ok Eckie owners is this a test?

[RockysMom]

Shamrock will be 4 months old on the 13th of this month , he has been as you say testing the waters but more like testing his mom , he does this lunge and bite thing now and believe me he bites hard and sometime when I go to move him off the playstand for a minute he will even growl at me , this has to be a test right ? I hope this phase ends soon

 

[MikeyTN]

Yes he's testing you! You must not give in to him and let him know he's not supposed to do that!

 

[RockysMom]

and how do I do that? I tell him no and stop but it doesn't help anything

 

[maillet]

It sounds bad. But my Echo did the same thing when he was young. I solved it with a winter glove and literally let him bite away to heard content. Within few of weeks, he learned biting did him no good & I removed glove. Never been bitten since in 2-Year.

Main thing is to show you are the one who is in-charge. Do not ever allow him to be perched higher than you at that age. Move slowly and gently. But never back off if it looks like he will bite. A sore hand for few minutes is better than him learning to bite.

 

[4Ziggy]

We had this issue when Ziggy was a baby. We were encouraged to handle him, a lot. We put a blanket on the floor with toys and sat with him, trying to play. We would also put him on the kitchen table for pieces of corn or other tidbits. It is a getting to know you phase! I almost called him "striker" because it was really tough in the beginning! Lots of time and love will win him over. Wearing a glove is a good idea, so you can hold him without getting tagged. It takes time and is soooo worth it! Ziggy loves hugs and kisses now and trusts us to clip wings or do anything to him. Good luck!

 

[4Ziggy]

BTW - It is a test but in our case, he was also scared at just over 2 months and no proper handling.

 

[Jollyjess80]

The glove idea is a great idea! All of my parrots will give me a sign as when they are going to bite and I've come to learn it's my responsibility to learn that sign or else I'll get bitten. They, just as humans, have their good and bad days or moments. Sometimes the biting doesn't always mean an aggressive parrot. Hope everything works out great! Best of luck

 

[maillet]

I liked the glove because it taught him quite quickly biting did not do any good. I also choose a winter glove that he disliked standing on, but always held foot out on of his reach on my clean hand he quickly scrambled over to when I was taking out of cage.

Soon enough he learned "No Biting" and no uncomfortable threatening glove. His lack of one behavior (biting) led to an absence of unpleasant stimulus. And he has never bitten once since. Only occasional "nips" from losing balance and beaking to hold on.

Main thing is pair food with your desire. If he does what you want ALWAYS reward for first little bit. Then eventually every like second time. And then for me now, I do like every 50th time (few times a month as random "Good Job"). He does it all same.

Stopped for a couple of weeks when I entirely cut out the food treat (I suppose that he thought he would no longer get. Lost that sense of hope).