Tape for less biting pain?

[MonicaMc]

If your bird wont step up all the way, then reward at one step. That's progress made towards what you do want! Reward, reward, reward.

What you may be doing is asking too much too soon and your bird doesn't understand it.


Step up training should look something like this....

1. Reward your bird for looking at you.
2. Reward your bird for moving his head towards you.
3. Reward your bird for taking a step towards you.
4. Reward your bird for taking another step towards you.
5. If he doesn't run away, keep rewarding him for remaining where he's at. (if he runs/backs off, you may need to start over again)
6. Reward your bird for taking a couple more steps closer.
7. Encourage him to come closer yet again and reward him.
8. Reward your bird for touching you with his toe(s).
9. Reward your bird for putting a foot on you.
10. *JACKPOT REWARD* Give your bird lots of goodies for putting both feet on you!

 

[Anansi]

A few years back, I tried beige colored vet wrap on my son's hands to protect him since Maya tended to bite anyone who wasn't me. Well, the very sight of the vet wrap drove her into a biting frenzy, and her ginsu beak sheared through the vet wrap in moments. So I personally never used vet wrap for that purpose again.

Might be different on the arms if worn beneath the sleeves, though.

Excellent advice above by Monica. Here are 2 more threads you might want to peruse:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

 

[Jottlebot]

I think it's an interesting idea, because I think you're looking for something to give you confidence so you have the chance to correct the behaviour/reward the behaviour you like. I guess worst case scenario is you have to tape your fingers forever...?

Does he know what skin is?! Can you let him on your arm or a bent knee so he knows what it is, what it feels like etc, but can't take a bite because his beak is too small to do any damage?

 

[LeslieA]

I'm confused. Are you rewarding him for one foot? Does he bite before or after the treat? Can you use a chopstick (just an idea) instead of your finger?

 

[LeslieA]

A few years back, I tried beige colored vet wrap on my son's hands to protect him since Maya tended to bite anyone who wasn't me. Well, the very sight of the vet wrap drove her into a biting frenzy, and her ginsu beak sheared through the vet wrap in moments. So I personally never used vet wrap for that purpose again.

Might be different on the arms if worn beneath the sleeves, though.

Excellent advice above by Monica. Here are 2 more threads you might want to peruse:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

Wait, you do know that conures are one-person birds? It's natural for it to bite your son unless he's the chosen mate. I don't understand.

You do know birds aren't domesticated animals, right? They haven't had natural instincts bred out of them like many animals. For any bird in your flock, there are more relatives in the wild than captive in homes.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

In my experiences with Skittles, I CANNOT stress enough how important (and effective) it is to do the following: setting proper boundaries (and enforcing them, using timeouts if necessary) and "rewards" for good behavior.

I cannot stress enough how much of a difference this made with Skittles. He was literally a TOTALLY different bird than he is now.

While parrots are drawn to 'drama' and crave 'responses', you can use this to your advantage when training. I always got 'excited' around Skittles when he was being good and giving him lots of cuddles and treats and he now associates the two. He loves getting his own way, but he knows if he pushes the limits too far, he doesn't get his treats. He wants his treats.


Another example (and a common issue with parrots) is shoulder territorialism. Skittles loves to sit on my shoulder and "press" against my neck when I'm on the PC. Sometimes I like to put my hand up and pet him while he's on my shoulder. He used to bite me (not hard) when I would do that. When he would do that, I'd remove him from my shoulder and not let him back on. He caught on, he's REALLY smart. Now I can pet him without bites. If he doesn't want to be petted, he will actually just fly off my shoulder instead of biting.

 

[Anansi]

A few years back, I tried beige colored vet wrap on my son's hands to protect him since Maya tended to bite anyone who wasn't me. Well, the very sight of the vet wrap drove her into a biting frenzy, and her ginsu beak sheared through the vet wrap in moments. So I personally never used vet wrap for that purpose again.

Might be different on the arms if worn beneath the sleeves, though.

Excellent advice above by Monica. Here are 2 more threads you might want to peruse:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

Wait, you do know that conures are one-person birds? It's natural for it to bite your son unless he's the chosen mate. I don't understand.

You do know birds aren't domesticated animals, right? They haven't had natural instincts bred out of them like many animals. For any bird in your flock, there are more relatives in the wild than captive in homes.

Well first, my birds are not conures. They are eclectus parrots. And ekkies do not have a tendency to be one person birds. And despite her nippiness at the time, no, she wasn't biting my son because he's not her chosen mate. She was biting him because she was freaked out by the vet tape on his fingers. She attacked with a frenzied viciousness in that instant that she's never exhibited before or since.

