Behaviour Issues

[Talven]

So I am having some issue with my GCC. He seems to be suffering RBS and is trying to have his way with everything. Tried redirecting but that just causes pretty extreme aggression. If he is put back in his cage he shrieks and carries on. Never been the friendliest bird always had issues with aggressive biting which we have been working on without much success. Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated. I don't really want to have to relegate him to an aviary when he was a hand reared bird.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

You know what? I was about to post about the same issue! Can't seem to redirect aggression, it gets worse if I try. Pineapple conure, by the way. It can be sweet, but I don't even know what sets it off anymore. Also considered an aviary. Also a hand reared bird. Also looking for a "hail Mary" to help out with this problem. My hands are shredded from trying and trying and my brain is fried from not being sure if/when it'll attack. This little guy is my first bird and I'm almost certain my damn last for all the stress. I love animals. And I don't want that to change, but this is slowly chipping away any semblance of hope. I'm not trying to be dramatic, it just sucks bad.

 

[LaManuka]

Hello and welcome you two!

I had a GCC who had similar issues. Virtually overnight he seemed to switch from my sweet lovable little snuggle bug into a biting feral nasty creature and I had zero idea as to why. After shredding my hands to bits and not being able to get near him for three days I stumbled across a solution called “laddering”. The idea is if the bird bites you, you get him to step up to your other hand and back to the first hand and back again until he stops biting. I would “ladder” him up and up and up again maybe three or four times and pop him on the back of a chair (not his cage as this can stimulate territorial aggression) and walk away, thus giving us both a few minutes to cool down. I’d come back to him after 5 minutes or so and then come back and ask him to step up again. Sometimes he’d do so with no complaint, but sometimes he’d bite again so I’d repeat the whole procedure. Ninety nine percent of the time when I came back after that he’d step up perfectly fine and I’d give him a big kiss and cuddle for being good - he’d grumble and complain a little but he would know that I wasn’t going to just give up and allow him to get away with the bad behaviour. I might also add that I covered the finger most likely to get bitten with band-aids to lessen my reflexive reaction to his biting.

Sadly I lost my precious little green man to illness last year, biting or no biting I’d give anything to have him with me for just one more day, but like you I was at my wits end with him biting me! Your conures may be experiencing hormonal changes and/or cage territoriality, but I hope my suggestion is of some help to you both, it certainly saved my relationship with my boy.

 

[RemiBird]

Conures are brats.
Remi can be so territorial, fortunately not attacking or biting viciously, but he will let the dog know that his cage and the area around his cage is his and only his!
Maybe your conure doesn't like sharing you with other birds? They express their frustration and anger in different ways. Maybe he is going through a very hormonal period. Who knows.

 

[noodles123]

Does RBS stand for Ricky Bird Syndrome? lol! That was what I thought when I read it, but then I Googled it and nothing came up. If so, well played lol (there is another member, GaleriaGila, whose bird "Ricky Bird" is sort of infamous for his cheeky behavior --in case that isn't who you were referencing, I thought I should clarify haha!)


1st- How old is he?
2nd- Do you have any cuddle huts, tents, boxes, or shadowy places in or around his cage (including under furniture, bedding, pillows, etc)?
3rd- How much sleep does he get nightly and is he on a solid light/dark schedule?
4th- How much time does he spend out of his cage daily?
5th- Does he allow people to pet him-if so, on what parts of his body (stick to head/neck only if you don't).
6th- Does he bite more around certain people, animals or objects (e.g., cage, dog etc)?

 

[Talven]

I will do the best I can to answer all the questions.
1. Between 2 - 5 years. He was re-homed into my care so not 100% sure
2. The tent thing he came with was removed immediately. I don't like them. No boxes or anything of the sort. Cage is in a bit of a shadowy area.
3. All my birds are covered at 6pm and uncovered at 7am.
4. My wife and I are home all day so each bird has at least 30 mins of 1 on 1 time at a minimum. This happens several times a day as both the conures get fed up with us after that and want to go back to their cages.
5. He is only handled by my wife. While he will come to both my son and I he is not overly fond of males. Only gets scratches on the head/back of neck.
6. His biting used to be mainly around his cage. The previous owner never changed the cage around to keep it interesting. Now that I do that he has no particular area that he is more aggressive around.

