Alexandrine Parrot Trouble!

I’ ve had Iago, my alexandrine for over a year now, and I’ve found mine to be quite playful and friendly. Firstly, hand reared alexandrines do allow some petting, but are not known to be cuddle bugs, so don’t be offended if yours doesn’t appreciate too much hands-on attention. These birds are very independent by nature, and will be quite happy perched on your hand or shoulder, or just in your company. Secondly, alexandrines, like all parrots are HIGHLY intelligent. They KNOW that certain behaviors get certain reactions from their human flock mates, and they use it deviously to their own advantage. One thing they’re good at is buffaloing their humans,putting up a show of aggression, just to merely get the human to leave them alone. Rarely do buffaloing birds bite, although they might give you a nip, and most of the time that nip isn’t even painful. Your alexandrine is probably just bluffing, because he KNOWS that lunging at you scares you, and he’s enjoying the reaction he’s getting from you! Here’s my tips: 1) If you want to pick him up from his cage and he lunges at you, simply ignore the act and continue to pick him up. By doing that, you will catch him off guard because he’s not getting the reaction from you he expected. After doing that a few times, your bird will get the picture that his charades are now longer effective and he will stop that behavior. 2) Don’t pick up the bird while he’s in the cage, as his cage is his retreat, and he will be more stubborn and more likely to bite. Simply open the cage door and let him climb out on his own. Pick him up when he’s on top on his cage. 3)Ignore bad behaviors( like lunging at you when you try to pick him up), and praise good behaviors( when he gets onto your hand willingly). You can also reward him with a treat for good behavior. He will soon learn that good behavior gets a good reaction( and possibly something good to eat too)from you, so you both win at the end! I would also recommend that you read Parrots for Dummies ( Nikki Moustaki, ISBN 0-7645-8353-0 ) as it’s packed with useful information regarding caring for your bird and helping with behavior issues. This book is a must-have for all parrot lovers!

I have an African Grey and know exactly how you feel. My grey will snap at anyone who walks by the cage. The cage is very important for all breeds of parrot because it is the one place that they can feel safe at. They want to make sure that everyone knows that cage is there domain. We look at a cage as locking the bird in, where as the bird see’s it as locking everyone out. The only time my bird is truely social is when he wanders willingly out or off of the cage.

As for the solution, one possibility is giving him a treat every time you want him to step up or step down from your hand. (I use grapes) This is just a quick and easy fix.

Another solution is every time he tries to bite you when you pass by the cage is to put a sheet over the cage for about 5 minutes. Birds are very social creatures and eventually they will learn that violent behavior cuts them out of the “flock” (your family). This is probably the best preventive measure but also the hardest to commit to.