I was told many years ago not to use the earthquake method. (Shake your hand when the bird goes to bite). When your bird is on your hand don't shake your hands to unbalance the bird has this will cause trust issues between your hand and the bird. This person told me the idea is to make your hands a safe and trusted place for your birds and if you shake your hand to unbalance the bird then the bird will come to see your hand as unsafe and will learn to distrust your hands. If your bird views your hand has unsafe and distrusts your hand it will more likely bite the hand then fly away. The use of gloves can also cause problems further down the line. It would probably be better to find out what is triggering the bite.
I tolerate the bite, which can be really hard at times. Under NO circumstances should you yell. Instead say "No biting or naughty bird" in a firm and displeased voice and give the bird a very dirty look. Show the bird your displeasure by giving it a REALLY DIRTY LOOK ("The Evil Eye"). Serious -- you have to look at it as if it were the lowest of the low, or pond scum, or something you might find stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Parrots are extremely empathetic creatures who watch our facial expressions closely. He will understand your displeasure if you give him a tremendously dirty look. The bird will understand that you are unhappy and will try very hard not to do it again.
But if you make a show out of being bitten then the bird can find it quite entertaining and can be encourage to bite. This is called learnt bad behaviour. Contrary to human beliefs, parrots think yelling is a fantastic and fun response and it will actually reinforce a behaviour. Parrots really enjoy it when humans yell at them. Parrots often scream simply for the fun of it so it is a fallacy to think they perceive that yelling is a reprimand. On the contrary, they generally interpret yelling as positive feed-back. This is what called The Drama Reward.
So the parrot will nip again, because the human inadvertently rewarded it for nipping by yelling and jumping around. Sooner or later, the experimental nips will actually hurt the human (emotionally as well as physically), and the human's response becomes, Yelling something to the effect of "YOU BAD BIRD, YOUR MOMMY (or DADDY) LOVES YOU, HOW COULD YOU BITE YOUR MOMMY (or DADDY)??!??!! The bird doesn't understand what's happening here, of course..... It thinks this is a wonderful new game. You know, Bite a finger and your person makes lots of LOUD and WONDERFUL noises.... Bite hard enough and your person will also jump around... Bonus points…… This becomes learnt bad behaviour and they will actively hunt out skin to play this wonderful game of entertainment.
You can use a Toy/treat as a distraction, But it's just that 'a distraction'. It's not really teaching the bird acceptable behaviours. What you're really teaching the bird, is that by biting, it gets a toy/treat. Again learnt bad behaviour.
Biting Isn't "Natural". Conflicts resolutions in birds. Instead they are handled with body language and vocalizations, not biting.
It is important to understand that parrots in the wild rarely appear to use their beaks as a weapon against other parrots. If needed, the beak is a protection against predators such as snakes and raptors (birds of prey), but not against others in their own flock. In their natural environments, competition and/ or conflict between parrots rarely escalates to physical violence. Instead, they vocalize (scream) and/or use body language by strutting, posturing, and fluffing feathers to make themselves look bigger. Beaks are used for climbing, eating, playing (wrestling) and preening... not for biting each other.
Another scenario that happens, is when an owner is not clear in their signals to the parrot. For example, when offering a hand for the bird to
step up, a inexperienced owner often isn't quite sure of him/herself... so their hand motion is uncertain. The bird may wish very much to climb on, but is unsure of the stability of the hand will reaches with its beak (The beak functions as a hand) to steady the human hand. The human, afraid of that beak, pulls their hand away.
Now the bird is confused! Now each time the human's hand is offered and the bird attempts to grab the hand with its beak to hold it steady so it can climb on. The human jerks their hand away. The bird has no idea what has happened but if the scene is repeated (as it usually is), the bird will learn that its beak will make the hand go away. The bird doesn't really want the hand to go away, but it is fun to control one's human's hand so the behaviour will happen again and a-gain. Once again, the parrot has no idea it has done anything wrong.
I suggest that you remove the food bowl when you put the bird to bed. But leave the water bowl. In the morning before giving the bird their normal breakfast I would conduct a training session then give breakfast. Remove breakfast after a couple of hours. Then put out foraging toys with pieces of food hidden inside. Then prior to dinner I would conduct a training session then give the bird dinner.
Just keep in mind that patience is key. Never punish a bird who bites. Birds remember mistreatment, and they hold grudges. There is no need to try to “control” your bird. Birds operate out of mutual respect, and if you attempt to overpower your bird, she/he will lose trust in you. You shouldn't attempt to force your bird to do anything. Any interaction you have with your bird should be bonding and trust-building. The idea that one must "dominate" an animal to train it is simply not a good way to achieve results. How can one dominate a parrot without frightening or provoking them? Parrots and other animals learn best when wanted behaviour is rewarded right as it occurs and unwanted behaviour is not. ( It's that simple).
y skin on my arm or hand. I can give him a good scratch through the bars with bare fingers, and recently he's learned the Step Up command (WOOT!!) but I HAVE to have long thick sleeves and a glove on to handle him.
. I'll give it a try