I will move his cage into a brighter location and see if that helps alleviate the drive to mate everything.

RBS = Randy Bird Syndrome. More commonly associated with male budgies but the behaviour fits.

 

[noodles123]

Too much light can cause hormonal issues too..

Does he bite your wife as much?

I would say that you are doing many things right, but that he may need more time out of his cage. 30 minutes is hardly anything ---although I understand why you feel the need to break it up among multiple birds. A macaw can fly up to 50 miles on a normal day, and that is way more than we would walk. If you get my drift, a lot of this could be anxiety based...

He is probably bored and hyper-stimulated by the other birds (without any real outlets)...

 

[Talven]

All the birds usually get more than 30 minutes out of the cage but that is the absolute minimum. On average he is probably out of his cage for about 2 hours a day. Usually they are in and out several times a day. I have dogs in the house so sometimes I have to put the bird back in the cage to deal with them or other stuff so the birds are in and out and sort of rotated throughout the day. Would love to be able to have them out on the play gym all together all the time, but my lovely little pineapple GCC is aggressive towards every other bird and will actively go after them if they are out together which makes it hard.

If you let him do what he wants all the time it's not an issue as much. Just the odd random bite for no apparent reason which just seems to be conures. Trying to redirect his misplaced . . affections? sets off the aggression. He goes out of his way to bite to the point he will chase after your hand to bite you. He doesn't bite my wife as much as he did me. I no longer handle him as he seems to dislike me, and has done since we brought him home. If I do handle him he is bad tempered for the rest of the day. So I'm back to just talking quietly and trying to win his trust.

We rotate toys on the playgym and cages weekly to try and keep the birds stimulated so they don't get too bored. Cages are also rearranged regularly to try prevent territorial aggression. All the birds are in separate cages, although all in the same room.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

Don't want to be a debbie/david downer, but the bird gets mad about a lot of things. It really is trying to tame me, and me trying to tame it seems to be out of the question. it will look for soft flesh to bite to set me off. This behaviour has been going on for months, but more prominently after I came back from a 3 week trip. I don't know if I can try laddering, I want to but I'm still fried. The three week trip happened months ago.

Things it can get mad about:
1. accidentally brushing its wing: sometimes this can make it go into a biting frenzy I've noticed. I've tried to get it to step up with little to no success. It will cling on to the hand and bite and bite and bite until blood is drawn. If I try and remove myself from him he will run at me all fluffed up and keep trying to bite. Even if I don't make much noise or try not to flinch away so hard.

2. Taking him out: for context, he can get very angry when i wait too long between taking him out. I take it out three times a day usually (it can vary, and unfortunately there isn't too much of a schedule, which I fear has probably done a lot of damage to our relationship as a result, however it hasn't previously in the past. The reason is work schedule.) Sometimes I have to go do some work, and come back several hours later and it is fine, and other times not. I've got plenty of toys for it and rotate them here and there, but it doesn't make much difference because it doesn't play with them. It usually wants human company, and trust me I've tried to get it to play with its toys when I need to do something in the same room with it, and it doesn't like NOT having constant attention. Trying to get it to sit on its own for a few minutes at best without attention on a good day, but mostly it will soon get mad and attack. So I generally am limited to interacting with the bird the entire time it is out (for a half hour, sometimes an hour)

3. Things that startle the bird suddenly - it could be anything. even my own hand.

4. Giving scratches - Sometimes it turns on me without warning, without reason. From being snuggly and sweet, it suddenly lunges forward and takes my finger for a shredding session.

5. Being told no or being put somewhere it doesn't want to: this can be the cage, its stand, somewhere where it has to sit off my shoulder. I've tried to limit shoulder time as well, and it is fighting back with - you guessed it - more biting. This isn't usually a common occurrence. Yet.


Honourable Mentions:

1. Screaming for hours, even if there's no noise coming from the house: I try not to take it out when it screams, although sometimes I need to go outside to do something and have to walk past the cage. Pretty sure that's my fault, just thought I'd list as much as I could remember.

