Handling and behavior issues- the first thing he tries to do is bite!

[MantisFTW]

I have had Peeko, my yellow crowned amazon, for around 2 in a half months now. He is around 1 in a half years old and he is adopted (from a family that I think I can safely say didn't do too much with him.. his cage was kept outside and he was fed a cheap diet of mixed nuts and other things)
I am also a first time parrot owner.

The entire time I've had him, I can not put my hand around him at all without him leaning over to take a chomp. I have been dodging his bites and have never been bitten yet (but there were quite a few close calls). I realize that this isn't a good idea because it teaches him that biting gets him what he wants, but what am I supposed to do? I can't just sit there and let him bite the crap out of me, I've seen what his beak can do to his wood toys. Yikes!

I have tried thick gloves and he has bitten those. I have a constant fear of biting, its hard to even take him out on the gloves because I'm afraid of him climbing onto my arm or shoulder and biting hard. The gloves only go wrist-length, and I know he can stretch and bite because he's tried to do it before. I can not for the life of me get him to go on my glove or even bare hand from off of his cage when hes inside or out. He just moves away, or climbs to a different part of the cage. The only time I have been able to successfully pick him up is when he is on the ground, and I have done it a few times with a perch and treats. It takes quite a while though to bribe him with the treats usually.

He also screams and throws a fit at various times of the day, and he only gets quiet when given attention. It drives me and anyone else in the house crazy at times, sometimes we just have to shut the door to his room and hope he calms down. I try not to give him attention when he does this because I know that will also lead him to getting what he wants.


Long story short- I am an inexperienced owner of an adopted amazon that doesn't want to get bit- what do I do? How do I train him out of this without actually having to get bit? And what can I do about the screaming?

Thanks to all that read and reply!

 

[MeganMango]

Hopefully an experienced amazon owner will come to the rescue, but sit tight because its probably going to be a long ride. Luckily there are lots of great people here and its a really supportive environment. You arent alone, and you will get through this.
Im new to parrots this year, and I dont have an amazon, but I will give you my thoughts.

1. I would start with building a relationship. Hang around his cage lots, and make sure it is in a place where he will feel safe while also being able to see you most of the time. Talk to him a lot, offer treats through the bars of his cage so he associates your hands with good things. Stick with big things he will like and see so he doesnt try to attack you. Go really slow, and if he is really aggressive give him space for a few minutes and try again. I personally think that birds bite because they KNOW it hurts, at least mine does. Your new baby has already been taught to bite from the sounds of it, so you need to unteach it. Lots of birds are scared of hands, it takes time to earn their trust. Dont give up, its going to take a lot of hours of patience. You will probably get bit at least once, and its going to hurt. Its probably not as bad as you are imagining though, and if you start through the cage bars you at least have a barrier if he decides to go crazy.

2. Step up. I personally think the best way to deal with bites is to avoid getting bit, but there are lots of different opinions on this. I would work with a stick first, so he can bite it to his hearts content without harming you. Once he learns step up to a stick without attacking it, and will take treats from you without getting aggressive, then I would look into clicker training.

Im sure other people will have lots of experience to offer though.

 

[MonicaMc]

The general consensus will tell you to ignore the bite. This will, in theory, teach him that biting gets him nothing. In reality, it teaches him that you aren't 'listening' to him, or in other words, you aren't paying attention to him, which may lead to bites in the future where there is no warning of him about to bite. He "bites out of the blue" or appears to bite for "no reason." Birds often give subtle signs that they will bite, and a bird should not be pushed to the limit that they feel the need to bite. Besides, I don't expect you to easily stand there with a straight face while he chomps down on your flesh.

What you need to do is learn how to work with him through positive reinforcement, aka clicker training, although a clicker is not required to train him with. You may find that as you teach him acceptable behaviors to perform, the undesired behaviors will lesson. The bird will learn what behaviors gets *your* attention, and will opt to use those behaviors instead of behaviors that aren't rewarded.


To get you started, here's some articles and blogs on biting.

Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Respecting the Bite
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Help! My Parrot Wont Step Up!

