Biting help

[2manypets]

So I have had Rio for a little under 2 weeks and he won't stop biting. I know they are nippy birds but this is getting ridiculous. Every time I open the door I put my finger up and he bites pretty hard but I keep trying to get him to step up and he keeps biting. When I finally get him out you can't really touch him because he will bite you. He likes to sit on the towel bar in the bathroom but when you try to get him he bites you. Put him on his cage and he bites. Etc, Etc, Etc. He pretty much bites everyone that touches him. He has drawn blood twice and now I just don't even want to let him out. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

 

[Bobioden]

How old is he? It seems everyone who has a GCC over at Talk Parrots is going through a molt right now. It makes them cranky and irritable. Does he have any pin feathers on his head or cheeks? If so, he is molting also.

 

[2manypets]

He will be 4 months on august 19th. I don't see any pin feathers on him.

 

[Amber]

Instead of sticking your hand into the cage to get him to step up, try just opening the cage and letting him come out when ready. Alex used to bite when I went near his cage, and it took me awhile to figure out it was because he felt threatened my me invading his home. We have an understanding now, my hands only go in the cage to change food/water and toys. I never try to force him out of the cage, even my making him step up on my hand or using a stick. When I open the door, if he wants out he comes to me. The cage is his safe, secure place, and I think every bird needs to know they have a safe spot. Some birds don't mind their safe spots being invaded by you, some do.

That was just our experience, might be worth a shot

 

[GCally]

That's interesting. I didn't know other people birds were going through a molt right now. Gizmo has been going through the first molt since I've had him. Maybe thats why he's been more growly lately. I've had some of the same problem as you 2many. The way I look at it, I'm the boss. He isn't going to get away with biting me just cause he feels like it. At several peoples advice on here, I either tip him onto the floor when he bites, Or I grab his beak and hold it firmly but not so it hurts him until he stops moving his beak while saying NO firmly to him. He doesn't usually bite when I get him out of his cage, but he does bite sometimes when I put him up. When he doesn't bite, I praise him loudly.

 

[lexx510]

So I have had Rio for a little under 2 weeks and he won't stop biting. I know they are nippy birds but this is getting ridiculous. Every time I open the door I put my finger up and he bites pretty hard but I keep trying to get him to step up and he keeps biting. When I finally get him out you can't really touch him because he will bite you. He likes to sit on the towel bar in the bathroom but when you try to get him he bites you. Put him on his cage and he bites. Etc, Etc, Etc. He pretty much bites everyone that touches him. He has drawn blood twice and now I just don't even want to let him out. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

This is the problem. You're not respectful of his decision. He's telling you "No" but you keep forcing him. Birds can't speak, so you have to pay attention to their body language. He will bite as last resort, when all other ques go ignored.

Be patient and learn to respect your bird's free will. Reinforce him verbally or with a treat when he does decide (on his own terms) to come out of his cage, so that he will be more likely to do it again. Do not force him to do anything he does not want to do, and the biting will diminish drastically.

 

[2manypets]

So I have had Rio for a little under 2 weeks and he won't stop biting. I know they are nippy birds but this is getting ridiculous. Every time I open the door I put my finger up and he bites pretty hard but I keep trying to get him to step up and he keeps biting. When I finally get him out you can't really touch him because he will bite you. He likes to sit on the towel bar in the bathroom but when you try to get him he bites you. Put him on his cage and he bites. Etc, Etc, Etc. He pretty much bites everyone that touches him. He has drawn blood twice and now I just don't even want to let him out. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

This is the problem. You're not respectful of his decision. He's telling you "No" but you keep forcing him. Birds can't speak, so you have to pay attention to their body language. He will bite as last resort, when all other ques go ignored.

Be patient and learn to respect your bird's free will. Reinforce him verbally or with a treat when he does decide (on his own terms) to come out of his cage, so that he will be more likely to do it again. Do not force him to do anything he does not want to do, and the biting will diminish drastically.

Well if he won't step up he can't come out of his cage then. I have to take him to his playstand because my dogs would most likely eat him if he came out on his own.

 

[mele]

My lilacs use to do that when I first got thim. I understand giving him free will but he has to step up without the bite. Also, he needs to learn. You can't start any training until he steps up and out of the cage.

If he has been taught to step up by the breeder but refuses to do so with you, try using both hands. I give a soft finger snap with one hand above the head and hold it there while giving the step up comand with the other hand. Basicaly one hand above one below. It should distract him long enough. It takes time. Once he's out of the cage take him away from it. It shouldn't be in view while training since he shows agression over it. If he still attacks you introduce a wooden perch in place of your hand until he calms down with the bitting. Always praise after a sign of progress and after the session. He's still young don't give up.

