I guess it's that phase....

[Boo]

I think Cricket is starting to go through that phase that parrots go through when they're 1-2 years old. He's turning 1 this Friday! He's been getting very nippy, and I've been blowing air in his face to get him to stop. It usually works, but lately it seems to be losing its effect. I've tried the earthquake, but it just makes him hold on tighter, probably to keep his balance.

After I get out of his grasp, whether it be my nose, my lip, my finger, or whatever he wants to grab on (thank god not my eye!!), he looks all puffy and happy and he swings his head around, bobs it, and tries to grab at me if I get close to him. What does this behavior mean? He doesn't seem to be nipping out of anything negative because he doesn't seem the least bit grumpy unless I push his beak off my finger or something.

He's starting to draw blood, and I know I have to do something about it before he starts thinking it's okay to bite, but I don't know what to do . When my cockatiel used to get a little cranky, I quickly put him back in his cage and he would scream to be let out again. He's much better now. The thing is though, I'm not always near Cricket's cage. I feel like if I quickly ran upstairs and put him in his cage, it would have been too long and he would forget why he was being put in his cage.

When I give him a finger to step up on, I don't put it right next to him. I have it maybe an inch or an inch and a half away from his belly, so if he wants to play with me he can come. If he doesn't, then he can just ignore me or move away, and I don't keep after him. It's just the biting that seems uncalled for because I'm giving him a choice! Violence is not the answer!! But anyway, any suggestions are welcome! He's drawn blood a few times now, and it really hurts . Thanks everyone!!

 

[Gandolf]

When my cockatiel used to get a little cranky, I quickly put him back in his cage and he would scream to be let out again. He's much better now. The thing is though, I'm not always near Cricket's cage. I feel like if I quickly ran upstairs and put him in his cage, it would have been too long and he would forget why he was being put in his cage. But anyway, any suggestions are welcome! He's drawn blood a few times now, and it really hurts . Thanks everyone!!

Yes it does hurt..:11:..Its amazing though how U get used to it Conures R very funny kids that never grow up. Our Sun has gone through this exact same thing and I started with the PUTTING HIM IN THE CAGE thing and was advised 2 stop it by our Avian Vet. If U use their sleeping cage for time out for bad behavior then U can create allot of other issues with them when it comes time 2 go 2 sleep or just B in the cage when U R not home.

What we have done with Caesar is when he starts 2 get that way we have learned 2 grab his beak and very quietly "literally" in his face tell him 2 B nice, over a period of time this has worked very very well. It has gotten 2 the point were now all I have 2 do is tell him very softly 2 B nice and he gets it.

Hope this helps and good luck.

PS---when U pick a word or phrase stick 2 it and don't change words or phrases. He will learn quicker.

 

[theceltichorse]

I have been reading a lot on training and one of the things I have come across in more places than one is that YOU have to maintain the dominance position. By allowing him the "choice" to step up or not, he is gaining the upper hand. Maybe for a while, until he gets through this phase (could be that it's the typical hormonal period they go through when maturing/mating season), get the upper hand back. No shoulders, no deciding whether to come out or not, no going where he wants, only where YOU say is ok.

Do you have any extra cage that you could use as a time out cage that would be closer than his cage? If so, that would take care of the problem of having to run him up to his. If it's empty of toys etc. it would be boring. You don't leave them in for long- only about 10 minutes. Go back as soon as 10 min. is up and take him out and act like nothing has happened unless he bites again. If so, put him away for a while. They really are flock animals and want to be with their surrogate flock.

With regards to the "earthquake" method- you need to catch them BEFORE they bite ideally- while they are in the motion of it. Or you could keep a chew toy handy in your pocket- if you sense him getting ready to hit, present the chew toy.

Most of what I have suggested I have read in parrot manuals. I am a new owner myself of my GCC's. With my cockatiel, when he bites, I have put him away for a bit and it seems to work well with him. He for the most part has just started getting nippy but it seems more frustration than anything- as soon as I put him down or away for a bit he "resets". I do think with him it is a seasonal/hormonal thing too as he is now about a year old and tends to see me as his "mate". I am working on that!

Good luck and I hope that some of what I have suggested might work. Keep us informed as I am sure you are not the only one going through this!

 

[Adz]

I agree with the cage thing, you don't wan them to associate the cage with being naughty. I use a dark room, typically the bathroom or toilet. Loco used to scream for a while, then when he'd calmed down I'd let him out and he was quite good.

Loco also seems to have learned what "NO" means, a stern "NO" and them putting him in time out taught him not to be naughty

 

[Boo]

When my cockatiel used to get a little cranky, I quickly put him back in his cage and he would scream to be let out again. He's much better now. The thing is though, I'm not always near Cricket's cage. I feel like if I quickly ran upstairs and put him in his cage, it would have been too long and he would forget why he was being put in his cage. But anyway, any suggestions are welcome! He's drawn blood a few times now, and it really hurts . Thanks everyone!!

