Biting again!

[jousze]

Hello!
Well I’ve already posted some things about my amazon and his biting problems.
He’s 4 months old.
Yesterday he was amazingly “calm”, and with calm I mean he didn’t bite me, juste once.
But today he’s extremely aggressive, every time you go near him he bites and he bites really strong..
I just wanted to ask if this is normal? Looks like he’s quite bipolar :/

 

[Kiwibird]

Training and socializing a baby bird takes time. It takes even more time when the bird was not handled much/at all by the breeder, as I think you said was the case for your bird. Effectively, with 'parent raised' chicks, you end up with a 'wild' juvenile parrot to tame. Born in captivity does not necessarily mean born domesticated with parrots. Most are no more than 2-3 generations out of the wild and still retain all wild instincts, unlike dogs and cats, which have been selectively bred for thousands of years to be human companions so puppies/kittens are relatively simple to teach. Parrots require a lot of patience and concepts such as biting hurts us is sometimes something they take a while to learn, unfortunately.

He's not trying to be mean nor is there anything wrong with him, he's just a baby and doesn't know better. His moods are unpredictable because he has the mental capacity of a 2 year old, the instincts of a wild animal and is so young he has no reference yet for acceptable behavior. All toddlers throw tantrums and can be happy one minute, acting out the next, fussy one day, perfectly content the next... Try to keep that in mind, treat him like you would a toddler. If he bites, a time out would be appropriate. Also, once everyone has calmed down, show him what he did and point and tell him in a stern voice it hurt (he won't understand the words, but he will the tone!). If he gently nibbles, give him praise so he knows that is an acceptable pressure to use to play/communicate. If he chews furniture or something, give a firm "NO! Mine!" while patting the object and gently push his beak away. Offer a small toy to play with instead, telling him "yours" as you hand it to him and then praise him for taking/playing with it. It took time (probably upwards towards a year), but this is how I taught my bird not to chew stuff he wasn't suppose to (the concept of "yours" and "mine") and now he seems to have a good grasp of the kinds of things that aren't ok to bite (humans, furniture, wood trim etc...). Always give feedback on his behavior so he can learn!

 

[noodles123]

This all sounds normal. I havn't had an Amazon, but they are kind of well-known for this sort of thing. You will need to work on training him and you don't want to react to the bites in a way that reinforces them. In order to do this, you will need to figure out why he is biting. If it is to get attention (yelling, eye contact, the presence of a particular person etc), avoid something/escape (not wanting to step up), to get something/tangibles(like a favorite toy) or for sensory reasons (hunger, lack of sleep, fear, developmental etc).

Do an ABC chart to track what happens before and after biting (antecedent = what happens right before, and consequence= what happens right after (consequence is not bad- it just literally means what happened right after---did you laugh, cry, yell, run away, drop the bird, give it a toy, sing a song, turn away, pet its head etc etc).

Search for ABC chart on the forums... (here is one link that includes my response related to ABC charts- http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/77273-there-something-wrong-my-conure.html --2nd reply to OP near bottom) I have talked a lot about this. Ultimately, you will want to show him that his needs can be met without biting (through more acceptable replacement behaviors). Also, ALL birds change from the time they are babies. Just like baby humans, really young baby birds are sweet. Then, similarly to humans, birds also have a sort of "terrible twos" phase, followed by puberty (and all of these include biting).


There are mixed opinions on how to respond to biting and I do think the fact that your bird is a baby will make a difference. If it is truly due to the fact that the bird doesn't know, then say the same thing each time and make the same face. If it is innocent biting, then your bird will learn that biting makes you unhappy if you follow the same routine. Never shout or punish though, as birds like loud noises and they also do no understand physical punishment.


In adult/older birds, I believe that saying "no" etc can sometimes make the problem worse, but it does depend on the bird and what they are after when biting.

 

[jousze]

Training and socializing a baby bird takes time. It takes even more time when the bird was not handled much/at all by the breeder, as I think you said was the case for your bird. Effectively, with 'parent raised' chicks, you end up with a 'wild' juvenile parrot to tame. Born in captivity does not necessarily mean born domesticated with parrots. Most are no more than 2-3 generations out of the wild and still retain all wild instincts, unlike dogs and cats, which have been selectively bred for thousands of years to be human companions so puppies/kittens are relatively simple to teach. Parrots require a lot of patience and concepts such as biting hurts us is sometimes something they take a while to learn, unfortunately.

