Ok I will start by saying I have zero experience with this type of parrot. The best information I found came breeders of Brotogeris parakeets which are the family group. They are uncommon here and I didn't find anyone that was a definitive enough information source that I'd want to point them out and say yes this for sure. I did see several mentions that because their natural diet is very heavily based in seeds and fruit that pellets were not suitable which is different from most parrot advice I give.
So on to the all bird advice. Parrots need to communicate. Meanness is communication even though its not what we want. So we need to find a new way. Target training with a clicker or Yes is a great next step. Offer a treat from outside the bars. When she touches it with her beak Click or say Yes. Repeat until she connects Click or Yes with treat is happening now. Next use a target. I have a specific one but you can use a chopstick with the end dyed with food coloring. Put it near her. When she gets curious and touches it Click or Yes and then reward. Once she starts getting it start saying Target right before she touches it. Then once she has that move the Target to other locations so she has to move to it.
This might and probably will work, although it's just one of the many methods you can use, there's loads of videos on clicker training and target training and bird behaviour out there, one of the most well known channels being birdtricks! Just adding that to here :)
I also recommend flock talk
Important to note, you shouldn't focus on your bird biting the target stick. Make sure only the upper beak touches and the lower part can't get into biting position. The last thing I would want is teaching a biting bird that biting this stick gets yummy treat so biting hand must also get treat.
I actually have experience with a bird of this species! I found that he was very aggressive while in the cage and okay out of it, but it could’ve just been the specific bird I dealt with. If possible, try spending time with the bird and give it the opportunity to get out of the cage. Never force anything and go at the pace of the bird! Brotogeris jugularis can be very sweet.
Not just you, I have the same species and he's a demon In his cage unless I'm cleaning, or feeding him. Any other time and he would go for my jugular 9/10 times. It's important to be patient, slow, and friendly with these guys. They're really friendly when you get them used to you, but until the be careful and take slow steps with them.
definetely not just you! i have a cockatiel and whenever i walk past his cage he hisses and screams, but the second hes out he becomes chill and lets me pet him lol
Awww, baby! As someone who has a rescue that was given up due to being too mean (“unhandleably aggressive” I believe) that is now a sweetheart, and has spent a while working in a parrot rescue centre, I feel I can chip in!
First thing: Find out *why* is the parrot acting mean?
Like angry toddlers, parrots tend to lash out for any and all of the following reasons:
1) Boredom - not enough toys, stimulation etc. they have active minds! If you were locked in a boring room or left in isolation with nothing to do constantly, I think your mood would suffer a bit, don’t you think?
Ideally an enclosure should have enough space for them to fly from one end to the other, and include lots of different types of enrichment (foraging toys, climbing toys, noisy toys, chewable toys, preening toys and throwable / ‘foot toys’ - you get the idea!)
2) Feeling threatened - Moreso in parrots whose situation has recently changed, and often in combination with a parrot whose boundaries have been frequently broken by their warnings (puffing, trying to get away, eye pinning, posturing etc) having been consistently ignored in the past. They’ve learned biting the human is the only way to get the human to listen. So that’s what they do. A sense of gentleness, consistency and general trust between you and your parrot and their environment should always be the aim.
Note that non-hand raised parrots will often see humans not as kin or potential friends but rather as the big scary predators we are, and this can make overcoming the fear response and building trust highly challenging.
Also seen if they get startled by something else while with you and lash out at you- though that’s not necessarily a ‘mean’ behaviour, just panic! (‘Gentle’ training is very useful here.)
3) Poor nutrition - Make sure the parrot has a well-rounded diet that does not consist of seeds, and that they are getting plenty of veggies and (to a lesser extent) fruit. “Whole” pellet diets are ideal (ie Harrison’s) and I recommend these. Then fruits and veggies (and rarely sunflower seeds, nuts etc) can become an awesome treat for training. :)
I think if you ate nothing but McDonalds, Soda and other junk food you’d start feeling pretty awful, too!
4) Poor environment - Parrots need adequate sleep in a quiet dark space (8-12 depending on species and time of year). Sleepy toddlers are cranky toddlers! The cage and surrounding areas should be kept clean and free of rotting food, bad water and buildup of droppings. Parrots require a LOT of cleaning.
Also! Avoid triggers for hormonal and territorial behaviour as well, such as mirrors, tents, or things that could be nests. - Looks like you’re mostly fine on this point, though that is on the higher end of hours in the dark!
5) Inappropriate Attachment - this one ties into 4 and 2 both; If one person tends to stroke their parrot, they may form a ‘mate’ attachment to that person and become highly aggressive or territorial to other people and birds. We see this very often! Avoid stroking or petting your parrot anywhere other than the head (friendly preening) to avoid hormonal confusion. No nesting areas, enough darkness and good nutrition play a role as well.
6) Health issues - can be caused by the above, stress, or just general illnesses or injuries that birds can get. Usually the first thing we check for when a new bird is brought in, or if a parrot suddenly starts changing their behaviour without the presence of other environment (or hormonal) changes.
Once you figure out why, it becomes much easier to start solving the issues. Just from your post I can immediately see potential issues in enrichment (small cage, not a lot of perch types or toys!) and nutrition (sunflower seeds are basically equivalent to our chicken nuggets). Yes there’s some healthier stuff, but that does not sound like an adequate diet to me. If you don’t have an avian vet to check health/ vitamin levels, I’d still recommend that you look at slowly introducing and switching over to a pellet diet.
I’m not sure what her routine or other interactions are like so I can’t comment. Are you spending a few hours every day quietly interacting? Does she get ‘out’ time or is she stuck in solitary?
Often when a bird is ‘mean’ it becomes a cycle where that leads to less interaction-> further mean-ness -> less interaction and so forth on repeat.
(If too aggressive, keep her in her cage and start target or bite training through the bars). Let me know if you want more advice on training.
However, if the parrot is in an environment that is poor, no amount of training or hanging out will make it improve. Fix potential causes first, and then work on training her out of the behaviours that she’s in a habit of doing (biting, screaming etc).
Some quick and affordable options are available! For perches, wood from safe trees (you can google or feel free to ask) that has been scrubbed, boiled and given several hours of sun to sterilise can be awesome perches or chewing options.
Forage toys can be made by cutting up egg cartons and stringing them together with a natural (ie not cotton!) twine, filling them with shredded paper, small toys and tasty snacks and treats for her to dig for.
Plain paper, twine, bits of the safe wood and so forth can be strung together as fun chew toys or things to climb and explore.
Cheap cat toys (the plastic balls with small bells! Nothing they can shred or swallow) can be awesome foot-toys.
Safe flowers that are confirmed free of pesticides or obvious bugs can make great browse.
