Step Up

Ozzy has an obvious preference for men (and small children) and refuses to step up for me or any other female in the house. Treats do not work! The first handful of times I did hold him (husband transferred him), he was an angel.. and the last few times.. he's reaching down and biting my hand or arm (bad bites).

Two questions: 1. How do you encourage step up when treats aren't motivating? 2. How do you EFFECTIVELY stop a bite in action?


Thanks

1. How do you encourage step up when treats aren't motivating?

What are you using as treats?




2. How do you EFFECTIVELY stop a bite in action?

Remove your flesh!!!!

Seriously.

The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs. If you learn to read your bird's body language before they are about to bite, you avoid teaching the bird *to* bite. This can be difficult in adults who have learned *not* to warn people they are about to bite, but it's still possible. It's also about trying to avoid putting a bird in a situation where they feel the need to bite.

A couple of thoughts.

Firstly, it seems obvious but wear a thick sleeve! My Mum always keeps her jacket on when she has to interact with Alice and it's avoided a few nips. If it's necessary to pick her up a towel around the arm isn't a ridiculous idea either although it depends how the bird feels about towels.

Secondly, when friends who are nervous of my bird ask about handling her I start off putting her on their knee rather than a forearm - that way there's nothing for the bird to bite and bird and human can get used to the close proximity and relax a little. I watch Alice's body language to make sure she's ok and when I'm happy I'll suggest they try stroking the top of her head. Gradually they can build from that to a point where they're happy to handle her.

I've noticed even if I transfer her to someone else rather then them trying to pick her up themselves, if the person is nervous then the bird gets nervous and a bite is more then likely to follow. Unfortunately I think confidence is a huge deal here and if you've been bitten and are fearful of it happening again, it makes it far more likely that it will happen again. Finding a way to restore confidence on both sides should help get past they.

MonicaMc said:

1. How do you encourage step up when treats aren't motivating?

What are you using as treats


2. How do you EFFECTIVELY stop a bite in action?

Remove your flesh!!!!

Seriously.

The only bite that can't be rewarded is the bite that never occurs. If you learn to read your bird's body language before they are about to bite, you avoid teaching the bird *to* bite. This can be difficult in adults who have learned *not* to warn people they are about to bite, but it's still possible. It's also about trying to avoid putting a bird in a situation where they feel the need to bite.

Click to expand...

Foods, nuts, pellets, seeds.. he doesn't have a favorite unless it's candy. I won't do that. I did discover that he'll step up for a cup with water. He likes to explore and hold the handle. I have a clicker on its way and we'll start touch training soon.

So the scenario is, I have him step on my arm and he does so willingly. Then he reaches down to my arm or hand and bites down.. sometimes easy likes he testing and other times with enough pressure to begin to cause damage. I honestly don't know when he's going to either do an easy or hard bite. And I'm not even sure why he's doing it? I've tried distracting him, but he eventually grabs a hand or arm. So what can we do when he is biting to 1. Get him to let go and 2. Figure out why he's biting ( not seeing any obvious triggers and he's not really being aggressive)

Rocky is the only 'too I know, and he gives plenty of warning when he's going to bite. His crest stands up, and he bobs his head. Though these two things can also mean he wants to dance or show off his Car Alarm impersonation, he ALWAYS puts up his crest when he's going to bite. Fortunately, he loves me, so his "bites" are really just pinches (they still hurt, but don't break the skin) and I usually know what he's trying to communicate and give it to him and then all is well. You have to study your bird to figure out what the signs are before a bite. Every one of my eight birds gives warning first, and they're all different.

I would think his crest would be up too, but it's not. He is cautious with stepping up (we're still new to him) and it seems like he's just exploring but the bite gets hard and he be persistent if I try to distract him. Even the times he's initiating the step up, he'll do it. I'll see if I can get him on video.

First, you want to find the treat that motivates him the most. (Not counting candy. Haha!) Hold several of his favorite treats in your (or his favored person's) hand and see which one he's drawn to first.

Once that has been determined, you have to wait between meals for when he is at his hungriest. (Granted, this is most effective if you don't leave nibble foods in the cage all day. Maya and Jolly, for instance, get a big meal in the morning, another big meal in the evening, and either a small midday snack of a spoonful of seeds or an after-dinner snack of the same.) At that point, between meals, he should be sufficiently food motivated.

*Please note, this should NOT be confused with withholding food for increased food motivation. I do not advocate that method at all. This is merely strategically timed training. Nothing more.

He may not give the same warning that Rocky does. My pigeon and my starling both draw their heads back and give the Death Laser Stare before a bite. My budgie makes a certain sound. One Quaker opens her beak and gives a sort of silent hiss, while the other Quaker draws back, THEN opens his beak and gives a hiss, which is NOT silent. It takes time to learn what the signs are, and unfortunately you get some bites while you're learning. If your bird is new to the family, you may just be missing the warning sign while you're all still learning about each other.

Anansi said:

At that point, between meals, he should be sufficiently food motivated.

*Please note, this should NOT be confused with withholding food for increased food motivation. I do not advocate that method at all. This is merely strategically timed training. Nothing more.

Click to expand...

I KNOW, RIGHT?! Another one of those often just flat misunderstood concepts...

If you have a favorite treat that you use for training purposes, then you don't feed him THAT TREAT at regular meal times. And you work with him when he's going to be hungry, and extra motivated to work for his favorite treat...

HOW THAT CONCEPT GETS SO FREQUENTLY CONFUSED WITH YOU DON'T FEED HIM UNTIL HE DOES TRICKS FOR YOU... is just beyond me. Ranks right up there with the "just ignore the bites" advice on the blatant stupidity scale to me.

Wouldn't be the first large too that acted like "Sybil."

I'll take amazons and macaws any day. Way easier to read.

Have you thought about doing the towels wrapped in an ace bandage under the long sleeved shirt so the bird doesn't know they are there trick?

When he bites, he gets a beak full of towel. You get his beak with two fingers. "No biting."