Displacement biting?

IamJolyn · Dec 30, 2015

Harley is doing over all very well. She is even getting better with the boyfriend, and will step up and hang out with him.

She has done now a couple of times now were she will be on me, hanging out on my leg or arm and one of the kids will walk by (usually the boys, she likes my daughter) and she will puff up and act afraid, I have in the past talked her down, told her it was okay, had the kids walk slower and not talk loud or swing their arms, and it has been okay. But yesterday and today she struck out at me, not drawing blood, but putting enough pressure on my finger knuckle that it is still sore. Today she did it when my daughter brought up laundry in her arms, and Harley struck my arm and drew the point of her beak down my arm causing a large scratch.

I don't think she lived in a busy household before at all, and I know in time she will settle in. In the mean time, if she strikes at me, she gets put back in her cage and away from me. This is displacement biting? What else can I do?

Flboy · Dec 30, 2015

She is trying to warn you!

1500 · Dec 31, 2015

IamJolyn said:
Harley is doing over all very well. She is even getting better with the boyfriend, and will step up and hang out with him.

She has done now a couple of times now were she will be on me, hanging out on my leg or arm and one of the kids will walk by (usually the boys, she likes my daughter) and she will puff up and act afraid, I have in the past talked her down, told her it was okay, had the kids walk slower and not talk loud or swing their arms, and it has been okay. But yesterday and today she struck out at me, not drawing blood, but putting enough pressure on my finger knuckle that it is still sore. Today she did it when my daughter brought up laundry in her arms, and Harley struck my arm and drew the point of her beak down my arm causing a large scratch.

I don't think she lived in a busy household before at all, and I know in time she will settle in. In the mean time, if she strikes at me, she gets put back in her cage and away from me. This is displacement biting? What else can I do?

Harley can't control the others in the house, so she is trying to control you. If she can't make everyone else go away, she can make you put her back to safety. By putting her back in the cage, you are giving her what she wants, so sadly she has learned that biting you gets her back to safety.

Does Harley like treats? Bonny loves pine nuts. Does Harley let the kids give her treats?

So what I would try is scheduled some conditioning training. So have Harley on you (or in/on the cage), then have a kid move just into the room so that Harley can see them (but before she gets upset), then give Harley a treat. Have the kid back out of the room. Do this over and over (over multiple days), until Harley starts to get excited at seeing a kid enter the room. After all, when a kid enters the room she gets a treat. It works even better if she lets the kids give her treats. Just have the kids give her a treat (like half a pine nut) every time they walk past. Soon she will associate the kids entering the room with getting treats. You then expand this to having the kids walk fast, then run, doing chores, what ever.

The other thing you can try, is distracting her with training. When she gets upset, get out the target stick and start training (assuming she is good at target training), this gets her to focus on something else and can get her past her fear. This can work as long as she is not too upset.

IamJolyn · Dec 31, 2015

1500, yes, she will sometimes she lets the boys give her treats, she loves my daughter and will go to her and be calmed by her. The boys are a little timid around her (they are 10 and 7) but if I am there I have had them give her treats before. I will have them ramp up the treats.

She has only done this very recently (last two days) and I only put her back in the cage once, she called out to me "come here come here" when I put her back (her way of asking to be let back out) so I am hopeful that one time didn't cement that mistake on my part to bad?

I will work on some training with her also during that time, in the past just me talking to her would calm her, and when she nailed me, I was talking to my bf and we were having a lively discussion, so there were a lot of factors.

Birdman666 · Jan 1, 2016

Flboy said:
She is trying to warn you!

Bad guess. You are 180 degrees off.

She is trying to warn THEM - to not get any closer.

And technically, since there was no blood draw, it's displacement pinching... so you are 100% correct there.

Here's the ticket. When your bird goes poofy, and does that defensive posture?! GUARANTEED, the next step triggers it...

So what do you do?! When someone gets poofy, TWO FINGERS GO ON THE BEAK. Then you reassure the bird using the same phrase every time. "No Pinching! It's okay. No one's bothering you." When he/she/what ever the bird stressor is, passes by, let go of the beak, scratch the bird's head, and tell her she was good for not pinching.