Other facts:
* Nearly one year old.
*Not sure how long they can be hormonal for
*There's a very light blanket around the back pat of its cage but its never too dark in the cage. No hides, huts etc either.
*aggression happens anywhere because it probably thinks it owns me (I don't know, and sorry if I sound bitter about my bird ...)
*Toys but is mostly afraid of them. Likes chew toys, climbing, pooping, snuggling and biting the heck out of me. Not so much my partner. Is afraid of the partner and doesn't like to be near them.

Sorry to blurt all this out in someone else's thread. It was just a very similar situation. I know many people in this situation feel just as awful about this as I do, i can't deal though.

 

[noodles123]

Don't want to be a debbie/david downer, but the bird gets mad about a lot of things. It really is trying to tame me, and me trying to tame it seems to be out of the question. it will look for soft flesh to bite to set me off. This behaviour has been going on for months, but more prominently after I came back from a 3 week trip. I don't know if I can try laddering, I want to but I'm still fried. The three week trip happened months ago.

Things it can get mad about:
1. accidentally brushing its wing: sometimes this can make it go into a biting frenzy I've noticed. I've tried to get it to step up with little to no success. It will cling on to the hand and bite and bite and bite until blood is drawn. If I try and remove myself from him he will run at me all fluffed up and keep trying to bite. Even if I don't make much noise or try not to flinch away so hard.

2. Taking him out: for context, he can get very angry when i wait too long between taking him out. I take it out three times a day usually (it can vary, and unfortunately there isn't too much of a schedule, which I fear has probably done a lot of damage to our relationship as a result, however it hasn't previously in the past. The reason is work schedule.) Sometimes I have to go do some work, and come back several hours later and it is fine, and other times not. I've got plenty of toys for it and rotate them here and there, but it doesn't make much difference because it doesn't play with them. It usually wants human company, and trust me I've tried to get it to play with its toys when I need to do something in the same room with it, and it doesn't like NOT having constant attention. Trying to get it to sit on its own for a few minutes at best without attention on a good day, but mostly it will soon get mad and attack. So I generally am limited to interacting with the bird the entire time it is out (for a half hour, sometimes an hour)

3. Things that startle the bird suddenly - it could be anything. even my own hand.

4. Giving scratches - Sometimes it turns on me without warning, without reason. From being snuggly and sweet, it suddenly lunges forward and takes my finger for a shredding session.

5. Being told no or being put somewhere it doesn't want to: this can be the cage, its stand, somewhere where it has to sit off my shoulder. I've tried to limit shoulder time as well, and it is fighting back with - you guessed it - more biting. This isn't usually a common occurrence. Yet.


Honourable Mentions:

1. Screaming for hours, even if there's no noise coming from the house: I try not to take it out when it screams, although sometimes I need to go outside to do something and have to walk past the cage. Pretty sure that's my fault, just thought I'd list as much as I could remember.

Other facts:
* Nearly one year old.
*Not sure how long they can be hormonal for
*There's a very light blanket around the back pat of its cage but its never too dark in the cage. No hides, huts etc either.
*aggression happens anywhere because it probably thinks it owns me (I don't know, and sorry if I sound bitter about my bird ...)
*Toys but is mostly afraid of them. Likes chew toys, climbing, pooping, snuggling and biting the heck out of me. Not so much my partner. Is afraid of the partner and doesn't like to be near them.

Sorry to blurt all this out in someone else's thread. It was just a very similar situation. I know many people in this situation feel just as awful about this as I do, i can't deal though.

How long have you had your bird?
How old is your bird?
Does it have any access to shadowy places in or around the cage?
Is it getting 10-14 hours of sleep each night?
What do you feed your bird daily?
Does it get sunlight and if so, is it routine?
How much time does it get out of its cage?
Where do you touch your bird on its body?
When bitten, is anyone around (or any object or animal?)
What do you do immediately after being bitten (vocally and physically)?

 

[Betrisher]

Have you tried targetting?

When Rosetta arrived, she was a hot mess. She bit and scratched and flew into peoples' faces with the aim of gouging their eyes out. She was totally hormonal and had far more energy than she knew what to do with. I began with target training because it was the only thing I could think of to get immediate success with. (Anything else would require obedience, concentration and a desire to please - not happenin'!)