Second, yes, I am aware that parrots are not domesticated to the degree that dogs are. But it is entirely possible to work with a conure or any number of other parrot types and get them to the point of being well-socialized companion birds. And this includes parrots who are infamous for being "one-person birds". Of course, success in that area would be significantly hindered if the bird in question wasn't hand-raised.

Point here is that no one should just give up on socialization because their bird species carries the generalized label of "one person bird". Not fair to either the bird or his/her adopted household.

 

[MonicaMc]

Well first, my birds are not conures. They are eclectus parrots. And ekkies do not have a tendency to be one person birds. And despite her nippiness at the time, no, she wasn't biting my son because he's not her chosen mate. She was biting him because she was freaked out by the vet tape on his fingers. She attacked with a frenzied viciousness in that instant that she's never exhibited before or since.

Second, yes, I am aware that parrots are not domesticated to the degree that dogs are. But it is entirely possible to work with a conure or any number of other parrot types and get them to the point of being well-socialized companion birds. And this includes parrots who are infamous for being "one-person birds". Of course, success in that area would be significantly hindered if the bird in question wasn't hand-raised.

Point here is that no one should just give up on socialization because their bird species carries the generalized label of "one person bird". Not fair to either the bird or his/her adopted household.

I agree with this. I've had at least one conure in my life now for about 17 years.


My first conure wasn't very hands on. I don't know if he was wild caught, hand raised, or what. What I do know is that in his first(?) home, he was attacked by a ferret. He was left at the vets for dead because the owners couldn't afford the vet care and he wound up living with someone who couldn't interact with him. He was the opposite of what people described as a conure. He wasn't loud, wasn't cuddly, wasn't silly or goofy, nothing that people described as a conure. He couldn't fly, was partially blind, had health issues... I did eventually get him comfortable enough with *short* interactions with me... which pretty much involved taking him outside to his apple tree that he loved to chew up, holding him for a few moments and giving him kisses, then setting him back down... the only way I could spend a *long* time with him (i.e. more than 30-60 seconds) would be if I took him on a walk around the neighborhood. This was really the only time that he permitted extended periods of one on one interaction. I was trying to teach him to fly but the best he ever achieved was a jump and free-fall. (flew like a ragdoll) There was one day that my sister (who "hates" birds! she's a cat person...) went up to his cage to say hi to him and he jumped off his cage in an attempt to land on her! I think they both ended up pretty shocked by that...


My second conure has been the complete opposite of my first in everything except color! (not same species) Likes, dislikes, health... to me, he's been the epitome of the word "conure"! Although my vet says that he's not a typical conure either! Charlie had one home for ~10 years, then in a pet store for ~1 year, then in foster for ~1 year before he came to me. He's been considered a "one person bird", but from my own experiences, he just doesn't like "strangers". Strangers are anyone who don't take the time to get to know him and earn his trust. He can live with someone for *YEARS* and never warm up to that person if that person doesn't try to interact with him on a frequent basis. I've had one friend that spent two weeks working with him and walking him through the house when I wasn't there and he accepted them. That person is no longer in my life and he hasn't warmed up to anyone else in that way since... but my S.O. is working on it! When Charlie *has* warmed up to someone, he'll sit with them even if I'm right next to him, take food from them and accept scritches. If he isn't interested in someone else, then he wont sit on their hands, wont accept scritches and wont accept food from them. It takes at least a couple of weeks of daily interaction. Since my S.O. hasn't been working with him daily, it's taking longer to get there for him.

My third conure was also hands off when I first got her, like my first conure. However, unlike my first, she actually craved human interaction. She both desired it and was afraid of it at the same time. Jayde went from breeder to first home, back to breeder, then foster home before she came to me. I worked with her in a way that best suited her behavior and two weeks after taking her in, she was on my shoulder making happy conure noises in my ear and kissing my cheek. Now, it took *A LOT* of bravery to get there, but it was the turning point. I still had a lot of work to get her more comfortable because she was still afraid of leaving her cage and being away from it, but again, I listened to her and she soon was happily flying to me, once enough feathers had grown out on her wings. I was taking her and Charlie together to the local bird club meetings and after biting one of the other members in the nose, quickly warmed up to her. (as in, same day!) She actually really *loved* this other member and wanted to spend time with her over me. Although she wasn't happy when I had to separate them (I and/or her going home), once back home, she was fine with interacting with me. No grudges or anything. (if this other person was willing to take on another bird, I may have even considered giving her over. Although she had a chosen person (age difference...) she never stopped liking me because of it.


