dominant Goffin

[Cheeky beaks]

Hi' I have a problem with my male goffin Pedro. He has started nipping my finger,hand etc. and then puts his head down for me to pet him. I've seen my male cockatiels do this to their mates.
I really don't know how to handle this. He hasn't broken the skin but its really quite a firm nip. I've stopped petting him when he does it and he gets quite upset at me. Should I just put up with it and give in or is there something I can do?
I've only had him since last summer and he's had a hard life. The first owner wouldn't pet him or take him out of his cage as he bit her. He was in this cage for 10 years, then a breeder bought him, but he was too agressive with the females and he got put in another cage for 3 years. Although she did give him some attention, there was also some rough attention. He's just now letting me rub his feet. His nails really need cutting.
When he wouldn't go back in his cage she'd grab him in a towel. He was terrified of towels, tea towels or anything that resembled a towel. I have no problem getting him into his cage I just tell him its time and he goes in.
I don't want to do anything that would undermind the trust he's building in me. Hope you can help. Joan

[KimBear]

He might be thinking that the way to get someone's attention, and to get them to pet him, is to nip. He probably doesn't realize it's hurting you, and it may be a sort of game to him. To correct this you'll want to show him that nipping doesn't get him anywhere, and also do what you can to prevent the behavior before it occurs. A combination of not responding to the nipping and reinforcing other non-nipping behaviors should work well. You can do this within the normal course of handling him, but it might be best to set up some actual training sessions to get the idea across.

Here's some training exercises to try: When you get him out of his cage, have him step onto your hand, don't just open the door and let him out. When he steps up, praise him with much enthusiasm, pet him, give kisses, etc. Then take him to your training area (quiet room, away from his cage with a simple training stand or the back of a chair) and play the "up/down" game in which he steps from his training perch to your hand, then to your other hand, then back to the perch and so on. Each time he steps (either up or down), praise and pet. You might only be able to do this a few of times before he loses interest so if you sense he's getting ticked off a bit, move onto another training game where a simple cue is followed by a petting. Choose a short phrase like "pet pet", "wanna scratch?", or whatever, then pet him. After you've petted him, praise him or even give him a small food treat. The idea is to let him know that he will get attention and he doesn't have to nip. You can continue to play little games with him, teach him some tricks, and so on, and be very generous with the petting and praise as long as he's not nipping.

If he does nip during your training, or when you're just hanging out with him, don't respond to it. You may even have to walk away for a bit or end the session if you've been at it a while. This might make him angry, but do it anyway. That anger is a sign that the withdrawing your attention is something he doesn't want. In time, he will learn that biting gets him nothing. He gets petted and praised for more acceptable behaviors.

Try this for a few days, and if you can work in several 5 to 10 minute sessions in each day, you should see a light bulb come on over his head. If not, don't worry, he may just be very stubborn, or there could be some other things happening that are contributing to this and you'd need to figure them out, too.