Targetting does a few good things for a bird. It gives them something to think about (ie. distracts them from their Main Aim of ingesting your flesh) and it also gives them an opportunity for praise and a reward. While the bird is diong its targetting, it's mind is focussed on that and therefore has a chance to slow down. It's all good!

Targetting has added benefits in that a target-trained bird can be asked to go anywhere on cue. This is great if an unsafe situation arises or especially if something has triggered the bird to bite. The target stick has saved my hide on more than one occasion!

Once your bird has accepted target training, his mind is ready and able to move on to other lessons (eg. step up, stationing, trick-training). Hopefully, with all this activity, he'll have forgotten why he felt the need to bite in the first place.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

In reply to noodles123, I've provided most of his information in my previous post, but I'll do it again.

How long have you had your bird? nearly one year
How old is your bird? Nearly one year
Does it have any access to shadowy places in or around the cage? If a white cloth that lets through light draped over half the cage counts, then that's it. Sometimes its completely uncovered
Is it getting 10-14 hours of sleep each night? I hope so. Sometimes/often the areas surrounding the cage environment (neighbours yard, within the house) can have noise interruptions during the night.
What do you feed your bird daily? Mostly pellets, but I try and give it hard greens like carrots, beans and some fresh fruits
Does it get sunlight and if so, is it routine? No
How much time does it get out of its cage? Up to an hour, about three times a day roughly. Sometimes no one is home and that's when it can be irregular. It can vary from week to week.
Where do you touch your bird on its body? Head. Can accidentally brush elsewhere. Have checked the tail occasionally for poops. Generally to indicate cage cleanliness because sometimes the poops are hidden by shredded wood from the wood toys
When bitten, is anyone around (or any object or animal?) Mostly me. If its anything that gives it a fright or angers it, it usually goes straight for that in attack mode
What do you do immediately after being bitten (vocally and physically)? I'll admit my reactions towards the bird have been poor in the past and so far it remembers this and calms down, but going head to head with it is not healthy. I try to minimise exclamations, or yelling of any sort. I have swept him off me/grabbed him roughly to try and remove him from attacking my face, hands or areas of my body more as a last resort when he continues to attack and the "step up" routine or putting him on a chair away from me doesn't work. He complies with it at first, but then realises he's being redirected from anger and just attacks by making angry low chuckle/growls, fluffing up with his head down and going straight for my fingers, hands or wherever. I've tried telling him to step up in his rage moments and all it does is make him hold on tighter and apply more pressure to his bites until my fingers are bleeding. Then after I can't take it and react poorly or put him away quickly to try and calm him down. Some days he just attacks again and again and again. I give time between putting him away and taking him out, and can usually tell when he is angry or upset with me still. (I say him but i don't actually know the gender sorry) but then out of the blue i might get him to step up and maybe he doesn't want that and then decides to attack me. He's attacked my hand for putting a treat in my palm for him to eat. Usually I would hold it in my fingers for him, but that afternoon I thought he was being rather aggressive earlier so I should better keep it in the palm and he just went in for a hard bite. Didn't flinch too bad, and he seemed satisfied after drawing a good amount of blood.

The bird otherwise enjoys my company and looks forward to me taking it out, but it seems to want me to play by its rules and let it do what it wants. I don't want to let it run me, because I shouldn't have to fear it constantly. But I'm starting to, and I fear I'm just a bad owner. I think I've messed up horribly and mistreated my bird unwittingly and or been too intolerant of pain thus causing the bird to react this way. Thankyou for the advice so far, by the way. I'm willing to give it another shot. I love my pineapple too dearly.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

Have you tried targetting?

When Rosetta arrived, she was a hot mess. She bit and scratched and flew into peoples' faces with the aim of gouging their eyes out. She was totally hormonal and had far more energy than she knew what to do with. I began with target training because it was the only thing I could think of to get immediate success with. (Anything else would require obedience, concentration and a desire to please - not happenin'!)

Targetting does a few good things for a bird. It gives them something to think about (ie. distracts them from their Main Aim of ingesting your flesh) and it also gives them an opportunity for praise and a reward. While the bird is diong its targetting, it's mind is focussed on that and therefore has a chance to slow down. It's all good!

