Need help with the antichrist!

[mamalovesrico]

Where do I start? Rico is my 9 month old, male U2. I love him dearly and he's my little love bug. BUT, here's what just happened. He has a favorite pen cap and he loves to play toss. I had him sitting on the kitchen countertop and he grabbed his pen top and tossed it to me. He tosses it to me, I toss it to him. When I toss it to him he gets soooo excited. His head feathers are up, the wings are a flapping and he runs with all he has to the pen top. We're tossing it back and forth having fun. I go to reach for the pen top and he nailed me. He jumped on my hand and bit my index finger. He bit it so hard right on the knuckle that it was cut almost to the bone. That was the end of the game.
This was about 5 minutes ago. Now he's my little love bug and is trying to take the band-aid off my finger.
OK, so I know he gets aggresive and excited when we play toss. Do I not play toss with him anymore. He love this and it's so cute. Any help is appreciate with my temporary antichrist.

[TooLover]

Oh do I feel your pain! I go through this daily with Buck Buck; he gets over-excited and before I know it he is attacking me. I limit the time that we play. That is the only way to keep him from getting over-excited..............

[LissaKokoKiwiKaseySam]

you might want to try playing toss with a larger object in the future..like a hand towel! Give you a bit more room between Rico's beak and your fingers!

Basically,learning to stop BEFORE you get nailed is the key..keep an eye on Rico's body language..if you can see he's starting to get over excited..stop playing the game..walk away if you have to so he will lose interest in the game-If Rico is approaching you with wings spread, beak open and crest up,GAME OVER!!!

[kensbuns]

Well I go through the same thing with my Allegra although I call it Amazon overload. The amazons and cockatoo's both go into overload with excitement. He did not mean to bite you he simply could not control himself!!! You must limit the amt of excitement he is allowed to have. Much like limiting a child candy. And I agree with the larger object!!! LOL!!! After he bites you you must return him to his cage quietly and give him a time out. Turn your back on him so that he understands that this is not acceptable behaviour. Then return to the cage for some play time!!! This has worked for me and Allegra. We practice the stop drop and roll method when I get nailed by him. I stop what we are doing, drop his butt to the floor and roll his nasty butt to his cage for some time out. Over time this has really worked. He now realizes what is gonna happen and I rarely get nailed anymore.

[The Outlaw]

I agree with the others: he's just so excited he can't control himself. I suggest you watch him very carefully and pull back when he reaches maximum overload. Right now, he's a baby and means you no harm. However, once he reaches 10, that may change. Teach him the rules when he's a peep and you'll be happier when he's a truly hormonal teenager.

THE OUTLAW

[nursenurse44]

i would not stop the game. he probably bit from over excitement. i would limet the amount of time thAt i played it with him. i would stop when he appears to become too excited

[Sophiestkated2]

Yep, everyone is exactly right. I'm a slow learner tho, and it took me many bites to learn my lesson! Our CAG enjoys the same game, and we eventually learned that short 5 minute sessions are much more enjoyable for all of us!
Jethica

[mamalovesrico]

Thanks everyone. I will start with the larger toy and I will work on the time outs. I am scared to death of the hormonal changes that I know are coming and will nip this in the bud right now. When I meet my family and friends out on the weekends they all look forward to seeing the war wounds on my hands that the week has brought on. This one will be a dadny. :eusa_doh: