why does he do this? help plz!

[retronut]

hey everyone.

 

i need help with Vince. i've read greys go through maturity around 1 to 2 years but also have a similar period of 'testing you' at around 6 months. is this true? i read it on this site and it make sense. they'd want to show their flock they're an individual once out on their own, and then again when they mature. anyway, vince is 7 months and i think he's going through the 1st change, lol!

 

now thats out of the way lets get onto my problem. when Vince bites i tell him no and if he keeps it up i leave the room for a minute or 2. i dont react when he bites me, unless he get the nail!! :ohmy: so im doing my best here. what im having problems with is his habbit on hanging off my hand and biting me whilst he holds tightly onto my fingers! he'll be perched on my hand fine and when the feeling takes him he 'flops' forward so he's hanging and then bites me. its like hes doing it to regain his balance, but he knows exactly what he's doing. when he does this it can last a while, everytime i need to move him we'll go through the routine. why do you think he does this? how can i stop him doing it? is my way of desciplining ok? he doesn't seem to care when i say no but if i leave the room he seems to be willing to 'suck up' a little when i return :laugh: .

 

i've only had him since oct 08 so things are pretty new to me. i love having a grey and this if my only real problem. how am i doing?

[LindaMary]

I expect there are far more expert folks who will answer this, but here's one suggestion. The next time he does his flop-over-and-bite thing, just squat down and gently set him on the floor. Some birds really don't like being on the floor, and will change their behavior if they are put there. Give him a minute to think about it down there, and then pick him back up again. (I'm assuming you don't have cats or dogs prowling, of course!) This has worked for me in the past with both my birds when they got too feisty - they were happy to step up quite docilely and behave again when I reached back down for them.

 

If he doesn't like being on the floor, and he learns to associate that with his flop-over-and-bite game, maybe he'll back off on the game a bit.

[Char]

At 6 months he is still a baby. Heck my gray didn't even wean until 4 months. It is hard to tell what is happening without seeing how you are holding the bird.

 

My bird is too heavy for just my fingers I hold her with the entire side of my hand. If I tried to turn her up and she lost her balance she would grab on and this would seem like a bite.

 

I find it unlikely that at that age he would purposely lose his balance. I just cannot believe the bird at 6 months old is devious enought to set you up for this bite. I could be wrong my bird is pretty laid back.

 

Is he able to perch okay on his stand or does he fall forward there also.

 

I would no leave the room as punishment as then he will think he did something wrong everytime you leave the room.

 

If you do feel the need to discipline the bird this is what my vet recommends:

 

Give the bird a 10 minute time out in a cage or carrier that is not their regular home cage.

 

Their regular cage should always be a safe place of refuge and not a place of punishment. Also a bird will learn to bite you just because he wants to go back in the cage.

 

Remember birds bite for 2 reasons. 1) Out of fear and 2) because we teach them to bite.

 

If you think this is some kind of game he is playing then let him know that you don't want to play and put him in time out for 10 mins.

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/17 21:46

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/17 21:59<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/02/17 22:01

[danmcq]

retronut wrote:

how can i stop him doing it? is my way of desciplining ok?

 

Just make sure you have him on your finger in a pistol fashion pointing out straight. Then when he flips around, just keep the momentum going so he just keeps twirling around your finger like a pistol. He'll get dizzy and fall off....end of problem after a few times of this.

 

Ok just kidding....maybe! Anyway, he is having BIG FUN playing and thats exactly whats he is doing...Playing. He does bot realize he is hurting you bad enough to upset you. Get him off, tell him NO BITE then return him to his cage and walk away for say 10 minutes.

 

Continue this until he gets the message.

 

Also, since you know he is going to trying and do this, you can counter it by either blocking the flip with your other hand or turning it before He flips the other direction to throw him off balance and stop it.

 

Others will have some good ideas too and maybe some more wise cracks. :-)

[Sallas]

maturity around 1 to 2 years

 

I do not think greys hit maturity until say 4 - 6 years of age (at least sexual maturity)

[Jane08]

The blocking with the other hand really works. Rangi tries it on with me sometimes. He will sit on my hand and then lean down to bite my hand. I immediately bring up my other hand and place it under his beak so he can't get to my hand. He then steps up onto my other hand and I place him on his perch and tell him no biting and then walk away from him.

[retronut]

thanks everyone for your replies. i've come to the conclusion he is just doing it in play. you know how some birds like to hang upside down from your fingers? well i think vince is thinking about how to do this but when he trys it he freaks out a bit :laugh: . he likes to hang upside down from his perches so this seems a likely reason to me :unsure: . just for some back ground its not something we have a problem with everyday. its something that he trys every now and then. i posted the issue because he'd tried it a few times that day. i dont think he was setting me up for a bite either, but hopefully i've explained a little about why i thought he was doing it on purpose, he wanted to hang upside down but when he got there he was scared, lol :blink:

 

thanks as always!