Hi everyone,
I have one parrot, an almost 5 year old Congo African Grey female named Clover. I'm home with her all day and am her "best buddy." She is out of her cage in the same room where I work, with access to several large play stands. Clover is clicker trained to step up and do many tricks. Until the incidents described below, I would consider her relatively non-aggressive. (She bites to draw blood maybe twice a year).
When we got Clover, she was a feather picker. She's been fully feathered for 2 years now, but only really took up flying in the past six months. While she will do a flighted recall, most of her flying is spent on dive-bombing me, around 10-20 times a day. (And increasing in frequency). If I'm holding something she wants--such as a pen or a cookie--she zooms off her playstand, briefly lands in my hair, grabbing me in her "talons," then circles around for another go. She also does this if she makes a request ("want an apple?") that I ignore. Basically, if anything gets her the least bit peeved, she's immediately zooming off the playstand and clawing at my head.
At first, I studiously showed no reaction other than maybe ducking at the last minute to avoid the claws. Lately, I've taken to grabbing things to defend myself with, such as a magazine, and waving it around over my head, while still remaining silent. On two occasions, I threw an empty yogurt cup at her to fend her off. But I try to minimize my reaction so she doesn't get reinforced for the dive bombing.
After each incident, I immediately put on a leather glove and put her back into her cage--she can be agitated at these times and will give pinching (non-serious) bites. I let her out a bit later, and she sits calmly on her playstand until something peeves her and she attacks me again.
She has also started dive-bombing our cat when he eats out of his food dish, and our small dog while he's on the ground chewing a toy. These are animals she has known for years and got along with wonderfully.
As this is my first parrot, and now first FLIGHTED parrot, I don't know if her behavior is normal or not. Is this part of living with a flighted bird? What's the best way to deal with it...and preferably, to prevent it? I spent years trying to get her flighted, but these constant attacks are making me heavily consider the possibility of wing clipping.
Thanks,
Sharon in Istanbul