Last Updated on by Mitch Rezman
Vicki M. writes
My male parrotlet is 1 year 6 months old and takes big chunks out of my husband.
He’ll be watching tv and the bird will fly over and take a chunk out of him.
There’s no reason for this.
My husband is not doing anything as the bird just flew over.
I’m wondering if it’s because my husband is diabetic and the bird likes the taste of his blood (I’ve heard that diabetics have sweet blood?).
The bird sometimes bites me but never so hard I bleed.
I know parrotlets can be bitey at this age but this seems more extreme than our first parrotlet at this age who was also a male.
There are no children or other pets in the home. We’ve tried ignoring it but it hasn’t helped.
Not sure how to get him to stop.
I don’t think it’s a territorial thing since it’s not happening near the cage.
My husband is home all day with the bird and the bird can be very sweet and loving and all of a sudden he strikes.
It’s like living with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
He’ll go several days without biting and then all of a sudden for no reason, he’s taking chunks out of my husband.
Any ideas for getting this bird to stop?
Hi Vicki
I’m sorry for the problems you’re having with your parrotlet.
If parrotlets are not socialized on a daily basis they can become “scissors with wings”.
So we need to ask if your husband is socializing with the bird or simply being in the same room with the bird which is different in the two scenarios.
We also have to consider the hormonal state of the bird.
I would advocate that we provide light therapy where we lock the bird in the cage for at least 72 hours with the light on for the entire time.
This helps reset your bird circadian rhythm.
In the meantime, your husband has to refuse the bird to land on him.
Biting is never acceptable.
It appears the bird may have bonded with you and wants to let him know that interactions with any other potential mate, is simply unacceptable.
Hope this helps
Best
MitchR.
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