Hi, I've just posted in the introductions forum but first post otherwise, I'm going to give you my bird's full story so sorry if it's really long, I'll try and bullet point things.  I'm hoping you won't all hate me because I feel like I've been a useless owner to my little bird for him to have become so aggressive but I really want to sort these issues out and some advice would be very useful so I know I'm going about things in the right way.

- I have a 5 year old Red-Bellied Parrot called Rocky (full-flighted), he was hand-reared and tame as anything when I bought him.

- He was friendly with everyone in my family (my mum, brother and sister) and quickly got used to the presence of other animals in the house. 

- Shortly after I got him he somehow got his leg ring squashed onto his leg the removal of which whilst resulting in no lasting physical damage was painful for him and made him afraid of men - especially fitting the description of the man who removed the ring.

- When he was maybe about 2 my mum made the mistake of coming into the room wearing a silly sunhat and sunglasses and he completely freaked out and has never trusted her since.

- After that he became more afraid of new people and gradually became a one person bird only being friendly with me (although he liked my sister aswell).

- He spent the last year being looked after by my mum and lived in the sitting room at home because I was unable to have him with with me where I was so I'd only see him at weekends which is when he'd get time out the cage because he's aggressive towards my mum.

- I'd like to think that he's not unhappy he doesn't feather pluck and will happily talk/whistle to people and will mostly accept treats from people (although this depends on how he's feeling).

-  Now though he's become very aggressive he'll very rarely allow me to stroke him through the bars of the cage and will bite to the point of drawing blood when out of the cage if I try to touch him - he will however step onto my hand to come out without biting but I can't get him back in without a towel (which I don't like doing because then he becomes more scared of me).  Other people he won't allow to touch him.

- I think on some levels it's fear aggression and possibly learned behaviour aswell but then he'll do things like put his head down as though he wants to be stroked and then try and bite if you put your hand near.  Also the other day I had him out his cage and he was just sat next to me on the sofa and I was on my laptop and was gently talking to him and had my hand resting on the sofa next to me and he was fluffed up and sleepy looking then he very casually sidled over and took a chunk out the back of my hand.

- I've always tried to make sure my reactions (and other people's where possible!) to being bitten are completely calm and I either put him back in his cage or leave him be.

- In the past week I've managed to arrange things so he's now living with me and my plan was to try and clicker train him going completely back to basics but I'm not sure if this is best idea especially when sometimes he decides he'll be friendly and other times he won't even take treats and will try and bite.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

 

Some handtame friendly birds do change once they hit maturity, when they decide who they like and who they dont. Along with that he has probably became frustrated when your mum has had to look after him and due to his aggression towards her, was not being let out much anymore.
These are very social little birds who love to be in the centre of your everyday life. You dont say whether mum worked, if so could he also have been spending a lot of time alone in the house.
I think you may need to start at the beginning with him again now he is with you.Try not giving him eye contact or touch him when he's out, continue to talk gently to him, once he starts gaining trust again, he will no doubt seek you out for affection.When you say he was fluffed up and sleepy looking when he bit your hand, he was probably warning you to keep away, and this was a threat. When he puts his head down as if wanting stroked, does he have his head slightly to the side, watching you, again this can be a threat, if his head is right down and he is not eyeing you, that is more of an invitation for you to stroke him.
Im sure others will be along soon to give you some more tips, let us know how you get along with him. Wherabouts in Cumbria are you, Im in Carlisle, so if I can be of any help just contact me.

may I ask if its a red bellied Macaw?

Thanks, for the advice, I'll try a very gentle approach, he's actually sat in his cage "talking" to me right now which is good. I'm in Carlisle in a student house and Rocky is sharing my room with me now (I do have permission to have pets here). I'm here most of the time so yeah, he's alone a lot less.

I had by now figured out those subtle differences between looking like he's being friendly when actually he's being threatening I was wondering why do they do that?

My other question was I want to give him the time out of his cage as of course I know he needs this but due to the fact I can't get him back in without causing him more stress/fear would it be sensible for me to work with him in the cage for a while until I know he trusts me more so I can put him back in when I need to or should I let him out anyway when I know I've got plenty of time and hope he'll go back in of his own accord?

If he has a favourite treat try offering it at the time you want him to go back in again. Let him see what you have and see you put it in his cage,he may go in for it. I would still let him out, with time he will get used to the routine of something nice to go back in for.
If you he wont and you need to towel him to go back, Talk gently to him and once he is back in offer him a treat telling him he's a good boy.
Dont hesitate to call me if you need to,or I could call and see you and Rocky if you would prefer.

Okay, I'll try doing that more often since I've got plenty of time to spend with him now so there's no rush putting him back in. I'll avoid using a towel at all costs because he won't accept treats from me if he's been towelled - he hides in the corner of his cage looking scared - and he then will run away from me if I open the cage door for the next few days after.

Any recommendations of the "perfect" parrot treat? He's often scared of new foods and will throw them on the floor or hide from them and because he doesn't trust me he doesn't always trust what I'm giving him. He does love cooked potato, bits of pasta, cashew nuts and grapes which are the things that I tend to use as treats for him so I'll work with those and see how things go - I may get in touch with you yet, thanks for the offer.

What does he scrounge from you? That is where I would start. Mine all love biscuits (not that I eat them of course, actually I don't often, they get stolen), or I use popcorn occasionally as a treat for them. I have one that is hooked on the cedar nuts from the seed I use, another will do anything for a walnut, or bread and butter, or actually just the butter.

I know it's ages since I came here but I thought I'd drop in and give an update. Things are a lot better with him now, I've been opening the cage door and just letting him come out in his own time whilst I sit on the other side of the room reading. He'll fly over to me and will be quite cuddly, letting me stroke him, sitting close to me/on me, chattering and showing off. I still have to be careful with him and be aware of what he's doing and what I'm doing - sudden movements freak him out and if he doesn't want to do something then he won't so boundaries have to be put in place cautiously. I'm still wary of asking him to step up onto my hand and sticks/dowels freak him out but he will step up onto a cushion so if he's doing something he shouldn't I've been getting him to sit on the cushion and chill. He'll also step up onto the cushion or my arm to go back in his cage. When I've not been in I've been leaving a radio on which does seem to make him a little calmer and he's less scared when he hears strange noises. Essentially, whilst still far from prefect, things are a lot better than they were.

That is good news. It sounds like you have made wonderful progress. Keep up the good work

well done....things look like there on the up

good for you, the radio is a good idea when your out, they all seem to love music, wendy xxx