GCC is getting nippy

[HeidiGCC]

I have a 4 month old GCC. She is super nice. The vast vast vast majority of the time she keeps her beak to herself. However, I've noticed sometimes she gets really hyper! Like last night. She was running everywhere. For example, she was on husband. She would run down from his shoulder to his fingers and bite his fingers and the run away. She kept doing this as if it was a game. She did the same thing to me. She was on the couch, would run to my toes and bite them, then run away as I tried to get her.

Is this a game to her?

Was she testing the waters?

[xafsmom]

A lot of times what happens is that the bird gets over-excited and the play turns intense for it. It's like a little kid who gets over-excited and starts acting out. What you need to do is calm the game down when she starts getting hyper. Put her back in her cage, or a playstand where she can have some alone time to settle down again. Do it gently though, slow movements, calm, slow voice but positive so she knows she's not in trouble.

Sally Blanchard has a great article about this very thing in the August issue of Bird Talk. You might want to check it out.

[HeidiGCC]

Awesome. I'll have to pick up that article of Bird Talk. Yes, she reminds me of a hyper 3 year old right now. She is actually doing it as we speak - not biting at this point but just running all over the place frantically. I mean, I wasn't even trying to play with her. She just starts this "game". I will definitely get the magazine though.

[xafsmom]

I honestly think the words 'Pyrrhura molinae' truly means "Small Bitey Bird with ADHD". I have 4 2 month old gcc's running around inside of a cardboard box, with several empty tissue boxes inside of it, having a hyper blast playing 'chase' right now. Little crazies. My Jenday Xaf snuck down to investigate and the whole lot of them chased him off. LOL He ran back to the safety of his playstand and looked very ruffled. /snicker

[HeidiGCC]

lol. I agree. She is not biting maliciously. I had another bird before her and I can certainly tell when they are biting because they are mad or what. She just thinks it is fun. She just won't sit still. Right now she is trying to pull the keys off of my computer. The thing is she really likes being with people so if I put her on her play gym she hangs out there for a bit - then flies to the finches cage - watches them (while scaring the heck out of them) flies to me and then goes crazy. My cockatiel literally slept most of the day. I rarely see this bird sleep - just at night. I wish I had her energy.

[flyingfluff]

haha, yeah, it sounds like she's just getting a little over stimulated. I wish I had her kind of energy too! All I know is I could definitely use it!

[Shakou]

I've been bitten hard by Tiki, my 8 month old GCC, maybe 3 or 4 times since I've had him, and very rarely has it been because he was angry. Normally he just gets over-excited, seeing as it normally occurs when I come home from work after not having seen him all day or when we're playing. *shrugs* The green-cheeks are always going to have little attitudes that will flare up from time to time, but so long as react properly, it normally isn't a problem :)

[xafsmom]

"The green-cheeks are always going to have little attitudes..."

By little, you mean little = Grand Canyon?

hehehe