Ouch!

[Jaco1007]

My 16 month old CAG is starting to bite and pin his eyes a lot. What are some possible causes? Not enough attention? Springtime? Hormones? Age?

 

Robert

[sue09]

Hi Robert,

I'm no expert, but someone on here will be able to help more. Are you his main person or does he normally go to anyone? How long have you had him and have you recently changed anything either in your appearance or his surroundings?

My Ollie suddenly became very agressive towards me and turned his affections to my partner. Maybe he is just finding his feet, so to speak. How do you react when he bites, because the one thing I know very well is they love reaction!!! Although it is really hard, you should try not to scream and cry.........just ignore him completely for ten minutes or so.

 

'm sure the others will come up with loads more help.

[danmcq]

Your Grey is maturing and starting to assert his will just like a human child going through their teen years.

 

You are going to need to give more attention now to his body language and eyes pinning as you start to have him step up or give a scratch. You'll be able to tell if a bite is coming and either respect his space or push on forward and take the bite IF you must move him or put him up.

[Jaco1007]

Thank you Sue and Dan. Sue, he is a one-man bird - the man being me. Nothing has changed his in surroundings or appearance. I've had him since he was 12 weeks old. I do not react with the bites, I simply give a strong "No!" or "No bite!". My friend in Michigan suggested I give a little thump on the beak when he does it. That seems to be working. It seems Dan is right he is trying to assert his will and when I thump and say "No!" he backs down. It also helps if I hold his beak with one hand and scratch his neck with the other. I am going to have to research this more. He does it constantly while sitting on my chest so putting him back on his cage or in it doesn't seem to have any effect. Any suggestions on threads or games to play while on my chest? I have a very deep voice so playing peek-a-boo or "gotch your feet" doesn't interest him. I miss my baby who never bit and always wanted his neck scratched! Whhaaaaaa! LOL

[judygram]

I have to disagree with your friend in Michigan who suggested giving Jaco a thump on his beak, telling him "no" firmly is enough, you don't want to resort to physical punishment.

 

He is just becoming more independent now and is asserting that, he may just not be as interested in playing games with you like he used to do.

[Dave007]

Many people gave good advice

 

Understand something---your baby grey is permanently gone. Many people go through the same thing as you as far as biting and many people get disturbed. Many people should have been told about a grey's personality after it would get older but many times that doesn't happen and people are surprised and blame themselves but it's not their fault. Greys eventually become independent and somewhat aloof and the act of cuddling isn't that important to them. I completely agree with Judy..that thumping may work now but soon, he'll learn how to bite more quicklty than you can thump. You say you see that his eyes are pinned--well, that's a warning and that's the time to walk away and not interfere with him. He's telling you he's gonna bite. Many species don't give a warning.

16 mts and hormones? Forget that. It's not happening.

 

Sitting on your chest and he bites? that's the time to realize that you shouldn't have him on your chest. Other people go through the same thing when a bird is on the shoulder. There are no games that you can play on your chest. He's biting and games won't stop him from biting.

[she]

I agree with Dave, Greys grow up. As they grow our relationship with them must change,as parents relationships change with children.Your grey ,like many others may not wish close physical contact any more.You need to watch his body language to judge what he now finds acceptable and respect his wishes.Never ever punish any bad behaviour just ignoreing it is enough as long as you re enforce good behaviour with verbal praise and reward, eg head scratch,food treat,toy,.Find what reward your grey responds to most and use this to your advantage.If he adores say a wallnut,only give him wallnuts as reward for good behaviour and not as a regular food item. .This in no way means with hold food,but a favourite treat can be saved as a reward.