getting bite

[Rocky55]

Can anyone tell me ,why my grey bites me out of the blue??.I have held him play with him scratch his head ,then when he is on my hand he will just bite me,he has left 3 good cuts on my hand.what do i do to correct this problem.when he bites i say nothing but put him back in his cage which he does not like any help thank you.Rocky55

[patoo]

Rocky55,

 

This website has excellent advise on how to deal with biting. However, I have one thing to add. In the past when I got bit by our grey parrot, there was broken skin and my blood all over the place. I would explode with a string of profanity, madly waving my arms at the bird, chasing him all over the house.

 

I have learned that it was the wrong thing to do for many reasons. No reaction is better than a negative reaction to biting or any other unwanted behavior. Over time, biting has been reduced to a minimum in our household.. In the past I would frequently get a bite with broken skin on the back of my neck for just attempting to leave for work. Now, it get "Buh-Bye...be right back!" when I leave.

 

To answer your question, they bite for a reason. Its your job to figure out why. Learning when they are getting ready to bite is also important to the sanity of the household.

Edited January 14, 2012 by patoo

[Luvparrots]

I have a different philosophy with biting. I let my parrots know when they displease me. If one bites, I say "no bites". How are our companions to know if we are displeased if we don't let them know when they misbehave? I don't punish the biter unless he/she continue to bite then I just flip the culprit off my shoulder/arm and let him/her know what for and continue to ignore the culprit until he/she comes around. My re-homed amazon I believe it is learning not to bite as I am consistent in my displeasure.

[patoo]

Throw our little treasure off your shoulder and you will get bit for your trouble. He is either sweet, huggy/kissy and loving or a devil. Fluffed, head down and eyes pinned.

[danmcq]

Parrot biting and aggressive behavior can be rooted in many different causes.

 

Biting is always a tough one to deal with. First of all, I don’t think there is any such thing as unprovoked biting. There is always a reason and there is always a warning. We just don’t always pick up on it.

 

Some parrots bite as a way to let you know they don’t like what you are doing. Some parrots learn to bite to get a desired response. Other parrots may become highly aroused and suddenly bite without warning. Baby parrots may start mouthing gently and then gradually increase the pressure. Some parrots bite defending their territories like cage, play stand, favorite toy, favorite chilling and preening area etc. and some bite in response to someone coming to close to their preferred human.

 

Sometimes we can’t always determine why a parrot bites or shows aggressive behavior. But even when we don’t know the cause there are solutions to parrot biting behaviors.

 

• We humans aren’t always as attentive to what our birds are telling us as other birds are. For instance, before I try to take my bird out of his cage, scratch him on the head, or interact with him at all, I assess his body language.
  

 

• Use Positive reinforcement! Reinforce your bird for sitting nicely on your hand. Again this is with a scratch on the head, a sunflower seed, whatever works for your bird. At the first sign that your bird may bite, set him down or put him back in his cage. Again, avoiding the negative situation is easier than dealing with it afterward. What you are training the bird here is to sit calmly on your hand without biting. Any attempt to bite or even nibble lightly will be met immediately with him losing his precious time with you.
  

 

• What if your bird has just bitten you? React, of course - immediately and appropriately. Don’t hit the bird, don’t throw the bird, and don’t scream bloody murder. If the bird is flighted, then simply shush them away, roll your hand and drop it, put the bird in his cage for a time out, on a perching area or down on the floor immediately with no great fanfare. Basically when The bird bites, it loses its perch and the ability to be with its person(s). Never drop a bird with clipped wings on the ground. You do want it to experience the consequences of its actions, not to injure it.
  

These are just a few comments on a huge topic and every bird responds to various methodologies. I have not been 100% successful in stopping a good bite every once in a while when I am either not paying CLOSE attention while giving scratches, playing with or working in close proximity to my grey. I feel observing all that body language and avoiding a bite when it is clearly being displayed (most the time, they are well known for sucker bites) you can avoid 95 percent of bites.

Edited January 15, 2012 by danmcq

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

It is hard, when it comes to biting. They all will do it. I encourage establishing parent/child relationship. You can't do that, without trust. twelve years later... noone bites or chews, because the " relationship", has been established. YAY!!!!! Nancy

[munch]

Our bird is a bit of a biter. We knew it when we bought her, she's a tough little monster. But very loving as well.

 

We do the all the things said above (put her on her cage, perch, away from us, give her disappointed looks, etc). She has good days and bad days.

 

Despite that there may be a reason your bird bit you out of nowhere, it isn't the easiest thing to figure out! I've been there many times, you and your little bird are chilling either playin or getting rubs and suddenly the grey chomps at your hand. Yes, been there. I've found that either it was because i touched a spot she didn;t want and i say sorry, i wont touch yu there- That's when now she'll look at me and say "Dont bite" to me (she just started being an English speaker) ...Or sometimes i simply have no clue and she just snapped at me so taht's my turn to tell her "Don't bite" and i put her away from me. She knows when she's wrong because she'll come over with her head down for nice scratches after a random bite.

 

Good luck!

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

I will offer a bit of advice. ( taking it up a notch!) If my birds bit me or kids... we all would grab their beaks, say " NO BITE!" Return them to cage, come back in five minutes and try again like nothing happened. We did this over and over. Sometimes... six times a day. All new birds got wrist status only. No bird is allowed on shoulder until they understand who the parent is. I know this is a pain.... but very important. Sophie got shoulder status, the day she was imitating... " No! No bite!" She got it, let me know. She immediately was put on my shoulder. Ten years ago, and she's been living there since. Last time she bit. Nancy

[lovethatgrey]

I recommend looking up Positive Reinforcement on this site...

http://www.goodbirdinc.com/