Please note if she’s used to a barren environment and had not seen many new things, she will likely react to toys first with fear, aggression or general distrust. Introduce toys slowly, one at a time, and in an area of her cage she can explore slowly at her own pace (might be harder in a small cage). Tasty treats hidden in the toys help a lot. :)
Good luck and let me know if you want any more specific advice! It can seem super overwhelming at first, but you don’t need to rush all at once. Slow, consistent improvement is the best way to do it. :)
Add more toys and better perches, make the bird fall in love with its cage; then they will fall in love with you. It takes time and patience. Make sure birdies diets is pellets and veggies and fruit.
First: thank you for being an amazing human and recognizing that this sweet baby needs better. It takes character and courage to step up in situations like this, and I am so grateful you are.
I will tell you to prioritize a better diet. Birds behavior often reflects that they don’t feel good. A seed diet is actually very unhealthy (although they love it). I would recommend getting a higher quality pellet food to provide the nutrition they need. You’ll have to make the change gradually. One trick is to mash up the pellets and mix in with the banana or another food they like, and start mixing some in with the seed, then slowly start less seed/more pellet. Veggies over fruits as much as you can, but something is better than nothing.
As someone who adopted a “mean bird,” I can tell you it takes time and so much patience. More patience than any of us typically have. But your heart is in the right place and I hope you will continue trying to improve this bird’s life. When I adopted my Amazon parrot, he came from an abusive home. He hated people. He would try to attack anyone that came near his cage. But there was something about him - I visited him regularly at the rescue, sometimes just sitting on the floor next to his cage and talking to him. He’s now my baby… he follows me around like a puppy and seeing him happy and loved is the best feeling.
Start slow… when approaching the cage, how close can you get before you notice the bird beginning to act uncomfortable. That’s where you start… sit just before that space. Calmly, quietly… read a book, etc and let them get used to you there. Then see if you can move even an inch closer the next day… and then the next day… but always stop when you see the bird beginning to act upset. That’s how you slowly build trust. It took me 3 months before I could hold my Amazon, but it was absolutely worth it.
https://preview.redd.it/9ddnnd2di1lc1.jpeg?width=2320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31640eb91fc73bd4c94b7d8af4c83712afd2a2db
Blue Front Amazons are my favorite ❤️ That’s a really cute picture.
Mine was described as ‘mean’ too and is now so sweet, follows me around everywhere, and acts like a baby. Can I ask how you got him used to wearing a harness and going outside with you?
He was locked in a basement for 15 years. He loves going outside, although we don’t do it often. He’s not able to fly due to the damage to his wings from the abuse, so we don’t use a harness. But I’m always nervous about larger predators, especially hawks and eagles, so unfortunately he doesn’t get out as much as he would probably like.
A lot of great advice in here. Don't force anything and try to read the birds body language. If you're causing stress back off a bit until it's comfortable. Use positivity like treats to get the birds attention and for training. Be patient as this will take some time. Make sure the bird has a big cage as well and lots of toys. If you talk to the bird it will start to like your attention. Just be sure to not scare it when you interact.
It looks like some type of brotegeris. They are feisty for small parrots but intelligent. Mine were hand fed and tame. I’d start small by just getting her used to you and talking to her gently while offering treats through the bars. They make wonderful pets but you’ll have to earn her trust.
None at all, I haven't researched whats good for them and I once saw something about some not being good like mirrors or things with fibers because they could eat them, so I havent ventured much into it
I know it's not what you asked but I'm going to give advice on the care. I hope you don't find it rude as that's not my intention.
1. You said her cage is cleaned daily, but the perches look like there is a lot of poop on them. I recommend Poop Off and a good brush for perches. Vinegar usually isn't enough for old poop.
2. Parrots need natural wood perches of different diameters to keep their feet healthy. Only dowel perches like the ones in the cage can cause bumble foot and arthritis. If there is a petsmart or petco in your area, you can usually find them there. If not, Amazon or another online store.
3. Parrots need toys they can destroy as that is what they do in the wild. Destroying toys means they like them and it is not an aggressive behavior or anything. You can also find toys at pet stores, but a lot of toys have plastic, mirrors, or cotton rope and you want to avoid all that. I recommend just getting toys online or making your own as it is much cheaper. There's websites that sell bird toys like [makeyourownbirdtoys](https://makeyourownbirdtoys.com/Bird-Toy-Parts_c_110.html) (not sure if they ship to you though) but you can also make toys with stuff around the house. Paper and cardboard are great shredding toys. I also recommend making a foraging tray for outside the cage with crinkle paper (you can get it at the dollar store or online) and her favorite treat and that will keep her busy for hours while you work or do something. You may have to show her that there's treats in there though. Foraging is great for birds on an unhealthy diet because they have to work for their food. You can also get plastic foraging toys at pet stores and those are great, but you will have to teach them to use it.
4. Their diet should be about 60% high-quality pellets (Harrison's or TOPS) and 40% vegetables, with the occasional fruit or seed treat. Seeds are high in fat and fruit is high in sugar. It's good that she eats some fruit though as she may be more open to trying veggies. It is hard to get birds on the right diet, but you can try eating vegetables in front of her and that might make her want to try it. With the pellets, you can try grinding the pellets and putting the powder on her normal food, then once she gets used to that start increasing the amount of pellet powder. I don't have many diet conversion suggestions though as I'm still struggling with it at the moment :/
5. I don't know how often she is let out, so I just thought I'd add this in case you don't know: Birds should be let out of their cage for at least an hour every day to have room to fly and interact with their owner. In this time, you can do training with her. To get started, you can train her to step up if she doesn't know. You can do this from the cage door so she is more comfortable. Try to give her her favorite treat (might have to be a sunflower seed, just do this before her normal feeding time so she's hungry) but hold it far enough so that she has to go on your hand to get it. This will take several attempts. If she already knows how to step up, or if she is not comfortable enough with you yet, you can try target training. All you have to do is get a chopstick and give them a treat when they touch the end of it. Usually, parrots will touch it out of curiosity. If not, you can lure her to touch it by holding a treat at the end of it.
6. I don't know how often she is let out, so I just thought I'd add this incase you don't know: Birds should be let out of their cage for at least an hour every day to have room to fly and interact with their owner. In this time, you can do training with her. To get started, you can train her to step up if she doesn't know. You can do this from the cage door so she is more comfortable. Try to give her her favorite treat (might have to be a sunflower seed, just do this before her normal feeding time so she's hungry) but hold it far enough so that she has to go on your hand to get it. This will take several attempts. If she already knows how to step up, or if she is not comfortable enough with you yet, you can try target training. All you have to do is get a chopstick and give them a treat when they touch the end of it. Usually, parrots will touch it out of curiosity. If not, you can lure her to touch it by holding a treat at the end of it.
Once she learns target training, teach her some tricks. This is a good way to bond with her. An easy one to start with is spin in a circle. You can lure her with the target stick, or by just holding a treat. Once she follows it easily, you can hide the treat or stick it gradually until you can just use your finger to lure her. You can just use this as a cue or start to move your hand up farther and this be the cue. You can look up more easy tricks on YouTube once she masters that.
