Bird wants to be with me but bites!

[arkane]

Hello! I got a 10 month old gcc a little over a week ago and they are great. She's been social and wanting to be out since I got her home. She immediately jumps on my hand and follows me everywhere I go. The problem is that she bites a lot. She doesn't seem fearful or aggressive but she breaks skin 90% of the time and has made me bleed many times. I don't know what it is. She also tries to go on my neck but she's made my neck bleed, when i try to get her off she shreds my hand and neck up. I don't know what to do because she's miserable if she isn't out. help please!

 

[LaManuka]

Hello! I got a 10 month old gcc a little over a week ago and they are great. She's been social and wanting to be out since I got her home. She immediately jumps on my hand and follows me everywhere I go. The problem is that she bites a lot. She doesn't seem fearful or aggressive but she breaks skin 90% of the time and has made me bleed many times. I don't know what it is. She also tries to go on my neck but she's made my neck bleed, when i try to get her off she shreds my hand and neck up. I don't know what to do because she's miserable if she isn't out. help please!

I'm sorry you're going through this with your new baby, this situation certainly can be a bit disheartening. I once had a GCC who was a perfectly sweet baby until puberty hit him at about 2 years of age when he turned into a biting little demon who made mincemeat out of my hands!! In your case however I would suggest that it's possibly caused by your bird having been removed from it's parents and/or flock before they had a chance to teach him any manners. A bird who bites in the wild would soon find himself ostracised from his flock, and no prey species like a parrot wants that, so they soon learn to behave themselves!

One of the most effective methods to cut down on biting is known as "shunning", it mimics what older birds would do with a wayward youngster in the wild. When your bird bites you, you immediately remove him from your hand, shoulder or wherever and pop him gently down somewhere safe, like a table or the back of a chair. Not the floor because it's not safe, and not back on her cage because that might just be exactly where she wants to be. But you pop them down and turn your back on them, with no eye contact, nothing, for a good minute or so. This helps teach them that biting will not be tolerated and that they need to play nice in order to be part of the flock. It works best presuming your bird *wants* to be with you, which it sounds like she does, and provided EVERY member of your household is consistent and follows this protocol EVERY time she bites. It does not mean you won't ever get bitten again, as GCCs are by nature a bit nippy, but it will cut the incidence down a lot - I used it on my GCC and it worked very well for me, and I hope it works for you too. And congrats on the new addition to your family btw, GCCs are beautiful little birds and I loved mine with all my heart, even if he remained a little bitey from time to time