Lincoln and I haven't been getting along...

[Owlet]

Everytime I have him out and not on his cage he just tries to bite me. Even if I am just minding my own business doing nothing. He will climb onto my arm and just . . . bite me. I don't know what to do :c

 

[Flboy]

Hormones!!

 

[WakaWaka]

Perhaps looking at a few simple things......
Has anything changed in his environment, was any furniture moved, your appearance different?
Different haircut, glasses, another person, an injury with a brace or something?

And just saw the next post.... it is getting on springtime !

Just trying to list a few things that may not be obvious to you so you have a second look around.

 

[Owlet]

I thought he already went through his hormonal phase earlier in the year but maybe not >< Nothing else has changed really. Not around when it started.

 

[wrench13]

How bad a bite? Stitches and blood? Or a pinching type bite?

 

[chris-md]

They can get hormonal at any time, unlike other parrots. It’s not a once a year and done kinda thing. Parker gets hormonal every couple of months to varying degrees. Some worse than others, some longer than others.

 

[Owlet]

He's never drawn blood unless I'm not getting the hint and backing off, it leaves an indent and maybe some bruising (rarely) but that's it really it. He's a very good boy but when it comes to using small bite as a warning but being bitten for no reason isn't fun >< guess I'll just have to wait out the hormons again.

 

[Owlet]

It's kind of heart breaking, when I got upset with him and put him back on the cage after being bitten he kept saying "bad bird" and "I'm sorry" like no baby it's okay shh I love you

he knows how to play me :'c who taught him those words bc I've never called him a bad bird xD

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

It's kind of heart breaking, when I got upset with him and put him back on the cage after being bitten he kept saying "bad bird" and "I'm sorry" like no baby it's okay shh I love you

he knows how to play me :'c who taught him those words bc I've never called him a bad bird xD

Tiki used to be the same way. He would be in his cage or on his play stand and I'd walk past and say something like "is Tiki a good boy?" and he would say "Tiki a bad bird." Use to break my heart that at some point in his past he was told that so often.

 

[LordTriggs]

that's so heart breaking to hear them say stuff like that. Goes to show parrots do remember everything

 

[Kentuckienne]

It's kind of heart breaking, when I got upset with him and put him back on the cage after being bitten he kept saying "bad bird" and "I'm sorry" like no baby it's okay shh I love you

he knows how to play me :'c who taught him those words bc I've never called him a bad bird xD

I’ve read that when you get a bite, put the bird back inside the cage, close the door, and go away for ten minutes. Kind of a birdie time out. Putting him back on the cage can be a kind of reward, not to mention the funny face you make when he bites. Maybe he’s remembering something from his past, when that behavior generated some excitement? With enough time that memory might fade.

 

[clark_conure]

NO NOT THE CAGE kentuckienne. Thats a safe space, you want the bird off balance, on the floor or something he/she doesn't like so it comes back to you; it's a punishment, not a free trip to his home.

Also owlet, give your bird some treats! some pizza! might appreciate

 

[Sunnyclover]

I think kentuckienne meant to not put him in the cage? But yeah don't put him in somewhere he actually likes because then he'll bite you to get you to put him there.

 

[Violet_Diva]

Sorry to hear he's being a little nipper. My 3 have quite different personalities and have different types of relationships and interactions with me. This means I typically handle their time-outs slightly differently.

Bella
Constantly wants to be on me
Eventually gets nippy if energy not channeled through constructive training
Is scared of /attacks most man made plastic hard toys
Chews and shreds soft natural toys in cage
Defensive of food bowls
Great flyer
Begs to come out of her cage
Usually steps up

Dexter
Likes contact (but gets amorous)
Gentle bites to indicate opinion
Can enjoy playing with toys or exploring without humans prompting
Minimal shredding of in cage soft natural toys
Not territorial
Good flyer
Squawks for human attention when left in other room
Usually steps up (unless in amorous mood)

Gerry
Likes verbal attention and company but will become agitated if not let out
Lunges and bites (but getting better)
Likes foot toys but becomes anxious if out of cage and can't see human
Religiously chews and shreds soft natural toys in cage
Defensive of cage
Can't fly
Paces in cage if human present to indicate desire to come out
Rarely steps up unless he wants to go somewhere

With Bella and Dexter, if they give a small but unpleasant nip, they're told "no biting" and get put on a boring tree stand, and I turn my back on them for about 20 seconds. No other verbal communication at all. If they fly to me or leave the tree stand during the 20 seconds, I place them back - not saying a word, no eye contact.