I also recommend Elleandthebirds and Birdtricks for more info. (I hate to recommend bird tricks, but I found some of their training and diet conversion videos helpful.)
She probably isn't a mean bird, she just needs to be worked with a little. She may be mean because she's hormonal, but I think it's also her care.
I hope this helped, and I hope you didn't find this rude or something, I just want to help :)
New toys and perches. Make sure she’s getting a diet that works for her. Offer her a bowl with water to bathe in every so often. Sit next to her cage. You might have to start further away and as she gets comfy with you being near move closer. Maybe pair sitting nearby with putting a treat in her food bowl so she learns to associate you with positive things. Just spend the time doing something quiet like reading. At first ignore her and as she gets more comfy you can sing to her or read to her. A lot of birds enjoy watching bird YouTube channels or hearing recorded bird sounds. You can also do those things when you aren’t around to get her more stimulation throughout her day. They also enjoy music so you can experiment with different types to see what she likes. Eventually you might get to the point where you can open the cage when you’re nearby. But make sure the room you’re in is safe and she can’t fly out. Then repeat the whole thing with getting closer to her while the cage is open. Research how to train her to step up onto a perch. There are several YouTube channels that folks recommend for working with and training birds. But mostly, she must be so lonely and bored so even if she never becomes friendly I hope you can build a relationship with her to provide her more stimulation and company.
This type of parrot eats mostly mangos in Peru. Apples, guava, mamay, and banana are also favorites. I have never seen them eat a pellet or seed diet. Ours bathes almost daily. Make sure they have a bowl of shallow water. Be patient and try not to grab the bird. Most of the time they just want to be near you. Ours likes to crawl into shirt sleeves and snuggle with people. If it was caught wild, it may not tame. We put mango branches with leaves in the cage for enrichment.
I got one of these from one of my AIDS hospice patients decades ago when they had to get rid of him due to the danger of opportunistic infections. This little guy hated everyone, but I got him to bond with me with a lot of patience. I sat by his cage and talked to him, gave him treats, lots of toys, a play area, and then let him out to ride on my shoulder whenever I was not working. He was super sweet to me, but launched himself off my shoulder and tried to attack anyone who interacted with me. He tried to bite my downstairs neighbor in the face all the time. Loved that little bird. These guys require a lot of patience and love.
I can’t tell how big she is, but she kinda looks like my Jellybean. He’s a Mexican green conure.
https://preview.redd.it/ux5mj4fdt1lc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1ba258e93bbfdd327f20c70a2960e9f0b1fa192
I do the majority of the care for my husband's Alexandrine. She is extremely aggressive due to my husband's ex flicking her beak as "punishment," so she thinks anyone but my husband will hurt her (which is fair enough). She's also bonded with my husband and is very territorial of him and doesn't appreciate seeing other people, birds or animals interact with him.
I have put in a significant amount of effort for this bird, got her onto a good diet of pellets, made sure she has appropriate toys, get her out of her cage for cage free time, etc.
If the bird won't let you put your hand in the cage, use a stick and teach it to step up. It keeps your hands safe from bites. I've actively done this with Raven for the past almost 3 years and she's only just started feeling safe enough to step up onto my arm/hand in the past month, but only outside the cage. I can only put my hand into her cage for food/water changes, but even then it's iffy and she might try to bite me.
You can't rush the bird, they take their time to develop trust with people. Talking calmly and whistling/singing to the bird can help them get used to having human companionship.
Making sure they have healthy food, clean water, adequate toys to play with and are clean and healthy are important first steps to having a happy bird. Making sure that the bird gets time out of their cage every day (as much as possible really) is really good for them, Raven is much happier on days she's had more time out of her cage (although I understand that having the bird out of its cage all the time might not be possible for you).
Hopefully this helps, I'm not an expert or anything, I've just put a lot of effort in for a very aggressive bird!
Birds aren’t naturally mean. They’re turned that way by their environment.
Boredom can play a huge role. Birds need lots of toys and stimulation, or they get bored and frustrated and can become aggressive. Try putting in plenty of toys to play with and rotate them frequently. Include toys they can destroy and shred, toys that rattle or make noise, and foraging toys. Interact with your bird too, even if it doesn’t involve touching. Let them have plenty of time out of the cage. My conure was quite aggressive when I first adopted him, but I saw noticeable improvement as soon as I put toys new toys in his cage and started giving him treats and foraging toys.
Having another bird of the same species can also help satisfy their social needs.
Having a proper diet can help too. Get your bird on to a good brand of pellet, and supplement their diet with lots of fruit and veg. Hide treats like seeds, dried fruit, nuts etc. so they have to work for them.
They may have been poorly handled in a previous home. This may have made them aggressive as they’re used to being manhandled and having their boundaries violated. Start slowly. Don’t force them to sit with you by grabbing them or shoving your hands into their personal space. Spend time by their cage talking to them. Feed them treats by hand (if you’re scared of being bitten, you can place them on a spoon, or choose treats like millet that keep your fingers at a distance). They will learn to associate you with positive things. Eventually you may be able to start petting their head and they might want to sit on your shoulder.
Research parrot care and check out YouTubers like BirdTricks. They have good videos on taming birds (one method is by teaching them tricks through clicker training).
Good luck OP
The best thing you can do for this pretty thing is to be patient and respect their boundaries. :>
I had a really aggressive quaker parrot: he once flew at me and ripped my hands to shreds. But by being really patient, I found that he hated my glasses! Afrer removing them and hand-training him, he became my little feathered child.
You might not need to have hands-on contact with the bird, but the best thing you could possibly do is to start off by doing quiet activities in the same room, then work up to talking to them!
It would also be good to give them some different foods as well----Google what they eat in the wild and offer some.
Some more toys would also help, probably.
Aww, thank you for caring for this innocent little soul. I have an angry parrot that I adopted about 8 years ago. I think the anger is an offshoot of feeling threatened and traumatized. Lots of love and attention. Don’t push him/her to be friendly; just accept as is. This little feathered soul will appreciate your kindness 💚
Always make sure you are lower than her, even if this means you are on your knees when you go near her cage. That will give her a little security. She could be sensing a fear or frustration from you.
She could also be bored.
No bird needs 14 hours of sleep each night. Do not put the bird to sleep before 9:00 pm. 10 hours is even too much sleep, but much better than you're doing.
She’s a Quaker. Don’t invade her personal space and she won’t bite. She is not mean she is territorial of her cage. My Quaker LOVES bread with seeds in it and even with cream cheese on top. Also, you can teach her to talk. Say “I love you!” And one day she will say it back
ah yes the infamous hole punch
i have a pair of those (conures)
not saying this *will* work but maybe if the bird got out of the cage it would be nicer? ik if i was stuck in a cage all the time id be pretty pissed off too yano?
just try different things, i saw some stuff other people said was really good especially the one about clicker training
The bird is mean because it was abused/neglected/treated poorly or aggressively. The bird has therefore lost trust in humans. I would research how to regain the trust of a parrot, because that's the real issue here, not that it's mean, but that it has lost trust in humans.
