Laddering a biting bird without loosing skin? Is it possible

[KrisandPenelope]

Okay I have been going through all the old threads about biting and there seems to be a general consensus that making the bird step up or ladder is a good way to stop the biting. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I have a very confident very snuggly 5 month old CBC who will be fine one moment then the skin around my knuckles turns into her favorite chew toy. I try my hardest not to cry out as she attempts to skin my knuckles and attempt to ladder her...sometimes it works other times she grabs a finger with beak and feet flips upside down and attacks my skin like it is a game. I try my hardest not to get upset,raise my voice, and not make a peep, but man it is hard sometimes I just can't help to say ouch! She has plenty of outside time from her cage-4-5 hours throughout the day large cage 30x30x60 and her toys are rotated and is fed a pelleted diet with fruits and veggies with safflower seeds for her training. (shes an angel if there is food involved). So my question is am I somehow teaching her too bite and enforcing it without even knowing? She does not seem angry or scarred when she bites it just looks like how she plays with her toys except with my skin. I do allow her to snuggle on my chest and shoulder when she is calm but if biting start up I immediately bring her to my hand and ladder her and if that isn't working I put her on playtop on top of her cage.
Thanks in Advance!

 

[SilverSage]

So any time you ask a training question you are going to get a lot of different answers. I personally happen to disagree, I have found that laddering usually doesn't help in most situations, and when it does help, it is by a principle of force, which I try to avoid. The idea behind laddering is basically that the bird will learn that they MUST step up no matter what, rather than teaching the bird that stepping up without biting is in their best interest. For a bird that is biting the hand he is stepping onto, especially if that bird is a conure, I'm much more in favor of simply dropping the bird abruptly on the floor and walking away.

By laddering, you are basically giving your bird more and more opportunities to bite, and it becomes a game of who can take it longer, you are him. The answer is him; he can handle biting you longer than you can handle being bitten.

On the other hand, if your bird is biting you and yo simply drop him on the floor and walk away (in a safe area) and go where he cannot see you, he learns that when he bites you he is suddenly ALONE which most conures absolutely HATE! He will learn that in order to not get dropped and abandoned, he must be nice. I suggest keeping a note that you can write down how long you waited before you go back. Start with a minute, and do that a few times. If he is still biting when you get back, add 30 seconds. You want to use the shortest effective time period. When you return to pick him up, he should not bite you. If he does, walk away again, this time for longer. If you do this EVERY TIME he bites, it should. Very effective. If in a couple of weeks it still isn't working, then there is a deeper root we need to find.

 

[KrisandPenelope]

Thank you! I'm going to have to bird proof a room that I can leave her in...shes cute but I cant trust her not to get herself into trouble!