how to stop biting in quakers

[Birds]

hey i got a quaker and this is my first one and i just weaned her and shes always biting me when i have her out. can anybody tell me how to get her to stop

 

[NatWatson]

Yes! Well I can offer tips based on my own biting issue.
Yoshi is 4 years old, and soon after we bought him from his breeder we encountered this problem. It took us extreme dedication to work through it, but these days he is a lot less nasty (he still throws toddler tantrums and bites in protest when he does not get his own way- but that is probably better suited to a pregnancy and parent forum hahahaha).

Quakers are smart. Use it to your own advantage. Whenever you are with her, play games with her which always give her some benefit. With Yoshi, it is food- seeds and apples. Bribe her constantly, not rewarding antisocial behaviour like biting. Get her working out different ways to approach you, like with words (hello was mine), or actions (we made Yoshi shake our hand with his foot, every time we wanted him to step up). This gets her thinking about how she is going to get what she wants from you- and that biting ALWAYS results in you walking away cold from her.

Remember that stimulation and challenge is the best way to achieve results. Replacing bad behaviour with positive- things that score rewards from you, are awesome ways to both bond and learn about her. This worked so well with Yoshi, but we were super-duper religious about how we interacted with him, and how we let other people interact with him.

Good luck!

 

[lene1949]

I found that Shrek would only ever bite me, if someone touched me... I expect, he (in his own way) told me to fly away...

Shrek could sit for hour just giving me a facial... Eye brows, lashes and any stray hairs.. He would do this on a daily basis, and I loved it.

 

[Zazusmommy]

when i first got my parrot, he was recently weaned, he wasnt the friendliest thing to me or anyone for that matter. little by little with LOTS of patience you start doing the whole bribing thing the above member mentioned and he will learn that being nice to you and not biting leads to good things. my parrot loves to go outside so his reward sometimes when he's good is to go out to the patio and watch other birds (or whatever he's looking at, lol)
anyways never scream or make loud noises as he might think thats acceptable behavior and even like it for you to scream at him. training also builds a great bond between the two of you and he will see that doing what you ask is a good thing. so start training asap. and have lots of patience, you probably will get bit a couple more times in the process of making him friendly....good luck!!

 

[Quilly]

When Quilly and I cuddle I use a sort of moan (awww)..so at other times when he is getting aggressive ie something new in his personal space, new person around...or just woke up on the wrong side of his bed I moan and he thinks of the good times and is instantly nice (to me) again. I haven't however found anything that will get him to let someone touch me - has anyone had a Quaker that likes more than one person?

 

[roxynoodle]

Lots of good suggestions. I haven't had a Quaker but I have an assertive conure, who is probably very similar in personality. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet is that my bird is a drama queen. Perhaps the Quaker is as well. She was hoping for a reaction to the bites. She wants people to yell, "Ouch!" or something similar. I had also read to wobble your hand when you get bitten to throw the bird off balance. Well, she liked that, too. Ooo, amusement park ride! I will keep biting to get that! The best thing for me was to not react. I also need to keep her busy. She wants to do things all the time, and explore everything she sees. I can't just let her out without things to stimulate her. Play gyms with lots of activities are good. Change the toys every few days so there are new ones to check out. Give it a variety of perches, ladders and a swing.

 

[MichaelCerda]

Several things: Make sure that your bird is getting enough sleep. I aim for 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I found that my quaker is grumpy if she doesn't get enough sleep. Give your bird things to do, foraging toys, food wrapped in paper towels, etc... As mentioned here, don't reward bad behavior with noise. Birds love drama. Yelling at a bird just reinforces the behavior. If my bird is biting I restrict her from being around me. No shoulder privileges when she's biting. No hand perching either. I use a perch made of PVC to handle her. She can bite it with no reaction from me. Also be aware of your bird's body language. Sometimes they just don't want to be picked up. Watch for lunging and an open mouth. When she's like that, don't pick her up.

P.S. It may also be hormones. It's getting to be spring and the wrens/sparrows around the house are busy gathering nesting materials. The longer days and warmer temperatures trigger this. It's the same, almost, for the quaker.