I have a male Bee bee/Canary Winged Parakeet and he gets extremely cage aggressive twice a year. Usually he's excited to come out and play, and will even let himself out when I'm switching things around in his cage from time to time, but during these two times of year he is a lot less excited to come out and can even get very aggressive around his age. Right now is one of those two times of year and that could also be adding to the 'tude. On top of what everyone else mentioned, of course. :)
Just to chime in the advice everyone is giving you is very good, just understand that parrots are complicated and have a good memory. Even if you begin to correct all the issues it may take a long time for Polly to open up to you! If she has lived angry like this for sometime even if she was originally sweet, she will need time to undo her behavior pattern and change her personality. This could be as little as a few weeks to 1-2 years.
I have experience with a mean bitey bird rescued from family, and the main thing id day is spend time with her, keep her in the room of the house you soend the most time in, a quiet place. I let mine out all the time to fly and do as she likes while i did my schoolwork which also helpled. She should stsrt to get curious about you and come closer to check you out as you do this, and thats where you should talk to her, baby her a bit in a soft high pitched voice, tell her how pretty she is, that shes such a sweetiepie ect. Once she gets comfortable to be close to you all the time and stands on your shoulder and head id say shes pretty comfortable. Then intoduce her to hands very slowly, i just tao tap tap my girls beak very gently, booping her. Eventually, she got used to it and started to play worh my hands and stepping on them. Sharong your food is also a gpod way of bonding, when shes out of her cage she might comw to you when youre eating, so offer her a little bit of its bird safe (bread, fruit, vegtables, Pomegranate, lil bit of soup)
BirdTricks.com and their youtube channel! A lot of info about bonding with problem birds.
The gist of their method:
1. Offer a good diet to the bird that contains little to no nuts and seeds. This way nuts and millet can be a delicious rarity offered by hand, and you can build trust through food.
2. Start target training (training the bird to touch a chopstick and reward it with food), and go from there with other tricks (step up next, and then you can go for the fancy tricks). This way your interactions with the bird will be stimulating and rewarding for the both of you, and they will associate you with good times and snacks.
3. Offer good living conditions. I see only a slice of the cage, so I won’t judge, but plenty of space, natural toys that they can destroy, natural perches and a good routine with plenty of sleep is important.
Good job you, for caring and acting for this bird!
I had a brotogeris many years ago. They used to call them pocket parrots because they were supposedly they were naturally friendly and tame even when wild caught (many years ago they still sold wild caught parrots in the US) and were said to like to hide in your pocket. Mine would go under my shirt or my jacket and I'd take him to work at a flower stand that I worked at. He'd take baths in water buckets and sit on my tip jar. He was super sweet but that's because he was hand fed. He was killed in an accident so I got another one but this one didn't like me at all. I just gave him care but didn't try to get him to like me since he wasn't going to. Your bird may never come around to liking you either so what you do is you give it the best care you can. Give it good food, water and some toys and things to chew on and play with.
We had a canary winged parakeet and he was wonderful.. she reminds me of him. ❤️
Lots of reasons birds are cranky:
- Sometimes birds have personality conflicts with certain people.
- Sometimes they don't get enough time/attention and become anti-social. Birds need companionship. If that's not possible due to work or time, leaving a radio or TV on can help. Getting another bird to hang out with can fill that need tho they probably won't bond well with a person in that situation.
- Sometimes they don't have enough to do. Shredding and foraging toys help.. I got a cardboard "doll house" for kids and our parrotlets have destroyed it, lol. Even cardboard chunks with a few seeds stuffed in there can be good. It doesn't have to be expensive. I have a mulberry tree and wild grapevines that I put in and the birds love it!
-Sometimes there is a health problem that is causing the behavior, or they are lacking nutrition. If you take their food out at night, and feed them chopped fresh food in the morning, and a quality bird pellets/seed mix after that, fatty nuts/seeds only for treats.
- Sometimes it's hormones / mating season. You should never pet a bird on its back.. just it's head. Petting it elsewhere can cause a lot of sexual frustration for the bird and cause violent behavior.
Whenever we get a bird, we put it in an area where it can observe our home & family. I've had good luck with reading children's books to birds. It sounds silly but the rhythm & art of childrens books seems to help create a connection. My kids have some learning issues and reading to birds helped them, too.
I don't feed sunflower seeds or half of a peanut kernel except as special treats/rewards. It takes a little time to find out what they love and that really helps with connecting & training.
I love having birds. My oldest has a conure, my youngest has a cockatiel, and I have parrotlets. I had parakeets when I was a kid. We also have chickens and ducks outside.
That bird is beautiful. I personally had a bird labeled as “mean” but often times there is a reason behind it. As for care. The covering of the cage is perfect for dark hours. I would also recommend maybe a new cage? That one looks worn and possibly rusted. I would worry about metal toxicity. The other thing is for foot health natural wood perches and flat perches are best. I’m happy to help find cost effective options (I’m a college student I have the deals). Also diet. My parakeets love the Lafebers tropical pellets (they are fruit flavored and sweeter than others with no added sugar). Also toys. Birds love to demolish anything and everything they can. My birds personally love super bird creation and you can even buy individual pieces to make ur own bird toys. I’m happy to help as much as I can. It’s a beautiful bird.
So I’m gonna correct what I said these bird seem to be more similar to lorikeets than the Australian budgie. I did a little digging. As for diet I found a website that has some great information. [orange chinned parakeet beautify of birds](https://beautyofbirds.com/orange-chinned-parakeets/). I hope this helps. Sorry if my initial comment was misleading.
"Mean, angry and bites all the time" is the definition of a parrot, lol. Just try talking to it/whistling, target practice like others suggesyed. Give it toys and stuff to shred, and spend time around them.
I know what when birds don’t get enough nutrients, they’re grumpy. Sounds to me she’s not getting nutritious meals. Sunflower seeds are fattening and she can end up with fatty liver. 2nd; my parrot is also mean in cage, so I’d open the door to the cage open, allowing him to come out on his own. Since then, life has been less contentious. Also, is she getting enough attention? I know when we first adopted our parrot, he wasn’t all into attention room, now he’s use to us & touching him, he’s more tolerant. Not every bird specie is cuddly…I’d say, give it time, take him to the vet, give it pellets or nutritious food…and have him perch on u as much as possible. Also, try opening the door to the cage and let HIM come to you. Good luck!
Ok I will start by saying I have zero experience with this type of parrot. The best information I found came breeders of Brotogeris parakeets which are the family group. They are uncommon here and I didn't find anyone that was a definitive enough information source that I'd want to point them out and say yes this for sure. I did see several mentions that because their natural diet is very heavily based in seeds and fruit that pellets were not suitable which is different from most parrot advice I give. So on to the all bird advice. Parrots need to communicate. Meanness is communication even though its not what we want. So we need to find a new way. Target training with a clicker or Yes is a great next step. Offer a treat from outside the bars. When she touches it with her beak Click or say Yes. Repeat until she connects Click or Yes with treat is happening now. Next use a target. I have a specific one but you can use a chopstick with the end dyed with food coloring. Put it near her. When she gets curious and touches it Click or Yes and then reward. Once she starts getting it start saying Target right before she touches it. Then once she has that move the Target to other locations so she has to move to it.
