New Amazon am I doing this right

[Mindy]

Hi
I am new to the breed so apologies in advance for all the questions I'll have! Ricky is 1.5 years old. Purchased from a breeder this week. The story was she was returned for not stepping up. The only thing I'm working on is gaining trust through food and it's going well.
I was just now attaching a toy to her cage top where she currently is. She didn't get anxious at all and was curious about what I was doing...came over and bit me. Not really hard but hard enough to cut me with her sharp beak then stopped on her own and stepped back. I did not react in any way, just finished attaching the toy and then watched her play with it. Was that the right thing to do? If not why?

Thanks!!

 

[psychocircus91]

Sounds fine to me. Just keep talking to her, giving her treats by hand.
I recommend wearing a long sleeve shirt and a sweat shirt over top of that when working in the cage. This will save you some pain and ensure you're not reacting much to the bites.
Hopefully some of our local amazon people will chime in!

 

[MonicaMc]

The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs.

She may have been uncomfortable with you (or the toy) in her cage, and you may not have noticed the subtle changes in her behavior to indicate she was not comfortable, which lead to the bite.


If possible, avoid situations that will result in a bite, if you see a bite coming, then back off or redirect to better behavior (i.e. you want to bite? would you like to chew on this instead? ya? good bird! that's fun, right?)


Biting in and of itself can be self rewarding, so even if you ignore the bite, the bird can still be rewarded in it's own way for biting.

 

[SailBoat]

Hi
I am new to the breed so apologies in advance for all the questions I'll have! Ricky is 1.5 years old. Purchased from a breeder this week. The story was she was returned for not stepping up. The only thing I'm working on is gaining trust through food and it's going well.
I was just now attaching a toy to her cage top where she currently is. She didn't get anxious at all and was curious about what I was doing...came over and bit me. Not really hard but hard enough to cut me with her sharp beak then stopped on her own and stepped back. I did not react in any way, just finished attaching the toy and then watched her play with it. Was that the right thing to do? If not why? Thanks!!

Remember to introduce new things! Running in with a new toy and attaching it, especially with a newly homed Amazon will get you what you got: Bit! The new stuff comes into the room and sits for a bit and than moves closer to the cage and finally with the observation /approval of the Amazon, it can be placed in her World.

It is very good that the bit (although from a sharp Bill) was light and she let go. That is very positive!

Your reaction was well metered and proper. Next time, be mindful and watchful of her reactions as you are working in close with her. If you haven't or have, but only a time of two, read the first Thread in the Amazon Forum. It will help you begin to understand Amazon Body Language. Best way to read and understand this Thread is to seat next to your Amazon and read it out loud to your Amazon!

Enjoy and also remember: Amazon's Have More Fun!

FYI: With Parrots (Birds), the term is 'Species.'

 

[wrench13]

I second 'Boats response. Sitting next to er cagre, read out loud, ith plenty of expressionism, the whole sticky on body language. Several times in fact, try to do it at the same time, and every day. It sets up a regular pattern for your parrot, and they LOVE regularity. My Salty gets nuts if our regular traiing time is late by as little as 5 minutes. You'll ant to figure out her favorite treat, and use that as rewards for any type of training, whether that is stepping up, or doing tricks ( which most amazons love) , treat and verbal praise , they love it. Go sloly at the birds pace. Be repared to take 2 steps forward and 1 back, maybe 3 back. but be consistent in your actions and and commands you use. So alays say Step Up or what ever your phrase may be. Always give the reward IMMEDIATELY whe she does it right, so she associates it with the action. Good Luck and report back to us with your progress ( or lack of it).