Bites Happen!

[PlaxMacaws]

I suppose it was about time. I'm used to getting bitten by Maynard once in a while... but this time it was Salsa :th_eek:. It took me off guard and seemed entirely unprovoked. But I'm guessing that Sals may have been experiencing some feelings of jealousy, since Zaf was perched upon one of my arms when it happened. Salsa usually doesn't display signs of jealousy and seems to take everything in stride. When it happened I was merely talking nicely to both of them at once. As such, it was a complete surprise... and boy did it hurt! The slice is from the leading edge of Salsa's lower mandible and it felt like he bottomed out on my finger bone. But relatively speaking it's not that bad. I'll live :)

Here's a photo:
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[Lady]

OUCH!! Darn it sure does hurt. Let's hope no more for a long time.

[Pinkbirdy]

I bet that hurt ! Dave had almost like a pressure bite when we first got Ruby. he said it was almost like he felt the bone move. A slice would hurt worse like yours . Ive only been pinched. Goes to show us they have bad days too.

[kendrafitz]

Ouch!! I feel your pain, the lower beak cuts are killer.

I hope Salsa is feeling better and your finger heals quickly.

Out of curiosity, did Zaf have a reaction when it happened?

[PlaxMacaws]

Alice: Yes, I'm hoping no more for a while. But this is only the third bite I've received from Salsa since he became part of my family in 2012. The first one was because he didn't yet know me very well and in his mind I overstepped my authority to move him from point A to point B. He simply didn't trust me well enough and was unsure what I was going to do with him at that particular moment. That one did some nerve damage to my right thumb, causing it to remain numb for quite a while thereafter. The second bite was a defensive response to the Dremel tool coming too close to him. It was a pressure bite that badly bruised my thumbnail... the nail eventually fell off. That one hurt quite a bit as well. Suddenly biting me today, as he did, was simply out of character for Salsa.

Terri: As I've mentioned above, Salsa has shared his capability to inflict a pressure bite with me on one occasion as well. I have to tell you that I think the pressure bite he gave me back then hurt worse than today's flesh-cutting bite. I really didn't think he was having a bad day... I well know different now, though :calm:


I hope Salsa is feeling better and your finger heals quickly.We've both forgiven one another... he's back to his talkative, whistling self :). I've been scritching him and he's been going "oooh...oooooh... ooooooh!"


Out of curiosity, did Zaf have a reaction when it happened?It hurt so badly and it was so unexpected that I couldn't help yelling "O[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]!" in an abrupt way ... poor Zaf flew off to the top of his cage. I can't blame him :nonchalance:

[94lt1]

I know it sucks when monte clamps down on me.. But since he took to Jessica... He BITES me.. Lol.. He hasn't figured out how I can just look at him and say "no" .. Then he pulls back and goes... Ow... Lol

[Minamommy]

Yikes I feel your pain. Macaws have always intimidated me with that big beak. Hope your healing up well.


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[94lt1]

Monte grabbed ahold of my index finger and started biting down... He didn't want to let go from just shaking him off like he normally will... Can't really feel that finger now.. A week later.. Didn't break the skin.. But it got a tad swollen..

[PlaxMacaws]

My finger is healing very well. I can no longer even really feel the injury. It helps to be a quick healer when one chooses to have parrots in their life ;)


EDIT: Unless the parrots happen to be like Zaf... then you never have to worry about being bitten :D

[kendrafitz]

Glad to hear you are feeling better Tony. It is good to be a quick healer and have a high tolerance for pain here. Rosie is a pinch monster. Fortunately, she doesn't break the skin often, but I have had some lovely bruises and numb spots. :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Unexpected bites seem to be in their nature, and Casper knows exactly how hard to bite in order to draw blood or not. Once we have made our displeasure clear he tells us he's a good boy. Yeah, sure.

[Mare]

Owwie, That sounds/looks painful, Tony! Someone told me once, when a bird latches on, take your finger (with attached beak) and push it towards their chest rather than pulling away. Sounds simple but I think that reflex gets the better of us and hard not to jump away!

[PlaxMacaws]

Owwie, That sounds/looks painful, Tony! Someone told me once, when a bird latches on, take your finger (with attached beak) and push it towards their chest rather than pulling away. Sounds simple but I think that reflex gets the better of us and hard not to jump away!Well, that's kind of true. Pushing in toward a bird's throat is something they want no part of... But depending upon how tightly one of their beaks is clamped onto someone's finger, it can be virtually impossible to move the victimized finger in any direction relative to the clamped beak. Since the beaks of larger Macaws are fairly huge, the most important thing to do if one of them clamps down tightly on your flesh for an extended period will be to quickly insert the thumb and the two longest fingers of a free hand between the upper and lower clamping mandibles (i.e., behind the victimized finger or body part - which would be toward the bird from it). Then use those extra fingers to mitigate the squeezing pressure of the beak by leveraging it apart as much as possible with the rest of the hand anchored against the bird's forehead. By doing this, hopefully the beak will become somewhat restrained from clamping further into the flesh and may even be pried apart enough to allow removal of the victimized body part. Doing this can actually save your finger or whatever body part the bird has clamped onto.

And by the way, my finger feels fine now. It'll have a small diagonal slash mark for a while, though :)

EDIT: I should mention that depending upon the size of a bird's beak who fails to release during a powerful bite, as well as the size of the assisting fingers involved, and especially how far back into said beak a victimized finger happens to be, it may be possible to pry the beak apart by using the free hand to grasp the forward portion of the upper beak (wrapping the index and middle fingers around it) while inserting the thumb into the lower beak to leverage it downward. As a rule, the further outward on a beak such a leverage grasp can be applied, the greater the leverage potential will be.

[94lt1]

With monte.. I can usually barely shake my finger.. And he'd let go.. Not that time.. Yeeeesh

[2birds]

Ouch, that's in a really tender spot too. Glad the pain didn't continue to be bad.

[Mare]

I think that the intent of the bite is also a factor. Some birds are out for blood, some just want to warn you :)