A ?Bird Attacking? Question « Lara Joseph

Living With Parrots Cage Free: Bite

Natural Encounters, Inc.
Natural Encounters, Inc.

RP - Biting


Written Works: Learning and Behavior - BehaviorWorks.com
Written Works: The Success Files - BehaviorWorks.com

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum, that was the easy part of this post,LOL. The truth, i doubt things will improve until you become more confident with him. He just needs a leader, He needs someone confident, outgoing,and affectionate. That's a tough bill to fill if your intimidated by him. Amazon at that age are just learning their way in a flock of other immatures and paired up adults who don't tolerate young upstarts. The immatures work things out among themselves and learn what is acceptablre behavior. If you bite someone,they're gonna bite you back. They find their place in the flock and generally are pretty happy just having a place. They don't have to be the leader if a good/strong leader is already in place. No leader? then they'll be incharge and calling the shots. It's just natural for the stronger/dominate bird to assume the flock leader role. You need to find a way to indear yourself to him. Play had to get. Don't be too available. If he has a favorite treat only feed it as a treat and only you give it to him when he's being good. Start calling the shots, start making small deciesions that affect him. If he allows a head stratch,,, only give him a few seconds of pleasure and stop. Leave him wanting more of your attention instead of him biting to say "no". You need to step up, yeah your going to get bit a few times. We all have, got some on video too. It's all part of the learning process, his and your's. He's still young, it's not to late to turn him around. He started off with the other family who ignored him and he became his own leader, now's your chance to help him grow up being part of a flock. There are some other post on this subject, in the community,social groups, "Bonding with your zon". Hope to see you around.

 

[MantisFTW]

Thanks all for your posts, I will definitely try some of these tips and look into those blogs on biting. I hope I can turn him around to be a good bird, I think he is still getting used to being inside now and having more company than he's used to and the change is probably still startling. However if things still aren't working out in a few months from now.. I may consider looking for a nice experienced parrot owner to sell him to. I really don't want to think about doing that yet though, but I can't help thinking that he may be better off with someone who knows birds and is used to handling them and won't be afraid to get a few bites, and is willing to train and work with him. I really don't want to change his environment again though and have him get more confused and upset.. but it may be for the best in the end, otherwise he will not be able to come out of his cage for some freedom time very often if I'm unable to really play with him and give him the attention he needs because of the biting.

Until then though, I will try my hardest to turn him around, and if I can help it I will try to calm my fear of bites. I know that I will eventually get bit and that accidents happen, I just hope that when it does, I'll be prepared lol.
Thanks again and I will put this advice to good use!

 

[SandyBee]

One thing I did when I got my amazon was get a t stand on wheels. Bosley would not come on my hand and is terrified of sticks and gloves. I put the stand right outside his cage and bribed him onto it with treats. This allowed me to interact with him all over the house, I would just wheel him around with me.

It let us build a strong bond and got him out of his cage.

What henpecked said is true, find the way to be the leader and always leave him wanting more. Amazon's are hams and will do anything for attention and food LOL.

 

[MeganMango]

Please keep us posted and dont be afraid to ask more questions! We also love pictures!

 

[ClancyTheAmazon]

Hi,

Ive had similar problems with our adopted 20 year old yellow naped amazon Clancy. His owner was my grandmother and he "only liked women" Im a male and for the past few months i have tried to work with him which is extremly hard bc he bites either out of fear or habit. He doesnt like sticks or gloves bc their scary to him.. I have allowed him to come out of his cage and have been encouraging him to play with me as much as i can seperate from my mother "the favorite" in efforts to get through to him. and lately he has shown more interest in me then her!! He is still aggressive at times and through playing I found that he enjoys shoe laces lol yes shoe laces are his favorite..he gets gentle or calmer in away rather then a stick poking at him..so what i have been doing to gain his trust is to stick my hand in the rubber shoe with a sweat shirt over my wrist and it has been working! I say that command step up bc he knows how to do that bc he does it usually no problem for my mother. You might want to try it as an option as it has been working so far for me so far! good luck!