Angry eckie (new baby)

[lizard]

So she's probably more fearful than angry, but I liked the alliteration.

She's almost 5 months and still at the bird store and I visit her at least once a week. I just visited her today and she bit the whole family (lol). Are they naturally more fearful and nervous than the males? I had this issue x1000 with Raja and I want to be approaching her the right way when I'm taking her from the cage (firm step up even if she's biting the crap out of my finger?) Once she's out, if she goes for a finger I redirect her by making her step up on my other hand. I'm also saying, "gentle beak," heh.

I'm assuming she'll become less nervous when she's home and used to me, but I want to make sure I'm not reinforcing the bite habit. And why does it seem the females bite harder than the males?

Sorry for the jumbled thoughts and thanks for reading if you made it through!

 

[lizard]

I'm going to answer myself after reading anansi's solid advice in chris-md's thread.

It's probably very normal behavior for any bird. I shouldn't force step up and sacrifice my fingers; I should bring treats with me to positively reinforce that stepping up is super rewarding! And I should pay attention to my kid trying to pet her :09:

I'm hoping she'll eventually learn that fingers possess good things. I had to stick Raja out her whole short life and I don't want to do that with Luna (I named her, finally).

 

[Anansi]

Sorry I'm just seeing this thread, Liz! Yes, I think the positive reinforcement will work wonders. Not to mention that you'll be able to start using timeouts as a technique once she's finally home. I've found that it's just really hard to work with them while they're still in the store.

 

[lizard]

That's ok, haha. I really liked your advice even if it wasn't meant for me. I think I got nervous when she did the bite down hard and shake with my pinky and panicked thinking about how Raja was trying to get her from her cage.