Help!!

[Ebbie]

Hi I have an 5month old ecalectus female. She starting to bit really hard. She's never in her cage gets lot of fruit n veggie's and loves talking. I don't know what to do or how to stop her. I don't wanna get rid of her but he really hurts when she's bits !!!! How do I stop her !!

 

[roxynoodle]

It's called I'm a toddler and I'm going to test my boundaries! What worked with my conure at that age was to not let her be with me unless she was nice. Now, I did have to clip her wings so she couldn't fly to me. I would tell her, "Don't!" and set her on her play gym and ignore her for a couple of minutes. Then we would try again. If she bit me, back she went to be ignored. If she didn't, she got to stay with me. Now you have to do it consistently for them to learn what the bad behavior is. And don't ignore them for more than a few minutes as they don't have a long enough attention span to remember why they are being ignored if you try to do it longer.

 

[Pedro]

I am guessing you haven't had her all that long & you are probably sending her mixed messages. Eclectus bite for 2 reasons & that's out of fear & control. IMO eclectus don't go through the terrible 2's or are trying to control us humans. We are the ones pushing the birds boundaries. We never know when to step back when a bird bites us. And of course it's the birds fault because all we did was try to love them. I am guessing your girl is biting because you have done something she didn't like. It could be anything at all. The thing is it's far better to just walk away & let the bird be than to make a fuss.

Read this link it will help you understand a little why parrots bite.
RP - Biting

You have to build a trust account with your bird, respect her, your the only one that can teach her positive behavior. Eclectus are very intelligent, the bite is usually a warning to leave me alone.

IMO there is never a bad parrot it's the carers that create the problems because they don't understand their birds behaviors & don't know how to read their birds body behavior.

 

[roxynoodle]

Definitely listen to Pedro's advice as well. I have never had an Ekkie. And of all my birds Rowdy was the only one who wanted to test all the boundaries and try to dominate. My other conure never went through that phase at all. And my amazon has only bitten me after a trip to the vet that was very upsetting to him. He kept telling me in an upset way, "I good boy! I good boy!". I just had to back off from him and give him a few days to realize I wasn't going to hurt him. But, if I got close he would nip me and throw food at me. After leaving him be and interacting from farther away for a few days he went back to being my sweet little boy.

But yes, sometimes birds don't want to be bothered. They are tired or are chilling out and just want to be. My advice was for the bird that does want to interact with you but is being bratty. Rowdy was also already 8 months old when I got her and had already figured out how to boss around all the pet store employees, who were all scared of her.

 

[mygirl]

all i can suggest is when she bites put her straight into her cage she will trying you to see who the boss is!!

 

[Pedro]

Shoving her in a cage isn't the answer either, she doesn't know she has done anything wrong. All she knows is she is wants to be left alone & she is trying to tell her owner the only way she know how & that is to bite.

http://www.pbec.com.au/downloads/friedman_abcs.pdf

 

[mygirl]

what i mean is if she's out all the time use that as a punishment why is it with this forum nearly everything i say is taken that i'm mean to my bird or i have no idea what im talking about??

 

[Pedro]

Mygirl, it's not this forum it's me you have an issue with. I am so sorry it comes across that way & i have hurt your feelings. The thought never crossed my mind that your mean to your bird at all. Is it not a better idea to get to the bottom of why the bird is biting & sort it out correctly rather than try a quick fix which by the way doesn't work. If you can take the time to read the above link, that is what i was trying to get at.

This bird is only 5 months old & how the carer treats her is going to have lasting effects, if she doesn't get it right in the beginning.

 

[mygirl]

its not you i have the problem with its how everyone judges, maybe putting my bird back in her cage works for me..maybe it will for the person asking for help... everyone has there own opinions same as raising kids.. Shoving her in a cage isn't the answer either is what you said.. i said put her back in her cage theres a difference

 

[Pedro]

its not you i have the problem with its how everyone judges, maybe putting my bird back in her cage works for me..maybe it will for the person asking for help... everyone has there own opinions same as raising kids.. Shoving her in a cage isn't the answer either is what you said.. i said put her back in her cage theres a difference

Yes if it works for your bird, that's fine & that is also what this forum is about. Everyones ideas. I am not saying i have all the answers either. We don't always agree with each other but i do respect everyones advice even though i may think that it isn't right. Sorry my choice of words sux.

I am so passionate about eclectus & their behavior, i really do feel that if parrots were taught properly in the first place there wouldn't be so many up for adoption. Getting to the reason for the biting has far more advantages than just putting her in the cage. She will learn that if she bites she will be caged & that is probably what she wanted. Not saying that is the reason she is biting just using it as an example.

In the past I have also made mistakes regarding biting & screaming & some of my parrots just behaving badly, a friend introduced me to a Parrot Behavior Consultant & i realized a lot of my stuff ups. Since that day I have try to understand why parrots do what they do. If any of my parrots bite me i know i have done something wrong & i haven't taken notice of the warnings. These day it very rare for me to ever get a bite.

I have made it my mission that if i am selling my babies i would like to think the new owner has at least some idea of what to expect & how to deal with any problems before they become out of hand. I also see first hand how a new owner tries to handle their new baby, another reason for a bite.

Ebbie's baby is only 5 months old & i feel it's a good opportunity for her to reinforce positive behaviors now, than to suffer down the track & maybe rehome her girl.

 

[Ebbie]

Thanks for all your advice I have had her since she was 10 weeks old and still had to feed her of a spoon. She doesn't bit all the time I will clear that up. But when she does my god it hurts it just when we move her from where she is like if she's sitting on me move her to her play area she will step up on our finger then bit our fingers or even when we get her to step up she will get my fingers.