Help with biting!?

[Ashling]

Just some background: my lorikeet is an 8 months old, hand reared rainbow lorikeet with the proper diet, toy/ play stimulation, training, attention needs and care to the best of my ability- so I'm quite sure that none of that is the cause to her behaviour below.
I didn't think this would become a problem but indeed it has. When we are playing, cuddling or just hanging out Ashling my lorikeet will sometimes get excited and bite onto my skin -especially the web between my thumb and forefinger- and she will dig and twist it maliciously. I know this is a bit of a lorikeet trait to suddenly turn and attack ther owners hand when all excited, but it doesn't seem as though her intent is to harm me- just that my hand is a toy for her to play with- and kill. I've tried verbally reprimanding her- she knows what "owch" and "no" means. I've tried ignoring the biting- which is painful and useless... What else can I do to stop this? It doesn't draw blood but it really does hurt! Any suggestions would be helpful please!

[my-africangrey-echo]

There is a very effective way to stop biting. I have never had to do this but have read that this works wonders from a person that has many African Greys in the UK. He uses a (cat Box) or small animal carrier and will place them in the box without toys or food and cover it with a towel. Only for about 5 -10 minutes at a time. Like a time out per say. They very quickly learn that if they bite you they will be put in the dark and not have any (fun) So to them BITE = DARKNESS Again I have never had a need for Echo has never been one to bite. But anyone on this forum that has followed this technique it is quickly resolved the issue. Good luck Chris

[jenseits]

Since it sounds like the biting is accidental and part of her playing, I wouldn't punish her for it - that would send very confusing signals. First, be aware of signs that she's getting too riled up and prevent her from getting into that mode in the first place. If she does end up biting, tell her "no bite" or whatever words you usually use and withdraw your hand until she has calmed down. Avoiding the bite before it happens is the best method, of course.

She kind of sounds like a young puppy ... she doesn't understand what's acceptable and what's too hard. Yelling "ouch" and/or continuing to play just encourages her (yelling is fun, making you yell is even more fun). Something to let her know "uh uh, I don't like that, we're going to stop playing now" should be sufficient to teach her where the line between acceptable and unacceptable is.

Good luck!

[dunklekatze]

agh, I wish I knew the secrets of the trade for this one! I don't know if it's a maturity thing as well... Static has bitten me and though we have him out of his cage, when we go to take him out, he bites, hard... hard enough that he's drawn blood 3 times already and they look like deep glass cuts.

It's funny, I work as a framer and people are always asking about these small cuts I have, asking if work is dangerous... "no... they're from my parrots" usually makes 'em smile lol

That's a very sensitive spot though, put a bandaid on it and see if that kinda confuses Ash... Love ya!

[Valo's Moirana]

Originally Posted by my-africangrey-echo

There is a very effective way to stop biting. I have never had to do this but have read that this works wonders from a person that has many African Greys in the UK. He uses a (cat Box) or small animal carrier and will place them in the box without toys or food and cover it with a towel. Only for about 5 -10 minutes at a time. Like a time out per say. They very quickly learn that if they bite you they will be put in the dark and not have any (fun) So to them BITE = DARKNESS Again I have never had a need for Echo has never been one to bite. But anyone on this forum that has followed this technique it is quickly resolved the issue. Good luck Chris

i would NEVER do this.... this is a classical way of negative reinforcement of a behavior, and while it might work, it's not the way to go in my opinion. you will find different opinions on techniques like the one described here, but i just wanted to point out that in modern avian behavior knowledge people go more and more away from approaches like this.

i like jenseits' suggestion a lot more, and i was about to say the same thing. it seems like she's not really attacking you, but getting into rough play. the key is to stop the interaction and distract her with a toy or another activity BEFORE she bites. watch her closely and try to read her body language to point down when she gets over-excited. that's the best way to go about it.

valo actually does the same thing - he loves to nibble on the skin between my fingers, especially between the thumb and the index finger. usually he's gentle and it doesn't hurt, but most times i distract him with a different activity as soon as he goes for it as it can easily get to the point where it does hurt.
bella, by the way, loves to play rough too - and when she does, she uses her beak in a painful manner. same approach - we watch her when we play with her, and as soon as she displays her typical signs of over excitement, we stop the play and start something different

might sound tedious at first, but once you can read the body language, it's actually pretty convenient.

[bmcm]

if only bites one hand can give some advise,if both different story,let me know as had one hand problem with quaker.also which hand.

[Courtzrocks]

Well I always have a toy or something handy with matches cos her beak is constantly going lol so if she starts getting excited i just shove a toy infront of her face and play with it until she takes it.

[jenseits]

Yup, I forgot to mention the distraction technique. Thanks for adding that, Bee.

[bubbalori]

well my red collar rainbow will bite also and by god it hurts like hell lol and yes she draws blood.

some may find this offensive but this is what i do and it works!!!!
if she bites i tap her on the beak not too hard and in a stern voice i say no biting!!! she gets all crawly crawly then and sucks up to me she knows she did something wrong.
i also get the ****s with her if she really hurts me so i just tell her naughty birdie(in the middle of tears running down my cheek from pain )lol and put her back in her cage and ignore her i also dont take her out for a day and she crawls trying to get my attention and she says come on theres a birdie here lol yes shes a talker and a swearer lol she jsut said a few bad words whilst i was typing this lol also just a quick thing.....i have taught her to say singing and dancing and she dances as she says it and lifts her head up high and says singing in a high voice lol i also conduct her with my finger saying singing and dancing she loves it lol

[Courtzrocks]

My personal experience with the tapping on the beak doesn not work at all...maybe it works for some but for me it just makes them more agressive...if matches bites i put my finger up and say "NO, NO BITING"...she whinges and whines but usually after a few seconds of holding my finger there she will stop. If that doesnt work i put her in one of the bathrooms we barely use for about a minute and after that she is good but thats only if she's biting on purpose, not during playing.