Targetting has added benefits in that a target-trained bird can be asked to go anywhere on cue. This is great if an unsafe situation arises or especially if something has triggered the bird to bite. The target stick has saved my hide on more than one occasion!

Once your bird has accepted target training, his mind is ready and able to move on to other lessons (eg. step up, stationing, trick-training). Hopefully, with all this activity, he'll have forgotten why he felt the need to bite in the first place.

What does targetting entail??

 

[noodles123]

In reply to noodles123, I've provided most of his information in my previous post, but I'll do it again.

How long have you had your bird? nearly one year
How old is your bird? Nearly one year
Does it have any access to shadowy places in or around the cage? If a white cloth that lets through light draped over half the cage counts, then that's it. Sometimes its completely uncovered
Is it getting 10-14 hours of sleep each night? I hope so. Sometimes/often the areas surrounding the cage environment (neighbours yard, within the house) can have noise interruptions during the night.
What do you feed your bird daily? Mostly pellets, but I try and give it hard greens like carrots, beans and some fresh fruits
Does it get sunlight and if so, is it routine? No
How much time does it get out of its cage? Up to an hour, about three times a day roughly. Sometimes no one is home and that's when it can be irregular. It can vary from week to week.
Where do you touch your bird on its body? Head. Can accidentally brush elsewhere. Have checked the tail occasionally for poops. Generally to indicate cage cleanliness because sometimes the poops are hidden by shredded wood from the wood toys
When bitten, is anyone around (or any object or animal?) Mostly me. If its anything that gives it a fright or angers it, it usually goes straight for that in attack mode
What do you do immediately after being bitten (vocally and physically)? I'll admit my reactions towards the bird have been poor in the past and so far it remembers this and calms down, but going head to head with it is not healthy. I try to minimise exclamations, or yelling of any sort. I have swept him off me/grabbed him roughly to try and remove him from attacking my face, hands or areas of my body more as a last resort when he continues to attack and the "step up" routine or putting him on a chair away from me doesn't work. He complies with it at first, but then realises he's being redirected from anger and just attacks by making angry low chuckle/growls, fluffing up with his head down and going straight for my fingers, hands or wherever. I've tried telling him to step up in his rage moments and all it does is make him hold on tighter and apply more pressure to his bites until my fingers are bleeding. Then after I can't take it and react poorly or put him away quickly to try and calm him down. Some days he just attacks again and again and again. I give time between putting him away and taking him out, and can usually tell when he is angry or upset with me still. (I say him but i don't actually know the gender sorry) but then out of the blue i might get him to step up and maybe he doesn't want that and then decides to attack me. He's attacked my hand for putting a treat in my palm for him to eat. Usually I would hold it in my fingers for him, but that afternoon I thought he was being rather aggressive earlier so I should better keep it in the palm and he just went in for a hard bite. Didn't flinch too bad, and he seemed satisfied after drawing a good amount of blood.

The bird otherwise enjoys my company and looks forward to me taking it out, but it seems to want me to play by its rules and let it do what it wants. I don't want to let it run me, because I shouldn't have to fear it constantly. But I'm starting to, and I fear I'm just a bad owner. I think I've messed up horribly and mistreated my bird unwittingly and or been too intolerant of pain thus causing the bird to react this way. Thankyou for the advice so far, by the way. I'm willing to give it another shot. I love my pineapple too dearly.

Sorry- didn't remember that you had posted on a separate thread about this issue lol. I tried searching and couldn't find it. I will read through this and see if I can think of anything.

The fact that you were gone for 3 weeks is major---About a year ago, I was gone for 3 days and when I got back, my very loving bird literally yelled at me non-stop for 3 minutes (ranting word soup/bobbing head etc) and then proceeded to randomly bite me off-and-on for about 2 weeks after. Prior to that trip, she hadn't bitten me in ages. That was after a 3 day absence and she was with people she knew/liked during that time. 3 weeks is a long time and he is probably angry about it (honestly) and picking up on your anxiety as well.

I am not saying that this formula is scientific or that it even works...but lets say it does (just for comparison)..... if 3 days of me gone=14 days of anger from my loving cockatoo, then 3 weeks (21 days/3)= 7*14=98 days (3+ months) of potential anger lol...

While it probably didn't seem like a big deal to you, if your relationship was already a little rocky, your leaving for so long probably shook him to the core.

