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NEED HELP


Alex13

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Hi

I have Grey like 8 months now (he is about 1 year old). First he was very good and kind with me and my family and friends. He was out most of the time not bitting at all! 

I don't know why but he was on my shoulder all the time, at first i liked that, but sometime its was really hard to take him off without getting bitten. As he was growing he started to bite more and more to the point of blood every single day. I wasn't able to get his nails done( i was afraid of getting him hurt, and i couldn't find the guy to do it) so it was painful when he was on my shoulder. At some point he was in the cage for 3 days ( not that big ). When i got him out he bites me harder than ever and i didn't know what to do so from that point he didn't go much from cage like before because i was afraid, and when i get him out i just leave him in the room or play with him without getting him on me. I think he will start hurting him self it this go on so i was wondering if any of you know what is happening and how can i get him back to normal thanks :) .

 

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I'm not sure I can offer much help or advice with this one - but hopefully someone with more insight will be along soon to help.

Was this a sudden change in behaviour or a gradual one?
Have there been any changes in your birds environment recently that may have upset him? Think hard about this one, as African Grey's can be quite change adverse at times. I've heard about birds who took exception to their owners wearing hats or glasses or changing their hair colour.
When does you bird bite? Is it just because you're trying to move him off your shoulder or get him to step up? Or is there a certain behaviour that happens before a bite? Is he getting over excited or displaying mating behaviours before he starts showing signs of aggression? I read a good article about this type of agression: http://www.northernparrots.com/parrot-excitement-that-turns-to-aggression-blog606/
Are you the main caregiver or do your family get involved too? Is there any person that is able to handle your bird without being bitten?

 

 

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Hello, thanks for reply :)

He didn't change environment he bite at random time ussly . But when he tries to go off me he is not stable and he start.to fall and bites all around, if i try to hold or make him step up to go down he bite me also. I though that cage is maybe a problsm because is to small so i am planning to give him whole small room or bigger cage.

When he came, all members of family were able to handle him, when he start to bite whey whete afraid so i was the only one who cam play with him without getting bitten. But now he is much strogner and the bites are more painful, i can even take that pain on my hands but when he bitesl my ear its really painful.

Here are some pics how that looks when he is on my shoulder.

 

20180218_164541.jpg

20180317_011547.jpg

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Thank you for the photos, your grey is adorable.

I'm hoping someone else will come along soon who can offer more advice. Please do keep checking in as I'm sure others will have something to add. It's been a long time since I've handled a baby grey as my bird Alfie is now 15 years old.

As you probably already know, grey's can use their beak almost like a third hand/foot. If the surface/perch they are standing on is unstable then they may reach out and grab with their beak to steady themselves and try not to fall off. This can be a little surprising at times because they can react quite quickly. As your grey is so young he's probably still finding his way around and probably doesn't know his own strength yet! Is your hand/arm/shoulder wobbles then you may find your bird will bite to hang on and steady themselves. The trick here is to try not to pull away, as this may result in them hanging on harder.

Some birds are "no shoulder birds". My bird, Alfie is a "no shoulder bird" because I cannot trust him to remain on my shoulder without trying to find something to play with/nibble on ... which is usually my ear. Therefore i discourage him from sitting on my shoulder. He sits on my knee or on my forearm. If he starts creeping up my arm then I put my other arm in the way and usher him back down to my forearm. Some people have had to put something on their shoulder (like a stuffed toy) to discourage their birds from climbing up to their shoulders. If he bites every time he is on your shoulder then I would discourage this until he can be trusted not to bite.

It is very difficult once bird does start to bite as it can be discouraging and scary. It may be worth looking up some parrot behaviour books or videos to see if you can get some useful information from those about training your bird and understanding their behaviour a bit more. Does your bird have any favourite treats or toys? You may be able to start training your bird about acceptable behaviours with these.

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Thanks for reply again :)

I find your reply helped me to understand a little bit more.

I think the reason why he is trying to go on my shoulder always is because he was all the time there and only when its time to go to sleep i put him on hand before cage, so he started avoiding to be on my hand for example. I think he feels safe there because he can go behind me and i cant put him off. I honestly dont feel safe so i will try to avoid him being there in total.

Again thanks for reply, i will listen to try to find final solution by some books or vids that are about this tipe of behavior.

 

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I agree with Neoow regarding no shoulder time if he's a biter. 


It's all about learning to read their cues. My new rescue bites whenever he's on or near his cage. He was cage bound for 8  years, so he's extremely cage protective. Once he's away from his cage, he's very anxious, so I must make all movements slowly so as not to frighten him. I will not pet him yet. For now it's all about getting him used to perching on my hand. Once he's completely comfortable with that, I will watch his eyes and feathers for signs that it might be the right moment to introduce stroking and petting.

Again, it's all  about Grey time. If you can't respect their time, you and your family will get bit. Simple as that.

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Excellent responses for you to consider. Thought I'd just throw this in... when I first joined the forum someone told me they will always go for the highest point for safety, which is why they head for your shoulder. They feel safer there. They also usually sleep on their highest perch in the cage etc. I don't let Timber on my shoulder either for safety's sake. As Neoow pointed out, they will grab on with their beak if they feel like they are unstable. While this is not technically biting behavior, I don't want that grab to be my ear or my face! My Avian vet calls their beak their "hand."

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  • 3 weeks later...

I agree, he's not a shoulder bird for now.  You don't want any extra piercings.  The best way to avoid bites is to get to know his body language so that you can predict when a bite is coming.  There's a good body language thread in the Training forum room.  Take a look at it.  I got bit this morning because I didn't check Dorian's body language before I moved in for a kiss.  I just wasn't thinking.  He usually wakes up in a lovely mood, and is all sweet and cuddley, but he sure didn't today.  If he starts climbing up to your shoulder, block him with your other arm.  Keep him on your hand with your hand held higher than your elbow so that your arm forms a V shape.  Most birds don't like to climb from a high point to a lower one, so this may stop him from trying to climb up to your shoulder.  Like Timbersmom said, he may not always be truly biting you, but using his beak to steady himself.

Check out Barbara Heidenreich at Good Bird Inc.  She's got books, lectures, workshops, all sorts of subject matter on how to train your bird using positive reinforcement.  She's very well respected in the industry.

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