Fostering two green cheek conures right now. Neither one appear to be one person birds, either. One green cheek can't be physically held (yet) but he interacts with anyone in a hands off way. The other will snuggle up to any person that he/she chooses. Doesn't seem to be any gender or age preferences. Both can be pet/scritched on the head by anyone when in the mood.



If conures are supposed to be "one person birds", then there must be something wrong with the conures that I've had! All have been second hand, plus, birds, too! So they aren't birds that I've had since they were chicks at a young age from a breeder. :33:

 

[Terry57]

A few years back, I tried beige colored vet wrap on my son's hands to protect him since Maya tended to bite anyone who wasn't me. Well, the very sight of the vet wrap drove her into a biting frenzy, and her ginsu beak sheared through the vet wrap in moments. So I personally never used vet wrap for that purpose again.

Might be different on the arms if worn beneath the sleeves, though.

Excellent advice above by Monica. Here are 2 more threads you might want to peruse:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

Wait, you do know that conures are one-person birds? It's natural for it to bite your son unless he's the chosen mate. I don't understand.

You do know birds aren't domesticated animals, right? They haven't had natural instincts bred out of them like many animals. For any bird in your flock, there are more relatives in the wild than captive in homes.

Well first, my birds are not conures. They are eclectus parrots. And ekkies do not have a tendency to be one person birds. And despite her nippiness at the time, no, she wasn't biting my son because he's not her chosen mate. She was biting him because she was freaked out by the vet tape on his fingers. She attacked with a frenzied viciousness in that instant that she's never exhibited before or since.

Second, yes, I am aware that parrots are not domesticated to the degree that dogs are. But it is entirely possible to work with a conure or any number of other parrot types and get them to the point of being well-socialized companion birds. And this includes parrots who are infamous for being "one-person birds". Of course, success in that area would be significantly hindered if the bird in question wasn't hand-raised.

Point here is that no one should just give up on socialization because their bird species carries the generalized label of "one person bird". Not fair to either the bird or his/her adopted household.

I agree completely, Stephen. And FWIW, I have 6 conures, and none are one person birds.

 

[AutumnBreeze]

I found this out by accident when I first got my conure, when he tried to bite me I put my finger gently on his beak for protection so he couldn't bite my finger but he saw it as a sign of affection, it helped him trust me and within the first day of getting him he was on my finger when the rescue center I got him from said it may take months till he goes on my finger. now I don't know if this will work for your conure but it definitely helped mine.

 

[LeslieA]

My first conure was a fiery shouldered. He was from a rescue and I don't know his age or history. He sorta fell into my lap and I had him for 6 years. He was quiet and patient as long as he only dealt with me.

My next Pyrrhura was also rescue and was a Pearly. She had been in at least 4 homes previously. She also was well-behaved with ME.

My next Pyrrhura was a Pineapple GCC. I got her as a socialized and well-trained breeder baby for 19 years. She got excited when the doorbell rang because she just knew another friend had come to see her, but she always looked at me for approval. She was totally spoiled.

My current is a rehome Yellow-side GCC. In only a couple of months, he lives on my shoulder. He attacks anyone that gets near me. A good friend came over and was attacked for hugging me. Every time since, he tries to spar with him when he visits. I tried putting him on my friend Mary's finger and he jumped right back on mine. It's only been about 6 weeks, so I figure it's too soon to tell.

I have had a number of rescued Aratingas and a rehome. They were or are attached to a single creature although friendly with others. My current 23yo BCC is still in quarantine.

Although my conures have been friendly with others, it's obvious that they choose one creature or object to attach to.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I think the important thing is that you and your bird come to an agreement that's safe and happy for both of you. I used to feel ashamed that the Rb was/is so difficult. Temperamental, aggressive, soooooo loud. I'm a skilled applied behavior analyst (used to do it for a living) so I know the ropes, and I've done a decent job of working with what I've got, but he's still just... something else!
So if you have a bird who's... special... do join me in doing your best and then just loving the stinker.

I love you, Rickeybird, you little... BIRD!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I'm the same with Skittles. I've sort of given him a 'rickybird' nickname too. I call him the "orange bird". lol.

I don't try to train Skittles to be a certain way or to mold him to a certain expectation. I rather maintain our respective boundaries and encourage good behaviors and redirect/address bad ones appropriately.

I have found that by encouraging him to express his own individual personality rather than mold him to a certain way, we have a very rewarding relationship. He does get bossy and often acts "entitled", but he's just such a bundle of lovable feathers that I just chalk it up to being a parront. He IS a handful, but he keeps me on my toes! He DOES have this whole "jekyl and hyde" type personality that is pretty common and typical of suns.