Who did you leave him with? This could also play a role if he started to get attached to them or if he hated them.


I would try to get him on a light/dark schedule (e.g., sunlight through a window for some of the day at least and bright lights on the room until evening when you can start to dim things around bed time).

I would uncover the cage 100%...and if you need to, move him a bit further from the light source if you are worried about him getting too hot during the day(or close some blinds etc).

I would also definitely go back to building trust because between the trip and reactions to his aggression, you are probably nearing the debt range, and if trust is like a bank, you should start making deposits. Not blaming you at all---just telling you that, while justifiable, your reactions probably did contribute in part. There is hope though!!!

If he bites and you do not know the reason for the biting, I wouldn't say anything. I wouldn't even look at him. I would turn away so that he can't even see you grimacing. If he flies at you, I would duck. You might consider wing clipping, BUT ONLY if you get someone who knows what they are doing and someone who will trim both wings so that your bird can still glide/control his flight. Keep in mind that some birds don't appreciate having their wings trimmed and it is a bit of a controversy, but if he is attacking you mid-flight and it is causing a lot of damage to your relationship, it might be something to consider if you feel that things are getting too bad. Remember, not all people who offer to clip wings know what they are doing (even if they swear they do). You do not want an extreme clip, and you want both wings clipped if you do.

Have you heard about ABC charting? It stands for antecedent, behavior, consequence (not punishment--- just what happens immediately after). By charting behavior, you can figure out trends in behavior that you wouldn't otherwise notice and when you do this, you can figure out the function (motivation/reason) behind the behavior. I will copy and past a post on ABA into the next comment box once I find it.

If he is just biting you when you try to pick him up etc, then make sure you are reading his signals to avoid being bitten.
Obviously, sometimes a bird who is out will have to go back to his/her cage and if he/she doesn't want to, he/she may bite to "escape" the undesirable situation...That is a different situation in which you would want to follow through no matter what (ever single time)...BUT, if you are getting bitten when you try to touch your bird on his cage or make him step up from his cage, it is likely because you aren't reading the signals.

When bitten, where are you? Near his cage or elsewhere?
Is it usually when he is on you already?
Are you trying to make him do something?
What sorts of things do you think scare him (specifically)?
When you say you feed him beans, what type? Birds can't have some types of beans (like kidney etc) or any canned beans.

The BirdTricks people have some very helpful training tips on Youtube (I don't agree with everything they do- but most of their non-controversial training advice contains good information):
I am just pasting in a few---not sure that they apply, but you can find more on their channel (these are called "masterclass" if you want to search):
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86CS5ppPv3U"]If You Do THIS You’re Gonna GET BIT! - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=213TKY0a7eE"]Working With Other Peoples Parrots | BirdTricks Parrot Training WorkShops & MasterClasses - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBoOAMB47FA"]How to Get a Bird To Like Other People | Alexandrine Parakeet - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANkZja_cF3U"]Parrot Training Classes For People And Parrots - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRKjq-S7eeM"]Stick Training Amazon Parrots - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzBb76mSgO4"]OUT OF CONTROL HYACINTH MACAWS!! - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oSXpzi2YtI"]How Often Should You Let Your Bird Out of the Cage if Its Constantly Biting? - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Betrisher]

Sorry! Targetting is where you teach your bird to touch (or bite, at first) the end of a stick (chopstick), wherever you put it. Every time the bird touches or bites the far end of the stick, you give a food reward. If the bird bites you or some other part of the stick, you give nothing. It takes about five or ten minutes for the bird to catch on to what you want, so next you teach him to walk across the table, across the floor or fly through the air to various distant targets.

It's very useful to target the bird into the cage and then out again. The bird gets hooked on targetting and doesn't assume that it's only a devious plot of yours to put it away in its cage. Of course, when you desperately need the bird in the cage, it's but the flick of a stick to put him there. Give it a try! Most birds love it!

PS. Try searching 'target training birds' on YouTube to get much better tutorials than mine.

