Bhodi's visitor

[FoxersArtist]

This morning someone came to visit the birds but had shown an interest in Bhodi, so I brought him out of the aviary to show her. I went slow as he is very, VERY easily triggered by all sorts of things - some that we haven't even discovered yet. I sat across the room in my lazy boy where I usually sit and cuddle him while she sat and talked to him from across the room. After a few minutes I sat on the same couch with her, with Bhodi in my lap. He tried to go to her instantly but I didn't let him as I wasn't sure if his intentions were friendly or not. When she seemed comfortable, I let him go over to visit.

What happened next is a little confusing to me. With me, bhodi is very loving and cuddly, but not overly hormonal. He has always been very gentle with me and very aggressive when he doesn't like someone. When he went to this person he seemed to instantly explode with hormones. He started rubbing his vent all over her and then tried, almost frantically, to find a place to nest. I warned her that cockatoos who get worked up and hormonal can bite and that she might want to discourage him from trying to nest in the sofa. No sooner than the words came out of my mouth Bhodi pulled his head out from a dark spot in the sofa, lept straight up and bit her in the arm, quite badly.

Before that time Bhodi had really seemed to like her...LOVE her. I still think he did like her...but i didn't like how instensely he was interested in her. I don't like how spun up he got. How can he be so level with me but was so overly hormonal with her? She handled him the same way i would have. When he was with her he seemed to turn aggressive toward me the way he gets aggressive with Andy when I am with him. I guess i'm just trying to reflect on the situation to try to see if there would have been a way to avoid the bite. Thoughts?
-Anna

[too&me]

Sound like instant mate. He seems to be so quick minded it would be difficult to read him well enough to have avoided this bite under these circumstances. I know why you moved to the sofa but perhaps he interpreted it as moving in on his mate. Perhaps just a very frustrated bird with a large set of luggage dragging behind him.

[MoluccanZoey]

Thought I'd say hi... I'll introduce myself- I'm Heather (Bhodi's visitor today) Anna told me about this website and so I had to come check it out. And actually the bite isn't all that bad- He got me over a freckle so it looked worse then it was- at the time I thought he dug abit deeper down, but really it isn't all that deep- just a small hole on top and a larger cut on the bottom, but it doesn't go down. Honestly I've had worse bites from my ferrets. Then again they are usually biting my fingers to bits so that might have something to to with it not hurting much. Bhodi was a cutie though! Do you think I might have reminded him of someone? And, let me know if this is a stupid question- since I have a female at home that is always cuddling with me, does that influence behavior? She's not mature yet so I rather doubt that scenio. I'm still rather new so I don't really know- but I like learning! Anyway, I'll be reading more around the site!

[too&me]

Welcome Heather, it is good to have you among us. A reasonable question & I don't have enough facts to answer that fully. They are not supposed to have a very well developed sense of smell so that shouldn't be a contributing factor but I'm not certain if pheromes might be an exception to that rule. More of us should be along to help ponder that one.

[Evelyn]

Heather -

I'm so glad the bite wasn't as serious as it first seemed, and that it hasn't turned you off parrots.

I would say that if you had been handling Zoey shortly before visiting Bhodi, that might account for Bhodi's "love at first sight." He sounds like a caveman! :) I expect the bite came from being overly stimulated.

Evelyn



Thought I'd say hi... I'll introduce myself- I'm Heather (Bhodi's visitor today) Anna told me about this website and so I had to come check it out. And actually the bite isn't all that bad- He got me over a freckle so it looked worse then it was- at the time I thought he dug abit deeper down, but really it isn't all that deep- just a small hole on top and a larger cut on the bottom, but it doesn't go down. Honestly I've had worse bites from my ferrets. Then again they are usually biting my fingers to bits so that might have something to to with it not hurting much. Bhodi was a cutie though! Do you think I might have reminded him of someone? And, let me know if this is a stupid question- since I have a female at home that is always cuddling with me, does that influence behavior? She's not mature yet so I rather doubt that scenio. I'm still rather new so I don't really know- but I like learning! Anyway, I'll be reading more around the site!

[birdie]

.

What happened next is a little confusing to me. With me, bhodi is very loving and cuddly, but not overly hormonal. He has always been very gentle with me and very aggressive when he doesn't like someone. When he went to this person he seemed to instantly explode with hormones. He started rubbing his vent all over her and then tried, almost frantically, to find a place to nest. I warned her that cockatoos who get worked up and hormonal can bite and that she might want to discourage him from trying to nest in the sofa. No sooner than the words came out of my mouth Bhodi pulled his head out from a dark spot in the sofa, lept straight up and bit her in the arm, quite badly.

Before that time Bhodi had really seemed to like her...LOVE her. I still think he did like her...but i didn't like how instensely he was interested in her. I don't like how spun up he got. How can he be so level with me but was so overly hormonal with her? She handled him the same way i would have. When he was with her he seemed to turn aggressive toward me the way he gets aggressive with Andy when I am with him. I guess i'm just trying to reflect on the situation to try to see if there would have been a way to avoid the bite. Thoughts?
-Anna

Sounds like it was LOVE at 1st site, and his hormones got the best of him and then there's no turning back. He didn't know what to do with the intense feelings and that most always lands a bite. Is the couch a trigger for him? Maybe a combination of the 2 of you there? Bhodi has been different from the start to deal with, and for some reason you have a calming effect on him. If he did that once, chances are he'll do it again. Just a thought that popped into my head... are glasses one of his triggers? I mean the lack of glasses?