I just find that have a 'mutual' respect has worked wonders in preventing bad behaviors. He is incredibly obedient when it comes to my "no biting" commands. He knows that biting hard will NOT get him what he wants, but making "kissy noises" and being patient will reap rewards.

 

[Anansi]

...Although my conures have been friendly with others, it's obvious that they choose one creature or object to attach to.

Ah, well this is entirely different. Most parrots will wind up having a favorite. I'm the favorite for both of my ekkies. As I was for my ekkie before them and my cockatiel before him. My point was that having a favorite doesn't preclude them from being well-socialized with others to the point they won't bite them.

Jolly, my current male eclectus, is a perfect example of this. I'm clearly his favorite, with my wife running a close second. Yet, he is socialized to the point that there are no worries if he's hanging out on either of my sons' shoulders, or those of other family or friends when they come around. Socialization is huge.

I had similar socialization success with Bixby and Suzie. Maya, however, continues to be a bit of a work in progress. She'll get there, but she's definitely been the most stubborn in that sense.

 

[EllenD]

Honestly, I don't think it's at all "unique" or "special" for any species of Conure to act in the ways described throughout this post. It's kind of funny, but the more people come to this post and describe their "special" Conures who behave in a "special" way, the less uncommon these behaviors actually seem to be for them.

I too have a Yellow-Sided Green Cheek who is a "Velcro-Bird" when it comes to me, he's always attached to me, he's jealous of my other birds whenever they are with me or on me, and he's not fond at all of anyone else. Just the other day I had someone over to my house who has lots and lots of bird experience (they adopted one of the baby Budgies I hand-raised recently), and she wanted to meet my flock. I already had Kane (Senegal) with me when she came over, so they met and were interacting just fine, and then I brought Lita, my Quaker down, and they got along like gangbusters, as Lita is definitely my most social bird, she loves everyone who gives her attention and she likes nothing more than to show-off her dance skills for anyone who will watch...Then I brought Bowie down, my Green Cheek, and I too almost felt it necessary to apologize for his behavior. He wouldn't step-up for her, and when he was on his T-Stand and she started simply talking to him gently and softly, he jumped onto my arm and ran up to my shoulder and hid behind my ear and under my hair, and made his little "growling" sounds the whole time. And the really strange thing is that Bowie has been harness-trained since he was a very young baby, and he goes out in public all the time, so it's not like he's not used to people. He just wants me, that's it. And the more I read the stories on here posted by other Conure owners, the more I realize that these Conures that we feel are "special", lol, or who behave in a way differently than they "should" be behaving, the more I realize that this might just be the "norm" for Conures.

And what Gail wrote above is exactly the way we should all think and feel about our own birds, and that is that they are very unique creatures, they aren't dogs or cats, and they are extremely intelligent as well. They are more like humans than they are other animals, and they are who they are, and they're going to be who they are going to be, and there is little that we can do to change their personalities...And honestly when I really think about it, I don't want to change who Bowie is, because who he is is exactly who I love.

If we don't accept our birds for who they are and for what their personalities are, and we continually try to change inherently what they are, as Gail said above, we are only going to end-up creating problems. They are too intelligent to try to "shape" them into who we want them to be. We cannot approach training birds the way we do with dogs, and unfortunately many people do think of their birds the same way they think of their dogs, and that just doesn't work.

 

[Anansi]

I agree with you to a point, Ellen. There are definitely tendencies with certain birds, as showcased by your observations regarding conures which I find to be spot on. And accepting a bird for who they are is very important for all the reasons you describe. But I don't extend that acceptance to biting, hence the importance of socialization.

That said, bite avoidance is definitely a two-way street. Meaning that we also have to respect a birds feelings and preferences as well. For instance, in the example you gave, Bowie was obviously not comfortable with your friend. And you did the right thing in not forcing the issue. If you had, any biting that ensued would have been your fault. So my thought is that, while we do have to set certain boundaries, we do, to an extent, need to respect theirs as well.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I do believe that part of the reason I love Skittles so much and am so attached to him is because he truly is his own person. He has a very unique and individual personality. If he were molded to a certain way I really don't think I would appreciate him as much as I do. I have always found it rewarding and fascinating to allow my fids to just be who they are and just encourage them to express their individuality in proper ways (ie encouraging good behaviors and properly addressing bad ones). I still get a chuckle at seeing the crazy way Skittles reacts to things. Its like one day a certain object is the "enemy" and the next day its just fine. I seem to be the ONLY thing (aside from his cages) that he does NOT have a love/hate relationship with. lol. Even his treats. Sometimes he will just throw them and say "no, I want something else today".