Biting

[saracuse]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new parrot mom to Tiki (Yellow-sided GCC). We've had Tiki for just about 3 weeks so we are very, very new. She seems to be a very comfortable, happy little girl (beak grinding when shes perched on our hands, regurgitating). However, we've gotten into a pretty nasty biting habit. We're working on setting her down in her cage or on her play stand and turning around when she does bite. We're also working on saying "be gentle" when shes just beaking us.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to curb some of this behavior? (I've heard GCC's are a little beakier than other Conures).

Thanks in advance!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Hi there, and welcome to the forums, saracuse & Tiki.

How old is Tiki? I'm only asking because you mentioned 'regurgitation'. Very young birds 'usually' don't do this.

Just as a heads up, I'll give you 2 links that are really informative and helpful.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

We all LOOOVE pictures, so if you have any photos you'd like to share, go for it.

 

[ClatteringConure]

When I first got my pineapple green cheek conure Loki she was VERY nippy. She was so bad that I had a wear a flannel and was super nervous to hold her. I looked everywhere online on how to fix the behavior but didn't find any answers for myself.

What I do remember reading somewhere is for some green cheeks you need to hold them on a persistent basis and get them to like you so they'll stop nipping. I know Tiki is happy and content but so was Loki. Loki's nipping wasn't aggressive at all. I think her's was more of an exploratory nipping and to a point to see if she can get a reaction out of us.

I just kept on holding her every day and if she did bite me I didn't react to it. Eventually, she stopped nipping. It took quite awhile for her to stop nipping. Well, she stopped nipping me. haha She still will nip my parents but I think it's because they don't hold her very much. Therefore, she didn't bond with them near as much as she has with me.

So, that is what is for my Loki. She just needs to be held and don't react to her nipping. I remember being so nervous getting her out of her cage but now two years later I don't think a thing about her nipping. I can't even remember the last time she bit me.

Good luck in curbing this behavior in Tiki!

I'm with JerseyWendy! We'd love to see some photographs of Tiki!

 

[saracuse]

Hi Wendy! Tiki is 3.5 months. Originally what i thought was regurgitation was the reflex from rubbing the sides of her head near her ears, but shes made a few moves like she was trying to regurgitate this last weekend when i was holding her before bedtime.

 

[saracuse]

Tiki think fingers with nailpolish on are toys (which i totally understand) so she nips at my finger tips a lot. We hold and play with her frequently. I'm starting to notice when she's ready to go back to her cage she gets extra nippy and i'm working on trying to be more attentive to this.

Do either of you think that reenforcing normal beaking behavior with "be gentle" is a good idea? Or should i try to get her to stop altogether?

Oh here are some pictures of her!

 

[Anansi]

Welcome to Parrot Forums!

Yes, telling her to be gentle is a very good idea. Beaking is fine and normal. They use their beaks as another set of hands, so attempting to eliminate the use of their beaks altogether isn't very realistic... not to mention unnecessary. Birds can definitely be taught what is an acceptable amount of applied beak pressure when interacting with us.

I've never agreed with the method of ignoring or not reacting to bites. All it does is prolong the bite pressure training process. Think about it. There are components of parrot behavior that closely resemble that of human toddlers, right? Well, what would happen if your toddler just strolled up to you and smacked you full force in your face.... and you just silently took it? The child would probably do it again, right? Not out of cruelty, but simply because doing so might be amusing and no one has told this child that the act is unacceptable.

Same deal with a bird. You don't raise your voice or react animatedly, of course, as they could conceivably view such a reaction as amusing and seek to prompt the response again. Rather, you use your chosen phrase, in a firm yet even voice, to indicate that the current level of force applied is unacceptable.

When they push past the acceptable level of pressure, despite your evenly toned protests, your bird should then be put on timeout. Long enough to make your point, but not so long that they forget why they were put there in the first place. 5 minutes, maybe?

It won't necessarily fix the issue overnight, but practiced consistently it will drive home the association between unacceptable behavior (biting or hard nipping) and undesirable result (timeout).

This method definitely works. I've used it successfully with every bird I've had.