just have to live with the fact that she doesnt like your Mom..

[FoxersArtist]

Hi Bonnie!
I'm sorry that Chicken was so much trouble while your mom was over. I would like to think that all of my birds are wonderful, well behaved, and well socialized enough to love ANYONE that comes through my door, especially family. Unfortunately, this just isn't the case. All of my birds are just soooo wonderful to me, that sometimes I humanize them and expect them to feel the same way about anyone I like. (I expect them to fly and attack those I don't like, but who am I kidding?) The great and sometimes frustrating thing about birds is that they are birds!!! They act so much like toddlers that sometimes we except them to be human.

The first thing that I noticed when reading your post (and please don't take this the wrong way, im trying to help!) is that Chicken got a reward for his negative behavior. He acted like a booger and he got a special treat to "distract" him. This is just my opinion, but if he were my bird, I wouldn't reward the behavior in any way. Pacing can mean several things: "Help me, help me, I'm scared!!!!" and "Hey, that lady is eating up all my attention, what gives?"

If chicken was trying to express the former of the two, I would take note that your baby is freaked out, and take it real slow with him and strangers. Making him step up onto your mom may have just been too much for him if he was already expressing that he was afraid of her. Think about it this way. If you didn't know someone, would you feel comfortable having them suspend you 2 or 3 stories up in the air with the possibility of being dropped? I think sometimes our birds are reluctant to step up onto strangers because they aren't sure if the new perch will be steady. Then they reach their beaks out to test the new perch and some people pull away thinking that the bird is going to bite. If your mom was afraid, Chicken may have keyed in on her fear and read her as unstable and untrustworthy because of her lack of confidence! Just an example. I think if Chicken is obviously afraid and not handling a situation well, you may want to take him and put him in a quiet room by himself for a little while to calm him down. This works for some birds, others seem to feel more anxiety from being seperated from "the flock." You know chicken, so you would have to see how he reacts. If you want someone (like your mom) to get to know chicken, but he seems afraid, one of the best things you can do is have your mom gently approach him with a special treat. Have her talk softy to him and offer the treat without being invasive of his space if possible.

So what if chicken was jealous and trying to show off? The best thing to do in that situation is to spend the entire time pretending that chicken doesn't exist. Birds don't seem to understand the concept of negative vs postive behavior. They simply see it all as attention and therefore a reward! Our GW macaw, Uriel, has started the habit of screaming at Andy every time he walks past his perch. He also reaches out and "taps" newcomers with his beak to try to scare the willies out of them. Nevermind that the reaction he ususally gets is "AHHHHHH!" It's still a reaction and he has come to relish these games. Ignoring him is our best hope of keeping him in line when we are around, but that doesn't mean he won't act up when someone new shows up. He's a bird, what can we say?
-Anna

[bonnie]

Ok Anna, you have said some VERY helpful things, but I would like to expand a bit. I honestly don't believe Chicken is afraid of Momma. I take him over to her house and he acts just fine and there are times he interacts with her very normally. I honestly think it's because when my husband is not home Chicken has me all to himself. This means that when Momma comes over, it's not all about Chicken.
For an example, Matthew has had a group of his friends over playing video games for a few hours. There were two of them here Chicken had never seen before. He did not react the way he did with Momma today. He was letting them love on him and play with him just like he does everyone... But Momma.
But, Momma was here by herself BOTH times Chicken displayed these behaviors.
So, whe you ignore him do you lock him up? The main thing is the screaming. If I put him on his perch where he can't get down he will just scream the whole time. How do I handle ignoring him and get the desired behavior from Chicken?

[Larry, Baby and Me]

Bonnie girl,

I don't have time at the moment to go into the details - I will later on today.

Anna gave some extremely valuable information.

By reading what you now said --- My guess is... it sounds like territorial behavior.

[EasySpirit]

Ok, the lunging when she went to leave can be a possessive thing. She may really like your mom and wasn't done with her so to speak...lol. I have a bird that loves young female blondes. I warn them not to put her down and that I need to take her from them. You see, when of the precursors to her biting is a favored person ending a session before she thought it time.

First don't let her do that to your mom. Reintroduce her to mom and go slow, Just sit or stand there and talk with each other and to chicken. Carry on a conversation Generally when you are close to each other they will not scream. Be prepared to move quickly should chicken flare her wings to attack...just quickly turn around and walk away. It is hard to know what they are thinking at times but one thing I can say is that they read body language really well and it would be interesting to know what see is seeing with your mom...a dominant type person, one easily intimidated, one rivalring you for her attention. Break it down into small steps and evaluate each step before the behavior starts. It is then that you make a change and not let it get to the level it did. Video cameras are great at catching things for you to analyze.

Good luck and chicken sounds like a sweetheart.

Easy

[Larry, Baby and Me]

Just kept pacing and running his beak on the floor. (which I know is a sign of possession).

I take him over to her house and he acts just fine and there are times he interacts with her very normally.

He was letting them love on him and play with him just like he does everyone...

Bonnie,

Let's see if we can wrap our minds around this one.

We say... a parrot likes, dislikes, loves, hates - a certain person.

If it were true that Chicken hates your mother then he would hate her no matter where she was. In other words... if he hates her in your home then he would hate her in her home. Hmmmm?

So - it's "location" isn't it?

What helps me with trying to figure out our feathered friends are two basics observed in the wild:

1. They are prey animals (someone's lunch).
2. They are flock animals (being a part of a group - safety in numbers, reference item number 1).