This worked for me with my U2 and 2 lilac amazons but failed with my blue front and scarlet macaw. Their wills are as hard as their bites

Good luck

 

[Winston1Smith2]

Other than bitig, how does Rio interact with you? Specifically, is he afraid of you? If you leave his cage door open and do not force him to come out, will he eventually come to you? Will he sit on your arm for a prolonged period of time? Does he appear happy to see you when you approach his cage? He might be biting you because he is afraid of you and does not trust you yet, or biting you could be a negative way he has chosen to interact with you. I think you should determine if it is trust issue or a negative interaction issue first, then proceed from there.

 

[2manypets]

When I walk by his cage he is right at the door. When I open the door he sticks his head out and tries to crawl out. He will sit on my hand and loves being on my shoulder but I don't let him on my shoulder because I can never get him off (he gets tangled in my hair lol).

 

[lexx510]

So I have had Rio for a little under 2 weeks and he won't stop biting. I know they are nippy birds but this is getting ridiculous. Every time I open the door I put my finger up and he bites pretty hard but I keep trying to get him to step up and he keeps biting. When I finally get him out you can't really touch him because he will bite you. He likes to sit on the towel bar in the bathroom but when you try to get him he bites you. Put him on his cage and he bites. Etc, Etc, Etc. He pretty much bites everyone that touches him. He has drawn blood twice and now I just don't even want to let him out. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

This is the problem. You're not respectful of his decision. He's telling you "No" but you keep forcing him. Birds can't speak, so you have to pay attention to their body language. He will bite as last resort, when all other ques go ignored.

Be patient and learn to respect your bird's free will. Reinforce him verbally or with a treat when he does decide (on his own terms) to come out of his cage, so that he will be more likely to do it again. Do not force him to do anything he does not want to do, and the biting will diminish drastically.

Well if he won't step up he can't come out of his cage then. I have to take him to his playstand because my dogs would most likely eat him if he came out on his own.

I would start with hand feeding. This way you can build trust, and he can learn to associate the presence of your hand with receiving a reinforcement (perhaps his favorite treat). Once he's comfortable with having your hand close to him, you can begin to teach him to step up. And as someone else had mentioned, reinforce any progress.

However, as I've mentioned before - do not force. If he is not ready to eat out of your hand, do not force him to. He might not eat straight out of your hand, so for starters reinforce every time he lets you get closer to him

 

[Winston1Smith2]

It seems likes he trusts you. If he did not trust you there is no way he would sit on your shoulder or get tangled up in your hair. Rio is just acting like a typical GCC. I had the same biting issues with Cracker the first two months I had him. I think you are already doing the number one thing to help control Rio's biting problem: you are not allowing hiim on your shoulder. Also, when you see he is about ready to bite you, you might want to try and knock him off balance a little. You could do this by quickly twisting your arm. This will usually disrupt him enough so you can avoid the bite. What I did, that also helped, is that when Cracker did bite me, I pushed back against the bite instead of pulling away. I know this can be painful, but it also fails to reward (he gets that pesky finger out of his face) Rio for his negative behavior. You are doing just fine with Rio. Just show a little patience, and you will soon have one of the best companion pets ever.

 

[Pedro]

Seems there is a lot of nipping little GCC out there. For the breeder we don't seem to have that problem but i know from experience almost all new owners once they get their baby home it starts to rebel. Trust me they do over come all this behavior.

First up instead of offering your hand to get Rio out of the cage, have a perch in your hand & ask Rio to step up on that . Once out of the cage you can then ask him to step up from the perch to your hand. Also to get them used to handling get a face cloth & play hide-&-seek by placing the cloth over his head. You can also pick him up in the cloth & give him head rubs, they really love that, lay him on his back in the palm of your hand. Once they are used to & trust their carer they are just amazing little guys which are a lot of fun.

The biting issue seems to be getting him out of the cage. Also might i suggest to have the dogs out of the room when you are trying to get Rio from his cage, he probably wants to come out on his own & your not letting him so you get bitten. Lets face it a parrot will bite us if we're doing something they don't want us to do.

 

[2manypets]

I can't keep the dogs out of the room because his cage is in the living room. I will try using a perch to get him to step up. He is terrified of any kind of cloth (I tried picking him up in a towel once and he freaked out and flew away from me).

 

[2manypets]

Today was a little better. He let me hold him and rub his cheeks which he LOVED! Still hard to get him out of his cage but I have an extra perch I will try to see if he will step up on that.

 

[Winston1Smith2]

I never had a problem getting Cracker out of his cage. My problem was always getting him to go back into his cage.

 

[havergara]

that's bad, especially when you want to train your parrot...no stepping up means no training...that's just what i think...

for your problem, mine used to bite me every time i put my hands inside her cage...it took me some time to figure out why shes acting like that since i hand fed her...what i did, every time i want to hold her; i talk to her in smooth soft tone, my hands must not be very fast or fast enough to startle her - eventually making her think i am a danger...I've read also on an article online that blinking your eyes when you're near her will assure her that shes safe with you...i don't know but this one works for me...i can make her step up and step down already, but only when shes hungry...otherwise, she'll just ignore me, but hey,biting is gone...