No Bite!

[Vivica]

As you all know from my first post, my bird is very territorial. And when he bites he draws blood. The man at the bird event the other day told me to just drop the bird to the ground and walk away, instead of saying no and putting him in his cage.

My question is, when do I do this? I know the boxes are HIS territory and he guards it with his life, along with his toys in his cage. He even tried to bite my fiancee when he was putting the toy in the cage. Should I allow this to be a human free zone for him, or should I chastise him for his actions by covering him without saying anything/with saying something.

Parrot owners with nipping problems, what do you say?

 

[Bobby34231]

Drop the bird to the ground and walk away :11:, I wonder where in the world that guy learned his training techniques???

 

[CrypticDelirium]

Whoever told you to DROP the bird should be rendered unable to multiply and removed from the gene pool. How horrible!

Have you ever tried target training? Sometimes it takes birdies mind off territoy and switches it to "oooh treat time".

If she lunges at you to bite and you or your fience cringe away or show ANY reaction you may be reinforcing that if he tries to bite, he gets what she wants. You should have seen my 4" tall quaker CHASE my hubby down the hallway with a vengeance when he tried to change the water, but after he took a bite (actually a pretty nasty one for such a little bird) to show it didn't affect him it got much better.
It's not the funnest way, but if all else fails it can work.
Hope this helps and good luck! = )

 

[nofearengineer]

My experience with parrots has shown me that negative training has limited results. I think that this is because while parrots are exceptionally good with drawing connections between events, they sometimes can be a little shaky on cause and effect.

In other words, your parrot can twist things around in his bird brain so that he feels justified in biting you because you dropped him. That the drop was a result of him biting you means nothing to him.

The way around this is to "change the subject" so to speak. When wanting to handle his toys, simply distract him with a treat, singing, etc. Once you break the chain of continual association of you handiing his toys with conflict, then you can go about creating a different association. He might even come to associate you handling his toys with him getting a treat.

And wouldn't that be fun. I've never heard anyone complain about having to give their parrot too many treats.

 

[Vivica]

Thank you for all your input, but what is target training?
I'm just learning with new ways to cope with him, and he even attacks cans that are on tables. I saw him spiral around with one in his mouth today. It was empty, but it still gave me a shock because those cans are SHARP! I just want to resolve these issues one at a time.

1--cans
2-- territorial about boxes and toys
3--his overall hatred for others besides me and my fiancee

I'm just lost as of what to do. I have a very aggressive, and sometimes even loving -type bird. Some days he just wants to sit on your shoulder and have a treat, other times, he gets like mentioned above and it all goes sour, because I end up saying
"Wrnts, NO!" and he steps up on my hand from the door and sometimes flies back on his own. It seems to me he wants attention but doesn't know how to get it. I try to get him to step up, he KNOWS step up. He's 15! but he blatantly disregards me or puts his head down so i can't access his tummy to get him to step up.

I'm just frazzled. This bird used to be the kindest thing known to man, and now he's out of control. What's the first step I should take on these issues?

P.S- I knew letting the bird drop to the ground is a horrible thing. but it worked for his cockatoo and he's as docile as ever. AHHHHHHHHHHH HEAD EXPLODING. I just want WRNTS TO BE HAPPY! NOT CRANKY!

 

[Bobby34231]

Hey Vivica, heres a short video showing what target training is, there are many videos and articles out there explaing in detail, this type of training is much more successful than that other guys stop,drop and walk away technique

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbXHrqqEIp4]YouTube - Parrot Bites Person - How To Train Your Parrot to Step Up Without Biting[/ame]

 

[Vivica]

i tried having him step up successfully, gave him a treat on my shoulder. He got back to his cage, and I knew I was going to face painful bites for messing with his box. So I had the cracker in one hand, and touched the box with the other. He pretty much instantly drew blood, so I kept saying "wrnts no" and he seemed a little confused. In the end, the pain of the bites ruled over the determination and I was left defeated. I closed the cage and covered it. I'm not expecting sudden changes, but I didn't think he'd hurt me like that. I never recoiled, stayed focused. My pain was secondary to what my goal was. Unfortunately one final hard bite got me out of the cage. I'd won one challenge, but failed at the other. It will take many more nips until I can get him to trust me in his cage. Am I going about this the right way?

 

[Bobby34231]

Well with the target training you can eliminate the bites to you by focusing his attention elsewhere, it also uses possitive reinforcement as an incentive for good behavior, with just telling him no for bad behavior the is no reward thus no incentive to change that bad behavior, I'd do some research on the subject, it could save you some unwanted frustration, you might want to talk to Aussie Ben, he's had great success with his Tiel Buddy

 

[Vivica]

ok thank you very much Bob, you're always such a help.

