Why is my adopted African Grey parrot suddenly biting and aggressive?

Question

Hello, I have just adopted an adult African Grey parrot with a partially know past. He seems to be starving for love and wants to be on my left shoulder for head scratches. The problem is he can go from content to bite with no warning that I have been able to detect. He is most aggressive when on the floor, fully fluffed head down. If I try to use a step up stick he attacks by flying towards my face. I get the feeling he is afraid of the stick, maybe hurt in the past. Any advice or suggestions? Pet's info: Bird | Unknown - Bird | Male | unneutered | 22 years and 9 months old

Jessica Desrosiers · Accepted Answer

If you've just adopted Arnie, I would give him some time to settle in and get used to his new surroundings before doing too much too fast. It may be that the stick, new environment, new people, new place, etc is a bit too much and so he is lashing out from fear and stress rather than aggression. Giving him some time to get used to his environment and interacting just by offering to pet him when he's calm, or giving treats/tossing treats every time you come by can help. Once he seems a bit more calm, introducing new things one at a time is best to prevent overwhelming him too much and causing him to lash out from stress. Parrots are much like toddlers- too much too fast is confusing and scary!

Why is my adopted African Grey parrot suddenly biting and aggressive?

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