Taming

[BirdNooblet]

So I have had my male parakeet for three weeks now and he has a biting issue. Whenever I would try to feed him seed in my hand he would bite. So I have been giving him millet between my fingers and giving him my pointer finger to perch on and he doesn't bite as often. If he doesn't bite and once he is done I will say "good boy in an exciting tone". If he bites I will bring him to a perch and say "No, that's too hard." But now if I am changing his food and water bowls, if he is near my hand he will try to bite it which is new. When I do change his bowls I try to leave my hand there but not near him to show that my hand brings food, water, etc and isn't going to hurt him. But now I can't do that if he is near. He is only a baby so could this still have to do with fear? Or is he trying to exert his dominance? What other things can I do to show him that biting results in treats being taken away? Or should I just continue with what I am doing and give him time to adjust to his new home? I want to try to teach him target training but have held off since I don't want to rush things.

He does show that he likes me because if I am close to a certain perch he will hop on it and go to the bars and stare at me and make precious squeaking sounds. If I put my nose up to the bars he will come close and nip at it. Plus when I do offer him millet he comes right down and hops on my finger. I just want to break his biting habit since it hurts and I want to be able to train him more and let him out of his cage.

 

[Anne & Gang]

best to just completely ignore the bites for sure. I think you are making amazing progress with him already. He so unds very tame...Just let him do his own thing. ignore the bites..once you react, he looking for the reaction he wants..just that...a reaction. after all he is not a macaw and does not bite that hard. (I have three budgies)..

 

[Monica]

Dominance doesn't exist in parrots. It's possible that you are teaching him to bite without realizing it. Having him eat from your hand or even sitting on your hand is a form of target training.


When you need to go change his dishes, can you "target" him to a higher perch and continually reward him for remaining on that perch? Chance are, you'll need one hand for millet and the other hand to remove the dishes with (if possible). That way, you can teach him to station on a perch while you remove the dishes.


It's better to avoid getting bitten, as the only bite that can't be rewarded is the one that never occurs. A "time-out" from attention and treats can be as short as 3-5 seconds and just withdrawing yourself and the treats. Birds have short attention spans, so when you do train, you want the training sessions to be short anyway. If the bird starts looking bored or uninterested or goes to do something else, it's best to end on a good note and try again later.

 

[Wayne361]

I dont "invade" Oscars space (cage) while he is in it. I doubt he would bite me at this point...just a respect thing. As Monica mentioned you can target him to station at a particular spot he cannot physically bite you or have him out of cage completely. I have Oscar trained to station on a training perch while I prepare his meals. I then recall him to me before he gets his food. Kills a few birds with one stone (ooops probably not a good saying on a bird board...lol).
As mentioned avoid the bites and work with bird (training) in a hands off manner, targetting is great for this. The more positive time you spend with bird and he doesnt bite you, the better as biting behaviour will extinguish over time.

Wayne

 

[Hankmacaw]

This thread reminded me of this video. One that always gives me a laugh.

 

[BirdNooblet]

I may see if I can keep him on a perch while I change his dishes. He normally doesn't bite when I change them. His beak is overgrown a bit and his bites actually do hurt quite a lot and can leave small marks.

Thanks thought for the advice.

 

[Wayne361]

Research "stationing" and how it is accomplished. This will help you.