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Bird biting

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Bird biting

Postby KSilva » Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:21 pm

Please someone help me!! I have a parrot that was initially pretty hesitant around me. He's my boyfriends late wife's parrot who has spent the last few years in his cage 24/7. Ive been very patient with him and slowly earned his trust. Every day after work because I have 3 dogs I take him upstairs to spend one on one time with him. We listen to music and sing, eat some snacks and just spend time together. We'll a few days ago after one of our play sessions he willingly stepped up onto my hand, and on the way downstairs he bit my hand several times. I put him back on top of his cage like I normally do but then later when I was bringing him back up to his bedroom he bit me again so hard that my boyfriend thought I should get stitches. I yelled for him and he put him to bed for me. The next couple of days anytime I took him to or from his cage I use a perch. A couple of days I was getting him up in the morning and while he was coming out of his cage he put his foot up to climb on to me and I thought " okay , he's coming to me maybe it will be alright." Well I took about six steps and he took out another chunk out of me.
I read the book and now I can't seem to figure out why this is happening. It says mot to react or say no. How is it possible not to react. None of the reasons in the book seem to apply to why he's doing it. I want to have a great relationship with this bird but now I'm very gun shy.
Please hepl!!
KSilva
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 9
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Yellow napped amazon parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Bird biting

Postby Pajarita » Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:16 am

Welcome to the forum and I am sorry you are having such a hard time with the parrot! Now, I don't know which book you are referring to but, personally, I firmly believe that the 'don't react when they bite you' is not only stupid but also counterproductive. The whole concept was based on the idea that parrots, seeing your reaction to their bite, think that this is great fun and, because of this, will continue doing it. This has to big problems: 1) it assumes the parrots are so stupid that they would confuse pain with joy and 2) it assume that, if the parrot knows it is causing pain, it will enjoy it.
WRONG!!!! Parrots are not only highly intelligent, they are masters of the human body language and tone of voice so, unless we are talking about a baby bird which is still learning, they know very well what a scream of pain means. As to their 'enjoying your pain', well that is super bunk! Parrots are normally incredibly empathetic and compassionate to the point that they always try to comfort their beloved human when he/she is in pain or even simply sad.

Now, as to your problem. You are not telling us the gender, age, diet, light schedule of the parrot or how long you have been living with it - and all those things make a difference in what you can expect. The species you have, a YNA, is one of the 'hot three' species that are more prone to aggression and, in my personal experience, although females can be aggressive, too, it's usually males that give trouble after a while, with females being easier to 'win over'. Then you have age - birds that have been sexually mature for years react more aggressively than younger birds IF their diet is too high in protein and they do not follow a strict solar schedule. So tell us gender, age, diet and light schedule and how long you have been living with him.

For now, I highly recommend you do NOT trust him and always use a perch. I have a couple of birds that used to do the same thing - meaning, ask for something nice (like a head scratch or to step up) just to bite after -as a matter of fact, I have a semi-new bird, a bluehead conure, that I have recently released in the birdroom that is now flying to my shoulder all the time just to bite my neck. Now, this doesn't mean that this behavior will continue forever - it's a stage. But in Elvis Conure's case, he is kept at a strict solar schedule, eating a fresh food diet low in protein and fat and, as the days are now getting longer, he will calm down because, in parrots, 99.99% of the time aggression is because of sexual hormones. Amazons (like conures) are longday breeders so their breeding season is almost over and they have already started producing less and less hormones.

We will be waiting for your replies to the questions.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Bird biting

Postby KSilva » Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:21 pm

Thank you, I'm at wits end. A few months ago I received some welcome advice from you and since then she is on a strict solar schedule and her diet has been improved with more fruit, vegetables and sprouts while reducing protein and fat. McGregor is about 25 years old and spent most of her life in a large cage with wings clipped. Since I became part of the family about 6 months ago I've worked with her every day and was seeing some great social improvement. The biting started a few weeks ago and is getting worse. Not just nibbled but hard bruising, break the skin biting. I don't intend to give up but really need some guidance. Btw, it was the "Parrot Wizards Guide" that advised ignoring the biting. Finding that really hard to do. As an aside we do have 3 small dogs in the home but they aren't aggressive toward her and pretty much keep their distance.
KSilva
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 9
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Yellow napped amazon parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Bird biting

Postby Pajarita » Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:44 am

I doubt the dogs have anything to do with her biting... I have A LOT of dogs and cats and the ONLY pair of birds that stays out of their cage (in the dining room) when the cats and dogs are loose are the Yellow Nape pair. Why? Because, for one thing, they ignore them and, for another, these are large, strong, powerful birds that are also quite fearless and with a HARD bite so if one of them gets too close (like standing in two legs to smell them or whatever), they go straight for it and make sure they never do it again.

