IRN attacking my head

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strata405
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 1:12 pm

IRN attacking my head

Post by strata405 »

I am new to the forum but I have been reading along for quite some time. I have a beautiful gray female IRN, which is a rescue bird. I don't know her age because she was found as a stray and I have had her for 1.5 years. She has come a long way and I trained her to step up on perch and do some small tricks. She has always been cage aggressive so changing her food bowls requires some skill. She gets plenty of outside time and loves to climb and fly around. She is a very smart and curious bird and she is fascinated by dark places such as a cardboard box. She also shreds paper in her bowl, which she sometimes puts on her back. Could this be nesting behaviour? She takes treats from my fingers but attacks any exposed skin near her if no treats are involved. She tolerates my hand near her when I spray her with water, which she loves. Recently, she has started to attack my head; she flies on it and pecks. I have started wearing a hat but she is still doing this. Initially she only attacked when I was near the cage, now she flies all across the room to get me, especially when I get her out of the cage.
Any advice on how to discourage this behaviour? I tried distracting her with target training but it has not helped much.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: IRN attacking my head

Post by InTheAir »

I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds very much like the behaviour that one of our moderators hen displays over breeding season. If you search for a post titled "what to do with Janey", Ellie goes into some details about triggers if I remember correctky.
I believe that this is a challenging behaviour to modify and requires a very holistic approach. Diet and the amount of darkness per night has a huge effect on breeding behaviour. A truly low energy diet is important. Pellets and vegetables, avoiding sugars and fats.

Finding what exactly triggers the flight and avoiding doing that while she is out of the cage is the quickest "fix". The triggers can seem obscure to us, like opening a cupboard or holding a tea towel.

Personally, I recommend that you consult a qualified behaviourist for help. They can help you with a solution to avoid/minimise the aggressive behaviour in the cage as well.
If you can't find one in your area, I believe Barbara Heidenreich or Lara Joseph and others will do consults via skype or email. If you let me know what part of the world you are in, I may be able to suggest someone near you (I'm a bit of a parrot geek). There is also a mailing list run by behaviorworks.org which anyone can join. After completing a series of mini lessons in applied behaviour analysis, you can request help for specific behaviours.

Just avoid anyone who offers a quick fix or calls themself a whisperer, wizard or tricks.

I have looked after Janey during breeding season for a week and she is a whole different bird when she is hormonal! When she decided that our oven was the perfect nest site her whole little brain and being was focused on that goal. It was kind of scary.
strata405
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 1:12 pm

Re: IRN attacking my head

Post by strata405 »

Thanks for the great tips. Regarding hormonal/breeding behaviour, I am not sure if that is the problem or if it is purely territorial. It's currently winter time here in California and she doesn't get that much daylight. Her diet consists of pellets and vegetables, with some occasional fruit and tiny almond slivers for training. However, she does look for dark places, scatches with her feet in her bowl, and even tries to sit in it.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: IRN attacking my head

Post by InTheAir »

That sounds very much like hormone related behaviour. My girl was looking for nest sites in June, which is the middle of winter here. I believe it is the change in day length that triggers the breeding cycle, when combined with the other factors.
I fed a pretty low energy diet also for the past year and my birds still got as far as mating and looking for nesting sites.... so I can't really give advice on that ;)
If I was being dive-bombed I would definitely be seeking help, the earlier the better as the less practiced a behaviour is the easier it is to modify or avoid.
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