Parrot Bites Me, And Only Me

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

so my brother has a 5 month old lutino 'tiel and he really really knows how to bite. Handling him is a gamble between wether I'd get bit or not. He mostly attacks my hands and sometimes also my face and feet. I've been trying to find out what I could be doing wrong. This problem began a few weeks into his first moult (he's still going through his moult).
He will sit on my leg but when he sees my hand he get mad and tries to bite. He will also sit on my arm but not my hand.

Any help on how I can stop this will be greatly appreciated. Also he only bite me, no one else.

 

[SailBoat]

Consider changing your vantage point. Try this;
It is never the Fault of the Parrot!
It is always the Fault of the Human!
By changing to this vantage point, the what one is doing wrong can be seen and can quickly corrected.

Since, the Bird has only been part of the family for a short period of time, is it possible that you are expecting too much, too some?
Hands are difficult for Parrots to connect to people. They are more like other things that hang around. Try bring you hand near, but short of where it garners a reaction. This will help to reduce a general dislike and over time (several) weeks you can move your hand a bit closer.
Since it is only you, you get to deliver the goodies as a way of linking your hands to good things.

Slow Down. Just because your brother's bird doesn't like you as much does not mean you should force the relationship. Relationships are developed over time.

Remember, developing a Bond Takes Time.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Where I'd start from first is how have your interactions with him been different from others? Do you touch him more frequently or maybe ask him to step up more? Have you ever been in a situation that the tiel associates with negatively? It could be you might have accidentally scared him at one point, or maybe you were around when he got scared.

I'll be honest, Cairo dislikes my partner's hands. My partner doesn't read animal body language, let alone the more complicated bird body language, well at all. So my partner is oblivious to cues from Cairo to not do something - and those cues could be anything from eyes pining to beak pushing - and so his hands keep doing something that upsets Cairo. Cairo has learned that my partner's hands need firmer reminders in the way of resorting to biting faster.

Because it is hard to teach a human who is your significant other (trust me, I'm working on it), we trying to create positive associations with my partner's hands. My partner feeds treats more frequently, which helps a little.

We also do a 2-5min timeout for biting, but it's hard for me because I notice the warnings and I understand where Cairo is coming from (he gives quite a few warnings before he bites, so it's really a case of human has been oblivious for too long).

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

Consider changing your vantage point. Try this;
It is never the Fault of the Parrot!
It is always the Fault of the Human!
By changing to this vantage point, the what one is doing wrong can be seen and can quickly corrected.

Since, the Bird has only been part of the family for a short period of time, is it possible that you are expecting too much, too some?
Hands are difficult for Parrots to connect to people. They are more like other things that hang around. Try bring you hand near, but short of where it garners a reaction. This will help to reduce a general dislike and over time (several) weeks you can move your hand a bit closer.
Since it is only you, you get to deliver the goodies as a way of linking your hands to good things.

Slow Down. Just because your brother's bird doesn't like you as much does not mean you should force the relationship. Relationships are developed over time.

Remember, developing a Bond Takes Time.

Thanks for the reply. I'll try what you suggested.

Also Crippi has been part of the family since he was 4 weeks old. This problem arose suddenly during his moult. He was perfectly fine with me and I even gave him headscratches before. Now he hates it when I touch him. I also used to handle him a lot because my brother is pretty busy.
But still, thank you for your help.

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

Where I'd start from first is how have your interactions with him been different from others? Do you touch him more frequently or maybe ask him to step up more? Have you ever been in a situation that the tiel associates with negatively? It could be you might have accidentally scared him at one point, or maybe you were around when he got scared.

I'll be honest, Cairo dislikes my partner's hands. My partner doesn't read animal body language, let alone the more complicated bird body language, well at all. So my partner is oblivious to cues from Cairo to not do something - and those cues could be anything from eyes pining to beak pushing - and so his hands keep doing something that upsets Cairo. Cairo has learned that my partner's hands need firmer reminders in the way of resorting to biting faster.

Because it is hard to teach a human who is your significant other (trust me, I'm working on it), we trying to create positive associations with my partner's hands. My partner feeds treats more frequently, which helps a little.

We also do a 2-5min timeout for biting, but it's hard for me because I notice the warnings and I understand where Cairo is coming from (he gives quite a few warnings before he bites, so it's really a case of human has been oblivious for too long).

Well I dont touch him more than other's in the family do. Now my brother is the only one that touches him. I only ask him to step up when he is coming out of his cage, cuase I know I won't get bitten then. Then after a minute or so, he will bite my hand if it gets too close. I cannot remember if I was in a situation he would see as negetive.

If I try to give him a treat he goes for my hands. I have ignored him for about 2 minutes if he bites me

Also thank you for your help.

 

[Allee]

Crippi’s attitude may be due to his moult, if he has lots of new pinfeathers he may be uncomfortable and wants to warn you not to touch him. Another possibility, Crippi is a cockatiel and some of them love drama, it may be fun for him to watch a human react when he bites. My cockatiel is almost five, when she was Crippi’s age she was extremely nippy, I learned to slow my approach and talk softly to her and wait for her to be completely calm before asking her to step up. She stopped biting but she still hisses and bluffs when someone wants to hold her even though she loves being held.

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

Crippi’s attitude may be due to his moult, if he has lots of new pinfeathers he may be uncomfortable and wants to warn you not to touch him. Another possibility, Crippi is a cockatiel and some of them love drama, it may be fun for him to watch a human react when he bites. My cockatiel is almost five, when she was Crippi’s age she was extremely nippy, I learned to slow my approach and talk softly to her and wait for her to be completely calm before asking her to step up. She stopped biting but she still hisses and bluffs when someone wants to hold her even though she loves being held.

Thanks for replying.

Yeah I was thinking that he may be like that cause he's moulting as well. I usually react by quickly pulling my hand away. If he bites harder than usual I kinda do hiss cause of the pain.


Oh and something I forgot to mention..when he's calm and doesn't bite, he refuses to step up and moves away from my hand.

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

Well, I have a little bit of a improvement with the situation (I don't really know whether it's a improvement or not)
Before even if he sees a treat in my hand he will attack my hand. Now, if he sees the treat he doesn't bite but if he sees no treat than he will bite (unless I keep my hand a few centimeters away)
He steps up when getting out of his cage and will tolerate my hand but not step up after a minute or so.
I'll keep on working on the relationship between Crippi and I. Hopefully I will be able to get him to stop biting in a few weeks.