 

[noodles123]

Here is a repeat summary that I posted for another member about ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis):
Basically, ABA it is changing the environment to change behavior
These environmental changes can increase or decrease any behaviors (good or bad).
Theoretically, every behavior serves at least 1 of 4 functions (some behaviors are dual function but that gets tricky):
1. Escape (to get out of something or avoid a non-preferred situation (If a bird bites to make people go away)

2. Tangibles--(to get a physical object/food etc) if a bird throws a fit when you eat donuts and the bird loves donuts, then it can be assumed that it is doing it to get the donut, especially if it doesn't throw a fit when it already has a donut)

3. Sensory (to meet a sensory need, such as making a headache go away or decreasing anxiety via feather plucking, or burning off energy)

4. Attention (to get attention from people in general or certain people---Remember-- some birds and kids will take ANY attention (even if you think that you are punishing them by yelling, you could actually be reinforcing the behavior via attention)..behaviors such as screaming, biting, dancing etc could all fall here DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (REACTIONS). Similarly, when you respond to desired behaviors (like stepping up) with attention and those increase, then you are using the birds desire for attention to your advantage and that is the goal.

Unless you chart out what happens before and after a behavior, it can be difficult to differentiate what is actually going on. Sometimes, escape behaviors may come off as attention seeking behaviors etc. That is why you have to find patterns and think very objectively about your own role in the behavior (good or bad).
Start by keeping a log (ABC LOG). This will show you trends in behavior. You can even set up a laptop or phone to videotape events when aggression is anticipated and then go back and chart it. It is very hard to track in real-time (esp. when it is just you and the bird)
Antecedent= what happened right before an event (e.g., walked into the room with Bob and fed the bird. Bob extended his hand to remove a dish);
Behavior= describe exactly what the bird did without emotion (e.g., eyes pinned, lunged at Bob's forefinger)
Consequence= What happened right after the behavior- it is important to note that this isn't the same as a "punishment" (although it could be)---it is merely the reactions/results that follow. (e.g., Bob removed his forefinger OR Bob ran away OR Bob yelled OR Bob presented the bird with a treat to get it back into its cage OR Bob sang a song)

Once you have observed and have started to see trends, try to isolate the function of the behavior. You will need to look at the "consequence" chart of the ABC log and try to see which of the 4 functions most closely match the result/consequence (yelled at=attention, didn't have to go back in cage right away= escape, bribed with fav treat=tangibles and so on...)If you see a trend, with regard to a specific behavior, then you are on the right track to discovering the function/purpose of that behavior (the things that they are getting out of doing the bad behavior).

Reinforcers MUST match the 4 functions (attention, escape, tangible and sensory).
You can tell you have isolated the reinforcer when the presentation or removal of that reinforcer INCREASES a specific behavior (depending on the behavior).

EXAMPLES:

A. Bob has a fit at the grocery store and mom yells at Bobby. Bob continues to cry and fits increase over time. The reinforcer (yelling-although undesirable in his mom's eyes) is the attention he seeks and it is the motivating factor behind the undesired behavior. How do we know? It caused the behavior to increase.
B. On the flip side, same situation (store and Bobby)- Bobby throws a fit and mom takes him to the car. Fits increase. This is an example of escape motivated behavior. He doesn't want to be at the store and when he yells he gets out of an uncomfortable situation. Again, mom might think of going to the car as a bad thing, but if it increases the behavior, then it is escape motivated and reinforcing to Bob.
C. Alternately, Bob has a fit and demands chocolate. He keeps screaming until mom eventually gives in and buys him the chocolate (tangible). Now Bob demands chocolate every time they visit the store.
D. Finally, Bob touches everything as he and his mother walk down the aisles (despite her insistence that he stop). He does this even when she ignores the behavior. Barring attention---assuming this is NOT a dual function situation, then sensory would probably be the best bet.
Some bird-related examples:

A. if the bird doesn't exhibit this behavior when it is getting 1-on-1 attention from someone, then the goal/function is attention (regardless of the type of attention). If the behavior starts when attention is withdrawn then again, attention is the reinforcer.

B: If the bird only does it when desirable objects are around and will actively work to get those objects, then it is reinforced by tangible items. For instance, if a bird cusses and gets a cookie and you observe that suddenly the bird is cussing like crazy it is because its behavior was successfully reinforced by the cookie (hence the increase in behavior).

and so on

note: When testing to see if you have isolated the correct reinforcer, it is important to be as neutral as possible when presenting tangible items to make sure that it is actually the item and not just your attention that is motivating the bird.