Putting the two items above together -- they are territorial.

I guess we can say "territorial" is the glue that holds together items 1 and 2.

Let's examine territory from the innermost to the outermost.

Innermost = nest.
Next is their favorite perch.
And then are their surroundings (village so to speak).

In the wild, they protect their territories with their very lives - to do otherwise means certain death. They protect their own nest from all others including members of the same flock. They protect their favorite perch but will jockey for position when the mood hits them, allowing other members of the flock to take their perch now and them. But the closer their favorite perch is to their nest - the more agressively they will protect it. They protect their surroundings (village) from all others - including birds of the same species from other flocks (villages).

A flock will drive off intruders of the same species that belong to other flocks. But it is interesting to note - that the flock will allow a juvenile from another flock, of the same species, to wander into their territory... allowing them unfettered passage. I "guess" they figure the juvenile is either lost and means no harm or the juvenile is curious and means no harm.

Birds in the wild mark their territory by actively chewing the bark off twigs and branches of the surrounding trees.

An adult bird from other flocks determines if a territory is presently occupied by seeing the freshly chewed twigs and branches, and they will stay clear. If the chewings are old - then that means the territory was once occupied but not at the present.

So - did you ever wonder why certain species chew and chew and chew? Now you know.

Now back to Chicken.

Running his beak on the floor - you are correct... possession. Not possession of the floor but marking his territory. This behavior of his is telling your mother --- this area is mine... do not intrude!

His pacing... same thing --- he is walking out the perimeter of "his" territory. Marking it so to speak.

So - when your mother is in your home... she is in Chicken's territory, and "she" is the intruder.

When Chicken is in her home... that is "her" territory. So Chicken has no claim on it, therefore it is not his to protect.

So a question remains... why does Chicken view your mother as an intruder that he has to demonstrate territorial behavior and he does not with your husband's friends???

I am not sure without being there to closely observe the dynamics - I can only take a guess.

My "guess" is your mother carries herself as an authority figure - a potential threat to Chicken. Whereas your hubby's friends are one of the crowd (flock) and not a threat. They are probably easy-going, laid back, and full of fun... no threat.

So - Chicken doesn't like or dislike your mother as we would put it in human terms. He is just being a bird with tons of hard-wired instructions inside that little brain of his that have served his kind very well over the past 65 million years.

[bonnie]

This totally makes sense. I'm guessing there is nothing we can do to make it better?

[Larry, Baby and Me]

There are several thing that can be done to make it better.

We have heard it said many times... Avoid the bite!

But what does that mean? It means to avoid the situation that can lead to a bite, or the lunge, or the aggresive behavior.

So - you already know that Chicken gets agressive (protecting territory) when your momma comes to your place. You could tell your momma to never visit... uhhh -- nope - that won't work.

You could keep Chicken in his cage during her visits. That might be a bit drastic.

You could be extra careful with Chicken during her visit - always anticipating that he could lunge at her and perhaps bite her at any minute.

You could also work with Chicken while your momma is visiting to "try" to desensitize him from veiwing her as a threat. You notice I said "try"... it might work and it might not.

What would help sort this thing out --- if you would tell me in detail what lead up to the lunge at her and him biting a hole in her jacket.

My "guess" is --- Chicken was a bit on edge all the while your mother was at your place. But at times he seemed okay with her. And the moment she turned away (her back to him) Chicken took advantage of her back turned and went in for the kill.

Is that any way near what happened?

[bonnie]

Well, the first time she was here she was on the couch and when she went to leave she walked over to his perch to tell him goodbye. He stepped up and let her pet him for a few then, yes, he lunged. It seemed to come from nowhere. She was just talking to him in a 'baby' voice and then it happened. It was the next time she came over that he was on edge the entire time.

[Larry, Baby and Me]

What I have been able to find out from other bird owners - Toos don't telegraph their lunges or bites like most other species do. Most of the time they will bypass all the obvious signals and go straight to the bite.

But... if you watch his behavior very closely you will see some small changes in the way he is acting prior to the lunge or bite.

Other species have light colored eyes and you can watch if their eyes pin. But a Too has dark eyes and you can't see thie pinning. But they do give off certain signs. Often times their feathers will be slicked back... but not always. Sometimes they will be fluffed with their feathers over their beak. But you see that "certain" look in their face. It is impossible to explain but they do get "that" look.

[EasySpirit]

Tooz...really watch. Their posturing changes...the way the hold their head and how they start to walk. then the strike!!! When observing G2 behavior I notice they have more mannerisms similar to U2's or M2s. The LSC acts differently, they seem to have more of the flight response than the G2 of challenge.

Oh, female lsc has ligth colored eyes and you can see the pinning.

Interesting to watch all the behaviors.

Easy

[too&me]

I do love that fluffing the feathers over the beak-"What beak I don't have a beak I can't bite you?" I'm just certain that is the impression they are trying to give. :eek:

[Anne-Samantha's Mom]

wow I have learned so much from reading these posts..

[bonnie]

me too... I am SO glad I asked everyone. I mean, I can read him really well, but there are a lot of things Easy, Anna and Larry have said that have helped me.

[birdie]

Often times their feathers will be slicked back... but not always. Sometimes they will be fluffed with their feathers over their beak. But you see that "certain" look in their face. It is impossible to explain but they do get "that" look.

Oh that look of the sleeked back feathers... it took me awhile to figure that one out, but it's my most obvious clue with my princess:))