It’s getting worse...

[jousze]

Heyy
I tried doing like some people told me for stopping my bird to bite.
Every time he bites me I put him back in his cage.. well looks like it does the opposite effect on my parrot. He’s biting each time more..
Now when he steps up and I try to put him somewhere, he doesn’t want and bite me.
Even if I try to put him in the cage he bites me

I know it’s so soon and that he stills have a lot to learn but it makes me so sad that he’s so “bad” and I see other that are so kind... I’ve never had this problem with any of my birds..

 

[ChristaNL]

I hear you!

It's no fun to have a nippy / bitey bird.
Did you read the amazonsticky's ?

They really are not like any other parrot, so maybe you are doing everything right, but it does not translate well into "amazonian-speak".

Maybe go back to targettraining for a while (follow the stick and get rewards) - so you can have fun, teach your bird a few extra nice tricks and the bird stops biting you.
You both have some space to learn about each other ... Amazonian really IS a different language.


Japie (one of the greys) was a difficult bird for me: I speak/ understand african grey pretty well, Japie "spoke" (postures etc.) with a weird accent because he had been living next to a few amazons for at least 5 years (maybe longer) and sometimes I had *no* idea what he was telling me! He is about 40% amazone and the rest is african grey/ human mix.

 

[EllenD]

The best advice one can give you, even though it's really not "advice", is that no bird comes "out of the box" the way you're seeing them, even hand-raised babies have all kinds of bad habits and lots and lots to learn, including learning not to bite/nip. Usually when a bird starts biting/nipping like this, when he steps-up and such, it's more that they're trying to tell you something rather than they are angry or just don't want to do something...

I've not ever been a fan of putting the bird back in their cage when they do something wrong...First of all, their cage is their "safe space", and they typically don't think of that as punishment, so it's likely that putting him back in his cage isn't being seen by him as punishment for him doing something wrong...And the other issue that can develop is that they come to absolutely hate their cage, and then you have severe issues with them going back to them...

I've not ever owned an Amazon, and they really are a totally different species than other parrots, but have you tried the "Shunning" Method? Regardless of the species of parrot, one trait that they all possess is that they absolutely HATE to be ignored, so using the "Shunning Method" typically works very well...Basically all it entails is that whenever he bites you, you need to say the same phrase immediately after he does it, something simple that you'll remember to say every time, like "No Bites!", and you need to say it firmly, but do not ever yell at him or scold him, as that doesn't work with birds. He needs to know that you mean business and that you're being serious, but you don't want to scare him...

So whenever he bites you, no matter where in your house you are, you say the phrase, such as "No Bites!", and nothing else, and then you immediately put him right down on the floor, and turn your back to him. Another trait of all birds is that they hate being on the floor where they are lower than everything and everyone. So you put him right down on the floor, turn your back right to him, and then you completely and totally ignore him for a full 5 minutes...no more, no less. Any longer and he'll lose interest, and shorter and you're giving-in to him...Ignore all sounds he makes, don't look at him, don't make eye contact with him, just keep your back to him...If he walks around you to your front, just keep turning your back to him. If he tries to climb up your leg or fly to your shoulder, you say nothing, don't look at him, just put him right back down on the floor and turn your back to him again...And then after the 5 minutes you move on...but if he bites you again right away, again you say "No Bites!", put him right down on the floor again, and again turn your back to him and ignore him totally for another 5 minutes...And so on...They usually get this very, very quickly. And it's a lot more effective and safer than using their cage as a "punishment", because their cage should not ever be punishment, it needs to be their "safe space", that is all theirs, and that they don't dread going back to or that they associate with negativity.

 

[jousze]

The best advice one can give you, even though it's really not "advice", is that no bird comes "out of the box" the way you're seeing them, even hand-raised babies have all kinds of bad habits and lots and lots to learn, including learning not to bite/nip. Usually when a bird starts biting/nipping like this, when he steps-up and such, it's more that they're trying to tell you something rather than they are angry or just don't want to do something...

I've not ever been a fan of putting the bird back in their cage when they do something wrong...First of all, their cage is their "safe space", and they typically don't think of that as punishment, so it's likely that putting him back in his cage isn't being seen by him as punishment for him doing something wrong...And the other issue that can develop is that they come to absolutely hate their cage, and then you have severe issues with them going back to them...