He's not trying to be mean nor is there anything wrong with him, he's just a baby and doesn't know better. His moods are unpredictable because he has the mental capacity of a 2 year old, the instincts of a wild animal and is so young he has no reference yet for acceptable behavior. All toddlers throw tantrums and can be happy one minute, acting out the next, fussy one day, perfectly content the next... Try to keep that in mind, treat him like you would a toddler. If he bites, a time out would be appropriate. Also, once everyone has calmed down, show him what he did and point and tell him in a stern voice it hurt (he won't understand the words, but he will the tone!). If he gently nibbles, give him praise so he knows that is an acceptable pressure to use to play/communicate. If he chews furniture or something, give a firm "NO! Mine!" while patting the object and gently push his beak away. Offer a small toy to play with instead, telling him "yours" as you hand it to him and then praise him for taking/playing with it. It took time (probably upwards towards a year), but this is how I taught my bird not to chew stuff he wasn't suppose to (the concept of "yours" and "mine") and now he seems to have a good grasp of the kinds of things that aren't ok to bite (humans, furniture, wood trim etc...). Always give feedback on his behavior so he can learn!

Okay thanks kiwi. I will keep updating the posts so that you can follow the story haha as I see you answered to all my posts! Thank you.


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[jousze]

This all sounds normal. I havn't had an Amazon, but they are kind of well-known for this sort of thing. You will need to work on training him and you don't want to react to the bites in a way that reinforces them. In order to do this, you will need to figure out why he is biting. If it is to get attention (yelling, eye contact, the presence of a particular person etc), avoid something/escape (not wanting to step up), to get something/tangibles(like a favorite toy) or for sensory reasons (hunger, lack of sleep, fear, developmental etc).

Do an ABC chart to track what happens before and after biting (antecedent = what happens right before, and consequence= what happens right after (consequence is not bad- it just literally means what happened right after---did you laugh, cry, yell, run away, drop the bird, give it a toy, sing a song, turn away, pet its head etc etc).

Search for ABC chart on the forums...I have talked a lot about this. Ultimately, you will want to show him that his needs can be met without biting (through more acceptable replacement behaviors). Also, ALL birds change from the time they are babies. Just like baby humans, really young baby birds are sweet. Then, similarly to humans, birds also have a sort of "terrible twos" phase, followed by puberty (and all of these include biting).


There are mixed opinions on how to respond to biting and I do think the fact that your bird is a baby will make a difference. If it is truly due to the fact that the bird doesn't know, then say the same thing each time and make the same face. If it is innocent biting, then your bird will learn that biting makes you unhappy if you follow the same routine. Never shout or punish though, as birds like loud noises and they also do no understand physical punishment.


In adult/older birds, I believe that saying "no" etc can sometimes make the problem worse, but it does depend on the bird and what they are after when biting.

I’m definitely going to search those charts!! Thank you noodles [emoji4]


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[noodles123]

I just posted the link in my reply above---It is the 2nd response I give to OP and it is near the bottom of the page on that link.
For more info, Google: ABA ABC charts (ABA=Applied Behavior Analysis)---some info that you will find online is incorrect (as a lot of educators without behavioral training will write about ABA too, but the basics are in that post I referenced)


Even if you don't end up using it with your very young bird, all of this information will definitely come in handy down the road.

 

[MonicaMc]

If he bites any time you approach, can you.....

Change how you approach him?
Offer a treat any time you walk by the cage? (or wherever he's at)
Work on target training?

 

[jousze]

If he bites any time you approach, can you.....

Change how you approach him?
Offer a treat any time you walk by the cage? (or wherever he's at)
Work on target training?

It’s sometimes when I want him to step up, sometimes when I pet him, etc..


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[MonicaMc]

You may have to define how you are trying to pet him.


Stepping up - target training can help with that! Teaching him to step up for a reward (i.e. treat) can increase reasons for stepping up, too!