Need Help with IRN- Behavior problem

[Nursemary]

My husband & I rehomed an Indian Ringneck about 6-8 years ago, as we lost our cockatiel. Pretty sure it's a female. She is semi-tamed and knew how to step up when we rehomed her. She'd flown into a family's yard and they hadn't been able to find the owner, but didn't want to keep her. She was alright until about 18 months ago. She got very territorial and started screaming more. She screeches, has started biting more and won't even come to me that often. I feel like she's taken over my kitchen cabinets, as she loves to be in them. I've tried the clicker training, and she responds some. but I'm getting to the point that I think she might not be happy. If anyone knows what we can do I'd appreciate some really good suggestions or if someone wants her, please let me know. If there is a cure, I'd love to hear it.

 

[SailBoat]

It is not uncommon to have to back-up and start-over when one enters this process of welcoming a Parrot into our homes. It is always important to understand that the vast majority of Parrots are mid to small size group (family) based in their relationships. In addition, Parrot come with a natural fear of Humans. We have to, everyday provide them reason to trust us. The trust bond is difficult to develop but very easy to quick trash.

One of my basic structures is based around: It is never the fault of the Parrot, it is always the fault of the Human. The sooner the Human picks-up on this Vantage Point, the quicker one seems what one is doing wrong. By correcting that and other causes, you are back to developing a trust bond.

You imply two Humans, but there is no comment as to whether the other Human is having the same difficulties, worst or less. Parrots can become more comfortable with one Human and not the other. Also, one Human's interaction 'style' may cause a loss of Trust, so it becomes a check on each other to assure that both are working toward the same end results.

Your Parrot lost its first home! Great fear must have ruled its day to day life. Its second home was at least safer, but they had no real interest in it. The Parrot likely picked-up on that. Then just when some stability was entering its life, they where gone and you are the new faces looking in.

At this point, start-over! Only good things happen when Humans are around. Only good things come from Humans, like treats. The only thing you want to work with is Step-up and receiving a treat. Without the basic trust relationship in place clicker training likely only confused the relationship.

Trying just sitting next to your Parrot and read softy out loud to him /her and enjoy being together time. Remember that Parrots are smart and pick-up quickly on our emotions and actions. This can be turned around, its only up the both of you and your Parrot to work things out. Write this down and place it some place that you see it often: My Parrot Has No Natural Reason to Trust Me! It is up to me to create that Trust!

Enjoy, it will be worth it!

 

[Nursemary]

Sorry for not supplying all the info. Our IRN, Daisiymay, is more tolerant of me. She doesn't step up to my husband, but she will take food from him & let him pet her on
, on occasion. She will step up to me, takes showers with me and tolerates him. We've had her 5+years and this behavior started about 18 months ago. I thought she might want to build a nest & that's why she was getting into my kitchen cabinets. Well, she wants the all the cabinets and the kitchen. She tolerates us in the kitchen at times, but will sometimes chase after us or bite our feet. She has always screeched, but not as much as she's been doing. I didn't think about her losing her first home, going to another and then another. I have grandchildren that I'm scared for her to be around due to the biting. If I can start seeing some progress again, I'd ne happy, but I guess I need to know what to do exactly in this situation. Her wings are clipped, so she can't fly very far, she glides to floor, but she can fly. Thanks for your reply.

 

[SailBoat]

Thank-you, for the additional information as it changes many things, but also targets in on others. It is still important to remember that sometimes we Humans assume too much and miss things they do not. Never be concerned about shifting back ever to a point of starting with the basics in building /rebuilding the trust bond.

That fact that in your mind, something changed 18 months ago is telling that she may want to build a nest and kitchens come with just so many places to build in. So, keeping the cabinet doors closed and your Parrot out of the kitchen becomes important to reducing a driver. Also, from the floor we look totally different and biting the base of a tree is much different than biting your face. If your Parrot is biting from the floor, keep you Parrot off the floor. This eliminate the second driver specific the the problems you have been facing.

