help nanday went crazy

[arky67]

Chico is about 2 years old. I have had him about 2 months. He was untouchable, but liked to ride on my shoulder.until a week ago he spent hours a day on my shoulder inside and outside, and in the car. Even got to wanting his head rubbed. Literally overnight he changed. About a week ago he walked over to get on my shoulder and bit my neck hard. Since then he has attacked me every time try to mess with him. He Is throwing his food and water dish. I have to feed him on top of his cage while he is inside or he flys to my hand and bites. He is almost through molting, it hasn't been a problem. I really need help:confused, I miss my sweet little chico

 

[weco]

Chico's decided that his new surroundings are acceptable and is testing his limits and unless he is reigned in, you'll think he's Chuckie's first cousin.....

Read up on clicker training & touch training & decide which might be best for you & Chico, then begin yours & his new learning experience.....there are several decent videos on youtube for both training methods.....

It's too bad that birds don't come all cuddly & mindful of all your desires, but they don't.....interaction & training is still required & probably will be for the foreseeable future.....

Good luck.....

 

[arky67]

I started touch training, but quit. Sticks really freak him out.

 

[ann]

I'm sure it doesn't have to be a stick, you could use a long millet spray and strip the seeds off. Its stick like, but is less intimidating. I've even seen people clicker train with a whole millet spray. Don't worry if touch training doesn't work out, buy keep trying. Any kind of trick training is vermiform to your parrot. It mentally stimulates them, encourages bonding, and can be cued to distract from a bad behavior.
Try laddering him when he bites. Just sternly say "no bite" and have him step up at least three times. Then give him the cold shoulder for a minute. Also, never grab his beak to discipline him. If you grab it too hard, you'll hurt him and he could become phobic. Also, in young birds beak grabbing is a play behavior, so it can be confused as play instead of discipline. You might want to clip his wings until you have established rules for him and he follows them. Even though he loves being on your shoulder, you might want to stop shouldering him for now, until you get a better hand on his biting. Believe me, I know its hard to say no to a nanday, but your face will thank you

 

[MonicaMc]

As Ann mentioned, you don't have to use a stick. If he's comfortable with any other item, even your hand, you can use something else!

I do not suggest laddering though. Birds bite for a reason, and laddering them isn't explaining why they bite so you can avoid getting bitten... it can often piss them off more and result in more biting! (been there... done that..)


I definitely recommend positive reinforcement training aka clicker training! It may take time to figure out what works for Chico, but he will definitely benefit from it!

 

[ann]

As Ann mentioned, you don't have to use a stick. If he's comfortable with any other item, even your hand, you can use something else!

I do not suggest laddering though. Birds bite for a reason, and laddering them isn't explaining why they bite so you can avoid getting bitten... it can often piss them off more and result in more biting! (been there... done that..)


I definitely recommend positive reinforcement training aka clicker training! It may take time to figure out what works for Chico, but he will definitely benefit from it!

Laddering has worked well for me, but that could be because black jack is very tolerant. As an individual bird it works for him. I have found that laddering distracts him and gives him somewhere to put his energy. But after reading your post, I'll give other methods a try. I can see how laddering an angry bird could be counter productive. I never thought of it that way, so thank you for pointing that out :0)
I recently read an article about the behavioral benefits of exercise for your parrots. Try playing games with him. You could toss a bird safe ball around and let him wrestle it, give him some foraging toys (or make some!), or let him run around your bed or floor under supervision. My nanday LOVES playing on my bed. He burrows between the pillows and starts whispering gibberish. Releasing pent up energy can go a long way in improving his behavior.

 

[MonicaMc]

Laddering doesn't necessarily teach a bird anything other than stepping up can be a bad experience. Ya, sure, it can work for some birds, but it can be a relentless thing. What if the bird bites every 2nd or 3rd time? You'll be laddering until your fingers are bloody and the bird tires out! It's not a fun experience.

I do understand where people are coming from when they say to ladder, and I used to do that... but it's often done in a negative manner, not in a positive one. You want to try and make every experience with your bird a positive one, and if the experiences end up being too negative for the bird, they'll learn avoidance behaviors or simply just "give up".

You want a bird that eagerly puts his foot up before you even ask for the step up behavior, not a bird that you end up chasing around the cage to get him or her to step up, and end up getting bitten anyway!


It's really how you approach the behavior, and how the bird responds to it.

 

[ann]

I think your signature can apply to this, I learn something new every day ~