Nippy baby parrotlet

[Kismet]

Hello!

I'm having one minor problem with my parrotlet Phoebe; she's gotten into the habit of nipping me on my hands when I'm holding her. It seems like she has a love/hate relationship with my hands; she always wants to snuggle with them, will willingly step up and accept food from me, but she also will randomly reach down and start nipping- hard. To be clear, I'm not moving quickly around her or poking her face, nothing like that. She'll just reach down and deliver a painful bite or two out of nowhere.

I've been offering her plenty of other things to chew while out of her cage, and I've tried giving her paper/toys when she does this. My usual response is to say 'bad bird' in a firm voice and put her in her cage for a few minutes. She doesn't like this, so I don't think she's trying to tell me to take her home.

My main question was which approach to nipping is best- time outs, distracting her with other things to chew, etc. I am dedicated to working with her to keep bad habits under control, any advice is appreciated. :)

[LovelySydney]

What works for me is gently holding the beak and saying "no bite". After awhile my birds started associating the biting with me having to hold their beak. Time outs never worked for me because my little birdies figured out all they had to do to get back to their cage was to bite mommy - not cool!! The earlier you curb the biting, the better. I would say she is just exploring but you said she is biting hard so she must just be testing the waters. Try holding her beak and saying no bite and see where that gets you. There are other approaches if that doesnt work, I know other people will chime in here.

[jimpierce7]

so far nothing has worked for Cricket. Not so much being nippy while on our hands as he really likes skin it seems. He'll peel a slab if we aren't careful!! lol

[Kismet]

Thanks for the responses!
I haven't had a chance to try the beak hold yet as Phoebe has been pretty polite since this afternoon's incident (maybe she's reading my birdboard postings while I'm not in the room? ;) ), but I'll be sure to report in on how it goes down when I do.

I hope nippy Cricket isn't the model of parrotlet behavior! I need my hands in one piece. :) His picture is super cute, by the way.

[Wilder]

Originally Posted by Kismet

I hope nippy Cricket isn't the model of parrotlet behavior! I need my hands in one piece. :) His picture is super cute, by the way.

Parrotlets are nippy birds. I'm convinced they see fingers as delectable snacks!

I've heard that holding the beak doesn't work and might prove to break down trust. I know the few times I tried it, Mira was not happy and let that be known. When she bites now I give a little shake of my hand so it unbalances her and that usually makes her stop.

[chapala]

Maybe you're having her out with you just a little too long, and she's getting agitated or wants to move or who knows what? If that might be it, try hanging out with her for shorter time periods, and giving her some time back in/on her cage or a stand for a break. If you can put her back before she bites, maybe the habit she's developing will stop.

[Kismet]

I thought it might be that, Chapala, but she would also do the biting thing as soon as she came out of her cage. I'll try keeping her out for shorter periods anyway, it might help!

I tried the beak hold, she wasn't having any of it and got even nippier than before... she seemed to get even more aggressive. I tried the earthquake method with slightly better results.

I bought a bottle of Garrick's bitter apple spray this afternoon, it seems to be working very well so far. As soon as she tries to nip me, she freezes for a second and rethinks. :)
Another thing I've done to curb her newfound aggression is to remove her from her cage via step up rather than allowing her to come out on her own and fly to me. I hope these combined tactics will calm her down some.