Alexandrine

[iezzonid]

Hi everyone
Excited to be part of this community. I have an 8 month old Alexandrine (not sure of gender) I have him/her for a week now. He was pretty friendly at first but now he is biting frequently- not only me.
He gets moody doesn’t want anyone jangling him.
I thought it was the presence of my dogs, but it seems even when no one is around he will try to bite.
He does come out if his cage but it seems reluctantly and not without a challenge. I’ve been rewarding him for good behavior and leave the room for a bit when he snaps. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Anansi]

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

It's only been a week now with your Alexandrine, so early days yet. You want to develop trust slowly, keeping in mind that his/her entire world has been turned upside down. The key to most birds' hearts is through their stomachs. So find a favorite treat for your Alex. Something that makes him/her go absolutely insane trying to get to it. And use that treat as the basis for building a rapport between you.

Here are a few links that might help:

Chock full of helpful info to figure out why your bird is biting in the first place: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Bite Pressure Training: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/58911-bird-bites-always-2.html

Target Training (You can do this initially from within the cage): [ame="https://youtu.be/HaOicTtwIZo"]Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/a6iRRum5lPU"]Parrot behavior and training workshop - Targeting - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Tami2]

Hello iezzonid and welcome to PFs, glad you joined us.

Like Stephen has said, it has only been a week. Some parrots won't let you near them for months. My Levi took over a month and he was a sweet baby. Everything in their world is different and very scary. Time, patience and understanding are needed right now for them to adjust to their new environment and new family.

Here is another good read to get you closer to your goal.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html



Best of luck and please keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Jottlebot]

Pretend that he wasn't friendly for the first week and try not to be close enough to get bitten. Target training is great to develop trust and a bond without touching. In time and with trust let him/her come to you. Literally. I hope your youngster is flighted, wait until he starts flying to you to explore and find out what you're doing. Then is would start involving your hands and step up training etc.

You need to prove that you are to be trusted.

Open the cage, but don't make him/her come out.

Leaving the room is probably seriously reinforcing the biting. Please don't take offence, but he/she doesn't like you yet! He bites and you go away.....brilliant!! THAT'S WHAT HE WANTS!!! Ignoring and leaving the room is a good technique to discourage biting, but only when a bird wants to be with a person. It is better to be hands off and avoid all bites while you build trust.

Look for the body language before a bite, with Alex's it's usually freezing and staring at the upsetting thing, leaning away and open beak "fake" bites. Whatever you are doing when he does this, stop. If you don't see any of these then your physically moving too fast and he's so frightened/uncomfortable he just has to bite. He might also be learning that you don't listen to the subtle warnings and he has to go straight in for a bite. Space and slowing things down will correct this.

They are lovely birds. My guy was parent reared and about the same age as yours. He's been with me 2 and a half years and we're still building our bond and trust, but he is lovely and I adore him ��