Biting tips please

[BreannPearlLang]

Sinbad is like, the best and the worst bird at the same time. he talks up a storm! full sentences, i.e. "you're an asshole" "i dont know" "what are you doing?" "whats going on?" "whats that?" "you bastard" "well hello pretty bird" and he repeats a lot of stuff. hes eager to learn, eager to step up, bratty when he doesnt want to step down, and loves to ride around on shoulders. but the moment your finger gets close he wants to bite it. I tried using gloves with him so i could flight suit him and he attacked the gloves like crazy. He loves scritches but only when he says so.
I think his last owner let him get away with a lot. I'm pretty sure he was allowed to do everything and anything and that she reacted to things wrong.
Last night he bit me and laughed in a deep Ha Ha Ha.. so I think that the last handlers husband would laugh about it.

What are some good ways to break him from thinking its fun to bite?

he is such a good boy other than biting. Hes a very smart boy and I think that he would be eager to learn if I just knew the right way to stop him.

Right now we say NO! and if he keeps trying then we gently push his beak shut.

 

[MonicaMc]

Have you tried working with him in positive reinforcement?

One way to work with an eager bird is to show them a treat, then ask them to step up for that treat (assuming they know how to step up). After the bird steps up, reward with treat. Over time, you can phase out the visual cue of the treat for a step up and just ask for it.

If the bird doesn't know step up, you may need to lure the bird, in small steps, to step up onto you.


I did this with a green cheek conure a couple years old. The owner, afraid of the bird and being bitten, didn't know how to handle Winston (the conure). I showed her how to get Winston out of the cage (without biting) and off of a shoulder (once again, without biting). I used Winston's favorite treat, which so happened to be sunflower seeds. With the sunflower seeds, I was also able to get Winston to turn around. The only time that she *really* bit me, was when I was moving her leg band back up her leg since she had a toe stuck inside it. I could have avoided the bite, but I didn't have her in a headlock position so she was still able to gnaw on my fingers.

 

[friedsoup]

Please read my post in training "Stick Trick Described" then feel free to ask any questions.

 

[FA22raptero]

Step ups... every time. Don't show any emotion when you get, just do about 9-10 step ups and step downs with your fingers. Pretend like you didn't even get bit, just 1 after the other step ups, and if you do it right, Sinbad will quickly learn to stop biting

"If I bite, i'm going to have to work/do step ups" is what will eventually go through his head.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Birds always have a reason for biting, if he thinks your reaction is funny don't react at all to it. if you see him about to bite you can also turn your hand into a fist and block the bite with the back of your hand but don't make it a big deal.

Try trick training with a clicker(and touch training with a target stick). This opens up a new language between you and your bird and helps you to understand and communicate with one another better.

Don't force your bird to do things unless it's a emergency. There's some days where Rosie won't come out of her cage all day and that's fine, other days she'll want to be out most of the day. If you don't force your bird to do things and give them the choice they are much happier. They also won't feel the need to bite you to express their feelings.