Here Is my problem I had gotten a goffin cockatoo about a year ago from somebody out of the paper she had said that the prior owner traded the bird for a dog and the owner I had gotten emmy from only had her for two weeks because she had traded for her because she is a dog breeder and decided not to keep her well I bought her because I loved her and love taking care of her despite the attackings she is actually five years I am thinking because I ran into the original owner and she had told me I had gotten took because I spent $900 dollars I told her that I didnt care what I spent for her I love her very much well I am guessing that she only fed her seed and nothing else because emmy seems afraid all the time when I introduce her new foods I am her care taker and everything and she loves my fiance and my 11, 8, and 5 year old boys dont bite anybody else but me she will attack me in the face and bite the crud out of me but nobody else she has me in tears because I love her so much that it kills me I have six cockatiel, and a green cheek conure and when I talk to them she does get jealous and goes after me to yesterday 8/12/06 I was standing in front of her cage maybe four steps away with my back turned to her and talking to other people around me and two people were standing on each side of me all the sudden she flew on me and attacked my neck when she is on my fiance she will attack me so I know she is in the mating season I sure hope she stops it I dont want to get rid of her the screaming doesnt bug me but it does my fiance and I feel like I let her down I just cant give her up I did put her in the paper but at and really high price I felt that if they would spend that high of price then they would be the type of person who will be good for her I dont want to sell her at all I did do research on toos but thought I would be ok I take so good care of my birds they see the vet and everything in fact I got emmy sexed the old owner named her emit thinking she was a boy I also got her tested for deases and she checked out ok I feel like my hands are tied please help me she is not in the paper anymore because I feel bad and feel like I have let her down and want her to be happy she is always able to be out of her cage I dont have a big avery but I do have a nice big parrot cage for sleeping only when she is ready for sleep she will go in there and I leave the door open for her so she has in and out access. You see how I found the actuall owner is that I had answered an ad for two cockatiel for sale and told the women all what I had and she told me her friend use to own emit and I was so happy to meet her and told her I had a lizard for sale and she said she wanted it and I said cool I could kick myself in the butt because I had traded the lizard for the green cheek parrot which I am glad that I did because I have petey the green cheek but now I am worried about charlie the lizard because she had called me four months ago to say she couldnt take care of charlie he was to big I told her that I would take her back and I went to call her her phone had been disconnected so that gave me the idea she had possibly abused emmy because emmy only liked seed when I got her she was afraid of everything and you are right they dont show there true colors in the begging which is fine and I expected that but I need your imput how I can get her to quit attacking me please help I want whats best for emmy thank you very much you have a wonderfull site with caring people that is great and god bless
Barb

oh I didnt want you to get the wrong idea of petey my green cheek I feel like I saved him so I am glad and I do not kick myself in the butt for getting him its the lizard because I cant reach her and you see why I worry is because I love my animals so much thanks again for taking the time to read my post

Barb

Have you ever had a large bird before? When did she begin attacking you? Does your finace handle her at all? If he does not really want to handle her then you might what to consider this suggestion. NO ONE handle her but you. It is not mating season yet so that is not really the problem but she may see him as her mate. Only handle her when you are alone in the house. Keep a soft barrier like a towel ready in case she flies at you, you will have something between you and your bird but it will not hurt her. Make sure she gets EVERYTHING from you. Attention, food, toys, whatever. She is only out when you are alone with her, when other people are home she is in her cage.

When I first got my bird and he acted like what you described someone one here told me about a handling stick. I got a gallon bottle, bought a large dowel that fits the small hole, where the lid was. Cut the bottom off the bottle. I used duct tape to attach the bottle to the stick with part of the stick stuck inside the bottle. This way you have a stick to train your bird to step up and you can get her down from high places with it but the bird can not attack your hands. I also wore a glove on the other hand incase I had to put it near him. Also if she is flighted I would cut her wings. This will help you in at least 2 ways. She will have less mobility to attack you. She can not get up high. Birds attack more from a point higher than you. She will have to depend more on you for more things because she is less mobile.

Good Luck

Sherrel

Hi Barb,

I really don't want to be offensive, I want you to continue seeking advice here rather than giving up your bird, but I do have something to ask of you...