I've not ever owned an Amazon, and they really are a totally different species than other parrots, but have you tried the "Shunning" Method? Regardless of the species of parrot, one trait that they all possess is that they absolutely HATE to be ignored, so using the "Shunning Method" typically works very well...Basically all it entails is that whenever he bites you, you need to say the same phrase immediately after he does it, something simple that you'll remember to say every time, like "No Bites!", and you need to say it firmly, but do not ever yell at him or scold him, as that doesn't work with birds. He needs to know that you mean business and that you're being serious, but you don't want to scare him...

So whenever he bites you, no matter where in your house you are, you say the phrase, such as "No Bites!", and nothing else, and then you immediately put him right down on the floor, and turn your back to him. Another trait of all birds is that they hate being on the floor where they are lower than everything and everyone. So you put him right down on the floor, turn your back right to him, and then you completely and totally ignore him for a full 5 minutes...no more, no less. Any longer and he'll lose interest, and shorter and you're giving-in to him...Ignore all sounds he makes, don't look at him, don't make eye contact with him, just keep your back to him...If he walks around you to your front, just keep turning your back to him. If he tries to climb up your leg or fly to your shoulder, you say nothing, don't look at him, just put him right back down on the floor and turn your back to him again...And then after the 5 minutes you move on...but if he bites you again right away, again you say "No Bites!", put him right down on the floor again, and again turn your back to him and ignore him totally for another 5 minutes...And so on...They usually get this very, very quickly. And it's a lot more effective and safer than using their cage as a "punishment", because their cage should not ever be punishment, it needs to be their "safe space", that is all theirs, and that they don't dread going back to or that they associate with negativity.

The only thing I actually know is that he growls the whole day, and it doesn’t always means that he’s gonna bite [emoji23]


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[jousze]

The best advice one can give you, even though it's really not "advice", is that no bird comes "out of the box" the way you're seeing them, even hand-raised babies have all kinds of bad habits and lots and lots to learn, including learning not to bite/nip. Usually when a bird starts biting/nipping like this, when he steps-up and such, it's more that they're trying to tell you something rather than they are angry or just don't want to do something...

I've not ever been a fan of putting the bird back in their cage when they do something wrong...First of all, their cage is their "safe space", and they typically don't think of that as punishment, so it's likely that putting him back in his cage isn't being seen by him as punishment for him doing something wrong...And the other issue that can develop is that they come to absolutely hate their cage, and then you have severe issues with them going back to them...

I've not ever owned an Amazon, and they really are a totally different species than other parrots, but have you tried the "Shunning" Method? Regardless of the species of parrot, one trait that they all possess is that they absolutely HATE to be ignored, so using the "Shunning Method" typically works very well...Basically all it entails is that whenever he bites you, you need to say the same phrase immediately after he does it, something simple that you'll remember to say every time, like "No Bites!", and you need to say it firmly, but do not ever yell at him or scold him, as that doesn't work with birds. He needs to know that you mean business and that you're being serious, but you don't want to scare him...

So whenever he bites you, no matter where in your house you are, you say the phrase, such as "No Bites!", and nothing else, and then you immediately put him right down on the floor, and turn your back to him. Another trait of all birds is that they hate being on the floor where they are lower than everything and everyone. So you put him right down on the floor, turn your back right to him, and then you completely and totally ignore him for a full 5 minutes...no more, no less. Any longer and he'll lose interest, and shorter and you're giving-in to him...Ignore all sounds he makes, don't look at him, don't make eye contact with him, just keep your back to him...If he walks around you to your front, just keep turning your back to him. If he tries to climb up your leg or fly to your shoulder, you say nothing, don't look at him, just put him right back down on the floor and turn your back to him again...And then after the 5 minutes you move on...but if he bites you again right away, again you say "No Bites!", put him right down on the floor again, and again turn your back to him and ignore him totally for another 5 minutes...And so on...They usually get this very, very quickly. And it's a lot more effective and safer than using their cage as a "punishment", because their cage should not ever be punishment, it needs to be their "safe space", that is all theirs, and that they don't dread going back to or that they associate with negativity.

It looks like a good idea! I’ll try it and continue writing telling you how it goes...


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[EllenD]

Yes, please keep us updated...This is going to take time though, I know it's difficult, but do try to keep that in-mind, otherwise you're going to become very frustrated and lose patience, and when that happens then things fall apart...People in your situation with an adopted parrot can take months to years to accomplish what you're trying to accomplish, and if you don't know that or even expect that going into adopting the bird, you can easily be discouraged and think that the situation is hopeless, when in-reality you're actually right on track with the bird...

