too big for his britches, too soon?

[skmunson]

Benji's DOH is 4-9-09. I saw him from birth on at the breeders so I know this is accurate. He is about 3.5 months old.

 

I was reading the personality stages topic and I'm a little concerned. When I took him to his well check he bit the vet and she acted surprised saying, babies don't usually bite.

 

In the personality stages, it says at this age he should be docile and compliant for the most part. But he will bite if he doesn't want to step up. He stops if you say, "no bite." But, he bites. He doesn't do it really hard but he can if he wants.

 

If he's on the table and I ask him to step-up he will turn and run around and around the table and then take flight.

 

Now I can deal with all of this. He is mostly very sweet and loves attention. I can understand his not wanting to do everything on command--who does?

 

My fear is that if he is acting like this at this early age, will he become more aggressive? I mean what will the terrible twos be like if he is already like this?

 

I didn't give much thought to his behavior and assumed it was normal until my vet commented on the biting and I read the stages.

 

Is he destined to be a more aggressive bird b/c he is fairly bold at this early age? Or do I need to be extra careful in enforcing boundaries at this early age?

[danmcq]

The personality stages were written in a generic average sense. Every bird is different just like people.

 

I had a 12 week old Grey fly across the room and bite my hand severely when visiting our breeders. That grey was evidently upset with me for some unknown reason or just didn't like the way I looked. That was one out of 8 Greys from 2 clutches all around 12 weeks old. I personally called it the "Grey from Hell". However, I understand the present owners have experienced nothing but a "love muffin".

 

I would not be too concerned. Your Grey is more outgoing, bolder and more expressive of his desires than some.

 

Just watch his body language and learn to NOT present a situation that you know will invoke a bite.

 

Your Grey is very young and you have lots of time to establish a great relationship with him. :-)

[Dave007]

"""" she acted surprised saying, babies don't usually bite."""""

 

You ready to bet a few dollars on that? I'm in the mood to make some money this evening.

[Luvparrots]

I wouldn't worry about your grey biting the vet. He was afraid of this stranger and used his only weapon. Put yourself in his place. You put him in a box (carrier) took him to a strange place with a stranger wanting to handle him. I might bite too if I don't understand what is happening. As for enforcing boundaries, I believe we should always do that so our fids aren't confused about what we expected of them. <br><br>Post edited by: luvparrots, at: 2009/07/24 06:16

[she]

A baby will bite if it feels scared and threatened,its natural.As for enforcing boundries and rules thats never a bad idea.Watch your greys body language closely and avoid situations where you know he may nip so as not to re enforce the behaviour.