Looking for biting advice

Hello,

My TAG Mac is 6 and I've had him since he we under a year old. We have for the most part, gotten along very well. He occasionally has had moody spells where he would bite and even draw a little blood but it hit a whole new level last week.
He hadn't wanted to come out of his cage for a couple of days (usually comes out on my hand twice a day and is also allowed to come out on his own once when I'm not there (but someone else is)). To come out on my hand he goes to the food dish in the far corner of the cage where he will step up without incident (95% of the time). If he doesn't go to his food dish usually all I have to do is pick up a dowel rod and he will go there to step up (and to be clear I've never hit or threatened him with it, he just doesn't like it). After 2 days of not coming out (he appears to be completely healthy - eats, his poop is normal and he is playing with his toys) I tried the stick. He moved to his dish and when I went to pick him up he bit me harder than ever before and hung on. I brought him to the floor on my hand and he finally let go. If he would have been a larger bird I may have lost the finger, I think he was using full force.

So this weekend I spent watching videos on training and have started working with a clicker but all in his cage. This morning he went back to his food dish like he wanted to step up but I don't think that is going to work anymore (for me, I'm terrified). It broke my heart but I just couldn't do it. I have always realized that it was pretty stupid to let him set the step up place in the far corner of his cage, but now I feel the need to either change it to a perch on the door or stick train him.

I would appreciate any advice on which one would be best and how to do it. We have never had any issue with biting once he is outside of his cage so I really just need to figure out how to get him out.

Just as some background he eats a pellet diet with the occasional fruit, and as treats has a couple of pistachios and almonds in the shell, occasionally pasta or hard boiled egg yolk.

Any advice you could give I would appreciate. I am willing to do the work, and he actually seemed pretty interested when we did a couple of clicker sessions.

TIA
Donna

Out of my 20 birds are Grey Is the one you cant predict. Take this thought approach with him .Things that have worked in the past might not work now. Roll with the punches so to speak. Try to figure what is going to work with him now . Use the perch to take him out [sometimes they get cage aggressive]. Then wait for him to show an interest in you. Try head rubs ,keep your interaction short. I have 2 birds that I have a great relationship with . That I have to get in and out of their cages with a stick. I watch their mood and If they don't want to come out they don't have to. Keep everything very positive with him .Good Luck

Both of my birds bite when they want to, but we try not to allow it. When they nip, we walk away ignoring the negative behavior. When they bow for head scratches we talk to them, scratch and rub and then treat afterwards. The biting is minimal, but discouraging when it does happen. I'm still not sure why... is it territorial?

My Dominic is going through a phase at the moment where he refuses to allow me to pick him up and take him from his cage. He nearly skinned the back of my hand the other day, bless 'im!

On reflection, I think it's something I'm doing when I go to pick him up. I think, maybe, my hand wobbles and makes him feel unsafe. Birds don't like that. They need to know they're stepping onto a rock-solid surface that will hold them securely (which is why they often test with their bill before stepping up). Maybe your TAG has had a fright recently when you've asked him to step up? I'm assuming that's what happened with my Dominic and have observed that he's fine with the men in the household (whose arms are longer and who can reach to get him much more steadily than I can on tippytoes).

Just a thought, anyway. My other suggestion is to always present your tightly-closed fist to the bird when it's feeling bitey. He can still step up, but it's harder for him to get hold of your flesh when it's tightly balled in a fist. If he's really lunging, turn the back of your hand toward him as that's the least grabbable surface. Remember, though, not to push your hand into his face and force him - that's a recipe for disaster. All you can do is offer the hand, say 'step up' and offer a reward if he behaves well. Bribery is a very effective tool, so have something handy that he likes to try and distract him. Another distraction is to offer him a chopstick or ice-cream stick to bite on while you're stepping him up. Hopefully, while the beak is busy it can't bite you.

Finally, you might consider just sitting by the open cage and chatting or reading to your bird? Let him come out on his own terms a few times and perhaps whatever it is that got up his nose will fade from his memory? The object, as always, is to make good behaviour worth doing and bad behaviour insignificant.

Best of luck with him and please keep us up with your progress!

It's mating season now and if this is a male, he may be reaching the age where he is getting more aggressive. I don't blame you for now being terrified to reach in to get him, it sounds like this bite was pretty bad. With my bird, which is a lory and lories tend to be nippy... if I think she's going to try to bite, I start saying to her "no biting" in a very firm voice, as I reach to get her. She knows exactly what no biting means and usually will not bite when I say that to her.

Thanks everyone, Mac is doing better. For the last two days he has climbed out on his cage door and stepped up on my finger. We are still working on clicker training and I am slowly working on getting him used to a hand perch (very slowly).
I didn't know this was mating season but that makes sense.
Thanks everyone!