Sexual Maturity ( and biting ?? )

[Robyn]

Hi there,

I did post a similar message once before but it was before my male eclectus Jack hit maturity ( I think ). My previous message was " what to expect when they reach sexual maturity ".
Now Im wondering if this is it ?
Jack is 1 1/2 yrs old and we have had him since he was 14 weeks. But just lately he has started to bite and quite hard. He has made a couple of us bleed a little and leave purple marks. Other than the biting he is quite a happy , very contented boy who gets tons of attention by all of us. So he isnt lacking in anything.
We did bring home a baby kitten just a few days ago, but all this biting started well before then. His behaviour hasnt changed at all towards our new kitten, as we have another cat. He has had a play with the kitten and he was actually jumping all over her and the kitten just wanted to play. I do know the dangers of cat and birds and we were extremely careful of this ... But his biting has nothing to do with the kitten, this started about 4 - 6 weeks ago.
We are now getting a little fed up with it and that he might bite somebody else outside our family much harder that he doesnt know.
I do know the mood he gets into when he is about to bite , just out of the blue he will come at you and bite. We now have to watch our toes if he is walking on the floor, he seems to be going for toes.
When he does bite we do tel lhim that he is naughty and do not reward him in anyway and he goes straight to his cage, will this punishment help ?? Is there anyway to try and fix this ? Is it something he will grow out of ?
Thanks ,
Robyn

 

[Spiritbird]

He is a bit young still for sexual maturity. That usually comes in after 3 or 4 years of age. He is a juvenile now with all the things that go along with adolescence. Some would call it the terrible twos. It is needed in the flock because they are gaining more independence from the flock leaders (you). Maturing birds need to express their autonomy within a framework of step ups, no roaming around, and no biting without reason. Allow him choices and decisions in the every day happenings.

One must not discipline at this time but concentrate on posative reinforcement. It is a stressful time for him as well as you. If he is overcorrected or dominated at this time when he is separating emotionally from you behaviors issues will stick around.

It is likely at this time your relationship with him will change. He will not want to be cuddled as much or scratches on his head.
So be patient with him and understand adolescence for what it is. Give him the space he may be asking for (keeping his safety needs in mind) instead of the opportunity to bite you. Observe his body language very closely and you will see the signs of an imminent bite coming.

As they say this too will pass.

 

[Pedro]

RP - Biting

Robyn, thought this link was a good read & may give you some ideas of what your doing wrong & maybe how to fix it. I am a great believer that biting is a learned behavior & i am afraid we are normally at fault.

I have 13 Eclectus of various ages & i very rarely get bitten. If i do it is normally a hen & it's was my own fault. My boys never bite at all. I can do anything at all with them BUT only on their terms & when they are in the mood otherwise forget it. I can not for the life make my birds do something they don't want to. If i push them i can expect to get a warning & if i keep it up then i can get bitten.

 

[BenBird]

Birds shouldn't be around any cats. Slightest scratch can be deadly. Cats have bacteria naturally in there bite and claws. I recently attended a seminar by an avian vet. Cats and dogs are extremely dangerous to be around birds. Doesn't matter how friendly your cat and/or dog is...they're natural predators. Smallest little scratch can be the end of your bird.

 

[Birdman666]

We are now getting a little fed up with it and that he might bite somebody else outside our family much harder that he doesnt know.
I do know the mood he gets into when he is about to bite , just out of the blue he will come at you and bite. We now have to watch our toes if he is walking on the floor, he seems to be going for toes.
When he does bite we do tel lhim that he is naughty and do not reward him in anyway and he goes straight to his cage, will this punishment help ?? Is there anyway to try and fix this ? Is it something he will grow out of ?
Thanks ,
Robyn

Well, you could be inadvertently training him to bite you every time he wants to go back to his cage...

First of all, he is still to young to be sexually mature, so that ain't it.

My guess is this is a "testing" phase.

My answer to a bird that goes after my feet, is to do what a wild bird would do in that situation... back his little butt up.

With an eckie, I would use a small pillow, like a decorative pillow from a couch, and "go after" him with it if he goes after your feet. (Make the pillow go after him, not your hands...

Back him into a corner with the pillow in front of him, and let him think about how SO NOT BIG AND BAD HE IS. Then take the pillow away and make him step up nice without biting. He bites, he stays on the floor in the corner... He stops, he gets off the floor.

It may be controversial, but it works.

Ever seen a large macaw just sit there and let a smaller bird walk up and bite them? I didn't think so... And that smaller bird wouldn't do it for exactly that reason. BE BIG BIRD!

 

[Birdman666]

rp - biting

robyn, thought this link was a good read & may give you some ideas of what your doing wrong & maybe how to fix it. I am a great believer that biting is a learned behavior & i am afraid we are normally at fault.

I have 13 eclectus of various ages & i very rarely get bitten. If i do it is normally a hen & it's was my own fault. My boys never bite at all. I can do anything at all with them but only on their terms & when they are in the mood otherwise forget it. I can not for the life make my birds do something they don't want to. If i push them i can expect to get a warning & if i keep it up then i can get bitten.

this is very true, and the same goes for amazons and cags as well...

 

[MikeyTN]

Benbird, that's something we already know. This is a very old post from 2010 guys.

 

[Birdman666]

Whoops, I just looked at todays post, not the original date.

 

[solrac13]

Hello

I am not sure this can help u but .............

Well I have read in a french forum for some same issues at the same age, it seems to change shortly after few weeks in a opposite situation, they then become very affectionate and stay like this until sexual maturity when then you can have a different crisis

Also I have read that Electus who make it to over 10 years and were given lots of freedom in your house, then they can become the Alfa member and it can be very difficult to live with them in the same house

 

[solrac13]

@Robyn & all

Oups just find out was an old post sorry!

ANY WAY be very interesting to find out, how the situation ended?

How are they doing your 2 birds now days Robyn?

Thanks