Murphy's biting everybody but me?

[djohnson]

I noticed that you Kate offers Murphy a "finger". The people I got Tumnus from were avian specialists and came to see me after a week of having him and I was showing them all my battle scars on my fingers. They suggested offering a flat hand for Tumnus to step up on. It is harder to bite a larger target than a single finger; my fingers thanked them. I *always* offer Tumnus a flat hand now and hardly get bit. Do you have a training stand? You might have Kate try having Murphy step up on her flat hand and when he does this successfully she can reward him and then return him to the stand and offer a reward. I hope she eventually gets over her fear/dislike for Murphy.

[reggieroo]

At the moment Kate is using a piece of wood to get him to step up.

 

Kate tried the treat thing & didn't work like we hoped. Kate first gave him a treat to gain some brownie points then asked him to step up & he lunged for her! I managed to get up to step up to her hand from my hand, she then gave him a treat which he snatched from her & then tried to bite her again with the treat in his mouth!

Edited October 6, 2010 by reggieroo

[reggieroo]

A little update to how it's going with Murphy & his antics.

 

Kate has gotten a little more confident & started to try & handle Murphy with some success. I just left her to do it in her own time & didn't take her long to start trying again, I was a little concerned that she wouldn't bother with him anymore but she has. It may have been when I said " you do really need to try & get on with him as we will have him for maybe 50 years".

 

Kate can now get him to step up with no bites, not quite sure how we did it, maybe persistence or just a phase he was going through? I think it's important for Kate to handle him on a regular basis, which she is going to do. I can tell Kate is a lot happier now that she can handle Murphy.

 

We haven't had any guests for while so it will be interesting to see how he is with them but fingers crossed.

[Acappella]

Msg to Kate : You're Awesome!!!!! Seriously, many people would have 'washed their hands' of your little grey stinker. Major points for realizing that with these birds it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're always here to lend support and advice.

[Jane08]

Huge breakthrough, congrats that is great news. Tell her to keep up the great work.

[Chris and Matt]

Wow, this topic couldn't have come at a better time. Maggie is 5 months old now and she's definitely growing in to her personality. It has become quite obvious to me in the last month or so that Matt is her buddy. I feed her, water her, bathe her, clean her cage, make/buy her toys, but he's the one that she's chosen. This definitely didn't come as a surprise to me but it was a little disheartening. It hasn't gotten to the point where she consistently bites me (not hard anyways) but I can usually spot the lunge. She'll still occasionally let me scratch her but she doesn't snuggle with me like she does with Matt. When he comes home from work she's all clicks, whistles, and hoots the second she sees him. She has also decided she isn't a shoulder bird and I learned the hard way that she can no longer sit on the back of my chair (she'll steal my earrings, steal my glasses, bite my ears, etc). Since I find myself with extra time throughout the day I think I'll start in with the treat/training idea and see where we can get. Might as well right?

[Mawnee]

Cosmo was doing the same thing with my 12 year old daughter for a couple of weeks. I noticed she would be a little too loud or move a little too fast occasionally in the room with his cage. I think he just became a little less trusting of her and it lead to some nipping. After a couple weeks of her paying close attention to her volume and avoiding sudden movements, Cosmo is fine with her again.

 

One other situation that I've noticed leading to biting is if a stranger(or strange item) is in the room. I'll be scratching Cosmo and if someone moves he will suddenly be unsure of who(or what) is touching him. I'll get a nip or two until Cosmo realizes its me and goes back to being nice. Maybe double check that there isnt some outside variable agitiating Murphy