Need Help With a GCC

[stephend]

So, Acorn is usually a very friendly and cuddly bird; he will even sometimes run through my shirt. But sometimes he will charge up my arm or chest and clamp onto my ear. This is extremely painful. Any suggestions on correcting this behavior.

 

[KatherineI]

I don't know what others do, but when my GCC gets overly nippy or aggressive, and he takes a good bite at one of us (beyond the typical nippiness conures are known for), we "toss" him to the floor. We do this one of two ways; either by flicking our wrist/arm and then he usually flies/glides to the floor or by shaking him off of us if he's up on the shoulder or back. We then ignore him by going about our business, which sometimes means walking away, or just staying where we are and he eventually comes back to "apologize".

For us, this works. It doesn't hurt him, and not giving then attention when they exhibit bad behaviors is the typical procedure. Remember, any attention, whether it's negative or positive, is still attention and can reinforce behaviors we may not want.

 

[stephend]

Not sure if that will do anything other than hurt me more if he clamps on to an ear again, but I'll try.

 

[lexx510]

I suspend Guava's shoulder privileges if she bites my ear. It may be impossible to pinpoint exactly why she does this, so sometimes it's best to just keep them off your shoulder (especially if she's hyped up). Biting is natural behavior for parrots, and while we can discourage it - we can't exactly prevent it. If he bites your ears for whatever reason, a way to prevent it may just be to keep him away from your ears altogether. I think this beats putting him in an place where he's likely to bite, and then punishing him for doing only what comes natural. Think of it as keeping someone with alcoholism away from the bar, instead of taking him/her out to the bar and then scolding them for having a drink.

 

[KatherineI]

While I think suspending shoulder privileges is a good idea, it's not always feasible. Or even keeping them off of there and then they earn them back and you have to suspend them again, it can get a bit confusing. And placing a bird on the floor for biting behavior is actually what is recommended in several conure handbooks and what has been taught by the rescue group my Mother worked with.

Biting is natural, yes, and birds bite for a variety of reasons. But aggressive biting is not a behavior that is necessarily "natural". I mean, its natural, as biting in and of itself is natural, but aggressive biting is also not a necessary behavior. I think biting out of fear, pain or the "letting you know someone is there" is natural and understandable. Aggressive biting should always be discouraged. Period.

If the bird would have a tendency to bite your ear and would hang on while trying to extract, then yes, I would agree that you shouldn't be allowing them on your shoulder. Loki gets shoulder privileges, but occasionally he too will lash out for no logical reason. Which is why he ends up on the floor. a large percentage of the time, he's very good up there.

 

[roxynoodle]

I did the same idea with Rowdy. I didn't flick her onto the floor, but put her on her play gym and ignored her for a few minutes. Then we tried again. If she bit me, back on the play gym she went. I did have to clip her wings though so she didn't just fly right back. And with her wings clipped, she could not glide at all; she fell like a stone. So I could not have tried to lightly toss her to the floor without hurting her. Nandays are rather hefty for their size (they are made out of some unusually dense substance like cats).

 

[lexx510]

While I think suspending shoulder privileges is a good idea, it's not always feasible. Or even keeping them off of there and then they earn them back and you have to suspend them again, it can get a bit confusing. And placing a bird on the floor for biting behavior is actually what is recommended in several conure handbooks and what has been taught by the rescue group my Mother worked with.

Biting is natural, yes, and birds bite for a variety of reasons. But aggressive biting is not a behavior that is necessarily "natural". I mean, its natural, as biting in and of itself is natural, but aggressive biting is also not a necessary behavior. I think biting out of fear, pain or the "letting you know someone is there" is natural and understandable. Aggressive biting should always be discouraged. Period.

If the bird would have a tendency to bite your ear and would hang on while trying to extract, then yes, I would agree that you shouldn't be allowing them on your shoulder. Loki gets shoulder privileges, but occasionally he too will lash out for no logical reason. Which is why he ends up on the floor. a large percentage of the time, he's very good up there.

I wasn't suggesting keeping them off your shoulder indefinitely. But, for example, when they are hyped up it might be a good idea to do so to avoid a bite. I've observed my bird and learned certain behaviors/circumstances that usually lead to biting. Now I'm able to avoid bites by avoiding certain circumstances. For example, I now know that Guava likes to scold me for leaving her to go pick up my girlfriend from work. Usually, she'll hop right to the top of her cage after being let out, and prance around for a few minutes with her chest poking out. If I were to attempt to have her step up at that point, she'd most likely bite. So I give her a few minutes to cool off, and she then willingly steps up. Or, I could keep attempting to have her step up and then have to punish her for biting. What I'm trying to say is, that in some cases it's simply easier on everyone to avoid it in the first place.

 

[KatherineI]

I did the same idea with Rowdy. I didn't flick her onto the floor, but put her on her play gym and ignored her for a few minutes. Then we tried again. If she bit me, back on the play gym she went. I did have to clip her wings though so she didn't just fly right back. And with her wings clipped, she could not glide at all; she fell like a stone. So I could not have tried to lightly toss her to the floor without hurting her. Nandays are rather hefty for their size (they are made out of some unusually dense substance like cats).

