biting parrot

[reneeappell]

we just got our parrot a week and a half ago........at first, she would cautiously let us scratch and pet her, but today, she started biting and actually drew blood.............HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I am open to all suggestions.............thx

[rizzy]

Hey I do not have a parrot. But If I did and it was biting me after awhile i would tap his beak and say NO, well there not to much like dogs and cats so that might not work but you can try! I am sure others will have better suggestions! lol


btw WELCOME TO PET TALK! :)

[captain]

Welcome to Pet Talk ........

I too have a parrot, and she does this sometimes too. I tap her on the beak and say "NO", then ignore her for quite awhile until she "calls" us by tweeting ......... I ignore her for about 5 minutes after that, and then go up and say Hi.

It seems to work really well. Also, if she is out of her cage, and bites ....... she goes right back into the cage and does not get let out again that day ....

This is a great site, sent to me by one of the people on this board that might help you train your parrot.

Birds N Ways (http://www.birdsnways.com/)

Good Luck, and keep us posted!

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by rizzy
Hey I do not have a parrot. But If I did and it was biting me after awhile i would tap his beak and say NO, well there not to much like dogs and cats so that might not work but you can try! I am sure others will have better suggestions! lol


btw WELCOME TO PET TALK! :)

Good advice coming from someone who doesn't have birds, but you are mistakened by one thing. Parrots may not be like cats but they are definitely like dogs, in a way, because they are SOOO intelligent, and really understand, and are very good at learning various tricks, etc. I honestly find them to be more intelligent than cats, having spent my life with both birds and cats (cats not my own, but I used to sit my neighbors' and many many of my friends have cats), but maybe that's just my observation, or maybe the cats I know are intelligent but just highly disobedient and stubborn. :p Parrots are rated to be amongst the most intelligent animals, so yes, they DO understand things VERY well.

I find it odd that your bird was very cuddly and all of a sudden got nippy. Birds normally do not bite unless they feel threatened, and at other times, superior. Did you scold your parrot, or talk to him/her loudly? If so, that may have frightened him/her. Did you do anything that may have put some fear in his/her heart? Perhaps unknowingly. :confused:

Another possibility is that if your parrot is higher than your head, he/she may consider itself superior to you and is trying to tell you he/she's the boss. If this is the case, you'll need to work with him/her on the floor, until this behavior is mended. The site www.birdsnways.com, that Captain referred to is an excellent site. Hopefully it will have some articles that can help you on your bird's taming. Good luck and if you need further help, feel free to ask!

[reneeappell]

thanks for all the great words of encouragement to everybody...........we think we figured out what happened......on observing zoey (her name) playing on her gym, i saw her nipping at various toys while playing with them........this led me to the conclusion that she is trying to PLAY!!!!!Much in the same way a puppy will............after all, she is only five and a half months old.......after reading all i could, i found out that a tap on the beak could cause further resentment and that she also could be making me "pay" for being at work all day and leaving her alone. however, it is also true what popcornbird says.....zoey is often in a superior position when she is perched on my hand and i am sitting, so this could be the case.....consequently, the day after she drew blood on me happened to be my day off and in the morning, she greeted me with a "MAMA" and an invitation to scratch her head...........:) ..........we had a great day.......i'm finding out that she has to initiate the petting.

thanks to everybody for thier threads.........i'll keep you posted!

by the way, is it unusual for the bird to want to eat nothing but broccoli and papaya one day and nothing but seed and peanuts the next? should i give her grit???????please help!!!