Young parrots nippy phase

[20brio19]

My Pionus is about 3 months old now, the past few weeks he has started becoming nippy since I've been interacting with him frequently.I read different things about this, like this article suggests that you should ignore it and not react to it.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/bluffing-biting-behavior-in-parrots-390306

Which is what I've been doing(I don't react or flinch) he does not bite me hard but I might have a higher pain treshold than average due to my rough hands caused by my job. Other people say you should react to it in some way. Thing is, the playful nipping is really amusing to me but I don't want to risk this leading to bad behavior in the future when he's an adult and he can do some real damage.

I absolutely love giving him scritches, picking him up and petting him. He loves it too, but more like on his terms so if he's being touched in a way he doesn't like he'll bite gently, and I listen. But if he really doesn't like something he'll scream which almost never happens, so I think the interactions are going good overall.

 

[noodles123]

There isn't really a totally straight-forward answer to this. There are multiple layers to this question and behavior.
Birds do depend on our ability to read their body language, and failure to do so often results in bites. You do not want to teach a young bird that bites can alter your behavior in any way. So, aside from you learning body language, you are right to ignore the biting and not react. At the same time, it may mean that you have overlooked something else....ALTHOUGH----MUCH LIKE CHILDREN, birds can get stubborn about trying to get their ways (e.g, I don't want to go to my cage etc etc).
Biting in nature is not very common-- but mouthing can be...And mouthing isn't really always intentional (that is why some people talk about pressure training w/ certain bird varieties).
I have never had a pionous, but I have a cockatoo. She likes to preen my eyes ( a quirk that she had when I adopted her as an adult...UGH/LOL)
If she picks at a scab, pimple, my eye..whatever...too hard, I do react to that because I am certain that it is accidental...If she is preening and pinches, I will say, "Ow, gentle"...
This type of biting is very different from the intentional biting that also occurs with birds....so, if it is intentional, you should ignore it (and make sure that they are not getting their way by doing it---without totally smashing your trust to a pulp)....I am rambling....I probably didn't give you the answer you wanted, but it comes down to:
1. Knowing your bird and respecting body language.
2. Knowing the function (reason) behind all behaviors, and making sure that things like biting do not allow the bird to get what it wants...
3. Remembering that in some parrots, babies do get a bit mouthy (but you don't want to teach them that they can manipulate you with that beak).
4. Always building and maintaining trust.
5. Avoiding situations in which you know you will be bitten (without engaging in a power-struggle and creating a bunch of negative emotions/anti-trust situations).

I will say right now that, while TheSpruce sometimes has decent information on it, it also had the most infuriating post about parrots that I have ever read in my entire life...So, that website is hit-or-miss (and often miss). I didn't check your link, but I will and then I will get back to you.

Edit- What they said there is generally true about bluffing birds, but a nippy stage and bluffing aren't really always the same. I am not sure that pionous parrots "bluff" in the true sense. Macaws are known for bluffing, and a few other species exhibit bluffing behaviors, but just because a bird is getting hormonal/growing up/nipping, does not mean it is "bluffing".

 

[20brio19]

There isn't really a totally straight-forward answer to this. There are multiple layers to this question and behavior.
Birds do depend on our ability to read their body language, and failure to do so often results in bites. You do not want to teach a young bird that bites can alter your behavior in any way. So, aside from you learning body language, you are right to ignore the biting and not react. At the same time, it may mean that you have overlooked something else....ALTHOUGH----MUCH LIKE CHILDREN, birds can get stubborn about trying to get their ways (e.g, I don't want to go to my cage etc etc).
Biting in nature is not very common-- but mouthing can be...And mouthing isn't really always intentional (that is why some people talk about pressure training w/ certain bird varieties).
I have never had a pionous, but I have a cockatoo. She likes to preen my eyes ( a quirk that she had when I adopted her as an adult...UGH/LOL)
If she picks at a scab, pimple, my eye..whatever...too hard, I do react to that because I am certain that it is accidental...If she is preening and pinches, I will say, "Ow, gentle"...
This type of biting is very different from the intentional biting that also occurs with birds....so, if it is intentional, you should ignore it (and make sure that they are not getting their way by doing it---without totally smashing your trust to a pulp)....I am rambling....I probably didn't give you the answer you wanted, but it comes down to:
1. Knowing your bird and respecting body language.
2. Knowing the function (reason) behind all behaviors, and making sure that things like biting do not allow the bird to get what it wants...
3. Remembering that in some parrots, babies do get a bit mouthy (but you don't want to teach them that they can manipulate you with that beak).
4. Always building and maintaining trust.
5. Avoiding situations in which you know you will be bitten (without engaging in a power-struggle and creating a bunch of negative emotions/anti-trust situations).

I will say right now that, while TheSpruce sometimes has decent information on it, it also had the most infuriating post about parrots that I have ever read in my entire life...So, that website is hit-or-miss (and often miss). I didn't check your link, but I will and then I will get back to you.

Edit- What they said there is generally true about bluffing birds, but a nippy stage and bluffing aren't really always the same. I am not sure that pionous parrots "bluff" in the true sense. Macaws are known for bluffing, and a few other species exhibit bluffing behaviors, but just because a bird is getting hormonal/growing up/nipping, does not mean it is "bluffing".

That is informative. Just wanted to give an update, today he was very nippy, but he hardly put any pressure on the bites at all, I think he's just play fighting with my fingers which is very fun for the both of us. Sometimes he goes a little bit too hard though and all I do is call out his name and he seems to listen and get the point.

Quick note, I'm still feeding him formula daily though and he doesn't eat any treats from my hands yet. Once he does which will probably be soon, I assume I will actually be able to train him to stop the biting..

 

[GaleriaGila]

F-f-f-f-f-f-Phase?
I'm still holding out hope!

Good for you for reaching out and being open-minded! Stick with us.

 

[20brio19]

F-f-f-f-f-f-Phase?
I'm still holding out hope!

Good for you for reaching out and being open-minded! Stick with us.

Thanks, I've loved online message boards since the early 00s, I hate that they're dying out so when I find a nice and active forum community like this I love being a part of it.