Biting me to death!

[baron1282]

My bird is biting me to death. It's not that I don't love my bird, but when I have him out, I let him sit on my shoulder while I am on the computer and he bites my ear. It hurts, and I have to pull him off, he won't let go. So I won't let him on my shoulder anymore. He than goes for my bottom lip and gets a hold of it. Again won't let go and I have to pull him off. If he does not enjoy my lip he bits all over my hands. My poor knuckles are in pain because of him.

I love having my bird out with me, and I know he wants attention and I give it too him, but I leave him in the cage mostly because I don't want to be bitten. My wife handles him more than I do and I know he does not bite her as much. I know that he bonded more to my wife than I, but he craves my attention when she leaves the house.

I tried everything I cold think of, new toys, even putting old newspaper in his cage for him to shred up (Which he loves doing), because I know they naturally want to shred things and get out some natural aggression on the paper.

If I leave him in the cage he screams for hours on end, I try not taking him out because I want him to know his screaming won't get my attention, but he just won't shut up sometimes. I put the cover over him until he stops, but as soon as I put the cover up he goes at it again.

I love my bird, he can be sweet and just today he cuddled on me for an hour. No biting just sitting under my chin cuddled up next to me. Just when he gets playful no matter what I do to make him bite something else he won't bite the toy or the paper towel he likes to shred, nope he goes right for flesh. :-/

what can I do?

 

[baron1282]

He is one month away from being a year old. I don't know if his age plays a Huge part in it, I am sure it does. Just like a baby he wants everything in his mouth. LoL

Lucky for Patrick (my wife and I conure) I am very patient and won't give him up because of his behavior. I am just wondering should I get him out, or just let my wife be the only one? When we have him out on the couch with us, he hops to both of us and cuddles up for a few minutes on each of us. He hops back and forth to cuddle with both of us. It's cute.

 

[MonicaMc]

Might I direct you to this thread???

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/29601-biting-gcc.html

 

[weco]

Firm NO to screaming, firm NO or NO BITE for nips & maybe bites that are a little strong.....Unless they are determined to do harm/damage, parrots don't really realize how hard they are biting, but parrots are very body language aware & firm NOs & disappointed looks, accompanied by ignoring him...works. Don't get in the habit of screaming at him, because he'll begin thinking he screams, you scream, he screams louder, etc., etc., etc & once it becomes a game, it's hard to stop.....

 

[LoryLover]

I agree with Weco. When Patrick is biting, make sure he knows it is hurting you. You can tell him firmly, "no biting", you can also say "ouch" in a hurt voice. Communicate to him about this issue, with your words and tone of voice. And thru this process of teaching him not to bite you hard, a bond between you and him will be strengthened.

My lory likes to gnaw on my hands, and I let her, but if it starts to hurt me, I just look at her and say to her, "ow, no biting" in a hurt voice. She instantly lessens her bite and even sometimes says "sorry". When she was a baby and first started to bite, it took us about 2 months to train her not to bite.

Regarding screaming in the cage, I've learned that parrots can go on forever. So, what works best for me if I can't take her out of the cage right then, is to talk to her just as if she was a person. For instance, I may say "I will be back soon to let you out, I have to go do the laundry right now". One would think that this wouldn't make a bit of difference to the parrot, but interestly, they listen and seem to understand, and will quiet down. If they think they should be out of their cage and that you're just leaving them in there for no reason, then they express their frustratiion with nonstop screeching. Parrots love noise and they know full well that we do not enjoy their screeching. They are very smart little creatures, and it helps our relationship with them if we treat them like they are our most favorite person.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

You can try a different way of spending time with him and see how he responds. Let hi. On the floor or big table or counter to run around and play with you. Roll a ball, foraging, shredding, etc. maybe he feels like u r ignoring him when he is on you and you r e gaged with the computer and he is bored. Just a thought.

 

[JasmineGCC]

My GCC Jasmine is almost a year old - around 6-8 weeks ago she changed from a snugly baby to a temperamental biting adolescent! What is working for me is to completely change how I interact with her. She can't seem to 'hang' out any more without biting me, particularly my hands. So things I am doing differently are:
- covering my hands with a jumper when she steps up
- target training her to touch the end of a chopstick for a treat - both in and out of her cage
- every time I pass her cage give her praise and a treat
- hide treats under a plastic lid on the sofa which she has to lift - great game
- no stroking instigated by me at all for a while - when Jasmine wants a scritch she demands one - she stands on my shoulder with her foot around her head
- take her into unfamiliar rooms to train her so she's out of her comfort zone
- she can now spin in a circle, hang like a bat, do a somersault - this is the only time she sits on my finger to associate my hand with praise and treats
- watch her body language. If she bites I simply put her down and walk away - think about what you have just done that triggered a bite then remember next time!

We have these little birds for 20+ years so a few months or years of training now will benefit both of you.

Every interaction I have with Jasmine I fill with positive praise and rewards. She needs to think I'm her best friend she wants to play with.

Hope this helps

 

[baron1282]

Thanks for everyone, and sorry I didn't look into other threads before posting. I guess there is a lot of issues with biting.

 

[MonicaMc]

No need to apologize! I had just recently made a reply to the other thread and didn't feel like typing it all out again! But sometimes, older threads do have some good ideas!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

when Jasmine wants a scritch she demands one - she stands on my shoulder with her foot around her head

That sounds so cute.

 

[Grenage]

I think that most GCCs are just overly affectionate; while mine will rarely bite (I mean, really bite), he can't appreciate how sensitive ears and lips can be. He'll often preen my eyelashes when he's sitting on my head, and I never worry that he'll suddenly eat my eyeball*, but he can be a terror near lips or ears (if I'm on the sofa).

*I'm not recommending this, and won't say that other birds won't turn you into a Cycops.