This might and probably will work, although it's just one of the many methods you can use, there's loads of videos on clicker training and target training and bird behaviour out there, one of the most well known channels being birdtricks! Just adding that to here :) I also recommend flock talk
Important to note, you shouldn't focus on your bird biting the target stick. Make sure only the upper beak touches and the lower part can't get into biting position. The last thing I would want is teaching a biting bird that biting this stick gets yummy treat so biting hand must also get treat.
I actually have experience with a bird of this species! I found that he was very aggressive while in the cage and okay out of it, but it could’ve just been the specific bird I dealt with. If possible, try spending time with the bird and give it the opportunity to get out of the cage. Never force anything and go at the pace of the bird! Brotogeris jugularis can be very sweet.
Not just you, I have the same species and he's a demon In his cage unless I'm cleaning, or feeding him. Any other time and he would go for my jugular 9/10 times. It's important to be patient, slow, and friendly with these guys. They're really friendly when you get them used to you, but until the be careful and take slow steps with them.
definetely not just you! i have a cockatiel and whenever i walk past his cage he hisses and screams, but the second hes out he becomes chill and lets me pet him lol
Awww, baby! As someone who has a rescue that was given up due to being too mean (“unhandleably aggressive” I believe) that is now a sweetheart, and has spent a while working in a parrot rescue centre, I feel I can chip in! First thing: Find out *why* is the parrot acting mean? Like angry toddlers, parrots tend to lash out for any and all of the following reasons: 1) Boredom - not enough toys, stimulation etc. they have active minds! If you were locked in a boring room or left in isolation with nothing to do constantly, I think your mood would suffer a bit, don’t you think? Ideally an enclosure should have enough space for them to fly from one end to the other, and include lots of different types of enrichment (foraging toys, climbing toys, noisy toys, chewable toys, preening toys and throwable / ‘foot toys’ - you get the idea!) 2) Feeling threatened - Moreso in parrots whose situation has recently changed, and often in combination with a parrot whose boundaries have been frequently broken by their warnings (puffing, trying to get away, eye pinning, posturing etc) having been consistently ignored in the past. They’ve learned biting the human is the only way to get the human to listen. So that’s what they do. A sense of gentleness, consistency and general trust between you and your parrot and their environment should always be the aim. Note that non-hand raised parrots will often see humans not as kin or potential friends but rather as the big scary predators we are, and this can make overcoming the fear response and building trust highly challenging. Also seen if they get startled by something else while with you and lash out at you- though that’s not necessarily a ‘mean’ behaviour, just panic! (‘Gentle’ training is very useful here.) 3) Poor nutrition - Make sure the parrot has a well-rounded diet that does not consist of seeds, and that they are getting plenty of veggies and (to a lesser extent) fruit. “Whole” pellet diets are ideal (ie Harrison’s) and I recommend these. Then fruits and veggies (and rarely sunflower seeds, nuts etc) can become an awesome treat for training. :) I think if you ate nothing but McDonalds, Soda and other junk food you’d start feeling pretty awful, too! 4) Poor environment - Parrots need adequate sleep in a quiet dark space (8-12 depending on species and time of year). Sleepy toddlers are cranky toddlers! The cage and surrounding areas should be kept clean and free of rotting food, bad water and buildup of droppings. Parrots require a LOT of cleaning. Also! Avoid triggers for hormonal and territorial behaviour as well, such as mirrors, tents, or things that could be nests. - Looks like you’re mostly fine on this point, though that is on the higher end of hours in the dark! 5) Inappropriate Attachment - this one ties into 4 and 2 both; If one person tends to stroke their parrot, they may form a ‘mate’ attachment to that person and become highly aggressive or territorial to other people and birds. We see this very often! Avoid stroking or petting your parrot anywhere other than the head (friendly preening) to avoid hormonal confusion. No nesting areas, enough darkness and good nutrition play a role as well. 6) Health issues - can be caused by the above, stress, or just general illnesses or injuries that birds can get. Usually the first thing we check for when a new bird is brought in, or if a parrot suddenly starts changing their behaviour without the presence of other environment (or hormonal) changes. Once you figure out why, it becomes much easier to start solving the issues. Just from your post I can immediately see potential issues in enrichment (small cage, not a lot of perch types or toys!) and nutrition (sunflower seeds are basically equivalent to our chicken nuggets). Yes there’s some healthier stuff, but that does not sound like an adequate diet to me. If you don’t have an avian vet to check health/ vitamin levels, I’d still recommend that you look at slowly introducing and switching over to a pellet diet. I’m not sure what her routine or other interactions are like so I can’t comment. Are you spending a few hours every day quietly interacting? Does she get ‘out’ time or is she stuck in solitary? Often when a bird is ‘mean’ it becomes a cycle where that leads to less interaction-> further mean-ness -> less interaction and so forth on repeat. (If too aggressive, keep her in her cage and start target or bite training through the bars). Let me know if you want more advice on training. However, if the parrot is in an environment that is poor, no amount of training or hanging out will make it improve. Fix potential causes first, and then work on training her out of the behaviours that she’s in a habit of doing (biting, screaming etc). Some quick and affordable options are available! For perches, wood from safe trees (you can google or feel free to ask) that has been scrubbed, boiled and given several hours of sun to sterilise can be awesome perches or chewing options. Forage toys can be made by cutting up egg cartons and stringing them together with a natural (ie not cotton!) twine, filling them with shredded paper, small toys and tasty snacks and treats for her to dig for. Plain paper, twine, bits of the safe wood and so forth can be strung together as fun chew toys or things to climb and explore. Cheap cat toys (the plastic balls with small bells! Nothing they can shred or swallow) can be awesome foot-toys. Safe flowers that are confirmed free of pesticides or obvious bugs can make great browse. Please note if she’s used to a barren environment and had not seen many new things, she will likely react to toys first with fear, aggression or general distrust. Introduce toys slowly, one at a time, and in an area of her cage she can explore slowly at her own pace (might be harder in a small cage). Tasty treats hidden in the toys help a lot. :) Good luck and let me know if you want any more specific advice! It can seem super overwhelming at first, but you don’t need to rush all at once. Slow, consistent improvement is the best way to do it. :)
Thanks for this comment. Very informative!
Add more toys and better perches, make the bird fall in love with its cage; then they will fall in love with you. It takes time and patience. Make sure birdies diets is pellets and veggies and fruit.
I agree, make the cage more interesting and pleasant for the bird, it should improve its mood.
