The Parrot "Bite Me!!!" Club

[danmcq]

Hi All,

 

Since I have a track record of late, at receiving Bites while completely minding my own business.:evil: I have been asked to be the CEO of a new Start-Up called "The Parrot Bite Me Club". :woohoo:

 

So as most of you have probably read already, of my expert level mastery of consistently receiving Bites Daily, lets hear your adventures in biting!!

 

{Feel-bad-00020080}<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/16 03:52

[Talon]

Very Nice Dan! Thank-you for this. This ought to be filled with lots of great stories,

 

Talon does bite on occasion, if you ignore her while she is on you. But my best story is how one time when I had just gotten out of the shower, she flew onto my bare shoulder and landed SHARP talons and all, if that wasn't enough to yell "OUCH!", she proceeded to, in one quick swipe........rip BOTH my diamond studded earrings out of my ear, and into her beak! That was quite a feat for her, and a painful one for me!!!

 

{Feel-bad-00020080}

 

So, I guess Welcome to the club is in order for me!:pinch:

[TalonSis]

Can I join the club? Talon's bitten me LOTS of times. A lot of times it's when I want her to step-up, but she won't. Sometimes I fall for the "sucker-punch' when she pretends she wants to step-up, then bites you! :pinch:

 

I have gotten bitten by my horse, too. Once he bit my finger so hard, I have a scar now! :blink:

 

Melissa

[Talon]

Hey, I've gotten bit by that same horse more times than I can count, just the other day, he flipped his head up and punched me square in the nose!! Boy did that make my eyes water.

 

Can I skip the 12 step program too?.......on second thought, I never seem to learn, so I better repeat it. I'll see you guys on the second Tuesday of the month at 25:00 zulu time. :pinch: :pinch:

 

Dan, I have continued to wear earrings, I'm just quick to keep them covered by my hair.

[danmcq]

Talon -

 

Yes, you could by-pass the 12 step, but since you are wearing your earrings again. You can be an honorary speaker at the next meeting.:laugh:

 

Me wife owned horses over the years and it ALL HURTS extremely bad when being delivered by a 1000 pound dynamo with neck muscles as big in diameter as (Ahem) most of our waist's, jaw muscles the size of a Soft Baseball and back legs that with a single kick can kill you with one good kick to the sternum or head.:ohmy:

 

Of course, those can be avoided, such as the horse Nose Slap to yours, by using a restraining strap to keep that head from coming up.

 

Guess I got a little off topic here talking Horses. But the Biting was in it! :-)

[danmcq]

Judy,

 

Having a Parrot large enough next to your face or ear that can scar you for life, doesn't scare you?

 

It does me, Dayo kept wanting to climb up and I would not let him.

 

I know your very tame, but what if they lose balance slip and grab the closest thing to them clamping down as hard as they can to stop themselves from falling? :ohmy:

 

I would love to trust Dayo that much, but the risks and damage possible are something I would not be willing to take.

 

Not after personally experiencing what a "Baby" CAG can do today It pierced both times it attacked, much to my surprise. I had my hand balled up tight so there would not be any "Loose" flesh. That powerful beak still still dug in leaving wounds from both the top and bottom beaks both times it bit me :blink:

 

I know it's a personal thing, but not one for me :-)

[Talon]

Thanks Dan, Yes horses are dangerous, but this particular horse is a young ex-race horse that was very abused. You know what happens to them, so he has a lot of attack mechanisms he tries to use before you can get the better of him. That's where you have to be careful.

 

But back to birds. Once you have bonded with your bird, and you build the trust with them, they won't bite for just any old reason. You'll be able to know when it happens most times, by reading their body language. Talon never bites too hard if you are paying attention to her moods. She loves to be on our shoulder, and will respect it, if you listen to her when she wants to go do something else.

I guess their all different. :dry:

[birdgranna]

Ok I need to join the club. Quinn bites me when I least expect it. When I am cleaning up a spill in the cage...a bite to the ear. When I am cleaning up a spill in the cage across from him, a bite in the butt! Ouch! I know now if I say "step up" and he does not lift his foot, that he will bite me. He loves my husband now, and used to hate him and bite him.He still wants to sit with me and will play towel peek a boo, but I am nervous to let him sit on my shoulder now. He used to, until he switched his affections. He wants to be a good boy but the devil gets into him sometimes:evil:When he bites me I make him do step ups. My grandson calls them punishment pushups!

Jiggy is my sweetest bird. She is so gentle...with me...but will bite my husband in a heartbeat. These greys!!

[hveusnthbrige]

I got a nice bite today from Mirek.. watching tv and he was sitting on my lap an chewing my shirt. He focused to about 3" above the belt and then took a nice big chomp on the side of my stomach, through the shirt of course as thats what he was attempting to nibble on. I yelped like a puppy; I didn't see it coming.

 

Poor little Mirek was just all upset he did something wrong and then started to try and bury his head in the couch while screaming.

 

Even while I type this now, there's still a red mark on my side and it hurts to even look at it lol.