Target-Training is also a great idea, but it's sometimes difficult to accomplish with a bird that is seemingly not yet "settled-in" to their new home. And they typically aren't going to be settled-in this quickly...So take a deep breath, and realize that everything is still very, very new to him right now, and he also has "baggage" he's carrying that is not his fault, but that is with him nonetheless. So until he really starts to become comfortable in your home and with you, it may be very difficult to work with him and actually train him/hand-tame him...Sometimes just spending as much time as you can with the bird/around the bird every single day is what it takes for them to settle-in and feel safe, secure, and comfortable enough with you to allow you to really start working with them (and this does not necessarily mean touching/holding the bird, but just being around the bird, talking to bird, etc.).

 

[jousze]

Yes, please keep us updated...This is going to take time though, I know it's difficult, but do try to keep that in-mind, otherwise you're going to become very frustrated and lose patience, and when that happens then things fall apart...People in your situation with an adopted parrot can take months to years to accomplish what you're trying to accomplish, and if you don't know that or even expect that going into adopting the bird, you can easily be discouraged and think that the situation is hopeless, when in-reality you're actually right on track with the bird...

Target-Training is also a great idea, but it's sometimes difficult to accomplish with a bird that is seemingly not yet "settled-in" to their new home. And they typically aren't going to be settled-in this quickly...So take a deep breath, and realize that everything is still very, very new to him right now, and he also has "baggage" he's carrying that is not his fault, but that is with him nonetheless. So until he really starts to become comfortable in your home and with you, it may be very difficult to work with him and actually train him/hand-tame him...Sometimes just spending as much time as you can with the bird/around the bird every single day is what it takes for them to settle-in and feel safe, secure, and comfortable enough with you to allow you to really start working with them (and this does not necessarily mean touching/holding the bird, but just being around the bird, talking to bird, etc.).

I know I know... I won't lose patience because I know that he will be a lot better someday.. He is already sometimes, its like if he was bipolar at the moment.. sometimes good sometimes bad But I will try everything!!

 

[Jen5200]

You have my sympathy - getting bitten a lot is NOT fun.

I can vouch for the shunning method working. I had to do this with Tango (GCC between 1 and 2 years when I got him), and with consistently shunning for bites I noticed a significant improvement between 1 and 3 months - and now bites are very infrequent. I recently added Stanley to my flock and he was given up for being a prolific biter (he’s a GCC around 4 years old). We’re about 2 months into using the shunning method and I get bitten maybe once per week now (and he rarely breaks skin anymore). At the beginning, I had to use a perch for all of Stanley’s step-ups, because he absolutely shredded my fingers for no reason that I could figure out (I never forced him to step up or anything). I did that a week or two and then was able to switch to my finger as he settled in. I put them on a T-perch or on the ottoman where there’s nothing fun to play with for their time-outs (I don’t use the floor). I don’t use their cage as punishment mainly because I don’t want it to become more difficult to put them in at their regular times. You’ll make progress - just keep with it and work at his pace

 

[jousze]

You have my sympathy - getting bitten a lot is NOT fun.

I can vouch for the shunning method working. I had to do this with Tango (GCC between 1 and 2 years when I got him), and with consistently shunning for bites I noticed a significant improvement between 1 and 3 months - and now bites are very infrequent. I recently added Stanley to my flock and he was given up for being a prolific biter (he’s a GCC around 4 years old). We’re about 2 months into using the shunning method and I get bitten maybe once per week now (and he rarely breaks skin anymore). At the beginning, I had to use a perch for all of Stanley’s step-ups, because he absolutely shredded my fingers for no reason that I could figure out (I never forced him to step up or anything). I did that a week or two and then was able to switch to my finger as he settled in. I put them on a T-perch or on the ottoman where there’s nothing fun to play with for their time-outs (I don’t use the floor). I don’t use their cage as punishment mainly because I don’t want it to become more difficult to put them in at their regular times. You’ll make progress - just keep with it and work at his pace

Ill try it.. I hope that it will really work :/

 

[wrench13]

When working with any parrot, consistency is critical. So anyone who handles the bird must be aware of your ground rules, this includes what to do if he nips or bites other family members. Inconsistent actions by their humans only confuses the parrot.

 

[EllenD]

Wrench, you're back!!!! Good to see your face my friend!!!!

 

[noodles123]

I you try anything new, IT WILL GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER! That is why you MUST NOT WAIVER.

in ABA, this is called an "extinction burst" (the worst thing you can do is reinforce the behavior inadvertently during a burst, or you will become a behavioral slot machine...and if people get addicted to them, so will birds).