Using the tool I provided in second segment of my Post above provides you the Vantage Point to first understand that once we see this as changing our interaction and as a result seeing what is the driver for their actions allow us to made changes. The more we open ourselves up, the more we see and the more we change, the better our relationship.


I hope that this helps a bit more.

 

[Nursemary]

Thanks for that information. I’ll see if we can figure a way to keep her out of the kitchen. The way our house is, that May mean her being in her cage most of the time, but that night be what has to happen, as she doesn’t like her playgym very much anymore. Thanks!!

 

[EllenD]

I totally agree that you need to "Hit the Reset Button" immediately and start completely over, like today is the day you first brought her into your home. If this behavior of biting and being territorial over your kitchen started 18 months ago, then basically without knowing it or meaning to, you've been reinforcing these behaviors in her all this time, so that makes getting rid of the unwanted behaviors all the more difficult. So again, you need to start completely over, "Hit the Reset Button", and act like today is the first day you've brought her home.

It's very important that you keep in-mind that birds do not at all respond to "punishments" or "negative-reinforcement", and this will only serve to make the behaviors worse and add other unwanted behaviors as well. Birds respond only to Positive-Reinforcement, in other words you need to let her know and make it very obvious when she does good/wanted behaviors, and when she does unwanted behaviors, such as biting, that you totally ignore her...I suggest using the "Shunning Method" immediately every single time she bites from this point forward. It works better than any other method of stopping biting that I've seen, but it will only work if everyone in the house commits to doing it every single time she bites anyone. If there are only two people living in your home full-time, then this is easier to control.

The first day of using the "Shunning Method" is the hardest, because you end-up doing it over and over and over again during that first day; the flip-side to this is that they usually get the point during the first day or two, so it's a method that typically works quickly, which is seemingly what you're looking for. Again, if this means that you have to do it 10 times in a row the first day, then that's what you have to do. It works.

There are two general rules about parrots that make the Shunning-Method successful. The first is that parrots HATE being on the floor because they are the lowest thing in the room, and it strips them of any feeling of "dominance" at all, which incidentally is usually the reason that parrots like to be on top of people's heads and shoulders, because it gives them "dominance" over the person...So the Shunning Method" takes that dominance away when the bird displays an unwanted behavior...The second thing it does is it takes away the one thing that all parrots want, and that's attention and acknowledgment...And this is exactly why yelling at a bird or making a big deal about it when they do something wrong doesn't work, because you are actually giving them attention when they do something wrong, and even if it's negative attention, it's attention none the less...The fact that your bird is already clipped will also help with doing the Shunning-Method because she can't fly away into another room. She's stuck on the floor, and that makes it all the more successful.

***The Shunning-Method is very easy and basic to do, it's just a matter of doing it each and every time your Daisy bites...So here's how it goes...Whenever Daisy bites anyone, the person that she bites immediately says "No Bites!" out-loud, this is the Verbal-Directive, and each unwanted behavior that you used the Shunning-Method for needs to have a different Verbal-Directive, because parrots are very intelligent and they understand the difference in words, so she will associate the word "Bites" with biting. It's important that you don't yell "No Bites!" at Daisy, but rather just say it firmly to her. So Daisy bites someone, that person immediately says "No Bites!" and then immediately sets Daisy down on the floor right where the bite happened. If you are sitting down when Daisy bites you then you need to immediately say "No Bites!" and then stand-up and put Daisy right down on the floor...Then once Daisy is on the floor, everyone who is present in the room needs to stand-up and literally "turn their backs" to Daisy....And I mean that very literally, you all turn your backs to face Daisy. And then the clock starts...For 5 minutes Daisy needs to not only be completely ignored in every way by every person in the room, like she doesn't exist, but everyone must have their backs facing her...Any shorter than 5 minutes and the effect isn't strong enough, any longer than 5 minutes and it loses it's effect...