 

[Spiritbird]

VIV That person that told you to drop the bird should never touch a bird again. One never and I mean never trains a bird with negative methods such as punishment. OK so your bird (name?) bites you hard. This alone is a message. The bird has not bonded with your nor does it trust you yet so it is asking you to back off. Cage agreesion is somthing else they can learn. "Its my house and stay out" My Rosie is cage agressive. I put a perch on the inside of the door. When I need her to come out I open the door and wait. Not by the cage but nearby so I can see. It works and I do not get bitten. Please learn from the link I am giving you for various behaviors. If you are angry and frusterated just imagine how your bird feels.

http://www.goodbirdinc.com/parrot-behavior-problems.html

http://thetrueparrot.homestead.com/behavioral.html

 

[Vivica]

how could he not have bonded with me after 15 years? somewhere, something went wrong. He used to be loving and affectionate, and now, this territorial behavior. I'm very sad that you think my bird and I haven't bonded. We have, and some days he wants to spend the whole day on my shoulder. Thank you for the links, they're very informative, but wrnts is a complicated case. He went from a loving bird to a partial-recluse and I just don't know what to do with him. He has the kindness within him, I know that... but as for the trust, it's there--just not around the inside of his cage.

 

[nofearengineer]

Vivica, how long are these spells with him, and how often? Gandalf used to wig out on me about every 6 months. I'm not sure if there was any biological significance to that interval, but it was very real. I just learned to read his body language very well, and his little temper tantrums would be short-lived.

 

[Vivica]

this has been for a few months. I thought he was just hormonal, but it's gotten much more serious then that. He becomes a different bird when he attacks, like it's not wrnts in there. There has to be some explanation for his horrible antics. I know he loves the hell out of me, but he's a tough lover. He lets me turn him upside down and kiss his tummy. He's just all in his little world.

 

[Spiritbird]

Sorry about the bonded thing V I did not know you have had the bird for that long. The trust factor is another issue. While i have not read your entire post I wonder if you have ruled out any medical abnormalities with an avain vet. How to read a birds sometime very subtle body language is a college course we should all take. If you are at whits end I suggest you conference with an avain behaviorist. Good luck

One last thought is that birds get very grumpy when they do not get enough quality sleep. By that I mean about 10 to 12 hrs of sleep without the sound of radio or TV or loud voices. Perhaps a sleeping cage in a quiet room at night may help.

 

[SharonC]

That's a good point, SB. I find my crew do well with 12-13 hours in a dark, quiet room. They actually want to go to bed at the same time each night....

 

[2Birds3Kids]

Vivica it sounds like he is hormonal. I did quite a few things to correct biting in my adopted Ekkie who is 14 y.o.

1. She now sleeps in a night cage (a travel bird cage). This helped her get the 10-12 hours of quiet sleep in the dark and reduced her territorialism.

2. I have a tree stand and a t-stand that I move all over the house with me. I never let her sit on top of her cage anymore.

3. I take her out with me often (every day). When I have her out she lets me pet and scratch her head much more. This biting ekkie, even lets strangers pet her, but never at home. However, taking her out has strengthened our bond greatly. I hold her close to my chest and gently scratch her neck when she gets nervous. She knows I am protecting her and this has strengthened our bond.

4. I never backed down from her bites. You can tighten up your hand in a fist and give him the back of your hand. By moving it around strategically you can keep your hand there without him being able to grab anything. Then lower your hand once he stops biting. He then learns that NOT biting will cause your hand to go away.

5. I also played with my ekkies beak a lot. A few times when she tried to bite me and I saw it coming I held her beak open and prevented her from biting. Showing her that I was stronger than her beak has really helped.

6. Get his nails and beak trimmed. I had mine done at Omar's in S. Cal. and I highly recommend them. It is inexpensive and gives biting birds a major attitude adjustment. This nearly gave me a new bird overnight.

7. Give your guy a full immersion bath in the sink. Afterward wrap him in a towel and gently pet him. He will see that your hands mean no harm.

These were all of the measures I took with my adopted bird who was a known biter when I got her. She even lets my 3 children (6,8,10) hold her now without biting.

I hope this helps you as I know how heartbreaking it is to have a parrot that won't let you be around him without biting. ~Page

 

[Vivica]

Thanks, i'm going to take him for grooming sunday and hopefully a vet the beginning of next month. We'll get to the bottom of this, even if it kills me.

 

[nofearengineer]

It just occurred to me that teenagers are a pain in the butt, no matter what species.

 

[Vivica]

Haha ain't that the truth! Fids are just like teen humans.