Yes it does hurt..:11:..Its amazing though how U get used to it Conures R very funny kids that never grow up. Our Sun has gone through this exact same thing and I started with the PUTTING HIM IN THE CAGE thing and was advised 2 stop it by our Avian Vet. If U use their sleeping cage for time out for bad behavior then U can create allot of other issues with them when it comes time 2 go 2 sleep or just B in the cage when U R not home.

What we have done with Caesar is when he starts 2 get that way we have learned 2 grab his beak and very quietly "literally" in his face tell him 2 B nice, over a period of time this has worked very very well. It has gotten 2 the point were now all I have 2 do is tell him very softly 2 B nice and he gets it.

Hope this helps and good luck.

PS---when U pick a word or phrase stick 2 it and don't change words or phrases. He will learn quicker.

Thank you!! I'll try your method of holding his beak .

I have been reading a lot on training and one of the things I have come across in more places than one is that YOU have to maintain the dominance position. By allowing him the "choice" to step up or not, he is gaining the upper hand. Maybe for a while, until he gets through this phase (could be that it's the typical hormonal period they go through when maturing/mating season), get the upper hand back. No shoulders, no deciding whether to come out or not, no going where he wants, only where YOU say is ok.

Do you have any extra cage that you could use as a time out cage that would be closer than his cage? If so, that would take care of the problem of having to run him up to his. If it's empty of toys etc. it would be boring. You don't leave them in for long- only about 10 minutes. Go back as soon as 10 min. is up and take him out and act like nothing has happened unless he bites again. If so, put him away for a while. They really are flock animals and want to be with their surrogate flock.

With regards to the "earthquake" method- you need to catch them BEFORE they bite ideally- while they are in the motion of it. Or you could keep a chew toy handy in your pocket- if you sense him getting ready to hit, present the chew toy.

Most of what I have suggested I have read in parrot manuals. I am a new owner myself of my GCC's. With my cockatiel, when he bites, I have put him away for a bit and it seems to work well with him. He for the most part has just started getting nippy but it seems more frustration than anything- as soon as I put him down or away for a bit he "resets". I do think with him it is a seasonal/hormonal thing too as he is now about a year old and tends to see me as his "mate". I am working on that!

Good luck and I hope that some of what I have suggested might work. Keep us informed as I am sure you are not the only one going through this!

Thank you!! I did wonder what would happen if a bird started associating being in the cage with being naughty, but I only did it to my cockatiel twice. He never had much of a nipping problem.

Sometimes it's hard to get Cricket to step off my finger, like if I'm putting him back on the playgym or in his cage or something. Do I have to clicker train him to step up and step down?

I agree with the cage thing, you don't wan them to associate the cage with being naughty. I use a dark room, typically the bathroom or toilet. Loco used to scream for a while, then when he'd calmed down I'd let him out and he was quite good.

Loco also seems to have learned what "NO" means, a stern "NO" and them putting him in time out taught him not to be naughty

I've been saying "NO BITE" to Cricket but he doesn't seem to be picking it up. I think it's more the air in the face that stops him than the "NO BITE."

 

[nofearengineer]

Boo...if you're going to hold his beak, I can't stress enough how important it is to do it very gently. Remember, you're only trying to sort of annoy him, not cause any actual discomfort. It's very easy to accidentally hurt a small fid. And remember, he might hurt himself if he panics when you hold his beak.

 

[Printer bird]

We will sometimes put Charlie on the floor when he is being bad. We tell him "no!" and if other methods don't work (holding the beak, little earthquake) or he keeps doing the unwanted behavior, then onto the floor he goes. We ignore him for about 30 seconds (and keep an eye on him so he doesn't get into anything) and then pick him back up. he doesn't like to be on the floor or be ignored and at the very least it breaks him of his mini "obsession" (such as when he's a bit riled up). This has helped us a lot and he is fairly well-mannered now, only biting in situations that make sense for a parrot to bite in (scared by something, us trying to do something to him that he doesn't want etc).

I also agree that he should not have a choice about whether to step up or not. Charlie's previous owner did this so he was quite poorly behaved and did what he wanted. with consistent training and never letting him refuse a step up, he's become quite a well-behaved conure (as far as GCCs go!) and will step up when asked, even if it takes a couple of asks. So be consistent with that for sure. Good luck! He will come out of this phase!

 

[Mike]

Look at Baby's response to a similar post, and my follow-up recommendation: http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/9506-okay-i-want-push-envelope-bit.html

I recommend against blowing in the birds face. You don't want the bird associating any negative with your face.

