Whats the best way to stop biting?

[Sofabed]

Hello Everyone!

I Got My Grey (Kenny) On Friday And He's Only 12 Weeks Old So It Hasnt Come As Shock To Me That He Bites. At The Moment He Is Exploring With His Beak And I Allow Him To Do This As It Doesnt Hurt But As Soon As He Puts Pressure On My Skin Or He Turns To Bite Quickly I Tell Him No And Tap Him On His Beak. Although It Doesnt Hurt At The Moment As He's Only A Baby I Know It Will Do When He Gets Older So I Want To Stop It A.S.A.P. Am I Doing The Right Thing Or Is There A Better Method?

 

Thanks

 

~*~Sophabed~*~

[danmcq]

It sounds more like he is exploring and learning how much beak pressure is acceptable. They all go through this learning phase.

 

Believe it or not, a 12 week old grey that wants to bite you, can and will pierce the skin and draw blood.

 

I am not too keen on the beak tapping. It is not neccessary, i do believe. :-)

 

Saying No is great and they learn that word quickly. They are so smart!!

[lovemyGreys]

Heres a few ideas..

If you pull your hand away and yell, then your parrot gets a reaction out of you and will try again to get the same reaction. They think it's a game, try & show no reaction to him,try to distract him when you can see that he's going to bite,you can gently wobble your hand if he is on you this works well for me.I also have a clicker ( like some people use for dog training! ) if mine go to nip i click on the clicker & say a firm No in a strong voice, the clicker distracts them,or have a toy handy they he can play with.

Some people use time out, if your parrot bites you simply return him to his cage for 5 minutes & walk away from him & say nothing.Then let him out as normal,back to the cage if he bites & again dont respond to him.

[judygram]

This is something I don't really have any experience with, Josey does not bite me, she has beaked me in the early weeks but she has never striked out at me or even if she does beak me it has very little pressure to it. I know that could change at any time and I expect to see some changes as she approaches the age of 2, she is 17 months old now. They go thru a rebellious period just like children and I fully expect to join the bite me club then.

 

Tracy, aka LMG, has given you some sound advice on what to do about biting, try it and see if it helps you with your problem and check back with us on the results.

[Falconeer]

I think Lovemygreys advice is the best. I also favor the clicker method. I don't really believe in timeout (no offense to anyone who uses this, just my opinion!)

 

Tonto does not bite me, he did do it at first, but now he only does it if he is threatened. Like when I tried to file his claws today. NOT a good idea! :silly:

[Sofabed]

Thanks Everyone...I Can't Believe How Quickly He Is Learning, We've Had Him 4 2days An Already He Is Learning To Step Up On 2 My Hand An He Knows That The Biting Is Unacceptable. As Me An My Family R All Being Persistant With Him It Wont Be Long B4 He Stops.

 

Also Does Anyone Know How 2 Stop Him From Flying In2 Things? He Just Takes Off An Flys In2 A Wall Or Something. He Is Gettin Better As He's Not Hit Anythin L8ly He's Just Landing On The Curtain Rail.

 

Thanks

 

~*~Sofabed~*~

[BMustee]

The only way to get him to stop completely is to clip his wings. If you don't want to do that you need to be VERY careful with windows and mirrors. With walls he can see they are there and slow down for the hit but if he sees a window and wants to land on the tree outside he could do some serious damage to himself flying full speed into the glass. Keep the blinds down and fans off at all times when he is out.

[susie]

hi sofabed

we also got a new grey last friday and i was going to post some questions about flying into things aswell lol.but you have saved me the trouble:)

 

mine now knows not to bite when i tell him no,he has learnt this over the weekend.

he steps up onto my hand and when i say "rub my neck" he puts his head down for me to rub him.hes adorable.

 

does yours scratch the bottom of his cage? mine does lol.

hubby says he looks like he is riding a scooter,bless him.

susie

[loviechick]

Firstly, DO NOT tap the beak, period, at all. This bird has to trust you in order to not bite, and emotionally Greys are fairly fragile, and beak tapping purposefully is very bad for them and they will learn to NOT trust you, and hense bite you more often.

 

Now granted both my birds are older, one in her teens, and she came as an untrusting biter, and a 13 year old, terrified, abused bird will bite harder than any baby will IMO.

 

What I would do is let them explore your fingers, this is basically a teething stage for them. The second they put pressure, slowly pull your finger away and say no bite, DO NOT tap the beak! Then put your finger back for them to feel out again, and keep repeating this process. I would keep a treat nearby and so when they explore your finger and it doesn't bite you, reward it. My 3 year old Grey is still "teething" but I have done this approach with her, and I would say she puts pressure on my finger enough to hurt, at most once a week. She was doing this everytime I tried to touch her when I first brought her home in June.

 

I use the time out method with my Sun Conure, as it works for her, I do not do this with my Greys as they have very differnet personalities, and they usually catch on the first time I say it, unlike my Sun LOL You could try this, although I think it wouldn't be very helpful, as I don't see many Greys do well with time outs.

 

Just let your baby "teeth", and don't forget reinforce and reward all POSITIVE behaviors. Don't punish Greys as emotionally it can be devastating to them depending on how you do it.

 

If I can turn a mean, biting, scared, insecure CAG into one that will now give me smooches on command without prior Grey experience, anyone can tame a baby one!

 

Also about the second question, I highly recommend a wing clip. I think it's beneficial for babies as you can learn their personality a bit better and see if you can have them fully flighted as I think that some birds make better "candidates" for being fully flighted. It's also helpful due to your bird being jumpier as a baby getting to know its new environment, this will help him from seriously hurting himself!<br><br>Post edited by: loviechick, at: 2007/11/05 19:51

[Sofabed]

Thanks Lovie Chick & Bmustee..I'll Definitely Have 2 Do That.

 

Susie: Mine Doesnt Really Go On The Bottom Of His Cage He Prefers 2 Be Higher Up On His Perch Or Climbing His Ladder At The Moment.

 

~*~Sofabed~*~

[Laurie]

When we first brought Klaus home, I kept a good supply of popsicle sticks handy. When he would bite, we would offer the stick as a substitute. I would also say in a firm voice (not yelling) "Fingers aren't chew toys. Here's a chew toy." and give him a stick. Not that we're pros or anything, but it didn't seem to take him long to realize sticks are acceptable, fingers are not.

As for flying, I agree with everyone, clipped wings are the best prevention. Klaus still flies a little, but I can't imagine what we'd be up against if he were fully flighted!