Types of Biting/Behavior Mods

I started this in response to a comment in another thread, and thought the discussion deserves a thread of it's own.

There are many types of biting, and the behavior mods you use to correct it depend on the trigger for the type of biting you are dealing with. This is meant as a reference. Down the line I hope to add specific behavior mods for the specific types of biting... because how you deal with each one is different. For more than half a decade, I rehabbed "the biters." (I've worked with around 350 birds, not counting my own.) This I'm fairly well trained to speak on intelligently:

There is the normal fight or flight reaction which is fear biting;

There is "I am simply not tame, and have never been properly socialized so I don't know how to react."

There is birdie manipulation/practical jokes (My Ruby macaw putting her head down, and begging for a head scratch - so she can remove your finger. My red front fainting for the french fry and pinching your arm instead, and running away laughing.)

There is "I DON'T WANT TO!"

There is "I'm mad at you" biting. (You locked me up too long! You haven't paid enough attention to me.)

There are tantrums. (Toddler emotional melt down. I AM REALLY UPSET RIGHT NOW!)

There is hormonal biting. (I'm horny and grumpy. Don't touch)

There are territorial intrusion issues. (Get out of here!!!)

There are hoarding/possessive issues. (That's MINE!!!)

There is displacement biting. (If you can't bite the one you want to bite, bite the one you're with!)

There is jealous/overbonding biting. (He's MINE!/Get away from him/You're not my person!)

Worse, there is MATE AGGRESSION bird on human variety (overbonding a step further. Power and control. Battered wife syndrome. Do what I say, I'm your mate! Obey me! Don't make me hurt you!)

There is the bird "looking out for you, trying to protect you by warning you of danger" biting (You're too close to that scary thing! Hey stupid wake up, it's gonna get you!)

There is accidental biting (i.e. playing too rough/All I was trying to do was hold on, but I don't know my own strength, so I hurt you... i.e. Woody almost taking my finger off holding onto my finger when I was scratching his head.)

There is "amazon overload" biting. (Altered states)

Then there are large toos and sennies that have lots of 'tude and MPD. Otherwise known as "BECAUSE I CAN" biting. (PSYCHO BIRD!)

I could go on, but this is already starting to sound like Bubba in the "shrimp" scene from Forest Gump. So, I will stop now.

My point is it isn't always a simple generalization, and they don't always warn you... in fact, ala my Ruby, sometimes they deliberately DON'T warn you. Cuz they secretly want to see you dance and shout. "That never gets old! It's so funny when they do that!"

FEAR BITING is the most common and easiest to modify.

Simply figure out what the bird is afraid of and remove it (or stop doing it.) Then gradually, over time, progressively subject the bird to that same stimulus until it no longer bothers him. (Desensitization/startle training) When the bird is confident and no longer afraid, he no longer bites.

I'M NOT TAME! This one is obvious, basic step up practice and touch training. Start with the basics, and take baby steps. Go at the bird's pace. Then gradually introduce him to new people, and new experiences.

Birdie manipulation/practical jokes...

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

They generally pull the same stunt over and over again. Expect it and head them off at the pass. Sweepea will faint for that french fry every single time, but you're gonna get pinched, and she will squeal with delight if she tricks you... set the french fry down next to her. Sorry bird. I know better than to hand it to you!

Don't reward the behavior with unnecessary drama! That's why they are doing it! This is A GAME! If it doesn't get a rise out of you, it didn't work. If it worked once, and didn't work again, it's no fun anymore.

I DON'T WANT TO! MAKE ME....

Okay, I will. Meet Mr. Towel.

Mr. Towel doesn't like it when you don't step up nice...

You gonna be nice?!

I'm mad at you!

Every once in awhile, you're just gonna get pinched. You know when he's mad. Two fingers on the beak, and extra attention and head scratches go a long way on this one... sometimes, you just have to let them pinch you and get it out of their system. Okay, you're right. I've been working a lot lately... but I'm here now. Let's play!

Toddler Tantrums...

Time out. Ignored. Mr. Towel if you have to. Cage cover if you have to.

When he calms down, PRAISE HIM FOR BEING GOOD. Reinforce the good behavior, and ALL ATTENTION CEASES AND TIME OUT HAPPENS when he is pitching a hissy fit...

Hormonal biting.

Stick train. Don't handle them in the height of breeding season. Don't touch the areas that arouse them. Leave them be when they are grumpy. Sit and talk but don't touch.

Territorial intrusion...

take the bird out of his territory for awhile, until he calms down. Outside his territory there is nothing to defend, therefore the bad behavior stops, like flicking a switch.

THAT'S MINE...

Okay, even if it's yours - if the bird wants it, watch your fingers. Give it to him. Or Put the bird back. Or Remove the object of desire.

Displacement biting:

Usually a certain person, or other bird, or thing will trigger it. Figure out what that is, and don't handle the bird around that person/place/thing...

Try to gradually desensitize them to it. Sometimes you can, sometimes you just have to know if that person/place/thing/other bird is around, you are likely to get pinched.

