Agressive Linnie help

[AutumnDee]

I got my linnie about 3 weeks ago and she is now 13 weeks old. She was hand fed and now we are having problems hand taming her. She will sit on our finger but you can't touch her what so ever without her jumping away or biting you. I tried having her on my shoulder instead and she bit my neck with no provocation to the point where I have a little bird hickie! We have no idea what to do at this point she seems to just hate us!

 

[Yoshi&Reza]

Welcome & Congrats! Three weeks isn't enough time for a young bird to settle in. She is somewhere new and needs more time. My bird was hand fed but needed a few months to get adjusted to our home and family. In that time I backed off and never tried to force physical interaction and just let him come to us when he was ready. If she is stepping up willingly and sitting on your finger then that is good. But don't rush it and ruin it by trying to touch her. She is making it very clear to you that she is not ready for that kind of interaction by jumping away and biting. When she bites your neck is it little nibbles or is it her being noisy and biting many times in a row? If it is calm curious nibbles then that is normal. If it is the other, then she is most likely scared and upset.

She doesn't hate you, she just doesn't know you yet and therefore does not trust you. Once she realizes that you won't touch her and disrespect her boundaries then she will start trusting you and will come around. But just know that she may never like to be touched. It is best to get rid of any expectation of what you and her relationship might be or what you want it to be. Just accept it and her for what it is.

Patience and respecting her boundaries are so important!!!

I don't know many but these members have linnies - @Crys12065 & @TikiLola & @Caza66

 

[Meatball]

Congrats on your new Linnie! They are wonderful little birds. Your baby is still trying to get used to you after 3 weeks, it takes a while for them to settle in. Just be patient and don't try to rush things.
I have had 3 linnies including Napoleon (rip) and was a moderator of a Linnie forum and one common denominator amonsbt most linnies is they do not like hands. They don't like to be "pet". There are of course exceptions to the rule as with any bird. Mt Sampson is not afraid of my hands and while i can scoop him up with my hands when I need to, he grumps at me but is clearly not scared and just being a brat, lol. And he used to love scritches and being touched but preening is now rwserved for his brother. He is still an extreme cuddle bug who loves to sit on my chest abd give me kisses while i nuzzle him with my nose but doesnt want to be touched. Smooches on the hand is afraid of my hands, he will not step up and will fly away if he sees my hands. However he will allow me to kiss his beak andl fly to me and sit on my shoulder. So its not me he doesn't like, just my hands. I accept him for this and just modifiy how I handle him vs Sampson. Its just the way he is and he has been with me for 2,years now. Napoleon also didn't like hands but he was a rescue and came to me not tame so I don't know I'd he would have had he had a better life prior to me.
My point in all this rambling is that just give your baby more time to settle in and let himnset the pace. Your linnie may or may not like to be touched but if he steps up that's q great sign hands areent too scary. Unless you keep pushing to touch him. Rwpsect his boundaries and shown him he can trust you.
Each of my birds has different things they like and don't like.
Good luck with your new baby and let me know if you have anymore questions
Ps. Sorry for the typos, on my phone on the bus typing this

 

[Meatball]

Also @jmfleish , she has like 10 linnies! She will be helpful too

 

[AutumnDee]

Thank you very much! The woman at the pet store told us we needed to hold her and force her to be petted and that I should not let her on my shoulders as she would feel more dominant, which contradicted the things I had read before! As for my neck she does it repeatedly, I try my hardest not to shout as it hurts more than a bite to the finger.

 

[Ocean]

That's how my cousin tamed her Linnie, she would hold her and pet her wee head

 

[JLcribber]

Thank you very much! The woman at the pet store told us we needed to hold her and force her to be petted and that I should not let her on my shoulders as she would feel more dominant, which contradicted the things I had read before! As for my neck she does it repeatedly, I try my hardest not to shout as it hurts more than a bite to the finger.

That should tell you to quit listening to the clueless person at the petstore and post your questions here.

 

[Ocean]

Abby was a hand shy Linnie, but now she's not, they would pick her up, and gently hold her and help pet the pinnies away. Now Abby gets upset if you don't pet her head xD

My Linnie Maui is still shy,but she loves watermelon xD

 

[Monica]

Sorry, but flooding is not an ideal way to tame bird. Yes, it can work, but it can also result in more aggressive or fearful birds, birds that 'bite out of nowhere', and birds that have major issues around their cages.


I kind of like to equate flooding a bird to a human being restrained by a bear or a tiger. Just because that huge animal isn't mauling you doesn't mean that you wont be scared or terrified for your life! You might even try doing whatever you can to escape by biting and clawing, maybe even screaming to try and scare the larger creature. However, that larger creature is stronger than you and can easily prevent your escape.

Animals don't bite to get their way. They most often bite as a form of communication because all other forms of communication have failed. A bird could bite because it's afraid, startled, over-excited or for some other reason. They don't bite to dominate you. They don't bite to try and force us to do anything other than to back off because they may not be comfortable with the situation you are trying to put them into, they don't understand what it is that you want or perhaps they aren't ready.


Please don't ladder her or force her to endure something she detests until she 'gives up'. That's learned helplessness. Instead, use positive reinforcement (often under the guise of clicker training) to teach her what to do. Teach her to do behaviors because she wants to, not because she has to. Flooding removes choice. Positive reinforcement can give choice while teaching them that your choice can be reward-able. It's about communication and understanding. Respect and listening.




Here's some good reading material.

Working with Fearful Parrots: A Study in Videos | Learning Parrots
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: How to Make Friends with a Parrot
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Training a Scared or Aggressive Parrot To Step Up
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Help! My Parrot Wont Step Up!
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: Building Trust with Your Parrot
Good Bird Inc Parrot Training Talk: What All Pet Owners Should Know

 

[jmfleish]

I'm not going to be much help as all my Linnies are hand shy. I would suggest that you just take time and offer favorite treats for behavior that you want to continue to see.

 

[Joelle]

@Monica Those are some great links about not forcing your birds to do things they don't want to do in order to avoid LH.

I just adopted 2 linnies and I'm trying to give them some space before any training. They were seized from a hoarding situation a year ago and were at a rescue organization until 3 weeks ago when I adopted them. They are thought to be about 3 years old and both males, but I'm having serious doubts and think one is a female. I am open to any tips and advice anyone may have about rehomed or fearful linnies. I noticed that although they let me feed them millet, they are scared of my hands and sometimes 'freeze' in place and are probably very frightened, so I've taken a step back from too much 'hand-time'.

I started a thread asking about aggression (which I've since learned may be connected to LH- or mating hormones) since they sometimes nip at each other and 'growl' - please have a look if you have experience with this, thanks! Help with 2 new bonded Linnies | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum