Jasmine the biter...

kerrievalentine · Feb 12, 2014

Hi all my name is Kerrie, Im a new parrot owner to Jasmine, A yellow headed Amazon. :greenyellow:

I believe she is probably 10 years old with a couple of Owners before me. She was left alone an awful lot before coming to live with me. Shes a Talker, Great fun, Much Loved and a Hell of Biter!!! she had been caged for her time before coming to me, She has now been Rehomed in a Huge Cage, and is allowed to come out. Shes often content with sitting on the top of her cage. she likes to come on to my arm, then Bite the hell out of me, or flys onto my shoulder and Bites the Hellout of me.. the Bites are awful, and have left me with bruising, and open wounds... HELP.. I love her, and i dont want to keep her couped up and caged. She lets me tickle her in her cage ! im desperate for help i dont think she means to be spteful, Maybe she does. she laughs once iv been under attack..

Featheredsamurai · Feb 12, 2014

Welcome to the forum

Yellow headed amazons are beautiful birds!

How long have you had her? if she doesn't know you she will be more inclined to bite.

First off work on target/touch training. This is a great skill that all parrots should have, it will help her to bond to you as well. If you're afraid to give her a treat, you can use a small bowl to protect your fingers. We have several amazon parronts who will be able to offer some great species specific advice.

thekarens · Feb 12, 2014

If she's not afraid of them you might consider using a dowel to take her out of and put her back into the cage.

Birdman666 · Feb 12, 2014

Birds that don't get handled do not stay tame.

A bird that is biting needs to be handled more, not less.

He needs to go back to square one with a basic taming and training program.

The trick is in working with this bird to accept being handled without biting.

I always used a thick towel wrapped around my arm when stepping up birds that were biting. They can tear up the towel all they want. Not my arm.

Wings should be clipped right now, at least until he has learned to stop biting.
That makes them safer, and easier to control.

He needs more out time away from the cage. Amazons frequently become cage territorial.

Start over from scratch. Basic step up training. Basic no blood draw training. Then basic touching exercises.

kerrievalentine · Feb 12, 2014

Copperarabian said:
Welcome to the forum Yellow headed amazons are beautiful birds!

How long have you had her? if she doesn't know you she will be more inclined to bite.

First off work on target/touch training. This is a great skill that all parrots should have, it will help her to bond to you as well. If you're afraid to give her a treat, you can use a small bowl to protect your fingers. We have several amazon parronts who will be able to offer some great species specific advice.

hello thank you so much for getting back to me, I have had her now since boxing day. i bought her a new home immediately as her cage before was quite small. she has lots of space, some toys and the top of the cage opens. she will often sit on the back of the Sofa, she fluffs up, and clucks like a hen. and bobs her head like shes dancing, i believe that means shes quite content? she asks for tickles and wants to constantly get on my arm, lifting her feet, almost as if asking me to put my arm to her, she understands the concept of step up, will happily take treats from my hand. its the biting that goes with it i cant cope with. the minute she is on a finger her claws sink in and so does the Beak.. if I could stop the biting I would have an amazing bird.

Birdman666 · Feb 12, 2014

kerrievalentine said:
Copperarabian said:

Welcome to the forum Yellow headed amazons are beautiful birds!

H if I could stop the biting I would have an amazing bird.

Click to expand...

YOU CAN! IT JUST TAKES TIME.

My red lored amazon was one of the worst biters the rescue ever had. It took me two months to rehab her... and another two months to get her out and about trained, and able to be trusted with anyone.

Give it time.

kerrievalentine · Feb 12, 2014

thekarens said:
If she's not afraid of them you might consider using a dowel to take her out of and put her back into the cage.

Hi , shes more than happy to let herself out of the cage step up, she infact pretty much wants to be on me, and just Bite, she will fly onto my shoulder and bite my neck.. in her cage, she will almost hang upside down for Tickles,. will happily take treats from my hands. then the beak sinks in.

kerrievalentine · Feb 12, 2014

Thank you for your advice, it may sound a bit cheeky but would you advise me on No Draw No Blood training. can I ask If i cli her wings, is that going to prevent her being able to move from the cage to the sofa, I dont want her to be trapped, i want to give her the freedom that I believe she has never had. have got a book on Parrots from the library, but not feeling it to be honest. I have an appt to take her to the vet to have her toes clipped as they are long. will do her wings if this will help tame her more.

Birdman666 · Feb 12, 2014

Two fingers on the beak, thumb and forefinger, and push it away to deflect the bites.

Flying to your shoulder and attacking your neck is unacceptable. A clipped bird cannot do this.

A bird that bites loses his shoulder privileges. This bird should be a hand and arm bird for now. I wouldn't allow him up there.

kerrievalentine · Feb 12, 2014

Ok that makes sense.. i should ask the vet to clip her wings at the time of having her claws done. Should I keep Jasmine in the cage do you think until i have had this done? and not give her the freedom of being allowed out. ?

Birdman666 · Feb 12, 2014

Well, I am not big on keeping them caged up. If you can let her out without being attacked then yes...

If she is going to attack you, then no. Unfortunately.

jenphilly · Feb 12, 2014

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on adopting a bird that needs a good home.

With all the advice you will get, Birdman is about the ultimate expert around here on rehabbing problem or biter birds. He's not blowing his own horn, but look up his posts, he has many many amazing stories of working with birds with incredible success.

I would encourage you to take Jasmine to the vet for wings and nails. Right now trust is a big concern and she will be downright ticked off when she has to be toweled to do wings and nails. Let her be angry at your vet, not you. You don't need one more obstacle to overcome!

It sounds like she's a wonderful bird with so much potential. We are in process of adopting a biter problem bare eyed cockatoo from a rescue, and going in, we know we have months of working with him about the biting and know we're gonna lose blood more then once!!

I wish you the best of luck in your new adventure and remember that the sweetheart bird in the cage is in that little feathered body and she just needs to learn how to be good out of the cage too. In the end you'll have a wonderful bird and her appreciation and love for giving her the chance to be that bird and companion!!

Post some pics too, we all love pics here

Birdman666 · Feb 12, 2014

kerrievalentine said:
Thank you for your advice, it may sound a bit cheeky but would you advise me on No Draw No Blood training. can I ask If i cli her wings, is that going to prevent her being able to move from the cage to the sofa, I dont want her to be trapped, i want to give her the freedom that I believe she has never had. have got a book on Parrots from the library, but not feeling it to be honest. I have an appt to take her to the vet to have her toes clipped as they are long. will do her wings if this will help tame her more.

Bite pressure training an amazon is an inexact science, primarily because they can get themselves worked up into a state into "amazon overload" mode. (Macaws are easier!)

It essentially involves beak play. Right now, though, you are going to work on "NO BITE." Not "DON'T BITE QUITE SO HARD." First the bird needs to be clipped, or my method simply won't work.

There is lots to learn about amazon body language too. Half of all bird training involves training the person. DYH amazons are also the most "hormonally challenged" during breeding season, which is about half the year... so that also contributes to biting, and territorial behaviors.

I also just did a post on socializing an amazon, about a game we used to play with the biters once they began to accept being handled again, called "Pass the birdie." Which essentially conditions them to accept being handled by strangers.

kerrievalentine · Mar 17, 2014

Hi there,you gave me sound advise a couple of weeks ago, i havnt been online, so you probably wont remember me. since we last had contact Jasmine has now had her wings and claws clipped and no longer able to take flight, I am more than ready to tame this girl, look foward to any advice on where i should start, a she is now cage bound! thankyou

Kerrie

Jasmine the biter...

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