I breezed through your post three or four times before I understood what you were asking. You see, there is no punctuation, sentences, paragraphs or other things that make reading long posts easier.

Truly this is not to be critical, but I wonder how many other people didn't bother to read and offer advice because it was too difficult to understand. Folks here are very helpful and have a lot of wonderful advice to offer, but many are very busy also and don't have a lot of time to read and reread.

That said, if you use the search function on the top right of the screen and type "aggression" "attacking" or other similar words, you will get a lot of good advice about managing aggressive behavior and recreating a good relationship with your too.

Welcome to you and good luck!

I'd get a vet to do the wing clip; if the bird is as possessive as you describe, it could be a bloody mess to do it yourself .

I have heard that seeds make some birds a little nuts. A good diet and I don't like wing clipping but sometimes it helps

Thanks Cat for giving her the "talk" about the puncuation. I had a really hard time getting thru that post. Actually felt a little dizzy.

Barb: do use the search feature at the top of the page. LOADS of info that you will be interested in.

Sherrel

sorry about my punctuation your not being to critical I am just stupid with spelling and punctuation and broken sentences sorry Ill try to make my questions shorter

My goffin cockatoo is very agressive and keeps attacking my face, I have alot of problems with her being jealous, and biting me and no one else in the house just me so my question is can you help me with the situation so I dont have to get rid of her? Also I dont mind the squaking but my fiance cant stand it and loves the bird but not the squaking what are ways to help with that. Sorry again for the sloppy question earlier

Parrots are known to be noisy...it is natural.What she is doing is keeping contact witht the flock(YOU).Also I agree to take her to a vet for the wing clipping.You think the attacks are bad now...just wait...they tend to get a bit mad at thier humans for clipping and filing of nails and things like that so she may really teach you a thing or two after you attempt that. It really doesn't cost much and then the vet can have a checkup of her at the same time.

How is it's diet?Do you feed alot of fruit?I found the more fruit my birds get the more hyper and aggitated they get and I think it is because of the natural sugar content in it.I give them fruit as a treat only and this does make them feel better.A good diet can fix alot of behaviours in birds so that should be your goal.

Jan

Edited:Does this bird know you fear it by chance.If you expect this to happen and you go in fearing the bird chances are it will act out against you.Try clearing your head before any hands on with the bird and don't think you will get bit or attacked.Just think about scritches.

The information you have already been given here is an excellent place to start. Also, when you take your bird to the vet talk to him about your bird's violent tendencies. Often avian vets have literature they will give you at no charge, or beable to recommend other avenues of information on this matter of aggression. There is a host of causes for your birds problems, medical, abuse, neglect, the list goes on. Each shall have to eliminated which will take time. Don't give up, this is the most superior site for information to be sure. USE the search and read, read, read.

Though I agree the punctuation could have been better. However, I only saw it as a minor thing compared to the concerns and love you obviously have for this bird. I personally apologize that the comments in regard to pure grammatical errors in your post were put first rather than effort placed in order to point you in the right direction. YOU are not stupid so don't degrade yourself by saying such. Someone in your bird's past was the stupid one! In fact you obviously have the intelligence to search for help and then post your questions. Kudos to you and your love of animals!

I have taken her to the vet and she told me things to do same as you guys, also I do have to get her wings trimmed again, although this is the first big bird I have had I have always had smaller birds. I dont feed her alot of fruit but I am in the process of giving her a pellet food like my other birds. I think that seed was the only thing that her previous owners gave her so I am slowly introducing different fruits and veggies. I thank you for the compliment of not being stupid I am just not good at punctuation etc. I am not going to give up on her its just days are so hard sometimes because I want what is best for her she is my baby thanks again guys

I am very sorry if you saw my comment about your post as implying that you were stupid. I did not intend that and don't think that folks here have to have perfect grammer or spelling to get advice. I was more thinking about it as giving a tip to getting you more feedback and advice.

'nuff said. I apologize.

Cat

I did not even think of you being stupid either. I just had a really hard time with your first post due to the lack of punctuation. I kept having to go back and study the words to find the beginning and end of sentence.