[FoxersArtist]

Heather wasn't wearing glasses. I don't know what his feelings are about glasses except that he is ok with mine. No one else with glasses has handled him while he has been here.
-Anna
Sounds like it was LOVE at 1st site, and his hormones got the best of him and then there's no turning back. He didn't know what to do with the intense feelings and that most always lands a bite. Is the couch a trigger for him? Maybe a combination of the 2 of you there? Bhodi has been different from the start to deal with, and for some reason you have a calming effect on him. If he did that once, chances are he'll do it again. Just a thought that popped into my head... are glasses one of his triggers? I mean the lack of glasses?

[MoluccanZoey]

I do wear glasses, just not all the time. I didn't know if the birds would like to chew on them (Zoey tends to like to try to take them off) so I didn't wear them at the time. Next time I come for a visit I can wear them if you like. I do really like Bhodi, and would like to adopt him if it works out. Of course I'm talking in the future, when I have a place for him. Right now I do a bit of a ferret rescue- I have 14- but its getting harder and harder to do that since ferrets have a comparitively short livespan (most of the ones I have lost have been less then 6), and emotionally it is just really hard to take losing them. I have two guestrooms decked out as ferret rooms, and while I think I will always have ferrets, I don't think I will have as many as I have now. I want to make one of my ferret rooms a bird room, where I can keep Bhodi. I do actually like working on "hard cases", animals with issues don't bother me- most of my pets have some baggage (some more than others). Bhodi would be the biggest challenge I've ever taken on, but with Anna's help I think I could pull it of and be a good home for him. Again, I'm not talking about taking him tomorrow- but maybe in a year's time. I'd like to visit him regularly too. He may just get too amped up around me to be a good fit- but if he does like me I'm game.

[FoxersArtist]

Bhodi did really seem to like you but we would have to find some ways to get him to be more calm around you. He was super jazzed up about mating with you and a jazzed up Bhodi is a very dangerous Bhodi! He has sooo many triggers. I must say though, I just have a really hard time believing that anyone could live in the same house with him as long as he has screaming issues. We either need to fix the issues (which is mostly up to him and his timing) or have a place for him where his parront can escape the noise during times when they can't handle it. Bhodi is the loudest bird I have EVER met and can out scream a moluccan any day. But to someone who really cares about him... he is really worth every effort. He has the kindest little soul.
-Anna

I do wear glasses, just not all the time. I didn't know if the birds would like to chew on them (Zoey tends to like to try to take them off) so I didn't wear them at the time. Next time I come for a visit I can wear them if you like. I do really like Bhodi, and would like to adopt him if it works out. Of course I'm talking in the future, when I have a place for him. Right now I do a bit of a ferret rescue- I have 14- but its getting harder and harder to do that since ferrets have a comparitively short livespan (most of the ones I have lost have been less then 6), and emotionally it is just really hard to take losing them. I have two guestrooms decked out as ferret rooms, and while I think I will always have ferrets, I don't think I will have as many as I have now. I want to make one of my ferret rooms a bird room, where I can keep Bhodi. I do actually like working on "hard cases", animals with issues don't bother me- most of my pets have some baggage (some more than others). Bhodi would be the biggest challenge I've ever taken on, but with Anna's help I think I could pull it of and be a good home for him. Again, I'm not talking about taking him tomorrow- but maybe in a year's time. I'd like to visit him regularly too. He may just get too amped up around me to be a good fit- but if he does like me I'm game.

[MoluccanZoey]

Just something to think about... one of my neighbors has a recording studio in his garage and has completely sound proofed it (or almost completely- you can still hear drums some days). What do you think about a sound-proofed room? I'd have to look into it- but I could ask my neighbor what all was involved with it. Then Bhodi could be inside, but I could shut the door when he got too loud too long.

[too&me]

Good thinking, just ck & be certain that whatever material you use is not where he can chew on it just in case. If there is a way they will find it.

[birdie]

Sounds to me like Heather would make a good momma for Bhodi, and is willing to work through his issues:) And we could STILL hear Bhodi stories:dancered:

[FoxersArtist]

I think this would be ideal. Our aviary has a sound deadening wall and Bhodi does very well out there. Everyone wins as long as bhodi gets the attention he needs...but being around things that are very stimulating is very upsetting to him as of now so having him in a cage in some place like the livingroom would be very bad.
-Anna
Just something to think about... one of my neighbors has a recording studio in his garage and has completely sound proofed it (or almost completely- you can still hear drums some days). What do you think about a sound-proofed room? I'd have to look into it- but I could ask my neighbor what all was involved with it. Then Bhodi could be inside, but I could shut the door when he got too loud too long.