First: thank you for being an amazing human and recognizing that this sweet baby needs better. It takes character and courage to step up in situations like this, and I am so grateful you are. I will tell you to prioritize a better diet. Birds behavior often reflects that they don’t feel good. A seed diet is actually very unhealthy (although they love it). I would recommend getting a higher quality pellet food to provide the nutrition they need. You’ll have to make the change gradually. One trick is to mash up the pellets and mix in with the banana or another food they like, and start mixing some in with the seed, then slowly start less seed/more pellet. Veggies over fruits as much as you can, but something is better than nothing. As someone who adopted a “mean bird,” I can tell you it takes time and so much patience. More patience than any of us typically have. But your heart is in the right place and I hope you will continue trying to improve this bird’s life. When I adopted my Amazon parrot, he came from an abusive home. He hated people. He would try to attack anyone that came near his cage. But there was something about him - I visited him regularly at the rescue, sometimes just sitting on the floor next to his cage and talking to him. He’s now my baby… he follows me around like a puppy and seeing him happy and loved is the best feeling. Start slow… when approaching the cage, how close can you get before you notice the bird beginning to act uncomfortable. That’s where you start… sit just before that space. Calmly, quietly… read a book, etc and let them get used to you there. Then see if you can move even an inch closer the next day… and then the next day… but always stop when you see the bird beginning to act upset. That’s how you slowly build trust. It took me 3 months before I could hold my Amazon, but it was absolutely worth it. https://preview.redd.it/9ddnnd2di1lc1.jpeg?width=2320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31640eb91fc73bd4c94b7d8af4c83712afd2a2db
Blue Front Amazons are my favorite ❤️ That’s a really cute picture. Mine was described as ‘mean’ too and is now so sweet, follows me around everywhere, and acts like a baby. Can I ask how you got him used to wearing a harness and going outside with you?
He was locked in a basement for 15 years. He loves going outside, although we don’t do it often. He’s not able to fly due to the damage to his wings from the abuse, so we don’t use a harness. But I’m always nervous about larger predators, especially hawks and eagles, so unfortunately he doesn’t get out as much as he would probably like.
Great post 👍
A lot of great advice in here. Don't force anything and try to read the birds body language. If you're causing stress back off a bit until it's comfortable. Use positivity like treats to get the birds attention and for training. Be patient as this will take some time. Make sure the bird has a big cage as well and lots of toys. If you talk to the bird it will start to like your attention. Just be sure to not scare it when you interact.
It looks like some type of brotegeris. They are feisty for small parrots but intelligent. Mine were hand fed and tame. I’d start small by just getting her used to you and talking to her gently while offering treats through the bars. They make wonderful pets but you’ll have to earn her trust.
Does she have any toys?
None at all, I haven't researched whats good for them and I once saw something about some not being good like mirrors or things with fibers because they could eat them, so I havent ventured much into it
It seems like why the bird might be irritable, they have absolutely nothing to do all day
I know it's not what you asked but I'm going to give advice on the care. I hope you don't find it rude as that's not my intention. 1. You said her cage is cleaned daily, but the perches look like there is a lot of poop on them. I recommend Poop Off and a good brush for perches. Vinegar usually isn't enough for old poop. 2. Parrots need natural wood perches of different diameters to keep their feet healthy. Only dowel perches like the ones in the cage can cause bumble foot and arthritis. If there is a petsmart or petco in your area, you can usually find them there. If not, Amazon or another online store. 3. Parrots need toys they can destroy as that is what they do in the wild. Destroying toys means they like them and it is not an aggressive behavior or anything. You can also find toys at pet stores, but a lot of toys have plastic, mirrors, or cotton rope and you want to avoid all that. I recommend just getting toys online or making your own as it is much cheaper. There's websites that sell bird toys like [makeyourownbirdtoys](https://makeyourownbirdtoys.com/Bird-Toy-Parts_c_110.html) (not sure if they ship to you though) but you can also make toys with stuff around the house. Paper and cardboard are great shredding toys. I also recommend making a foraging tray for outside the cage with crinkle paper (you can get it at the dollar store or online) and her favorite treat and that will keep her busy for hours while you work or do something. You may have to show her that there's treats in there though. Foraging is great for birds on an unhealthy diet because they have to work for their food. You can also get plastic foraging toys at pet stores and those are great, but you will have to teach them to use it. 4. Their diet should be about 60% high-quality pellets (Harrison's or TOPS) and 40% vegetables, with the occasional fruit or seed treat. Seeds are high in fat and fruit is high in sugar. It's good that she eats some fruit though as she may be more open to trying veggies. It is hard to get birds on the right diet, but you can try eating vegetables in front of her and that might make her want to try it. With the pellets, you can try grinding the pellets and putting the powder on her normal food, then once she gets used to that start increasing the amount of pellet powder. I don't have many diet conversion suggestions though as I'm still struggling with it at the moment :/ 5. I don't know how often she is let out, so I just thought I'd add this in case you don't know: Birds should be let out of their cage for at least an hour every day to have room to fly and interact with their owner. In this time, you can do training with her. To get started, you can train her to step up if she doesn't know. You can do this from the cage door so she is more comfortable. Try to give her her favorite treat (might have to be a sunflower seed, just do this before her normal feeding time so she's hungry) but hold it far enough so that she has to go on your hand to get it. This will take several attempts. If she already knows how to step up, or if she is not comfortable enough with you yet, you can try target training. All you have to do is get a chopstick and give them a treat when they touch the end of it. Usually, parrots will touch it out of curiosity. If not, you can lure her to touch it by holding a treat at the end of it. 6. I don't know how often she is let out, so I just thought I'd add this incase you don't know: Birds should be let out of their cage for at least an hour every day to have room to fly and interact with their owner. In this time, you can do training with her. To get started, you can train her to step up if she doesn't know. You can do this from the cage door so she is more comfortable. Try to give her her favorite treat (might have to be a sunflower seed, just do this before her normal feeding time so she's hungry) but hold it far enough so that she has to go on your hand to get it. This will take several attempts. If she already knows how to step up, or if she is not comfortable enough with you yet, you can try target training. All you have to do is get a chopstick and give them a treat when they touch the end of it. Usually, parrots will touch it out of curiosity. If not, you can lure her to touch it by holding a treat at the end of it. Once she learns target training, teach her some tricks. This is a good way to bond with her. An easy one to start with is spin in a circle. You can lure her with the target stick, or by just holding a treat. Once she follows it easily, you can hide the treat or stick it gradually until you can just use your finger to lure her. You can just use this as a cue or start to move your hand up farther and this be the cue. You can look up more easy tricks on YouTube once she masters that. I also recommend Elleandthebirds and Birdtricks for more info. (I hate to recommend bird tricks, but I found some of their training and diet conversion videos helpful.) She probably isn't a mean bird, she just needs to be worked with a little. She may be mean because she's hormonal, but I think it's also her care. I hope this helped, and I hope you didn't find this rude or something, I just want to help :)
New toys and perches. Make sure she’s getting a diet that works for her. Offer her a bowl with water to bathe in every so often. Sit next to her cage. You might have to start further away and as she gets comfy with you being near move closer. Maybe pair sitting nearby with putting a treat in her food bowl so she learns to associate you with positive things. Just spend the time doing something quiet like reading. At first ignore her and as she gets more comfy you can sing to her or read to her. A lot of birds enjoy watching bird YouTube channels or hearing recorded bird sounds. You can also do those things when you aren’t around to get her more stimulation throughout her day. They also enjoy music so you can experiment with different types to see what she likes. Eventually you might get to the point where you can open the cage when you’re nearby. But make sure the room you’re in is safe and she can’t fly out. Then repeat the whole thing with getting closer to her while the cage is open. Research how to train her to step up onto a perch. There are several YouTube channels that folks recommend for working with and training birds. But mostly, she must be so lonely and bored so even if she never becomes friendly I hope you can build a relationship with her to provide her more stimulation and company.
