hi,
i have a 1 yr old male quaker named bugsley.i have had him for a month.he was hand raised by a local rescue.
they recieved him at a month old.i guess he had issues because he was taken at 2 days old from his parents.im new to these birds and was told he was hormonal and nippy.so upon meeting him i thought he was cute even if he did draw blood on me a few times.so i took him home.i had my regrets over the first days, he was territorial over his cage and would bite if you got close,he screemed for 15 minutes straight one day.awefull.i have had a rough year.i lost my dog sady of almost 11 yrs to cancer on january 2nd 2008.i have taken her death very hard.i had a 2 yr old cockatiel i found on craigs list for free.him and sady were close and we were close.i had him almost 2 yrs.about 1 1/2 months ago his wing started to swell it was a tumor.baby my cockatiel had cancer,he died on the operating room table.i was devastated.getting bugs was just to bring some noise to the house,keep me out of a funk.well its been a month and i am just in love with him.we are very close.he goes around the house with me,is out of his cage all day,talks to me,follows me around,and is so special,but bugs hates all men big and small.
he used to hang with my sister but is now very protective of me and when im around he isnt even nice to women.he will attack anyone that gets close and draws blood.he will bite me going for someone else.i have bought a few books on behavior.i know there are things i have done that have probably not helped this.getting rid of bugs isnt an option.can you guys give me ideas on how to deal with him thanks for any info

i don't know if my advice is accurate, but i would work on socializing him to as many people as possible. be very up front with them from the beginning tho, that they will get bitten as he learns to be a nice bird. teach them how to react (no drama, no screaming, push into the bite, etc). you could try the rescue technique with some of your chosen folks. as far as breaking the cycle of possessiveness, this may help. but currently your bird has overly bonded to you and sees anyone else as a threat.

good luck. i know it's frustrating to have such high hopes for the perfectly mannered bird, only to find out you have a green monster. i'm glad you are willing to work thru these difficulties and are determined to keep him. hopefully someone with some more advice will be along shortly.

kris

Patience, patience and more patience. Start with Sis, since your bird accepted her before. Tell her to laugh if he nibbles, even if he bites hard. It'll make him laugh, too, and he won't bite nearly as hard as if she yells. If she MUST say "ow" and Lord knows, sometimes you can't help it , tell her to try to say it calmly and as if it's just another remark instead of yelping. For some reason, me saying ow makes Clyde laugh and he says "ow" too, and he doesn't bite very hard now. Just a little nibble so I'll say that. It's become a game. When your bird's on your shoulder, lift your arm and maybe he'll walk down it, and then you can rest your hand on your sister's shoulder and maybe he'll climb onto her. That's what I've been doing to get Clyde back to being friendly to my husband. First he liked Daddy best, then he decided he liked Mommy best, and now we're working on getting him to like both of us at the same time, and that's what we've been doing. It's working, too. You might try having her offer him something he really, really likes to eat, too. Clyde adores millet. Clyde will do anything for millet.

Another thing that worked to get Clyde to like me when he was only willing to like Daddy, was for Daddy to ignore him all day until I got home from work. Clyde wanted out very much and when I offered to let him out, he decided I wasn't so bad after all. We had to do that two or three days in a row, but it worked.

I am sorry about your dog and I wish you luck with socialising Bugsley,
WELCOME to the group...

welcome
i am also having biting issues! my birds biting who he likes best haha! they are funny creatures! but atleast ur working with him and not even considering rehoming! i agree with starting with your sister! and positive reactions and treats for positive behaviour! ignore him for naughty behaviour! my qp hates being ignored!!

For my bird i just grab his beak with my thumb and forefinger and make the noise i make when he does something bad. it has been effective, and he never bites me. When he bites other people, i extend my thumb and forefinger to him, and he will staart ducking his head because he whats coming. Then i ususally dont have to grab his beak, the warning is enough. grab lightly, and let him pull his head back when yo grab him so he doesnt get hurt.