African Grey Parrot need help biteing

[Legionniall]

Hello everyone my name is Niall and I have a 19 year old Timneh African Grey Parrot we have had him since he was about 2 years old, since we have had him he has been very aggressive and bites when ever you go near him, also if you go near his cage he will walk over to you if you put you hand near the cage, you can hand feed him if you have food in your hands but if you just put you hands never him you going to lose a finger. I really need some help taming him we have tryed many parrot training videos and non have worked. please can anyone please give me some professional advice thank very much Niall

 

[Captsteve]

Welcome to the forum!

The issue with the biting is more in you than the bird. you have had the bird for 17 yrs. and have either not gained his trust or reinforced the biting behavior to the point that he thinks it is the right thing to do.

It can be undone but I think that the habits will be hard to break, if not impossible. You first must retrain yourself and everyone that interacts with the bird to be calm and not show fear of the beak and slowly gain the birds trust.

The bird does what he does for the reaction and at this point to protect his sanctuary. You must control the reaction that he seeks (pulling away or saying ouch ) The best way is to ignore him completely when he trys to bite. Just turn your back to him and give him no reaction.

Pick a quiet time of the day (evening works for me, just before bed) and sit near the cage and quietly talk to him, read a book to him or whatever. Do this everyday and occasionally give him a treat. reinforce any good behavior you see and ignore the bad behavior.

This will take lots of time and dedication on your part and can be ruined if there is someone in the house that teases the bird or is not following the rehab program.

There are a lot of people on here that are willing to help you but you have to commit completely if you truly want results.

 

[Legionniall]

thank you for you advice captsteve would it be ok if I was to add you as a friend so I can get more advice if I need it. Also when are bird see's us eating he will cry for ages will we give him something to eat this may also be a problem that need to be addressed. thank niall

 

[Captsteve]

As far as the begging, that is your choice to encourage or not. In my home to birds reside in the dining room and eat with us as a family. We will usually have something that is good for them to eat and will put it on our plate. When they are real interested we will make a big deal of sharing "our" food with them and require a skritch or a kiss for them to get the goodies we have on our plate.

When you are talking to the bird during your quiet time, hand feeding healthy snack helps him to bond to you.

Feel free to ask any question you have and I will do my best to answer. I have a 14yr old Congo that is a rehome and am going through much the same thing you are. There are major trust issues but my wife will sit in the evening in front of the cage with the door open and talk to him and feed him. In a matter of a few days he bows his head for skricthes and has now started calling for her to "come here" and get more skritches.

It is a lot of work but very rewarding. Remember, Don't fear the beak. You will get bit, it will hurt. you are dealing with a wild animal and they are driven by fear. He will trust you if you let him.

 

[MonicaMc]

Did you try the trainers and behaviorists such as Barbara Heidenreich, Lara Joseph, Susan Friedman, Steve Martin or Melinda Johnson???


Do you know why your grey is biting you? Is he afraid of you? Does he trust you? Was he ever previously tamed or trained?