Play fighting?

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Hi everyone,

I have a 5 month old male ekkie named Kaiju who loves to play fight with his toys. When he does this he can look pretty aggressive. He growls a lot and lunges at his toys to attack them. He does it a lot with a small blue octopus cat-toy and his big rope mobile too.

My problem is lately when I let him out around the house he has started doing this to me! I know he is just play fighting me and he mostly goes for my cardigan or my hair but sometimes quite often he will just end up biting me, which hurts! Especially when he goes for my hair I am scared he is gonna bite my face.

I have tried redirecting him to attack or chew on something more suitable but he usually comes back to me in a few minutes and I end up pushing him off me with a pillow and putting him back in his cage until he calms down. Any ideas on how I can get him to understand that play fighting with humans is not the same as with toys?

 

[Anansi]

Bite pressure training. You're already doing some of what you need to. If you are consistent with your timeouts, they can be a very effective tool in getting your point across. But it can take time.

Also, you should always tell him "No" in a firm yet steady voice whenever his beak pressure goes beyond your comfort level. At the same time, if he is on your arm, you can use the wobble technique. Basically, you would give enough of a shake to your arm to slightly threaten his balance. But never enough to actually make him fall, as that would likely damage the trust between you. Whenever the wobble technique does not yield immediate results, the next level escalation is the timeout. Try to keep it under 15 minutes, though. Any later, and you risk him forgetting why he was on timeout in the first place.

Soon enough, your bird will come to associate the unpleasant sensation of a loss of balance with you saying no, and will desist when you say it.

If your bird's sense of balance is particularly good, the wobble technique may not work. (Such proved to be the case with my female eclectus, Maya.) If this is the case, you may have to rely solely on timeouts. But your message will get through. Patience and persistence will win out.

Hope this helps.