During the 5-minute Shunning-Period, Daisy must be totally ignored in every way. If Daisy makes any sounds at all they are totally ignored. If Daisy climbs up someones pant-leg, that person needs to immediately put her right back down on the floor without saying a single word and without making eye-contact with her, and then their back needs to be immediately turned to her again. If Daisy climbs up onto her cage-top or a piece of furniture, the person closest to her needs to again put her right back down on the floor without saying a word and without making eye-contact with her, and then again turn their backs to her. She needs to know that she is having her dominance purposely and forcibly stripped from her by being forced to stay on the floor and be the lowest thing in the room, and the backs being turned to her is a very symbolic gesture that says to Daisy "You are invisible and your existence will not be acknowledged when you do this".

At the end of the 5-minutes it's important that you don't just go and pick Daisy up or start talking to her immediately. Instead, at the end of the 5 minutes, everyone participating just needs to go about their business like it never happened, and leave Daisy standing on the floor wherever she is, and let her come to you. Sometimes they will just go back to their cages, sometimes they will walk right over to someone. If she does that's fine, but let her come to you. And don't make a big fuss over her, if she wants to sit on you that's fine, but pretend like it never happened and just act normally.

Often the bird will immediately bite again right after a Shunning-Period...If this happens, you must do it all over again...Say "No Bites!", put her right back on the floor and turn your backs to her again for another 5-minutes...This can be very frustrating for the people involved, but this usually only goes on for the first day, and not for long. I've seen this stop birds who were habitual biters in one day. Usually they go "Oh, I get it!" after 5 or 6 Shunning-Periods....So if you can make it through the first day or two of doing it, you should see improvements pretty directly...But you have to remember to keep doing it when she sporadically does bite someone. It must be done every single time she does a behavior in order for it to stick. But it will stick.

 

[EllenD]

As far as Daisy's issue with your kitchen goes...I don't at all think this is a "nesting" or hormonal issue, though I understand why you would think that, I would think the same thing at first too...However, what you're describing sounds to me like Daisy has actually made your kitchen her "Territory" and her "Safe-Space", just like parrots typically do with their cages. Even the tamest, most loving, most bonded bird in the world will still often bite/nip their person when they stick their hands inside of their cages or when they try to touch them when they are even on-top of their cages, because that's "their territory", it's their "safe-space" inside of the home, and they don't want anyone invading their territory or trying to interact with them while they are inside or on top of their territory...I don't know if Daisy is still this way about her cage too, but I think that she's claimed your kitchen as "her territory" and the reason she is biting you whenever she's in the kitchen is the same reason birds bite their person/people when they put their hands inside of their cages, because it's "their territory" and they want you to respect that, and there are simply different rules when it comes to "their territory"...When it comes to their cages I totally respect that they are "their territories" and their "safe-spaces", and I only ever put my hands inside of them to change their food and water, that's it. I never reach inside their cages to get them out, instead I simply open their cage doors and allow them to come outside of their cages and then I'll have them step-up for me, or they just fly to me once they're outside of their cages and they're fine...

***However, this obviously can't be the way things are with your kitchen, lol. For whatever reason Daisy claimed your kitchen as "her territory" 18 months ago, and it's been reinforced by you and your husband since then, so she thinks it's totally fine to be in the kitchen, to bite anyone that invades her territory, and to try to chase you out of her territory. This is not good and it must be stopped by both you and your husband ASAP, the sooner you let Daisy know that the kitchen is not her territory and you use Positive-Reinforcement to keep her out of the kitchen, the sooner Daisy will surrender the kitchen back over to you...My first question to you before I can direct you further about this issue is where is Daisy's cage located in your house?

 

[Nursemary]

Her cage is located in the living room/ family room which is by the breakfast table & kitchen and there isn’t a door separating them. The cage is in a separate room, but it’s all open, if you can picture that. Hopes that helps. Thanks She doesn’t always bite when she’s in the kitchen, as on some occasions she’ll step up on my hand. I guess the bites come when she feels threatened. I’m not sure.