Then once the 20 seconds is up, I ask them to step up, if they do, it's "Good girl" or "Good boy" and back to normal...

With Bella I'll get her to step up different places, get her to turn around, get her to fly to me, lots of "Good girl" and some treats. As she is driven by being with me and interacting with me.

With Dexter he gets to play with toys, as if I fuss him too much and do too much physical activity with him, he gets amorous and constantly tries to 'love' my hand.

The idea is that they learn that nipping me equals boring.
Doing what I ask equals my company, and/or fun and treats.

If after the first nip, I try to get them to step up, and they're still nippy, I tell them "no biting" and repeatedly put them on the boring tree stand for 20 seconds. I don't say anything else to them. If they bite harder, I put them in their cage in their room, they're told "no biting" and get put straight into their cage. I leave them there for upto 10 mins. Please note, it is the being in a separate room to the human and the fun, and not the caging itself that is the time out. Bella hasn't learnt 'stay' yet, so any attempt to remove her from my person is futile as she'll just fly straight back to me.

It's important that upon my return after the 10 mins that I act like it never happened and focus on now. So it's back to step ups and treats etc.

With Gerry it's a little different as he's not flighted and is a plucker. I believe his plucking is anxiety based from being caged during his previous humans holiday. The fact that he won't step up for me all the time means it's harder to control his movements to and from the cage. His flightlessness also means he is more likely to stay put. As timing is important for the birds to learn associations between actions and reactions, I have adapted to these factors for Gerry while trying to reduce his stress in these situations.

Gerry is usually in or on his cage, or on a table stand. His nips only come about from me trying to get him to step up. If he nips, he is told "no biting" and I turn my back on him and ignore him for 20/30 seconds. Then I try again. I repeat. I allow gentle beaking and will talk to him softly during, but nipping too hard equalls "no biting" and being ignored.

I hold a treat out over my arm or hand as bait for the step up. If he makes positive physical contact or one foot on, he gets positive reinforcement via verbal "Good boy"s or treats. While he gently beaks me, I stroke and scratch his beak while saying" Beak". This contact means he gets used to me touching his beak and doesn't find it threatening. So if he does nip too hard, I can use my fingers to free myself from his grasp without him being shocked or scared or additionally defensive with regards to my digits.

As one of my training items - I also touch Bella and Dexter on the beak after saying "Beak". They learn what to expect and understand the contact that's about to take place. I find that by creating a repertoire of words with associated actions, the birds become more comfortable as they understand what is happening around or to them.

 

[Kentuckienne]

NO NOT THE CAGE kentuckienne. Thats a safe space, you want the bird off balance, on the floor or something he/she doesn't like so it comes back to you; it's a punishment, not a free trip to his home.

Also owlet, give your bird some treats! some pizza! might appreciate

Oh..depends on the bird. Most of the parrots I’ve known didn’t like being IN their cages with the door shut, they liked being on top. Yeah, if he likes being in the cage, that’s not a deterrent. Some people are lucky enough to have cages in a different room for time-outs. The idea is to let the bird spend enough time somewhere undesirable to get his attention but not more than ten minutes because then they forget what they did. I’ve dropped them to the floor (gently) for biting, but they seem so overwhelmed being down there that I’m not sure if they connect it with the bite. You know Lincoln the best ... you’ll figure out how to communicate to him in a way he understands. Some parrots are smarter than others. I watched one learn in two minutes not to try to bite me if I was offering him food. And it took ten minutes to teach another one that if he saw me put a nut in a bag, the nut didn’t go away but was still in the bag!