[Tricky]

Jack is always looking for a chance to bite me. He's gotten my fingers plenty of times, and once, somehow, the top of my upper lip. I had a scar there for about a year, but it's disappeared. I also have a couple of holes in a few of my shirts, Geoff. =P Haha I can't imagine Jack being upset that he managed to bite me, let alone burying his head in shame.

[Guest Lidia]

I too should be a member of the Bite Club. I've been bitten many many times over the last eighteen years. I am scarred in many places and even have flashbacks to particularly bad bites (ok, that last one is a lie).

I haven't been bitten in a while, but that is probably because I wobble Joshua any time he seems in the least bitey, or I flip him upside down.

Dan, those piercing 'bottom and top' bites are great, aren't they? If it's any consolation to you, Joshua has always been allowed onto my shoulder and I've never been bitten on the face or ears, although he does go for my glasses and try to dangle from them. Thus, not only do I have clothes that I wear for Joshua, but I have a pair of glasses that I wear for him.

[danmcq]

Thanks for all your Bite experiences folks!

 

These are all great stories, a couple of which almost most made me spit coffee all over my PC Screen :-) I have to watch for those sudden punch lines in some of your stories :woohoo:

 

If I could ask you a favor?

 

Could you all carry your stories one step further and tell us what you do to avoid being a "Bite Me" target?

 

Example: Your Greys body language, growling or perhaps a gesture you may be making that you realize "Asks" them to bite you or perhaps you are wearing a Red shirt and your Grey goes into "Attack" mode.

 

I think if we can articulate this in a good fashion, all of us can learn many examples to watch for and be aware of :-)

 

Thank you all for sharing your bite experiences !!!

 

No more "Flash Back" lies ok....that was one of the instances that almost made me destroy my PC Screen....I think that was intentional:side:

 

Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/16 18:28<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/16 18:33

[danmcq]

HI Tricky,

 

Thanks for the information and description of your Greys issue with you. :-)

 

If you use the "Fist of Iron" , basically make a fist with your thumb inside and then turn your Wrist down so you skin is drawn tightly across the back of your hand and then place it in the Cage and let him strike it. I think you will find that the second strike will be less committed and the third even less so to where he will just realize your not letting him get away with bossing you around :-)

[TalonSis]

Dan, I did the "fist of iron" today and Talon still bit me hard enough to bleed.:pinch: Although it was further back toward my wrist so the skin wasnt as tight.

 

But, I have noticed something. When you are dealing with horses alot of the time the horses will act up if they sense you are in a hurry. But if you act like you have all the time in the world, they are more willing to behave. I think grey's are like this too, because today I needed to put Talon in her cage so me and my brothers could get ice cream. But she knew that I was in a hurry, and that resulted in biting.:blink:

 

Melissa

[danmcq]

A word of caution to all -

 

If you are at all fearful of being bitten, when doing the "Fist of Iron", your Grey will know before you ever get your Fist in the Cage and your Grey WILL make you flinch or pull back.

 

If you do either, your Grey wins and your battle will be harder.

 

I do not want to be responsible for anyone getting bit even the slightest, unless they know it is possible for a grey that is bitting with all its might when it strikes, to at least make a dent on tightened backside skin of your your fist, that can and will draw some blood. I can testify to this as it got me good on the second lunge at my fist of iron and have the cuts (small though they are) to prove it along with Melissa :-(

 

But, it is much better than needing stitches from loose skin :-)

 

So, Please be Calm and Careful.....when approaching your Grey in a situation you know they will bite in and be prepared mentally before hand :woohoo:<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/16 22:23

[frankieNYC]

I'm definitely a member of the bite me club... Frankie's got a real attitude. Not only does he bite when he feels like it, but he chuckles ( a true laugh ) afterwards. :lol: It's bad because his laughing just makes me laugh... and then he laughs more the next time...

 

Really need to work on my discipline techniques.

[Tricky]

I tried the Fist of Iron today, and it helped as far as not getting bitten goes, but Jack figured out that when he lifts his foot, I put my fingers out, thinking he's gonna step up.

 

He didn't bite me, I was quick today, but I may not be so lucky next time...

[Guest Lidia]

:laugh:

 

Well, guys, you have to remember that the cage is the bird's territory, and just as they would protect a nesting site, they will be inclined to protect their cage! They know you are in charge of the rest of the house, but that that's theirs! You are really only allowed into their cage to do your maintenance work and they want you to know this.

 

Paramedic, that looks like at least TWO good bites, I can see the lower beak mark on the pad of your index finger and on your index finger and the upper beak pierce mark on your index finger. Is there another pierce mark on the other side of your hand? Ouch.

 

Bites ARE going to happen. I don't know anyone who has a parrot who hasn't been bitten (except the people here who haven't been bitten ... yet), and bitten badly. There are many reasons for the bites, and only a couple of them are deliberate.

 

You can tell the difference between the malicious bad-tempered bite and the accidental bite because the bird is usually taken by surprise itself when the accidental ones happen. For instance, when they're playing and get over-excited and bite you instead of the toy, or when they are scared and bite out of panic, or when they are hurt and bite out of confusion and pain.