Over time, when she gets used to it, it won't be an issue. In the meantime, be pro-active.

Yeah, this is a COMMON every day problem. Doesn't mean there's anything at all wrong with the bird. She's just reacting to startle stimulous.

Birdman666 · Jan 1, 2016

1500 said:
IamJolyn said:

Harley can't control the others in the house, so she is trying to control you. If she can't make everyone else go away, she can make you put her back to safety. By putting her back in the cage, you are giving her what she wants, so sadly she has learned that biting you gets her back to safety.

Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. That does not appear to be the dynamic to me.

This sounds more like classic displacement biting to me.

Anticipate her behavior by her bodily clues. When someone is approaching, and she goes poofy, then what ever they are doing, how ever they are approaching her, what they have in their hands, etc. is triggering a defensive reaction...

Displacement biting is a form of warning. You see this?! You better back off or that will be you... When they are sitting on you at the time, the "THIS" they are using as a warning is YOUR FLESH. Poofy means she's getting ready to do it. Getting her beak with two fingers, and getting her used to that person approaching that way WITH NOTHING BAD HAPPENING

(a) demonstrates that you are in control, and have the ability to control the situation, and protect her without the need to become defensive and bite;

(b) teaches her it isn't necessary, and that no one is going to hurt her, even when it seems a tad scarey the way they are moving;

(c) teaches her you don't like getting pinched like that, and aren't going to continue to put up with it.

Does that make sense?!

1500 · Jan 6, 2016

Birdman666 said:
1500 said:

IamJolyn said:

Harley can't control the others in the house, so she is trying to control you. If she can't make everyone else go away, she can make you put her back to safety. By putting her back in the cage, you are giving her what she wants, so sadly she has learned that biting you gets her back to safety.

Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree. That does not appear to be the dynamic to me.

This sounds more like classic displacement biting to me.

Anticipate her behavior by her bodily clues. When someone is approaching, and she goes poofy, then what ever they are doing, how ever they are approaching her, what they have in their hands, etc. is triggering a defensive reaction...

Displacement biting is a form of warning. You see this?! You better back off or that will be you... When they are sitting on you at the time, the "THIS" they are using as a warning is YOUR FLESH. Poofy means she's getting ready to do it. Getting her beak with two fingers, and getting her used to that person approaching that way WITH NOTHING BAD HAPPENING

(a) demonstrates that you are in control, and have the ability to control the situation, and protect her without the need to become defensive and bite;

(b) teaches her it isn't necessary, and that no one is going to hurt her, even when it seems a tad scarey the way they are moving;

(c) teaches her you don't like getting pinched like that, and aren't going to continue to put up with it.

Does that make sense?!

Click to expand...

That is still control.

If the owner had control she would not have been bitten, you are asking her to take back control, you even say so in your "a". The bird can not control others in the house so she is using what she does "think" she has control of. Yes it is a warning sign for others to stay away, but the ultimate result is safety. If the bird gets that safety by biting the owner and getting put back into her cage, then her actions got her what she wanted. While that might not be the intended result, by making it a pattern (twice, might be stretching it as pattern, and now learning it was only once, its defiantly not), the bird would learn that how to control its owner to get what it wants.

Birdman666 · Jan 7, 2016

1500 said:
Birdman666 said:

That is still control.

If the owner had control she would not have been bitten, you are asking her to take back control, you even say so in your "a". The bird can not control others in the house so she is using what she does "think" she has control of. Yes it is a warning sign for others to stay away, but the ultimate result is safety. If the bird gets that safety by biting the owner and getting put back into her cage, then her actions got her what she wanted. While that might not be the intended result, by making it a pattern (twice, might be stretching it as pattern, and now learning it was only once, its defiantly not), the bird would learn that how to control its owner to get what it wants.

Click to expand...

Okay, I see what you're saying now. I guess I really didn't get what you were saying before.

The favorite person always has to be able to control the bird's biting behaviors though, that's just a given in my book.

Displacement biting?

IamJolyn

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