Now, are you 100% sure that the solar schedule is super strict? That she is getting no light whatsoever (not even a sliver of it) at night (windows? other rooms with light? TV?) and that she is exposed to, at least, 1.5 hours of dawn and dusk? And is she getting something like gloop or chop for breakfast without any high protein food? Because, normally, the reason for biting is hormonal but their breeding season is now over and they are molting - which is a bit of a stressful time for them but baths usually take care of the discomfort, itch or whatever it is that they feel when they have new feathers coming out. Have you tried bathing her with a spray bottle? Zons usually LOVE baths and they not only calm them, they also distract them for quite a while as, after the bath, they need to preen every single feather precisely where it's supposed to be and laying exactly how it's supposed to lay :D and that takes time and attention. Are you giving her any liver/kidney supplements? At her age, she needs them and they do make them feel more comfortable.

But I think that she is now going through a phase where she is 'testing the waters' -meaning you. Use a stick to move her, not your hand. And take into consideration that when a zon lifts a 'hand' forward, it can mean he/she wants to step up but it can also mean that they don't want you to get close to them - it's a warning and not an invitation. The position of the 'lifted forward foot' is actually a bit different for a step up invitation than for a warning but it's not so easy to distinguish - you have to look at more than just the foot... the 'invitation' has a bird with a relaxed and soft body, the foot is not really raised very high, the eyes are not pining, the feathers are not close to the body, etc. When it's a warning, the body is tense, the feathers are 'closed', the bird is looking attentively at you, the eyes pin and unpin, the foot is higher, etc. Do you sing to her? They adore music, especially when it's a woman singing and its melodic (cockatoos go for strong beats but amazons go for melody). Clipped birds are harder to win over because they feel so very insecure and live with chronic stress from not being able to get away from danger on their own so they tend to do 'pre-emptive strikes' while flighted birds are almost always 'reactive' and not 'proactive' in their bites but, with patience and giving it enough time, they can be won over. I have a caique which had been kept clipped when young so now he cannot really fly very well even though I exercise his wings periodically and, when he steps up (which he asks for by saying: 'Come on, come on, come on'), he immediately pinches (less than a nip) your hand with his beak several times in a row real fast. He is now learning not to do it and usually stops when I tell him: "Don't pinch!" but this is something he taught himself when he couldn't get away from humans and he might never actually overcome it 100% (he did it for 10 years before coming here).

And, if and when she gets you, do not 'just take it', make a big deal out of it, scream in pain, tell her in a strong, loud and very firm voice that she is a BAD BAD BIRD! (repeat it several times) and put her in her cage for 5 minutes - no more! It's not really punishment is more like a 'time out'. I no longer have really aggressive birds because the ones that were no longer are BUT when I do, I actually 'retaliate' same as a bigger, stronger bird would when attacked for no good reason. For one thing, if I had the bird on my hand or arm and it bit me, I would move my hand/arm in such a way that the bird would have to fly or glide down, then I make a 'beak' out of my right hand by putting the tips of all my fingers together and I move it up and down in an 'aggressive' manner right on top of their heads (I never, ever, ever touch them!) while I go AH AH AH AH (loudly) while kind of looming over the bird. See? When a bird attacks another (I am not talking a little squabble over a preferred bit of food or a favorite perch), a weaker bird would just fly away (which is the equivalent of not reacting to a bite) while a stronger bird would 'retaliate' - I am the stronger bird.

Parrots are highly intelligent (they actually think in the same way humans do), empathetic and compassionate and they really do not like giving pain... even the super aggressive ones do it out of necessity and because humans gave them no other recourse but, when they realize it's no longer necessary for them to 'defend' themselves, they stop. My YNA male was severely abused in his previous home, the owner used to punch him when he bit (he admitted it to me) and he hated all humans with a passion when he first came. Took me a long time to get him to stop flying out to my head to attack me every time I walked into the birdroom and more years to 'calm' him down to the point where he no longer bites me even when my hand is next to his face - sheesh, I am now even able to clean their cage when the hen is sitting on eggs! He watches me like a hawk when I do but I move slowly, keeping my eye on him all the time and always saying "Excuse me - excuse me - excuse me" non-stop.

Just keep at it and it will happen. My first rescue was a female Red Lored Amazon and she was super mean (she used to hang on with only one foot to the door of her cage and stretch out her entire body so she could bite you as you were walking by) but she came around and ended up being a love sponge - zon hens are usually quite mild and loving when they are not hormonal.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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