by Pajarita » Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:26 am
Hi, Kellogs and birds, welcome to the forum. I do not agree with the 'don't react when bit' technique. In my mind, it makes no sense. The original concept was based on somebody's theory that, if you react, the bird will like the 'drama' and continue doing it. This has a basic flaw: it assumes that parrots are not smart enough to distinguish pain from another reaction and that is patently false, they know very well. Parrots are not only highly intelligent, they are masters of our body language and tone of voice. They know VERY well the difference between a reaction to a good interaction and to a bad one.
I take in birds other people no longer want for whatever reason and one of the most common ones is aggression. I have severely abused birds that attacked me for years - we are talking about birds that were punched by their owner or kept in a small cage for eleven years. It wasn't so much that they hated me, it was that they hated all humanity. But these birds are fine now and no longer bite much less attack anybody and what I do is what a bigger/stronger bird would do when attacked: I scream in pain and retaliate (I don't actually touch them or punish them, I loudly tell them they are BAD BIRDS! and looming over them, make my hand into a beak shape and move it as if to peck them). This tells the bird that I am NOT be a pushover. Because, what exactly are you teaching the bird when you do not react at all to their aggression? That you are immune to pain?
That you are afraid of it? That you consider it stronger than you? This makes no sense to me and I am sure it makes no sense to the bird, either.
Now, when one talks about a bite, we are talking about piercing the skin and drawing blood. But, if we are talking about a nip or a pinch, then what you are doing is correct although, personally, I would go OUCH! and softly tapping the top of its beak with a finger, tell it to 'Be nice'. If it does it again, then I would go "OUCH! NO! BE NICE!' and put it away from me for a few minutes, not just seconds (and don't even look at it). Juveniles tend to push the envelope to see how far they can go with you (like teenagers do) and they need to be taught to be gentle. I have an adult female Senegal, Zoey, who loves me to pieces and every now and then, I guess she feels left out (I have to pay personal attention to a lot of birds) and would kiss me too roughly (she likes to grab my lip and kind of chew on it by moving her upper and lower beak back and forth without letting go of the lip) so I tell her: 'Too rough, too rough" and she does it softer. They know how much pressure they use and they can control it.
Hope I was of help to you.