tandra Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 i am relatively new at being owned by my grey lol..i purchased him from a lady who was scared of him as he had bitten her a few times(she started to wear oven mitts when handling him thus making it so much worse)and she had been previously badly bitten from a bird at her place of employment...so she basically left him to do his own thing daily,she would feed and water him and clean the cage and leave the door open for him when she was home but that was the extent of their relationship so she had decided that after all the beeping and chatting and at times making bird noises (lol) she wasnt getting anything from their relationship but annoyed and bitten...so here i come along,a majoy pet lover and a life long lover of birds....i bought him,brought him home and away we went..things were good,he would try and nip at me a few times but i was firm in my "step up" command and he obeyed lol..he pretty much gave up on the bitting,however we had a friend move in for a mnth and while my husband and i were at work my bird "festus" would be doing his birdie thing,talking,whistling and beeping,im assuming it got on my friends nerves and i think he secretly yelled and shook his fingers at my bird!! i caught him one time shaking his finger at him and pretending like he was gonna hit my bird!!!! i freaked right out and told him that if i ever caught him doing that ever again he would be gone asap!! as a matter of fact if you dont like him then leave!! if you dont like the fact that after you have wiggled your fingers infront of him and then go in for a scratch and he bites you then stop touching my bird!! just leave him the hell alone,this is his home,not yours!! so my friend eventually moved out after i spazzed lol...so now we have this problem...festus bites whenever he feels like it,and at times for no reason it seems,he has drawn blood on my hand once and now he is even refusing to come off his cage im so sad and i just dont know what to do...we used to spend time snuggling on the couch and now i cant even get him to let me give him a scratch....so i went back to the basics of trying to teach him that hands are good,not bad,they bring treats and food,(i can occasionally get him to come off his cage onto a play stand and i take him into the living room with me or into the kitchen while i prep dinner,thats it)...thats all im trying to do until he learns to trust again...am i doing right? is there more i can be doing? please help....ps he will be 4 in october and is a congo... i will be 39 in july lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 You just basically need to regain his trust again for he felt like you let him down when the visitor mistreated him the way he did. Just do what you did at the beginning of the relationship and with some time and lots of patience he will come around again and by all means read thru that thread on learning to recognize grey body language as it will serve you well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tandra Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 thanks so much,i have just read the "body language" page and yes it will help lol..i will keep trying with him,he is such an amazing bird,he talks so much and was quite the little suck before...so i hope with time and patience we can get back to the way things were,i have only had him since october last yr and our relationship was going so well....oh well back to the drawing board,square one thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhristopher Caldwin Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I've had my parrot for 17 years, we got him when I was five and until about six months ago, we had a horrible relationship. The bird used to hate me, and I mean hate me. I would walk into the room and he would puff up, start crouching and do everything he could to scare me off. To get rid of biting, I did the following. Do not pull away and hell, or say "no bitey", the bird can confuse your excitement with praise. Say nothing at all and continue to push towards your goal of step up. With your other hand, softly and firmly, go to the birds beak and grab at it. Your parrot needs to understand that when you say "step up" he's going to get on your hand, hell or high water. When you pull away from your bird as he lunges at you or bites at you, you're teaching them that biting makes hands go away. Once you eradicate that thought process, the parrot will no longer bite. It takes a while, and you'll get a few more nips, but this worked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xSarahx Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Doesnt grabbing their beak scare them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 (edited) Doesnt grabbing their beak scare them? That would seem like an aggressive act to any bird unless you have gently worked up to them enjoying a beak rub. However, I would never advise on "Grabbing" their beak. It would with out a doubt scare them. Edited April 8, 2012 by danmcq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Also a great way to get bitten if you are not quite fast enough, duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 lol @ duh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xSarahx Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thats what i thought when i read it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhristopher Caldwin Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) It stopped the biting altogether though, it may've been a bit harsh, but it only had to happen once or twice before he understood that hell or high water, when I say step up, he's going to step up. edit: I want to clarify. only grab at his beak if he tries to bite you. Edited April 10, 2012 by Bhristopher Caldwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerial.2000 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I play-grab Marcos beak and say "gotchur beak" but ... thats the only time Ive done that... shes been pretty good since coming home only 1 bite to my youngest and that was his first attempt to hold her. I tried to assure him that she just doesnt know him yet and to not give up ... we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhristopher Caldwin Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The whole beak thing is really just a remedy, I used it to deter biting, I was already being bitting so if I got an extra chomp in my direction, so be it. The point of the training was to make him understand that when I say step up, I mean it. i haven't been bitten in two weeks. Chicken will step up to me even when i'm reaching up to a stand, which is pretty cool because birds like being high, not low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Sorry all.... grabbing a birds beak, and gently saying a firm NO!, is NOT detrimental to their learning. I believe it is important to them learning! You are the parent, they are the bird! I did thisn with all of my birds! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimijean Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I agree with you Nancy. I look at it this way, one bird hurts another, by accident or not, the bird that gets hurt reacts letting the other know that it's unacceptable. So why should we ignore it? Don't "over react" or hurt the bird (or other animal) in any way, but do let them know it's unacceptable. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xSarahx Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 I personally think `grabbing their beak` in return of a bite is something i will never do ,i dont think that is nice ,you want them to love and respect our hands,but them show them our hands can be something that scares them??it just doesnt make sense to me, but then this is just my opinion,i tell Archie a firm `no` and he knows he has done something wrong,but he does return it with a bite so obviously iam wrong but iam happy with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 I'm very strict with my birds. I tend not to respond. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 I wish there was video and or detailed observations on wild Greys biting and the outcome/reaction from the flock. I'm sure there are beak interactions especially, in the young ones who are still learning flock dynamics, that have nothing to do with predators. The elder birds probably have a way to deal with this and could probably teach us a thing or three on the best way to raise a baby/adolescent grey and deal with their behaviors. A very simple fact: In the wild, Greys don't bite, this is a gift we taught them by thrusting our hands and fingers at them. You can be firm and raise your voice to a Amazon, not to a gray, remember a Grey analyzes everything you do. Jayd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Yes, greys live with their parents until close to 2 years old for a cag. They do indeed learn manners, flock interactions and how to survive. You will never see a grey or any other parrot for that matter grab anothers beak, except when they are fighting for example over a tree hole and intend to do detrimental damage, as in sometimes cracking and/or ripping part of the others beak off. It does not happen often, but it does happen in the wild. The only time you see beaks contacting any other time is in getting a feeding, providing a feeding or gently touching beaks and rubbing heads in a loving way. Grabbing your birds beak does not do anything but trying to show intimidation. I guarantee you, sooner or later more bites and more severe will come. I have met people that did wrong things in what they thought was making their parrots respect them through force and what they wound up with was one that eventually was not able to handle them at all and also had to watch out for an out right attack coming if the bird was flighted resulting in multiple flesh tearing bites... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Greyt post Dan, we always learn so much from you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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