I still think the fastest way to get an answer to your question is the search feature. Put in aggression and read everything that comes up. It will be a lot so bring your popcorn and a drink you will be there a while. Then if you still have questions please ask. You are not in this alone. Everyone has had this same problem to some degree.

Sherrel

Janny commented that having the vet do a wing clip "doesn't cost much", and she's got to be right. It has to be less expensive than stitches in your own hide. And at the end, with a small vacancy in the pocketbook, you will be able to comfort your bird, rather than cringe from her, which is what you'll want to do if you have a hole or 3 in you!
(Haven't ever tried to clip a cockatoo. Don't intend to. The holes left by my little tiel are plenty adequate, thank you )

Hi again lolbirds.

If you are just introducing pellets to your goffins I do know that the Zupreen diet is a good start.It is very colourful and great smelling,it is actually healthy as well.If these are available to you I found they worked to get them started and we switched to an organic food later called Harrisons.2 of my birds refused the pellets too until I found the Z'n and then they got to liking them.Once they start to eat them then just mix a bit of the Harrisons in a bit at a time and slowly increase it until they eat them.

Good luck.

Jan

I have clipped her wings and it didnt do much good I hate it because I want what is best for her, and I thought I knew what I was getting into but man I am glad about this site because I do take the advice, still trying thanks

I'm assuming if you clipped her wings that she isn't able to get to your face at least? How high is her cage (especially in relation to your height)? A book I found very helpful (ummm, I think it's called The Second Hand Parrot by Matty Sue Athan - I'll double check that tonight) says that lowering the cage height can have a dramatic effect on reducing aggression.

I have found with Bud-Bud, my Goffin, that I can not "back down" from him EVER or show any fear because if I do he picks up on it and gets worse. Obviously I don't ever physically reprimand him but I do speak "sternly" to him and hold my hand up (far enough away that he can't snap me) and talk to him telling him "That's enough Bud-Bud, be a good bird." until he quits bobbing and lunging at me(he puts his crest up and bobs up and down lunging). He is usually on his cage door when he does that - when he calms down I tap the end of his cage door and tell him to "come here for scritches" and he will usually walk over and lower his head and let me and then I tell him what a "good, good bird" he is.

I should mention that I am always taller then he is (I don't think it would work if he was above me) and that sometimes (especially in the beginning)it has taken close to an hour to get him to back down - we have progressed to the point that USUALLY I can tell him "Stop it" without even going up to him and he will. I also make sure that he is looking at me because sometimes he will try not to meet my eye (Cricket, my C2, is usually the one he's trying to attack - he has never actually attacked me - he used to attack my (now ex) boyfriend and I used the same method). Some members will tell you though that their bird becomes MORE aggressive if they stare at them. I find with Bud-Bud that "forcing" him(he will turn his head or look past me and I move my head to keep his eyes on me, rather than on his target. Although since your bird is attacking you she would be staring at her target.)to meet my eyes is better. I stand close to him with my hand out but far enough away that he can't "get" my hand (you might want to check her "strike" distance to see how close you can get without getting bit - their little necks stretch a long long way <img border="0" alt="[laughing]" title="" src="graemlins/laugh[1].gif" /> ) This is something that has worked for me - it may or may not work for you but keep trying and give the methods that you are trying a chance to work - it took a long long long long time to get Bud-Bud to listen to me...hang in there. It is really tough, not to mention that it hurts your feelings that they would attack you!

You aint a kidding I like that name bud-bud its cute and I have gotten alot of people say to put the cage lower I have it on a bird cage stand that came with the cage and its just a titch taller than me so I will take it apart and make it shorter, I was hoping I wouldnt have to make it shorter because my living room is small and have not much room but thats ok I will make room for my baby thanks guys

Hi emmy is doing better since I put her cage on the floor, Her screaming aint as bad either, She was actually letting me pet her today I was so excited so hopefully it will get even better. I am so proud of her acheivment, I know why she was screaming to when I would sit in the living room and we would eat in front of her she would go nuts i have been watching every move she makes and we make Im not so sure that thats the only reason but I know that this is one of them.