 

[Owlet]

Lately Lincoln does NOT like being on his cage. he is constantly climbing down to run around on the floor. I wouldn't mind this normally but I have my sdit (service dog in training) with me constantly and I obviously don't want them interacting even though I know I could call the dog off I still don't want them anywhere near each other.
Hopefully I can get some more money soon so I can finish up his play stand so he can't waddle around the floor anymore and he will have a new place to explore.

I'm always trying new foraging toys with Lincoln but he just gets them immediately and then they take 2 seconds to get through xD

 

[GaleriaGila]

Every now and then, the Rb breaks up with me for a few weeks, sometimes longer. He doesn't want to come see me, doesn't want kisses, doesn't want to do any of our special things. Then abruptly, he takes me back and is so demanding that I wonder why I ever missed his roosterings. I have observed him to have terrible nightmares... waking up, startled, and then in a rank or nervous mood. I doubt that he knows dreams aren't real, so they stick with hm.

I wonder if he has a dream that I did something awful to him, and then acts on it until he figures I've learned my lesson...

I wonder if other birds do that, too.

 

[Owlet]

It definitely seems like that. he rarely steps up anymore and wants nothing to do with me... but at the same time always trying to get my attention. I'm getting mixed signals Lincoln, do you want me or not?

 

[clark_conure]

to kentuckienne thats why I like the floor, they can walk back and as they walk back they have to think about what they did....why they are walking back. Thats why I always put "something they can leave or walk or fly away from"...the whole point is the journey back...thats what makes them figure it out, not the isolation or shunning, its the travel back to the scene of the crime.

Then they are all sweetness and candy canes

 

[Anansi]

Phenomenal post by Violet_Diva! I LOVE the different approaches you've adopted for each bird in accordance to their distinct personalities. This is one of the keys to keeping birds. Realizing that you can't go with a wholesale cookie-cutter type approach.

Also, touching on the whole "no cage for timeout thing", I think you're painting with a very wide brush there, Clark_conure. What you suggest would never work in my household, for instance, because I don't allow my birds to go on the floor. (My birds are flighted) Keeping them off the floor avoids issues when they get hormonal and such, and seek to run under the nearest couch, entertainment center or coffee table that resembles a nest to them. It also avoids the possibility of them being stepped on by my two very energetic boys. (Small risk, but there nonetheless.)

The ground may work for you, but that doesn't mean timeout to a cage is necessarily bad for someone else. I've used cage timeouts with every bird I've had, and every single bird learned very well from it and got to the point where timeouts are rarely ever necessary anymore. And if done right, using the cage for timeout does not lead to a negative association with the cage. Why not? Because when properly framed, they are perfectly capable of understanding context. And because I take the time to establish their cages as something positive.

I establish the cage as a positive space by associating it as the one place where they can get their full meals. I have 2 main, clearly defined meal times. Breakfast and dinner. Those are only provided in the cage. As such, when they are getting hungry, they see the cage as the place that they go to take care of that feeling. The place they go for satiation and satisfaction.

Conversely, when brought to the cage after doing something wrong, they are cued in to the difference by my tone (firm and steady), the word "no" (which is one of the first things that they should be taught), and the urgency of my stride as I bring them back to the cage. They are masters of understanding body language - far superior to anything a human can achieve - and as such, they come to understand quite quickly the difference between cage time and timeout.

Then, as Kentuckienne pointed out, you don't keep them in timeout for any longer than 5 or 10 minutes to ensure that the point of your lesson is not lost.

All that said, however, the cage as timeout only works if they are at the point where they actually want to be with you. If they would rather be in the cage, that's altogether different. It means that you first have to work on building an association in their minds between you and "fun stuff". Once that association is made, timeouts become more effective.

My sons, who have renewed their interest in birds as of late, are going through this very process right now. The birds are less inclined to listen to them as they are to me, but they're working on building up to that point in the relationship where the birds are excited to see them and want to spend time with them. It's a building process with many layers.