 

The spite bite is usually accompanied by the beady Evil Eye and a look of grim determination. This can happen when you annoy the bird, you ignore the warning signals, you push the bird too far, you invade its territory, or it is still angry about something that happened a couple of days ago and it thinks you have forgotten that it didn't manage to get you then, and when you forget that it is a bird and doesn't think the way you do!

 

You do get to the point where you can read the signals a lot better, but it does take time. And to a certain extent, the bird itself has to decide not to bite you. This will also come with time and patience and the bird has a huge ability to learn from things. Joshua often visibly decides not to bite me (hard) and will pinch me to tell me to back off, instead of amputating my extremities the way he used to when he was younger.

 

The good news is that if you're patient and consistent, you will get to know the signs, and your bird will learn to read you too. AND the bond will become strong because of the choices that you both make.

 

Scars fade, blood congeals, all will work out in the end.<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/07/21 19:25

[Guest Lidia]

RdnkParamedic21 wrote:

We are just taking it slow, trying every now and again the step up procedure and in between he is just watching me on his play gym about 5 feet away.

 

You could try putting your step-up finger right underneath your bird's belly, against his feet, rather than a little way in front of him. The light pressure prompts a sort of automatic step up reflex. Keep it up and he will take the step-up for granted and will eventually do as Joshua does when he sees my hand coming, and stick his step-up foot out in advance of contact!

[Talon]

Josh, I had to use the backwards technique ( putting my finger from behind) when we first were teaching Talon to step up, as she would bite if you put your finger near her belly. It didn't take long before she understood, and allowed us to have her step up from the front. Sounds like you're doing very well. Keep it up!

[danmcq]

Lidia,

 

Thanks for the great post explaining the different reasons and types of Bites. It was well put together and very explanatory of each type.

 

All Others - Your input is great too and I have tried to assemble what's been reported here so far into a coherent form with meaning.

 

So lets start a Bite Guide List.

 

Bite severity levels:

 

1 - Not hard - tiny nibble and tongue test for texture

2 - Small pinch - You feel a little pain

3 - Medium pinch - Starting to hurt, don't flinch

4 - Hard pinch - HURTS - leaves a bruise and probably a skin puncture with bleeding

5 - Bite - No doubt leaves a small cut or hole

6 - Hard bite - Your hurt, probably need stitches or more

 

Reasons for bites and related Bite Level:

 

1) Exploratory nibble - Level 0 to 1 - Likelihood - always

 

2) Accidental bite - Probably Level 3 to 4 - Likelihood not often

 

3) Playful bite - Level 1 to 3 - Likelihood - common

 

4) Warning bite - Level 4 to 5 - Likelihood - not often

 

5) Leave me alone bite - Level 3 to 4 - Likelihood - not often

 

6) Protective Bite - Level 5 to 6 - Likelihood - rare

 

7) Malicious intentional bad-tempered bite - Level 5 to 6 - Likelihood - Very rare

 

8) Remove Earrings - Level 5 ;-) For you Talon .... Likeyhood - Got earrings exposed? :-)

 

 

I know there are more and as we get them, I'll add them as you all write about them.

 

If you think I have the levels off or not enough, let me know!! I will change this list to ensure it is accurate. :laugh:

 

Thanks for all the great posts on this topic so far!

 

Keep them coming!!!:woohoo:

 

Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/22 16:54<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/07/22 16:57

[judygram]

You are so right, anticipation of a bite can be worse than the bite itself, I'm glad it wasn't that bad and pay attention to her eyes and body language in the future and you may be able to avoid most of them.

 

Now I feel a little stress.{Feel-bad-0002007F}

[Shawzy4]

Thanks Judy, I hope you stay lucky and bite free....

[DayosMom]

Judy,

 

Don't be afraid. You are doing something right, or you have an awesome understanding with your Grey. Maybe she/he doesn't know how to bite? That would be great!!

 

I just have to laugh at Dan when we go to the breeders house. (inside of course. I would never laugh out loud at him)

 

He is now actually apprehensive when he approached the cage. He anticipates the attack, and I think "Killer" can feel this. Also, "Killer" keeps an eye on Dan the whole time he is there. We have decided it is Dan's glasses. The breeder asked Dan to take off his glasses, and "Killer" didn't seem quite as vicious. He looked at Dan for a long time, so he noticed the glasses were gone. But, still he lunged at the front of the cage after he took a long look. It didn't seem quite as intense though. I think its the glasses too.

 

I tried to talk Dan into getting "Killer" but he wouldn't even discuss it with me. (hahaha) Poor Dan, he is getting a complex. {Feel-bad-0002009F}

 

He still has meee.....I won't bite him!! {Feel-good-0002006E}

[judygram]

You are so right, Kim, they can sense when we are afraid of them and they pick up on our emotions too. But the glasses don't help any I'm sure, Killer just does not like glasses so he attacks at Dan. He doesn't need to fear his bird and he should just forgetaboutit.

 

Kim, I am not afraid of getting bit, I know it will happen soon enough, and I'm sure she knows how to bite, she just hasn't seen the need to get that across to me yet. I must be treating her right or just lucky, but whichever it is I will take it.