I agree with little earthquakes. I accompany these quakes with the word "NO".

Instead of taking the bird all the way to its cage, you can quickly put the bird on a nearby perch and turn your back on it. Remember, though, that ostracising a bird is only effective for about two minutes. After that they have no idea why they're being ignored, and in their flock oriented minds--abused.

 

[Boo]

Boo...if you're going to hold his beak, I can't stress enough how important it is to do it very gently. Remember, you're only trying to sort of annoy him, not cause any actual discomfort. It's very easy to accidentally hurt a small fid. And remember, he might hurt himself if he panics when you hold his beak.

Okay, thanks! I'll be careful with him .

We will sometimes put Charlie on the floor when he is being bad. We tell him "no!" and if other methods don't work (holding the beak, little earthquake) or he keeps doing the unwanted behavior, then onto the floor he goes. We ignore him for about 30 seconds (and keep an eye on him so he doesn't get into anything) and then pick him back up. he doesn't like to be on the floor or be ignored and at the very least it breaks him of his mini "obsession" (such as when he's a bit riled up). This has helped us a lot and he is fairly well-mannered now, only biting in situations that make sense for a parrot to bite in (scared by something, us trying to do something to him that he doesn't want etc).

I also agree that he should not have a choice about whether to step up or not. Charlie's previous owner did this so he was quite poorly behaved and did what he wanted. with consistent training and never letting him refuse a step up, he's become quite a well-behaved conure (as far as GCCs go!) and will step up when asked, even if it takes a couple of asks. So be consistent with that for sure. Good luck! He will come out of this phase!

But when I put him on the ground, he either climbs up my leg or he climbs up the couch . What should I do about that? It sounds like a great method and I'd like to try it. He's getting lots better though .

Look at Baby's response to a similar post, and my follow-up recommendation: http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/9506-okay-i-want-push-envelope-bit.html

I recommend against blowing in the birds face. You don't want the bird associating any negative with your face.

I agree with little earthquakes. I accompany these quakes with the word "NO".

Instead of taking the bird all the way to its cage, you can quickly put the bird on a nearby perch and turn your back on it. Remember, though, that ostracising a bird is only effective for about two minutes. After that they have no idea why they're being ignored, and in their flock oriented minds--abused.

Thanks for all the info!! Definitely good to know . Earthquakes don't really work with him though.. he just tries to hold on tighter even if I do an earthquake before he's about to bite. He's pretty quick to grab on . But it's okay, the beak holding method works well with him, and I gotta find a way to try the put-him-on-the-ground method

 

[Crackers]

HI Boo!

What lovely birds you have.

To be honest, I would recommend positive reinforcement training. It works wonders with bitey and problematic birds. I do not consider myself a parrot expert by any means but I do believe in positive reinforcement training. I wouldn't do it any other way. I have even used it for parrots that were out for blood.

I use treats along with a clicker. I always keep treats on hand. I reinfroce everything I like and ignore those things I don't. This is nonstop process of reinforcing and ignoring.

Let me give you and example. Tonight, I started doing some training with Crackers. He decided pinch my finger when I asked him to step up. Instead of using any negative punishments or assert my authority, I quickly turned around and gave the dogs a command to sit. I clicked the clicker and gave them treats (Showing by example). Crackers meanwhile sees all of this and realizes he is missing out on opportunities to interact with me and earn treats. I went back to Crackers and asked for the step up command. He did it and was instantly rewarded. The rest of our training session was without incident. He was bitey when I first started training him for step up. I just continued this process of removing the treats and myself for just a few seconds until he learned he was missing out on all the fun. Your bird needs to realize that interacting with you is fun and rewarding.

This method also worked with Crackers when he would get into screaming fits. Now he only screams when I walk through the door from work because the dogs get excited. I do not reward the behavior or go to his cage. That is his moment to just be a bird and give out his shout that everyone is together again. I am ok with that. The rest of time, he talks, plays and is relatively quiet.

If you are going to use any sort of reprimanding, it must not come from you. Grabbing beaks and earthquakes are associated with you IMO.

I would recommend that you start a consistent training program and get yourself a good T-stand for training. If you start with baby steps, you find that many of these habits seem to disappear with good training.


The site I recommend is Good Bird Inc. Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books

I also agree with Mikes video for the target training. Barbara goes into detail about target training for the bitey parrot. I just used her method of giving a time out and removing the interaction and treats. This took some time and a few sessions of training the step up but it works. She offers an e-book on the step up command. Parrot training materials are not cheap but worth it in the long run.

Everyone here will have different recommendations for training and the trainers they like. The reason I go with Barbara is because I believe in her method of positive reinforcement, her methods gain a birds trust and everything she shows you is in the most gentle manner.

I just can't stress enough to find a training program that works for you.