How to get my bird to stop chewing on my ear

[funnyfish]

Title. It's not because she doesn't like me, but she does it very hard and it is very painful, so when I reactionary put my hand to the pain, she lets out a yelp and starts chewing on my fingers! It's very painful, but I also feel like my birds losing trust in me. I just wish she would stop nibbling all over my face.

 

[BoomBoom]

Hi there! When she bites you too hard on the ear (or anywhere) react like a bird that got hurt. Screech like you're in pain. That's a good way to communicate to her that she hurt you. Stay consistent, it may or may not take a while but she'll get the idea. Avoid reacting in a human way, which can sometimes be out of anger (not saying you get this way but I have a few times in the past, until I learned the proper way).

If she keeps doing it, then restrict access to your shoulders for now. No bites mean less chances for an unwanted habit to form.

If she crosses the line again and again with her biting, just gently set her down on a perch, calmly walk away and close the door behind you so she doesn't follow. Re-enter the room in 15 to 45 mins, no longer. This is called shunning. Separation from you is a consequence for hurting you. Mind that it works only for parrots bonded to you or fond of you on some level (they must like you to feel the sting of your absence). Also make sure that the room you're leaving her in is bird-safe. No open doors, windows, glass/mirrors to crash into, electric fans, other pets to pounce on him etc.

Good luck! Stay strong and scritches to your little one.

 

[wrench13]

Well there's always the Vincent Van Gogh method. Sorry, that was a joke, couldn't resist.

THe above advice is pretty good, but shunning, which is an excellent way to go, should be for only a few minutes, like 2-3 max. Any longer and you risk the bird not associating the 'shun' with the behavior. Salty is not flighted so its sufficient to just put him on a chair back ( which is very handy) and turn my back to him. Flighted birds are more of a problem since they will just fly back to you immediately, so yeah walking out and closing the door would work. Whats is also very important is to be consistent EVERY time she misbehaves; you and others in the family must do the same thing - shunning when a bite occurs. SO an authoritative NO, and immediately put her down and walk out, no eye contact at all, and be consistent. It may take awhile for her to get the message, but most parrots get this fairly quickly.