Biting Bird...HELP! !

[SuperMommy]

I really need some help with this bird. She is driving me crazy and my daughter is so very hurt she wants to return the bird . My daughter is the animal lover in our home. She has now turned vegan due to how she feels about animals.
Anyway, this bird keeps biting. I don't mean a warning, don't touch me bite. I mean she bites around to find a good place to nail you hard.
She was crawling up my arm and for a second I guess she thought she was being too sweet and had to bite my arm. I still have the scar she did it so hard.
This is the first mean bird we have ever had. We've been lucky over the years with finding birds with a good personality.
This is a white, female, parrokeet. She is not grown yet the color above her teeth(haha) beak has not fully changed yet.
I have gotten different advice from various people but, I need to know what my 9 year old daughter can do to help train this bird because, this is her bird.
We wear gloves when we hold her but, she still bites around to find a place on your hand to bite harder. We have two other birds also, one fully grown male and another female of the same age as she is. The other females doesn't bite.
Please, I'm going to return this bird if we can't make this stop.

[Monica]

It takes time and patience to tame a bird down. It's best to ignore the bites, but it may be easier to use a wooden dowl to get her to do step ups. It may help to distract her with some toys or even a piece of millet... Thing is though, it could take months to tame this budgie down... and if you don't think you have the patience to tame her into a pet, it may be better for all around to find her another home.

[Bonesy]

Push back into the bite and just grit your teeth & bear it, the mroe you pull away & make a fuss, the more damage she will do and the more she will want to do it again.

As soon as she begins to press into your skin, take the tip of her beak & pull it away, at the tip she cannot bite you. Firmly tell her NO! and look unimpressed. Then if she clasps your finger push the head towards her shoulders, this leaves her in a vulnerable position with her throat in the air & she will have little option but to let go.

It is important you keep this up as it can take a conditioned biter a long time to get out of it. Sit her on a cage top or table & use 2 finger-width sticks of dowel at about 10inches long, and as you stroke one side of her with one stick, she bites it, bring the other in & repeat until she learns she cannot harm the stick & it wont go away. This is why birds bite, they know you'll go away afterwards.

Stay put & slowly edge your fingers down the sticks week by week until you can stroke her without her biting the sticks. At this point you can touch her with the tips of your fingers and slowly remove the dowel sticks.

Hope this helps.

[SuperMommy]

Thank you. My daughter has to make the last decision on this. The bird is hers. She has never given up an animal and I don't think she will now that she knows what to do.
We're going to try the dowls and work week by week.
This is such a beautiful bird it would be a shame to have her grace someone elses home.

[bullibirdshow]

Hello SuperMommy,

I would also remove all being on arm, hand priviledges. Don't let the bird be on your arm so it can't bite you.

The idea of using dowels or perches to handle the bird is wise it removes biting opportunites.

Is there a treat this bird really likes? Does your daughter know about clicker training?

Pushing back when the bird bites will force the bird to let go but for a month or so I would remove your hands and use a perch or branch when dealing with this bird.

Treat the bird often if it is being a non biter.

Cheers,

Bulli

[jenseits]

My advice would be to not to give her opportunities to bite -- don't let her on your shoulder, don't offer her your finger for now.

She's trying to communicate something to you when she's biting. Could be that she's scared, angry or even just that she wants your attention. Your daughter needs to teach her that there's no reason to be scared, that you are her friend not her captor, and that there are better ways to communicate what she wants than biting.

If you keep pushing her and ignoring what she's trying to tell you, she's only going to start biting harder and harder, which obviously won't improve the relationship.

I'm a huge fan of positive reinforcement, not punishment or flooding (which is basically where you bully her into submission). Do some research on clicker training. The basic premise is that by teaching your bird "stupid parlor tricks" you improve how you interact with her, which has the positive side benefit of teaching her she doesn't need to bite.

The first things you teach via clicker training can be done without putting yourself in a position to get bitten.

It doesn't happen overnight. But it worked for me and my sun conure - he was a rescue and very unfriendly when I got him. We've completely changed our relationship through clicker training.

Hope that helps.

[mobileman]

Originally Posted by Bonesy

Push back into the bite and just grit your teeth & bear it, the mroe you pull away & make a fuss, the more damage she will do and the more she will want to do it again.

As soon as she begins to press into your skin, take the tip of her beak & pull it away, at the tip she cannot bite you. Firmly tell her NO! and look unimpressed. Then if she clasps your finger push the head towards her shoulders, this leaves her in a vulnerable position with her throat in the air & she will have little option but to let go.

It is important you keep this up as it can take a conditioned biter a long time to get out of it. Sit her on a cage top or table & use 2 finger-width sticks of dowel at about 10inches long, and as you stroke one side of her with one stick, she bites it, bring the other in & repeat until she learns she cannot harm the stick & it wont go away. This is why birds bite, they know you'll go away afterwards.

Stay put & slowly edge your fingers down the sticks week by week until you can stroke her without her biting the sticks. At this point you can touch her with the tips of your fingers and slowly remove the dowel sticks.

Hope this helps.

Bonesy,
good tution. well a humble request, that, could u pictureise these techniques?? or could u provide a video abt this??

be kind to respond

thanking you in advance

[Icednova625]

I'd like to add that I wouldn't suggest the use of gloves. This often frightens the bird more thats already afraid of you.

[Tishatti Toot]

I agree with clicker training suggestion. my birds were very nasty biters and they are 8 years old. With clicker training and positive reinforcement the biting is virtually gone now. I didn't allow them the opportunity to bite me or attack for about 6 weeks and the nasty habit sort of eliminated itself. I am still on that 6 wk "no risk" period but the change already is remarkable as I say, and I have slowly got a little more "risky" now with them and am having good results.

All the best:-)

[truelove]

1. Patience
2. Don't use a glove, it frightens them more.
3. Instead of trying to hold the bird, knowing it bites, talk to it lowly before you hold the bird.
4. Don't return a bird just because it bites, because training is easier than most people give it credit.