Help, I'm afraid of my cockatoo

[kp_in_scott]

Ok, here it the situation. Seymour was adopted by us in March of this year. We knew up front that he had been relinquished to the rescue by the lady who had had him since he was a hand fed baby. She had been a devoted parront and even went through all the paperwork required to take a bird out of the country.(They lived in Canada about 2 years) Before coming to the rescue, Seymour had been banished to the garage for about 2 years. The only explaination being that they were afraid he'd hurt their baby. They denied that he had a biting problem only a plucking problem. He was at the rescue for several months and did not exhibit any attempt at biting. He was VERY phobic and only allowed one lady to take him for showers(and she had to work at it. When I met Seymour, he just seemed to click with me. He whispered in my ear "I'm Seymour" and I was in love. I didn't care that he was nekid I was in love. Ok Seymour comes home to us. With in the first 8 hours he nipped me pretty good, but I felt it was because I didn't read his signals right. (never had a too before). Over the next several weeks off and on he would just bite me out of the blue. I can not see a trigger, but there was some body language that I noted would indicate a definate bite and I would leave him alone then. The times I would get bitten, there were no warning signs that I could recognize. He doesn't bite all the time. He acts so sweet sometimes and we enjoy one anothers company, but because I have been bitten so badly so many times I rarely handle him. We talk through the bars of the cage or while he's on a stand. Hubby does all the showering and there are times at night when he cuddles on the couch with Hubby. I would like to over come my fear because I feel that this feeds his desire to bite me. We knew when we adopted him that he had baggage. We accept him as he is. My desire is to keep him forever. I just hate the fact that I am so afraid of him now.
Kim can you help?
ps: Seymour is an 8 y/o male Eleanora Cockatoo.

[KimBear]

Trying to overcome fear or anxiety when working with his or her parrot is one of the more challenging things a person can face. We know that parrots can pick up on our feelings and attitudes and that can have an impact on their own behavior, so the more nervous we get, the more difficult they may become. Which makes us even more anxious, and they get even more upset, and so on until you have this viscious cycle of unpleasant human-bird interaction. At some point people feel there's no hope, but there usually is.

The first thing to do is to really try to find out what is setting off these episodes. You've already done that to some extent by learning to read his body language and other signals, but you may have to explore a bit deeper. Keeping a log of his behavior should be helpful, both the good things he does and the not so good. See if there are any common threads that may point to why he's in a good mood, a bad mood, playful, tired, etc. Also note both your and your husband's reactions to the various things he does. For example, if Seymore is feeling rowdy and playful, do you tense up in worry that he's going to bite?

It's not likely that you're going to be able to predict every outburst but if you can get a better sense of what makes Seymore tick, then you're closer to being able to control a situation rather than just having to react to it. It might be that Seymore needs very structured "out time" and his cuddle sessions should be limited to short periods of time so that he doesn't have the chance to get crabby, bored or whatever it is that's making him lash out.

I don't have enough information about what you're doing or not doing as far as Seymore's training, what guidance he gets and whatever limits you're putting on his behavior, so I can't offer many specific tips about how to feel a bit more in control. However, a general thing to think about is that cockatoos are so intelligent and active that they can often feel somewhat stifled in the average home. They really need to be busy at times--to have something that challenges their minds and keeps their bodies active. Games and trick training are good ideas because not only do these things give the bird something to focus on, but they can help people gain confidence in working with their parrot. Activities can range from very simple to very complex, and a person is really only limited by his or her desire and ability to put in the time to set up and implement an effective training plan.

Cockatoos are like sponges and will "soak up" whatever's going on around them, so the more chances they are given to do things that are acceptable and even encouraged, and fewer chances to misbehave, the better off they're going to be.

Here's another issue of concern: The fact that your first cockatoo came from a rescue situation. Not the best way to go about getting your first 'too, you may realize by now. It's good that you're committed to working things out, but for anyone else out there that may be contemplating taking on a rescue cockatoo--It's not a good idea for people who are A: not experienced cockatoo people and B: not experienced with rescue parrots in general.

You've already got him, so I'm not trying to make you feel bad about the decision you made. I'm really addressing this to other folks who might find themselves the position of thinking about whether or not to adopt a "problem" bird. Taking on a bird with baggage may be more of a challenge than what most people are up to. The sad part is that there are so many cockatoos who do need to be re-homed, so shelters and rescue organizations are pressed to place them with people that may not be prepared for the difficult road ahead.

If you would like some one-on-one help with Seymore, I'm available for phone consults. I've talked to many people like you who've taken in parrots that come with pre-existing problems, and have helped them gain confidence so they can work with these birds and bring out the wonderful potential friend that's in there somewhere!

[kp_in_scott]

Kim,
Thank you for the reply. I am going to start keeping a diary of his behaviors. As for training, there is no formal training going on here and that may be a problem in itself. I've had hubby read your reply and I may persuade him to start doing some "exercises" on a daily basis(Lol it would be good for him too!). We want the best for Seymour.
Thanks again.
Kim(Lynnnnnn)