I was stupid. Someone suggested to me that I could teach my sweet natured African Grey not to scream with a water spray bottle. Now he hates me. He bites without warning. The first time he bit me I was so surprised I shook him off my hand onto the floor. Even after a couple of months of gentle talk and peace making, he still wants to bite me. Can I ever fix this?
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How do reestablish trust with my African Grey
- Thread starter Meredith
- Start date
- Joined
- 4/24/17
- Messages
- 954
Greys have long memories, and now he has two reasons (water bottle and shaking him off your hand) to hold against you, but I think you can work towards peace.
Has he stepped up for you since you shook him off? Or, are you approaching him and then withdrawing your hand when he goes to bite you?
If you're moving back every time you goes to bite you, you're only reinforcing his behavior and teaching him that it works, so he'll keep doing it.
How long have you had him and what was he like before this?
I would suggest putting pieces of his favorite treat (almonds, walnuts, etc.) in a small plastic tub and offering him the treats from the cup while talking to him. Keep doing this a few times a day for awhile, and when he seems calm about the process, ask him to step up and hold out the treat cup in the other hand so his beak goes for the treats instead of biting you.
If he does choose to bite you anyway, let him bite you and do not shake him off. Put him back down if he bites.
I've found that in the rare times I've really pissed off my CAG (removing her infertile eggs after 28 days while she was watching me), she wanted to "teach" me a lesson by biting me once and then let it go after that.
Good luck.
Has he stepped up for you since you shook him off? Or, are you approaching him and then withdrawing your hand when he goes to bite you?
If you're moving back every time you goes to bite you, you're only reinforcing his behavior and teaching him that it works, so he'll keep doing it.
How long have you had him and what was he like before this?
I would suggest putting pieces of his favorite treat (almonds, walnuts, etc.) in a small plastic tub and offering him the treats from the cup while talking to him. Keep doing this a few times a day for awhile, and when he seems calm about the process, ask him to step up and hold out the treat cup in the other hand so his beak goes for the treats instead of biting you.
If he does choose to bite you anyway, let him bite you and do not shake him off. Put him back down if he bites.
I've found that in the rare times I've really pissed off my CAG (removing her infertile eggs after 28 days while she was watching me), she wanted to "teach" me a lesson by biting me once and then let it go after that.
Good luck.
Pixiebeak
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As a person who has broken other species trust , a few times in our lives, yes you can regain trust.
It takes as long as it takes, and you have to start over earning the privileges you once had.
My worst with my GCC , took about six months to recover.
I'm dealing with an unknown cause of fear of hands in my quaker. It's taken about 20 days to get back to taking treats with out bites. About 24 days in , I can pet her her again. I have managed 2 step ups but with small bites still, but not ripping me to shreds...I am going to wait longer to work on step ups again.
As general non CAG specific, be predictable, use same phrase, a heck of lot of just handing treats and saying hi. I do non contact targeting , I myself don't use clicker or stick , I just tap stuff and ask them to walk over for a treat , touch or pick up objects for a treat .
For already established screaming, I found interrupting the moment it starts and redirect , then do a simple thing to earn a treat . For my non greys they don't link the treat to to scream , because at first I move them , then I have them do a trick then I give a treat. Then I usually move them again and set up with foraging..Trying to prevent known screaming triggers from happening. If like mine screaming starts after breakfast is finished and they go to a certain scream spot .I instead have them do training after breakfast, then move them to a different perch with something to destroy. Then after they lose interest in that maybe w bath and quite cage time . I try and create longer and longer habits of not screaming. If screaming starts after a certain amount of time being out of sight or not paying attention, I try to head that off by coming back in sight before screaming starts, giving them a little attention, and moving them to a different perch play area. Moving them around seems to reset brain . I also make sure to go up to them and do a lot of praising when quiet and say what a good quiet birdie.
What are yours scream triggers or times?
It takes as long as it takes, and you have to start over earning the privileges you once had.
My worst with my GCC , took about six months to recover.
I'm dealing with an unknown cause of fear of hands in my quaker. It's taken about 20 days to get back to taking treats with out bites. About 24 days in , I can pet her her again. I have managed 2 step ups but with small bites still, but not ripping me to shreds...I am going to wait longer to work on step ups again.
As general non CAG specific, be predictable, use same phrase, a heck of lot of just handing treats and saying hi. I do non contact targeting , I myself don't use clicker or stick , I just tap stuff and ask them to walk over for a treat , touch or pick up objects for a treat .
For already established screaming, I found interrupting the moment it starts and redirect , then do a simple thing to earn a treat . For my non greys they don't link the treat to to scream , because at first I move them , then I have them do a trick then I give a treat. Then I usually move them again and set up with foraging..Trying to prevent known screaming triggers from happening. If like mine screaming starts after breakfast is finished and they go to a certain scream spot .I instead have them do training after breakfast, then move them to a different perch with something to destroy. Then after they lose interest in that maybe w bath and quite cage time . I try and create longer and longer habits of not screaming. If screaming starts after a certain amount of time being out of sight or not paying attention, I try to head that off by coming back in sight before screaming starts, giving them a little attention, and moving them to a different perch play area. Moving them around seems to reset brain . I also make sure to go up to them and do a lot of praising when quiet and say what a good quiet birdie.
What are yours scream triggers or times?
I have had him since he was 17 weeks old and he is now 21. I didn’t know anything about parrots when I bought him. He was an impulse buy. Innitially I found a vet who did birds and followed his advice, but over the years I keep learning things that make me think, ‘wow, I wish I had known that before!’ but here I am. I have made mistakes. But Cello has always been a very good natured bird. In the past year he has become hostile and sometimes aggressive.
I think the screaming is due to boredom. But I have had little luck finding things that entertain him. The vet advised me to present him with foraging opportunities so I tried. I have bought foraging toys to hide nuts in - he ignores them. I tried wrapping his favorite foods (macadamia nuts and banana chips) in tissue paper - he throws them on the floor without unwrapping them. He seems not to know how to forage. He destroys commercial parrot toys very quickly but he likes it if I hang old magazines in his cage that he rips into confetti in a couple of hours. He had a music box that he plays occasignally but I know he is bored a lot, especially during the winter when he can’t go outside (we live in Maine).
I have always understood his body language. If I opened his cage door and he fluffed up and lowered his head, that meant ‘do not disturb’ and I wouldn’t ask him to step up. If he lifted a foot, I knew he would like to come out and join me. The do not disturb message is still the same, but sometimes he lifts his foot and steps up willingly, and then, without warning, he bites me. I don’t think I have ever pulled my hand away but I might have. The thing is that usually the bites are not severe, but sometimes they are really serious bites. So I am afraid of him and I think he knows it.
i was finally moved to look for help online by something that happened this morning. I had opened the door of his cage to let him climb up and sit on top of it. Instead he flew down onto the floor. Fine. So I was sitting watching TV and stopped watching him for a moment. He came from under the couch and bit my toe hard enough to draw blood. I don’t know why is so angry and I don’t know what to do.
