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Biting . Why does she hate me

MotherOfBirbs

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2CE5DC4D-B445-4375-8DCF-22AF1AEF5982.jpeg Update on my rescue conure. We started out great. In the beginning she would bite but nothing crazy. This past week she’s been BITING to hurt. I used to just let her bite but she finally bit so hard I had to put her in her cage. Bedtime is 8. I put her to bed at 730. I was so hurt about the biting and now I’ve gone back to perch step ups but she hates the perch. Full out attacks. I need advice please!
 

TikkiTembo

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No good advice here, just hugs! :sadhug2:Hang in there!!
 

Zara

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Sorry to hear you´re going through a rough patch. Please know, your bird does not hate you, birds don´t hate.

. I used to just let her bite but she finally bit so hard I had to put her in her cage.
It is always better to try and avoid bites rather than let a bird bite you. Allowing the bite is saying to the bird it´s ok¨. Learning your birds body language will help you know when the bite is about to come and you are able to stop what you are doing or move away.
Putting the bird in the cage after a bite teaches them that they bite, they get a free ride to go to play in their cage and so the next time they want to play in their cage alone, they will just bite you.
If I see a bite about to happen from one of my birds, I step back and leave them alone.

Some links worth reading;
Essential Guide to Communicating with Parrots – Pamela Clark, CPBC
Changing problem behavior in birds | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
The Training Court | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum (read the green sticky threads)

Good luck! :)
 

Hawk12237

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They may have started out great, :yes3:but perhaps the trust wasn't fully there yet. They'll bite out of aggression, which is territorial aggression.
You see it may not have bitten at first, but you have to also understand no "territory" in your home has been established yet at time. Now it has settled in, it is establishing territorial limits, his/her terms. You'll have to recognize these in order to fully understand. In other words, parrots usually bite for good reasons, you just need to find out why and address the problem. What we take for granted as simple, a bird can make a big deal about.
Believe it or not, sometimes they bite to gain trust and be more acquainted with you. But our natural reaction is to pull back and be scared.
Be Careful too, because this can turn into learned aggression. In other words, for example, it bit you and you took it to its cage for early nite nite, what did just teach your bird??? You just taught it that biting is a quick way to get you to take it to its comfort zone, the cage.
Hope that helps! :yes3:


 
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MotherOfBirbs

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They may have started out great, :yes3:but perhaps the trust wasn't fully there yet. They'll bite out of aggression, which is territorial aggression.
You see it may not have bitten at first, but you have to also understand no "territory" in your home has been established yet at time. Now it has settled in, it is establishing territorial limits, his/her terms. You'll have to recognize these in order to fully understand. In other words, parrots usually bite for good reasons, you just need to find out why and address the problem. What we take for granted as simple, a bird can make a big deal about.
Believe it or not, sometimes they bite to gain trust and be more acquainted with you. But our natural reaction is to pull back and be scared.
Be Careful too, because this can turn into learned aggression. In other words, for example, it bit you and you took it to its cage for early nite nite, what did just teach your bird??? You just taught it that biting is a quick way to get you to take it to its comfort zone, the cage.
Hope that helps! :yes3:


Thank you! I’m trying to get her into a neutral zone to work with her but as soon as we get far from the cage she flys back. I thought of wrapping her in a towel but I don’t want her to have even more untrusting feelings with me. Your right I think she wanted to be left alone in the cage so she got why she wanted when she bit hard. How long should I take her for one on one training away from her cage? She will fly to me on occasion but immediately fly back to her cage. I don’t offer my hand anymore due to the biting and figured if she wants to be with me she will fly.
 

Hawk12237

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Thank you! I’m trying to get her into a neutral zone to work with her but as soon as we get far from the cage she flys back. I thought of wrapping her in a towel but I don’t want her to have even more untrusting feelings with me. Your right I think she wanted to be left alone in the cage so she got why she wanted when she bit hard. How long should I take her for one on one training away from her cage? She will fly to me on occasion but immediately fly back to her cage. I don’t offer my hand anymore due to the biting and figured if she wants to be with me she will fly.
Takes time... No need to rush. She's relatively new to your environment, so my take, she's exploring the environment. Testing the waters to be sure all things in her environment is really safe and poses no threat or scare her. Her way of developing trust.
As for one on one...pick more comfort times...make note of when they are more relaxed. Birds are more energetic in mornings, and will tend to bite more then.
 

