I've inherited a very bitey a Maximillian Pionus

So I am "babysitting" a Maximillian Pionus for about 6 months. This is fine with me, since the bird is VERY quiet and easy to care for, so there is absolutely no hatred or resentment on my part (EDIT: I'm not trying to sound like a martyr or saint anything here, I just know that animals pick up on stuff like that). I've had to deal with a very difficult African grey before, so I KNOW what an obnoxious bird is like! I talk to him daily and he seems to be happy about it, so long as I don't put my fingers near his cage.

However, it would be nice if I could take him out of the cage for some exercise on a daily basis like his owners do.

But this is really hard, since he has apparently bonded with my step-dad, and therefore tries to bite ANYONE else who comes near him. It's been about 2 weeks since we've had him, and I've VERY gently tested him daily. Bringing my fingers towards the cage or opening the door are invitations towards biting. And YES, he will bite. I do not currently wear gloves, but I do hide my my fingers inside a sweatshirt because it HURTS if he gets me. I DO NOT try to chase him inside his cage, nor do I try and drag him outside of his cage. At most, I will just offer my hand near the outside of the cage (whether open or closed).

Various opposing websites have encouraged me to either buy gloves or to try a very long hand-perch to start out with.

The bird really seems happy to interact with people and to walk around, so it makes sense to me that he would really want/need some exercise.

And he seems like a very nice bird outside of the biting. I am open to whatever works and makes the bird happy. If leaving him in his cage is the best option, I will do that. It's just that I am unable to handle him and remove him from his cage because he is very territorial and/or aggressive.

First, it is great that you are willing to take care of this guy for 6 months & are so understanding about his bitey behavior. He is a lucky Pi.

Second, he may either be nervous and defending himself, or he may just not like you, having decided your step-dad is his man. Despite their reputation as "family birds" some Pi's are VERY much one-person birds.

So if the issue is his nervousness about your hands [and a hand in either a glove or a sweatshirt can cause birdie panic] or if the issue is he doesn't like you, the next step I would try would be some training. It can start in his cage/hands-off to avoid the bite, build trust, build a relationship and work toward hands-on. Of course, a one-man Pi may never want to be held/touched - but you can still give him exercise & enrichment by spending time on training.

My personal recommendations for training are Susan Friedman's yahoo group and articles, which you can reach at Welcome to BehaviorWorks.org and a Barbara Heidenreich webinar or clinic. More information on her at either: Barbara Heidenreich | Good Bird Inc. or Barbara Heidenreich's Force Free Animal Training .

Also, there are strategies for the 'least favored person' to become acceptable to a one-person bird. Often it involves being the only one to do something the bird truly loves. In my first Pi's case, the Pi bit the prior human companion's young son. They solved the problem by having the son be the only person to offer the bird its favorite treats - grapes and cheerios. Soon the two were buddies. It doesn't always work, but sometimes. There are some great videos/articles on how to accomplish that. You can find information on Barbara or Susan's site, and also, this is a case where Google can be your friend. Good luck.

I don't know if you will find this helpful:

http://www.parrotforums.com/training/48616-types-biting-behavior-mods.html

Hi, and THANK YOU for your replies. I'm sorry I haven't been back to this forum in a while because I forgot to bookmark the website.

I have checked out some of Barbara Heidenreich's youtube videos, and she seems pretty amazing. I've actually gotten pretty good at "targeting" Syndey (that's his name) to various places in his cage. And I'm slowly working at getting him to "station" to the bottom of the cage when I try to change his food/water bowls or open his door (both of which are a biting waiting to happen).

In the month or so that has passed, Sydney has gone from "oh, I guess you're OK, I'll talk to you, but keep your hands away from me" to "I'VE MISSED YOU, TARGET ME PLEASE I WANT TREATS! (But still keep your hands away from me)"

But, he is STILL really "grabby" with his treats ans he still often lunges for the bars/my fingers instead of his treat. I still do not feel comfortable giving him treats outside his cage, where the bars cannot stop him from chomping on me. Therefore, his outside the cage excursions are limited to climbing around just outside his cage. So it would be AMAZING if I could just get him to "step up" so I could bring him to new environments. But no, he still HATES hands. EDIT: He's also terrified of a stick perch, despite over a week of daily exposure to it with treats.

So I'm making really good progress, but I do have a few questions:

1) As his treat/reward, I'm currently giving him full sunflower seeds from my fingers, mainly because anything smaller means he will bite my fingers instead of the treat. Ideally, yes, I'd like to get away from the junk food, but this is the smallest thing he can take without taking off a finger as well. I've tried a spoon with food to reward him, but he hates it. He either runs away from it or attacks it. Any ideas to get him to take the treat without taking my finger also? Or alternatively, are there any larger treats I can give him that he might love that are not junk food? He doesn't really seem to be into millet spray. He eats his fruits, but doesn't go crazy over them either.

2) What body language should I look for when he is about to bite? I can recognize a "charge" from farther away (head down, wings up, "I'm coming to bite that" look), but up close, I kind of feel like his bites are almost reflexive at this point. He will have a poofy/happy head and be chatty/talkative right up until a hand is within range, and then he just immediately BITES (and YES he draws blood!) without warning. Are there any more subtle cues that I should look for?

3) Do you have any tips for transitioning from giving treats/rewards INSIDE a cage to giving treats OUTSIDE a cage, since the cage itself will no longer protect me when I get too close? Like I said, he is grabby and a little unpredictable.

I'm only on the forum every once-in-a-while, so sorry for the delayed reply.

While you are targeting him, can you get him used to a clicker to "mark" when he did something well? I'm not actually big on clickers, but this might be a good time to use one. When he [still in his cage] does something you want, click, put a seed in a cup that he can see & say "good bird!" or something like that. He will get the idea that the click marks an even that will be rewarded. [Barbara H. is much better at this than I am.]

If you can get him used to the click/reward inside the cage, it will translate to when he is outside, too.

IF he finds it exceptionally entertaining that you yelp or something when he bites you . . . none of my advice will work [my 1st Pi was like that].

But keep at it. You will figure it out.

I feel for you. My Pi went through a bitey stage and it was awful. I wore band-aids on all of my fingers for about a year. Pionus bites hurt. A lot! You may want to try pistachios in the shell. Look for unsalted ones of course. I tried sunflower seeds with my bird and they were just too small. I still got bit. Depending on the spacing of the cage bars you may be able to slip in the pistachios in their shells. My bird actually liked them better than the sunflower seeds. The bonus is that the bird is more interested in getting the nut out of the shell than in your fingers! Just be sure the shell has popped open. Some of the ones I get aren't popped open and my bird can't get it open. This next part may sound a bit silly but it worked for me, maybe it will work for you. After being bitten all the time for close to a year, I was becoming scared of my bird. The bird picked up on it. I had to fake the bravado but I refused to let him see how afraid of handling him that I had become. When he bit me I didn't react in any way other than to put him back in his cage. That's the hardest part, not to say ow or anything. Once he was up I left the room and made all the noise I wanted where he couldn't hear me. When he stopped getting the fear reaction or the reaction to the bite he quit the biting.