baby huey is biting every chance he gets....

[malcomb88]

well got more problems........hes going through a baby phase. my fingers always have to be in his mouth if he is biting or not. most of the time he is biting. and dont get me wrong its cute. but very wrong and i dont know how to correct it. time out isnt working. i think he is confused on wheater he can bite or not. i say NO BITE OR NO BITING firm. i just dont think he understands. hes biting everyone. he will step up all the time tho. its just biting problems. how do yall think i should solve this problem? what have yall done to correct your birds bad behavior? bad thing is is that he tries to go for the face....and when he succeeds it hurts.

[KimM]

I think Kelly said it, I think he is starting into "macawness". My 3 1/2 yr old still grabs my fingers and does the "feed response". I don't know that he'll ever grow out of it since I'm momma and I've had him since he was 8 wks old.
If it's nasty biting, you're gonna have to get tough, and I don't mean "mean", I mean tough. Remember, discipline doesn't mean to punish, it means to teach.
Newton went through this phase "bad" during his terrible twos. There were days I wanted to ring his little neck, but we got through it. He still tests, but knows I will NOT tolerate it.
As far as lunging at the face, that's a big no no. Sounds like he's smart little guy and you're gonna have to out think him. Sometimes that's the biggest challenge.
Try this. It's what has worked for me with Newton. I'm assuming he's on your arm when he's biting. Give a "wobble" correction by moving your arm back and forth. This throws them off balance and they have to focus on that. Give a firm NO with the wobble. If he bites again, repeat the wobble and another firm NO. If he does a 3rd time, deposit his little butt on the floor or a chair or couch. They DON'T like being deposited! Now, if he stops biting with any of the corrections, make a BIG DEAL out of what he did right.
I would try the same exercise for the face lunging as well. Don't let him intimidate you. Sounds like he's trying to find what buttons to push and see what he can get away with. This is very typical.

[thejoie]

My Hahn's macaw is doing the same thing. She never bites out of anger... but she bites when she gets excited or even happy. When I do the "earthquake" wobble with her.. she looks at me as if to say "What the heck!!?!" and bites me harder.
She just started this like a month ago. Little brat. I've tried to stay strong and not respond but sometimes when they manage to sneak in a pinch by surprise!! Yowwwch!! She's a sneaky devil.
Time outs don't work for me anymore. They did when she was a baby baby.. but not now. I like the "deposit" idea!!!!
I'll be following this thread too!! Let me know if you find something that works with Huey!!!

[malcomb88]

see the thing is i cant shake him because he has a disabled foot and already falls off to begin with, i have to hold his feet. or put him on my lap. he cant even perch on my sholder which is a wonderful thing but sad too. if i shake him to correct his behavior it might make him sad and unconfortable with the situation. now maybe when he his in my hands and im holding his feet i can shake him or dip him down and uponce. but. as of lossing his balence he already faces that on a daily basis.

[my-africangrey-echo]

I did the wobble with Echo when he was a baby and it worked very well. Though he's a TAG same principle they don't like being off balance! Good luck I can't imagine doing with a beak the size of a macaw!

[my-africangrey-echo]

Hmm we posted at the same time. Not sure what to try. Hopefully someone else will be on shortly.. Chris

[kellywess]

Originally Posted by malcomb88

see the thing is i cant shake him because he has a disabled foot and already falls off to begin with, i have to hold his feet. or put him on my lap. he cant even perch on my sholder which is a wonderful thing but sad too. if i shake him to correct his behavior it might make him sad and unconfortable with the situation. now maybe when he his in my hands and im holding his feet i can shake him or dip him down and uponce. but. as of lossing his balence he already faces that on a daily basis.

I have one with two disabled feet, when she bites... her perch rocks. Maybe not as much as it would if she had two good feet. But you can still shake it enough to where Baby Huey gets the message. I agree with Kim, I "deposit" mine on the floor or the couch, tell them "no" and ignore them for a few minutes. The bird you pick up off of the floor usually isnt the same bird you put on the floor.

[JRKRACING1]

I like what I am hearing but could you define "deposit"? Do you just drop them or quickly put them down? Sorry for the dumb question but I may need this info when "Gator" is old enough to use it on.

[FoxersArtist]

This may sound like a really dumb question but...how hard is he biting you? Is he leaving dents in your skin? Breaking the skin? Or just hurts enough for you to feel a bit uncomfortable that your finger is crunched in such a big beak? Many macaws, especially babies are what I like to call "beaky." They are using their beaks to explore their world, NOT trying to bite. Whenever my macaw gets rough while being beaky, I pull my fingers away and calmly tell her "Gentle." If you are afraid that he will not understand what you mean, show him by saying the word every time you are gentle with him. Stroke his feathers saying "Gentle." Rub his beak while saying "Gentle." This way he gets the concept and will learn that you are asking him not to beak you so hard. Likewise, is he truely lunging at your face or trying to balance or perhaps trying to play a silly game? My experience with macaws is that when they really want to bite, they usually mean business and do not horse around. If they are being playful or gentle and slowly progressing with the pressure they are applying with their beaks, it makes me wonder if the bird is just confused about how hard is too hard and needs to learn to take your ques. If the face lunge is really aggressive, your bird is trying to tell you that he doesn't like something - like you coming too close to his food bowl or favorite perch, or that your puppy just ran into the room and it frightened him. It's up to you to figure out what that is. I hope this is helpful.
-Anna

[FoxersArtist]

Kelly, just out of curiosity...
your bird with disabled feet - is it a macaw? If so, what species? How exactly does he react to the quake? I'm always eager to hear observations that have been different than my own.

My experience with all of the large species of macaws is that giving them a birdy "earthquake" only makes them more excitable and more prone to biting a second time. I know this method works wonderfully with some species, especially the little guys and even some of the very large cockatoos - but it seems to me that there is something about a macaw that transfers that unstable motion into more negative excitement especially if they were already in high-gear aggressive mode.
-Anna

Originally Posted by kellywess

I have one with two disabled feet, when she bites... her perch rocks. Maybe not as much as it would if she had two good feet. But you can still shake it enough to where Baby Huey gets the message. I agree with Kim, I "deposit" mine on the floor or the couch, tell them "no" and ignore them for a few minutes. The bird you pick up off of the floor usually isnt the same bird you put on the floor.