Our house is slightly large, and to get Loki to a play gym would require giving him undeserved attention. I personally find that it's better to deal with the situation immediately, and so he gets a "time out" on the floor (plus he views the play gym as fun time, so IMO, just like with a toddler, you don't put them somewhere fun when they're in trouble). It doesn't hurt him (and flicking is just the only description I can come up with, he's not literally flicked, he's never hit, he's never thrown, he's never hurt - EVER), he understands immediately that he's done something he's not supposed to and it really works. He is usually quite well behaved for a day or two afterwards I say if it's not broke, don't fix it and this system for us certainly isn't broke! But for some birds, like Rowdy, that would also work because not being allowed to be with their person is certainly punishment enough!

I wasn't suggesting keeping them off your shoulder indefinitely. But, for example, when they are hyped up it might be a good idea to do so to avoid a bite. I've observed my bird and learned certain behaviors/circumstances that usually lead to biting. Now I'm able to avoid bites by avoiding certain circumstances. For example, I now know that Guava likes to scold me for leaving her to go pick up my girlfriend from work. Usually, she'll hop right to the top of her cage after being let out, and prance around for a few minutes with her chest poking out. If I were to attempt to have her step up at that point, she'd most likely bite. So I give her a few minutes to cool off, and she then willingly steps up. Or, I could keep attempting to have her step up and then have to punish her for biting. What I'm trying to say is, that in some cases it's simply easier on everyone to avoid it in the first place.

Not all birds have the same trigger over and over again. What can be fine one day, isn't the next. Loki is very Bipolar. While I agree that, much like with kids, you avoid putting them in the position in the first place, that's also not always possible. What sets my nephew off one day, might be perfectly fine the next. Which can be frustrating for both him and the grown ups caring for him! Yes, if you notice a pattern or that there are signs, certainly utilize those as tools. Unfortunately, not all of us have birds that are predictable.

 

[lexx510]

I did the same idea with Rowdy. I didn't flick her onto the floor, but put her on her play gym and ignored her for a few minutes. Then we tried again. If she bit me, back on the play gym she went. I did have to clip her wings though so she didn't just fly right back. And with her wings clipped, she could not glide at all; she fell like a stone. So I could not have tried to lightly toss her to the floor without hurting her. Nandays are rather hefty for their size (they are made out of some unusually dense substance like cats).

Our house is slightly large, and to get Loki to a play gym would require giving him undeserved attention. I personally find that it's better to deal with the situation immediately, and so he gets a "time out" on the floor (plus he views the play gym as fun time, so IMO, just like with a toddler, you don't put them somewhere fun when they're in trouble). It doesn't hurt him (and flicking is just the only description I can come up with, he's not literally flicked, he's never hit, he's never thrown, he's never hurt - EVER), he understands immediately that he's done something he's not supposed to and it really works. He is usually quite well behaved for a day or two afterwards I say if it's not broke, don't fix it and this system for us certainly isn't broke! But for some birds, like Rowdy, that would also work because not being allowed to be with their person is certainly punishment enough!

I wasn't suggesting keeping them off your shoulder indefinitely. But, for example, when they are hyped up it might be a good idea to do so to avoid a bite. I've observed my bird and learned certain behaviors/circumstances that usually lead to biting. Now I'm able to avoid bites by avoiding certain circumstances. For example, I now know that Guava likes to scold me for leaving her to go pick up my girlfriend from work. Usually, she'll hop right to the top of her cage after being let out, and prance around for a few minutes with her chest poking out. If I were to attempt to have her step up at that point, she'd most likely bite. So I give her a few minutes to cool off, and she then willingly steps up. Or, I could keep attempting to have her step up and then have to punish her for biting. What I'm trying to say is, that in some cases it's simply easier on everyone to avoid it in the first place.

Not all birds have the same trigger over and over again. What can be fine one day, isn't the next. Loki is very Bipolar. While I agree that, much like with kids, you avoid putting them in the position in the first place, that's also not always possible. What sets my nephew off one day, might be perfectly fine the next. Which can be frustrating for both him and the grown ups caring for him! Yes, if you notice a pattern or that there are signs, certainly utilize those as tools. Unfortunately, not all of us have birds that are predictable.

Very true, it's not always going to be as predictable. Guava still bites out of the blue for whatever reason every now and then. And in that case, I, too, place her down on the floor and walk away.

 

[roxynoodle]

Katharine, I did not mean to imply that you hurt your bird in any way, shape or form. The floor is actually considered a good place to put a bird for a time out and attitude adjustment.

And yes, I had Rowdy's playgym sitting on my coffee table, so it was close by. And it wouldn't work these days because she loves it, but when I first got her, she only wanted to be with me, so it did then.

And yes, after a wing clip, she could not fly or glide at all, unfortunately. My Blue Crown could fly 50 feet after a wing clip, but Rowdy just goes BOOM! So does Pete. In fact she tried to jump off the play gym a couple of times once she knew she couldn't fly and I'm lucky she didn't get hurt she fell so fast.