Mizzely

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If she keeps flying back to her cage, she's not ready for the next step of your relationship yet. You're likely getting bit because it causes you to leave her alone which is what she wants right now. That's not malicious behavior - it is using a language that she has learned you respond to. Take things extra slow and let things be on her terms. The more she knows you respect her and her space, the better :)
 

Mizzely

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For birds that like their cage, open the door and let them make the decisions! You can sit next to the cage and read a book to her, or use treats to reinforce step up. Instead of making her step up and then taking her from her haven, teach her that GOOD things can come from step up! If she steps up, treat her and then put her back on her cage. Right now if she doesn't want to leave her cage and step up ALWAYS means leaving, she's got a bad association and this will also fuel the biting.
 

Leih

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This is so applicable to me and my conure right now. I know he doesn't hate me, he's just being a butthead, but I have to get ahead of him and figure it out. I got my lovebird to stop, I can get him to, too!
 

Monica

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Thank you! I’m trying to get her into a neutral zone to work with her but as soon as we get far from the cage she flys back. I thought of wrapping her in a towel but I don’t want her to have even more untrusting feelings with me. Your right I think she wanted to be left alone in the cage so she got why she wanted when she bit hard. How long should I take her for one on one training away from her cage? She will fly to me on occasion but immediately fly back to her cage. I don’t offer my hand anymore due to the biting and figured if she wants to be with me she will fly.
Stop.

Stop taking her away from her cage. She could be biting because she's uncomfortable. Contrary to popular belief, it's not a good idea to train away from the cage!


(X-POST) Based on the information you have provided, my suggestion is to cage him! Start target training him through the cage bars! Do not let him out until he has learned to target to any location within the cage.

What will this do?

° Help you learn how to communicate with him
° Help you avoid bites while training a new behavior
° Help to stop cage aggression
° Help to stop flying attacks

What we need is his favorite treats (preferably 3-5 things that he absolutely LOVES! having more than one treat keeps training more interesting!), a target (empty pen case, knitting needle, a target stick, a chopstick, etc.... just 1 item to work as the target), perhaps some treat cups and/or a spoon, patience and a *little* time!

Here's a rough breakdown of what you want to be doing with the target. You may need to repeat each step several times before moving onto the next one. Please keep in mind though, you want the training sessions to be short and sweet! 3-5 minutes is all you need, once a day minimum! But if you can work with him more often throughout the day, then great! Just keep the sessions short!

1.) Reward your bird for looking at target
2.) Reward your bird for moving his head towards the target
3.) Reward your bird for taking a step towards the target
4.) Reward your bird for taking another step towards the target
5.) If he doesn't run away, keep rewarding him for remaining where he's at. (if he runs/backs off, you may need to start over again)
6.) Reward your bird for taking a couple more steps closer.
7.) Encourage him to come closer yet again and reward him.
8.) Reward your bird for reaching for the target
9.) Reward your bird for moving and reaching for the target
10.) *JACKPOT REWARD* Give your bird lots of goodies for touching the target!

You can have your bird reach through the cage bars to receive his treat (which should be the size of 1/4 to 1/2 a sunflower seed), set up several treat cups within the cage so you can just drop the reward into the cup, use a spoon to offer the reward, etc. The main thing is, you want to avoid being bitten! By allowing him to bite, you are reinforcing his need to bite. If he does bite (in the future), get him off of you! Don't take him back to the cage if you aren't next to it, simply pry him off and set him down. You need to distance yourself a little from him and think about how you can avoid that situation in the future.

Once you are able to get him to target to any location within the cage through the cage bars, then you can open up the cage door, target train through the door, then target train around the outside of the cage. If this continues to do well, you can target train him away from the cage.

If you ever have an issue with changing out the food and water bowls, then station train him! Basically, teach him to stay put on a perch away from the bowls while you change them out. It does help to have extra sets ready to swap out quickly and work on this behavior when you don't need it.

There's tons more information in the links here. Please check out the videos by Barbara Heidenreich, Jenny Drummy, Lara Joseph, Susan Friedman, etc. Read their articles, too!

Free Training Resources | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum
 
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