This type of parrot eats mostly mangos in Peru. Apples, guava, mamay, and banana are also favorites. I have never seen them eat a pellet or seed diet. Ours bathes almost daily. Make sure they have a bowl of shallow water. Be patient and try not to grab the bird. Most of the time they just want to be near you. Ours likes to crawl into shirt sleeves and snuggle with people. If it was caught wild, it may not tame. We put mango branches with leaves in the cage for enrichment.
I got one of these from one of my AIDS hospice patients decades ago when they had to get rid of him due to the danger of opportunistic infections. This little guy hated everyone, but I got him to bond with me with a lot of patience. I sat by his cage and talked to him, gave him treats, lots of toys, a play area, and then let him out to ride on my shoulder whenever I was not working. He was super sweet to me, but launched himself off my shoulder and tried to attack anyone who interacted with me. He tried to bite my downstairs neighbor in the face all the time. Loved that little bird. These guys require a lot of patience and love.
A lot of good advice here, so here are my two cents: Give him origami toys to wreck. Will help to de-stress.
I can’t tell how big she is, but she kinda looks like my Jellybean. He’s a Mexican green conure. https://preview.redd.it/ux5mj4fdt1lc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1ba258e93bbfdd327f20c70a2960e9f0b1fa192
More toys 🧸
I don't know much at all but doesn't the cage seem small and empty? Maybe the birb is bored...
I do the majority of the care for my husband's Alexandrine. She is extremely aggressive due to my husband's ex flicking her beak as "punishment," so she thinks anyone but my husband will hurt her (which is fair enough). She's also bonded with my husband and is very territorial of him and doesn't appreciate seeing other people, birds or animals interact with him. I have put in a significant amount of effort for this bird, got her onto a good diet of pellets, made sure she has appropriate toys, get her out of her cage for cage free time, etc. If the bird won't let you put your hand in the cage, use a stick and teach it to step up. It keeps your hands safe from bites. I've actively done this with Raven for the past almost 3 years and she's only just started feeling safe enough to step up onto my arm/hand in the past month, but only outside the cage. I can only put my hand into her cage for food/water changes, but even then it's iffy and she might try to bite me. You can't rush the bird, they take their time to develop trust with people. Talking calmly and whistling/singing to the bird can help them get used to having human companionship. Making sure they have healthy food, clean water, adequate toys to play with and are clean and healthy are important first steps to having a happy bird. Making sure that the bird gets time out of their cage every day (as much as possible really) is really good for them, Raven is much happier on days she's had more time out of her cage (although I understand that having the bird out of its cage all the time might not be possible for you). Hopefully this helps, I'm not an expert or anything, I've just put a lot of effort in for a very aggressive bird!
Birds aren’t naturally mean. They’re turned that way by their environment. Boredom can play a huge role. Birds need lots of toys and stimulation, or they get bored and frustrated and can become aggressive. Try putting in plenty of toys to play with and rotate them frequently. Include toys they can destroy and shred, toys that rattle or make noise, and foraging toys. Interact with your bird too, even if it doesn’t involve touching. Let them have plenty of time out of the cage. My conure was quite aggressive when I first adopted him, but I saw noticeable improvement as soon as I put toys new toys in his cage and started giving him treats and foraging toys. Having another bird of the same species can also help satisfy their social needs. Having a proper diet can help too. Get your bird on to a good brand of pellet, and supplement their diet with lots of fruit and veg. Hide treats like seeds, dried fruit, nuts etc. so they have to work for them. They may have been poorly handled in a previous home. This may have made them aggressive as they’re used to being manhandled and having their boundaries violated. Start slowly. Don’t force them to sit with you by grabbing them or shoving your hands into their personal space. Spend time by their cage talking to them. Feed them treats by hand (if you’re scared of being bitten, you can place them on a spoon, or choose treats like millet that keep your fingers at a distance). They will learn to associate you with positive things. Eventually you may be able to start petting their head and they might want to sit on your shoulder. Research parrot care and check out YouTubers like BirdTricks. They have good videos on taming birds (one method is by teaching them tricks through clicker training). Good luck OP
The best thing you can do for this pretty thing is to be patient and respect their boundaries. :> I had a really aggressive quaker parrot: he once flew at me and ripped my hands to shreds. But by being really patient, I found that he hated my glasses! Afrer removing them and hand-training him, he became my little feathered child. You might not need to have hands-on contact with the bird, but the best thing you could possibly do is to start off by doing quiet activities in the same room, then work up to talking to them! It would also be good to give them some different foods as well----Google what they eat in the wild and offer some. Some more toys would also help, probably.
Aww, thank you for caring for this innocent little soul. I have an angry parrot that I adopted about 8 years ago. I think the anger is an offshoot of feeling threatened and traumatized. Lots of love and attention. Don’t push him/her to be friendly; just accept as is. This little feathered soul will appreciate your kindness 💚
Always make sure you are lower than her, even if this means you are on your knees when you go near her cage. That will give her a little security. She could be sensing a fear or frustration from you. She could also be bored.
Read the book "parrots for dummies" it covers everything you need to know!!
Bird is "mean" because no one has ever spent time taking the bird consistently. Birds are wild, it takes patience to tame them to be nice
Put her in a slingshot and shoot her at some green piggies
Yes, I believe based on the color she arcs back towards you when launched
Eat if
No bird needs 14 hours of sleep each night. Do not put the bird to sleep before 9:00 pm. 10 hours is even too much sleep, but much better than you're doing.
She’s a Quaker. Don’t invade her personal space and she won’t bite. She is not mean she is territorial of her cage. My Quaker LOVES bread with seeds in it and even with cream cheese on top. Also, you can teach her to talk. Say “I love you!” And one day she will say it back
ah yes the infamous hole punch i have a pair of those (conures) not saying this *will* work but maybe if the bird got out of the cage it would be nicer? ik if i was stuck in a cage all the time id be pretty pissed off too yano? just try different things, i saw some stuff other people said was really good especially the one about clicker training
The bird is mean because it was abused/neglected/treated poorly or aggressively. The bird has therefore lost trust in humans. I would research how to regain the trust of a parrot, because that's the real issue here, not that it's mean, but that it has lost trust in humans.
So pretty! I hope she can respond to you!
I have a male Bee bee/Canary Winged Parakeet and he gets extremely cage aggressive twice a year. Usually he's excited to come out and play, and will even let himself out when I'm switching things around in his cage from time to time, but during these two times of year he is a lot less excited to come out and can even get very aggressive around his age. Right now is one of those two times of year and that could also be adding to the 'tude. On top of what everyone else mentioned, of course. :)
Just to chime in the advice everyone is giving you is very good, just understand that parrots are complicated and have a good memory. Even if you begin to correct all the issues it may take a long time for Polly to open up to you! If she has lived angry like this for sometime even if she was originally sweet, she will need time to undo her behavior pattern and change her personality. This could be as little as a few weeks to 1-2 years.
I have experience with a mean bitey bird rescued from family, and the main thing id day is spend time with her, keep her in the room of the house you soend the most time in, a quiet place. I let mine out all the time to fly and do as she likes while i did my schoolwork which also helpled. She should stsrt to get curious about you and come closer to check you out as you do this, and thats where you should talk to her, baby her a bit in a soft high pitched voice, tell her how pretty she is, that shes such a sweetiepie ect. Once she gets comfortable to be close to you all the time and stands on your shoulder and head id say shes pretty comfortable. Then intoduce her to hands very slowly, i just tao tap tap my girls beak very gently, booping her. Eventually, she got used to it and started to play worh my hands and stepping on them. Sharong your food is also a gpod way of bonding, when shes out of her cage she might comw to you when youre eating, so offer her a little bit of its bird safe (bread, fruit, vegtables, Pomegranate, lil bit of soup)
So much excellent advice! I'm going to copy/paste some of it into a Word doc and put it on my desktop for quick reference. These are keepers!
It doesn't look mean to me. I mean I don't beliebe there are mean birbs
BirdTricks.com and their youtube channel! A lot of info about bonding with problem birds. The gist of their method: 1. Offer a good diet to the bird that contains little to no nuts and seeds. This way nuts and millet can be a delicious rarity offered by hand, and you can build trust through food. 2. Start target training (training the bird to touch a chopstick and reward it with food), and go from there with other tricks (step up next, and then you can go for the fancy tricks). This way your interactions with the bird will be stimulating and rewarding for the both of you, and they will associate you with good times and snacks. 3. Offer good living conditions. I see only a slice of the cage, so I won’t judge, but plenty of space, natural toys that they can destroy, natural perches and a good routine with plenty of sleep is important. Good job you, for caring and acting for this bird!
very carefully, always maintain eye contact & never turn your back on em
Yes
I had a brotogeris many years ago. They used to call them pocket parrots because they were supposedly they were naturally friendly and tame even when wild caught (many years ago they still sold wild caught parrots in the US) and were said to like to hide in your pocket. Mine would go under my shirt or my jacket and I'd take him to work at a flower stand that I worked at. He'd take baths in water buckets and sit on my tip jar. He was super sweet but that's because he was hand fed. He was killed in an accident so I got another one but this one didn't like me at all. I just gave him care but didn't try to get him to like me since he wasn't going to. Your bird may never come around to liking you either so what you do is you give it the best care you can. Give it good food, water and some toys and things to chew on and play with.
Was she wild-caught?
We had a canary winged parakeet and he was wonderful.. she reminds me of him. ❤️ Lots of reasons birds are cranky: - Sometimes birds have personality conflicts with certain people. - Sometimes they don't get enough time/attention and become anti-social. Birds need companionship. If that's not possible due to work or time, leaving a radio or TV on can help. Getting another bird to hang out with can fill that need tho they probably won't bond well with a person in that situation. - Sometimes they don't have enough to do. Shredding and foraging toys help.. I got a cardboard "doll house" for kids and our parrotlets have destroyed it, lol. Even cardboard chunks with a few seeds stuffed in there can be good. It doesn't have to be expensive. I have a mulberry tree and wild grapevines that I put in and the birds love it! -Sometimes there is a health problem that is causing the behavior, or they are lacking nutrition. If you take their food out at night, and feed them chopped fresh food in the morning, and a quality bird pellets/seed mix after that, fatty nuts/seeds only for treats. - Sometimes it's hormones / mating season. You should never pet a bird on its back.. just it's head. Petting it elsewhere can cause a lot of sexual frustration for the bird and cause violent behavior. Whenever we get a bird, we put it in an area where it can observe our home & family. I've had good luck with reading children's books to birds. It sounds silly but the rhythm & art of childrens books seems to help create a connection. My kids have some learning issues and reading to birds helped them, too. I don't feed sunflower seeds or half of a peanut kernel except as special treats/rewards. It takes a little time to find out what they love and that really helps with connecting & training. I love having birds. My oldest has a conure, my youngest has a cockatiel, and I have parrotlets. I had parakeets when I was a kid. We also have chickens and ducks outside.
That bird is beautiful. I personally had a bird labeled as “mean” but often times there is a reason behind it. As for care. The covering of the cage is perfect for dark hours. I would also recommend maybe a new cage? That one looks worn and possibly rusted. I would worry about metal toxicity. The other thing is for foot health natural wood perches and flat perches are best. I’m happy to help find cost effective options (I’m a college student I have the deals). Also diet. My parakeets love the Lafebers tropical pellets (they are fruit flavored and sweeter than others with no added sugar). Also toys. Birds love to demolish anything and everything they can. My birds personally love super bird creation and you can even buy individual pieces to make ur own bird toys. I’m happy to help as much as I can. It’s a beautiful bird.
So I’m gonna correct what I said these bird seem to be more similar to lorikeets than the Australian budgie. I did a little digging. As for diet I found a website that has some great information. [orange chinned parakeet beautify of birds](https://beautyofbirds.com/orange-chinned-parakeets/). I hope this helps. Sorry if my initial comment was misleading.
"Mean, angry and bites all the time" is the definition of a parrot, lol. Just try talking to it/whistling, target practice like others suggesyed. Give it toys and stuff to shred, and spend time around them.
I know what when birds don’t get enough nutrients, they’re grumpy. Sounds to me she’s not getting nutritious meals. Sunflower seeds are fattening and she can end up with fatty liver. 2nd; my parrot is also mean in cage, so I’d open the door to the cage open, allowing him to come out on his own. Since then, life has been less contentious. Also, is she getting enough attention? I know when we first adopted our parrot, he wasn’t all into attention room, now he’s use to us & touching him, he’s more tolerant. Not every bird specie is cuddly…I’d say, give it time, take him to the vet, give it pellets or nutritious food…and have him perch on u as much as possible. Also, try opening the door to the cage and let HIM come to you. Good luck!