Biting

I'v had budgies before but I'm a first time green cheek parakeet owner. I got my little turquoise buddy, Rio, just over a week ago. The first week he has been sweet and friendly and loved his time with me out of his cage.
But the last few days he has started biting me when I ask him to step up or my hand goes near him in general. It's not just a nip, he latches on and holds on for upto 30 seconds. I haven't done anything to scare him, he doesn't appear to be fearful.
I've tried ignoring it and not reacting, distracting him with something he is allowed to bite and tried unbalancing him. Nothing works and he's biting more and more.

I have spent hours online researching what to do but he's just getting worse and I'm out of ideas. I am so worried I won't be able to stop it and I'm so lost. Any suggestions.

Hello Natb86 and a warm welcome to the forum to you and Rio, but i wish it was under less bitey circumstances!

I have had a GCC before and they can be just the sweetest most loveable creatures ever to walk the earth but by crikey they can get mighty cranky when they want to - as you are experiencing. They are notorious for a little thing called "cage aggression" where they will defend, seemingly to the death, what they perceive to be their territory. At around the age of 18 months to 2 years they can also enter a joyous phase of puberty where the hormones go rampant and the biting behaviour can get really very serious indeed, although Rio may be a little too young for that.

At this stage if he bites you your best bet is to pop him gently down somewhere neutral, say on the floor or on the back of a chair, somewhere away from his cage or a playstand or anywhere else he perceives to be his personal territory. You then turn your back on him and walk away for a good 5 minutes and do not even give any eye contact. He has to learn that when the biting starts, play time or fun times with you stops. Green cheeks adore your attention so if he figures out that biting you will only earn him some time out in boring place, he should catch on pretty quick and stop. It sounds like you read about the "earthquake" method online of shaking your hand to destabilize him but in my experience that only makes them latch on harder! A little time-out with no attention from you is in order and that will give both of you time to cool off from the encounter.

You need to be consistent with this routine for it to be successful, as does anyone else in your home who may interact with Rio. I hope you are able to resume and build a loving relationship with the little guy going forward, and I'm sure other members will share some of their experience with you too.

remove and huts or dark spaces....they amplify aggression in many cases.

Hello , you can get though this..
You need to work in trust, bribe by hand feeding, pay attention to body language.
Like lamanku I have a GCC, and she can be very sweet. Any perceived wrong doing by me and she bites hard. Even if you aren't aware something could have happened and now your bird is fearful of hands. It's so easy for this to happen.
These links are helpful
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/

https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/stress-reduction-for-parrot-companions/

https://petcentral.chewy.com/think-your-pet-bird-hates-you/

https://www.2ndchance.info/tameparrot.htm

I just found this on youtube. Seems parrots see different than us and this video may help us to understand better communications and things to try. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs1L49yFryQ"]What Parrots See VS What Humans See - YouTube[/ame]
What do you think? jh

Welcome! That's a very common problem to Gcc's and hard to reduce. Is your fid hand-raised? If yes, this will be easier

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He was hand raised and is only a few months old. I have been putting him away once he bites and ignoring him even though he's begging to come out and play, them try again later. Will continue to gain his trust and keep trying.

You o my have to out them away for a few seconds , or just a couple of minutes. Then began again as tgo nothing happened.

Did you check out the links?

It’s best to put him down somewhere neutral if he bites, rather than his cage. Pop him gently down onto the floor or the back of a chair then calmly walk away. If he makes his own way back there that’s ok, but by you taking him back to his cage it may be giving him exactly what he wants and may exacerbate the biting.

It’s important also to recognise that birds are not always in the mood for playing or petting and that bite may be the only way he can communicate that to you. Plenty of people say the best way to avoid getting bitten is to avoid getting bitten in the first place. Now that might sound like a facile thing to say, but essentially it means to avoid the kind of interaction that may result in a bite. You are only in the early stages of your relationship but in time you will come to recognise when your bird is receptive to having interaction with you and when he might not be in the mood. Try to ensure that every interaction ends on a positive note and learn to quit while you’re ahead, ie before any biting starts, and you’ll be well on your way!