BIRDS THAT DISPLACEMENT BITE ARE NOT GOOD CANDIDATES FOR SHOULDER BIRDS, BECAUSE YOUR FACE IS RIGHT THERE, AND WHAT IS HE GOING TO LATCH ONTO FIRST IF THAT PERSON/PLACE OR THING IS CLOSE BY?!

It isn't the species it it the behavior that makes a bird not a good candidate to be a shoulder bird. My macaws and amazons are all shoulder birds, even though "the rule" is they aren't supposed to be. Mine are trustworthy up there.

My CAG displacement bites when he is afraid. He has never been a shoulder bird, and never will be. He is a hand/arm bird.

Jealous bird issues/overbonding:

Increase socialization. Other people need to handle the bird. Especially pair bond birds i.e. amazons, macaws, and conures!

Otherwise they will pair up, and that will be THE ONLY person who handles the bird - until mate aggression starts - then NO ONE DOES!

Socialization is the key to good birdie behavior.

MATE AGGRESSION:

Nip it in the bud before it comes to that. Socialization, socialization, and more socialization...

If this is a bird mate situation YOU have to be the dominant bird in the pair bond! NO... HERE'S HOW IT WORKS! YOU DO WHAT I SAY, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND...

This is another immediate and radical reaction. Bird goes to the floor, and THE MATE backs his butt into the corner with a pillow NEVER FRIGGIN' DO THAT AGAIN... THEN TIME OUT! CAGE AND IGNORE THE BIRD AND I MEAN COMPLETELY FOR A DAY OR TWO!!! Mate aggression leaves you gut wrenchingly lonely. It's the worst feeling in the world. Dwell on that for awhile, until I am good and ready to forgive you...

IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN I AM LEAVING YOU.... VIOLENCE IS NOT PERMITTED IN THIS RELATIONSHIP!!!

They have to be afraid that they really, really, really blew it this time.

THEN SOCIALIZATION, SOCIALIZATION, AND MORE SOCIALIZATION...

These are people. You are a bird. It would never work that way.

I am a parent bird. A teacher. A friend. A protector. A guide through life. I AM NOT NOW, AND WILL NEVER BE YOUR MATE, BIRD!

Birds trying to warn you of danger.

Figure out what the bird is afraid of. Set the bird down. Handle the thing. Show him that you are aware of it, and not afraid of it. Then remove it...

Reintroduce it to him over time.

Reassure him it's okay.

Accidental biting:

Don't get them too wound up. When the bite pressure starts getting harder stop the game and calm them down before continuing...

AND FOR GOD SAKES BITE PRESSURE TRAIN YOUR BIRDS!!! THEY DON'T ALWAYS KNOW THEIR OWN STRENGTH. THEY SHOULD PINCH, NOT BITE!

AMAZON OVERLOAD...

REALLY?! That's your own dang fault. If the eyes are pinning, the bird is hunched over, he's pacing back and forth with his tail flared, making amazon psycho zombie noises...

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BIRD IS GOING TO DO?!

Back off until he calms down. They play with their toys by attacking them!

Now is not a good time to play "bird toy!"

HELLOOOOO!!!

Sennie-Tude and Psycho-Too:

Sennie-Tude: 1. Don't run. 2. It's really just a pin prick. I know it hurts, but you'll be fine. Match him 'tude for 'tude.

Didn't hurt... but now I gotcha. I win. You lose. Is this still a fun game?!

Will it work? Ever seen a sennie that didn't have 'tude? Me neither. You reduce the behavior. You don't eliminate it.

Psycho-too: What can I say? You wanted a too. They do that sometimes. Next thing you're gonna tell me is the bird gets kinda loud sometimes...

From time to time, too loyalty inexplicably and abruptly changes. The sweetest bird in the world bites the crap out of you, and becomes the sweetest bird in the world to someone else. Sometimes they change back... sometimes they just start screaming at you. No one really understands why yet. I suspect it's some sort of hormonal imbalance, but I don't know...

I've worked with toos. I keep macaws and amazons. And a CAG who I'm not sure knows he's a CAG. (Sometimes he's a human, sometimes he's a macaw. Mostly he's just stubborn!)

Okay, so there you have the basics.

Anyone wants to add to the list or dispute this feel free to post your own. This is a public forum for public discussion, and one size does not necessarily fit all.

I just figured we could use something like this... because it does tend to come up over and over again...

(Sort of like screaming protocols!)

Can I just say thank you? We get so many biting questions and it can be exhausting answering again and again, especially when they are species that each of us has not dealt with. I can tell you put a lot of time into typing this out, and I hope it stays on the active topics list for a long time! This is so much simple helpful stuff especially for new bird owners.

Yeah.

I've been meaning to start posting behavior mods...

I used to have a pretty large collection of stuff. There was a time when I wrote rather extensively.

On the old parrot talk forum my bird bite behavior mods had something along the lines of 18,000 to 19,000 hits. So, obviously, someone found them useful.

The touch training works. I wish I had the photos from when I had it on parrot talk. A friend of mine took in an OWA that was just miserable, hand shy and afraid of touching.

She did the mods and photographed them step by step. In the last one, the bird was fluffing up and lowering it's head on the head scratch symbol, and had become quite affectionate.

Sweetest danmed thing you ever saw, going from recoiling in horror to fluffing up in bliss... makes it all worth while.