For every non-desirable means of obtaining the 4 functions above, there are reinforce socially acceptable alternatives that meet the same innate need. If a bird seeks attention, your reward for that bird MUST BE attention (not food, not a toy, but attention from the source it craves)---You may have to actively ignore attention-seeking behaviors that are bad and pay special attention/pour on the praise when good. You want to strengthen the good by providing reinforcement and weaken the bad by avoiding reinforcement.

ALL TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT MUST INCREASE A BEHAVIOR!!!

2 TYPES:

Positive reinforcement- The presentation of a stimulus that reinforces a behavior (+ attention, +tangibles, +sensory, +escape)
Negative reinforcement- The removal of an aversive stimulus that STRENGTHENS a behavior. THIS IS NOT PUNISHMENT-- Negative refers to the removal of something undesired in order to increase behavior.

Exp (negative reinforcememt): If you eat 1 more bite or your pizza, you don't have to eat your spinach (meets function of escape by removing (-) the spinach); OR If you get a 90% or higher on your math quiz you don't have to do homework for the rest of the week (meets function of escape by removing the homework) OR when you stop crying you can come inside where it is warm (lol--I don't do this....just popped into my head).
Once you know what need the bird/kid is trying to meet, you have to teach them how to meet that need in a more acceptable way, or provide structured times for them to meet that need without causing trouble.
For instance- a bird that screams for attention probably also talks at times or makes quieter noises, maybe it could even be taught to ring a bell instead of screaming. Whatever your preferred alternative to the screaming, your reward will be attention (if it does what you like + attention, if it screams -attention). When the bird screams, attention is withdrawn but when the bird says, "hello baby" you come in a pour on the praise.
This reinforcement must immediately follow the desired behavior. This strengthens the likelihood that the bird will begin using alternatives to screaming once he realizes screaming isn't going to work because ultimately his goal is attention and he doesn't care how he gets it.
After you know the function and have replacement behaviors + reinforcers isolated, then you can start teaching. The way you teach will depend on the type of behavior.

When dealing with a complex behavior (of chain of behaviors) I would use forward or backward chaining to teach a set of steps.

Examples of these types of behaviors in humans= buying a soda from a machine, ordering food at a restaurant, making a bed, greeting a peer appropriately, brushing teeth, responding to a compliment, requesting help from a teacher appropriately etc.)

With regard to chains of behaviors in birds, forward chaining is likely the way to go, but before you can teach the steps, you need to isolate the motivation for the behavior. In order to TEACH the new behavior, you need to know how to properly meet the function of the old/bad behavior and that function will need to be used as a reward of some sort during the forward chaining teaching process.
I would start before the behavior even begins- figure out the antecedents/triggers.
Also, "setting events" are things that can make a certain behavior more likely and those would be things like , "didn't get enough sleep", "had a cold", "returned from vacation"---so there are environmental (cage position, unfamiliar objects, height in relation to eye-level) and setting events to consider, then the actual things that happen right before (antecedents) and after (consequences/results/effects) the behavior.
Applied Behavioral Strategies - Basics of Applied Behavior Analysis
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/specialedu...Management.pdf
https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/64CB...E/chaining.pdf

 

[Talven]

Quick update - Changed the location of Echo's cage so it's in a brighter location. Put more effort in for myself to interact with him rather than leaving it to my wife and had immediate change in behaviour. Still have issues with needing to redirect his affections but the aggressive behaviour has reduced. Going to try target training to help with redirecting. Looked into it a while ago and then promptly forgot it. Thanks everyone for all the advice. Now it's just a matter of time.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

Thankyou a million times to everyone who helped myself and the user whose initial message I piggy backed on. Sorry for that.
The information you have provided has restored hope and some progress to the relationship between my bird and me.

 

[Upsetbirdowner]

update: my bird is slowly turning back to his old routine. I've been trying to get him into entertaining himself more, ive been training him everyday and trying a more balanced veggie diet. Not sure anymore. but its just an update.

 

[noodles123]

When you say old routine, do you mean the problematic one that caused you to post initially, or some other old routine?