Temperamental GCC

[SMini13]

Well today my bird decided to attack my fingers...
She is a 9 mo old GCC, and normally she will nip here and there to let me know she isn't happy.. today I came home and let her out to give fresh veggies .. and she stepped up and went nuts on my fingers.. normally i can tell when she is unhappy.. I don't know what went wrong?
Then I stepped away and let her calm down.. then she started fanning her tail in an aggressive stance .. bowing her head? .. she did not run at me or anything like that..
I have NEVER seen her do this before.. my idea was to let her be .. but she just kept coming after my fingers.. I don't know what to do with her to show her that it is NOT okay to attack my finger?
She is also becoming more cage aggressive (i.e. knowing when I'm about to put her back she bites the heck out of my fingers), she used to go back so easily?
I actually had to let my boyfriend come in and put her back she was biting me so badly.. I just DONT GET IT?

I know it has to be something I'm doing to provoke this.. just very distressing that i just can't figure out what?
PLEASEEEEE HELP!!

-severely defeated parront

 

[Monica]

Can you go back to the basics and work on target training with her through the cage bars? Then work on target training on the outside of her cage? Then target training away from the cage.

 

[iamwhoiam]

GCCs can become very nippy as they mature so don't berate yourself for doing anything wrong. Here are two sites about dealing with behavioral issues:
Barbara Heidenreich
Susan Friedman

 

[Heather F]

Nine months is around the age mine turned into a teen angst filled little grumpasaurus rex too. They're experiencing birdy puberty and it makes them super cranky. It will pass, but you need to be super on guard about watching them for signs of aggression and figuring out ways to work around their moodiness, which will help in general too even when they aren't being hormonal.

For example, when my Frodo is hormonal or otherwise grumpy or when he is in certain places that he always gets territorial (like parts of the kitchen) I have learned not to try to get him to step up on my hand, because fingers are evil when he's grumpy or defending his space. But if I drape a dish towel over my hand, he'll usually step up nicely onto the towel (and if he's extra cranky and tries to bite at least there's a layer of protection between him and me). If your bird is hating your fingers right now, try to find ways to interact with her that don't put them in reach of a cranky beak.

Don't give up! This age is a bit challenging as they go from baby sweetness to adolescent birds wanting more independence, but it's totally worth it. My Frodo is three now and I love him to bits and wouldn't have him any other way.

 

[Donna turner]

My gcc is 18 mo. Old and she has gone thru spells where she attacks my hand after I get her out. If she won't stop I gently gather her up in my hand after saying don't bite and put her back in the cage. After a few times she got the point and would stop when I say don't bite. Not to say she stopped this entirely but it's not too bad now. If she has a favorite treat that you only give her when you put her in cage she may stop resisting and look forward to the treat. Let her see you are getting the treat. Cheeky gets all excited when I get a sunflower seed, comes to my hand and practically jumps off onto her cage perch to get it. Don't feel bad, just be patient but not permissive, and she will probably come around. Oh, I do get bitten when I have to scoop her up and put her back in cage for biting but it's just part of my job as a parent.no treat when she's bad. Hang in there

 

[Monica]

Oh, I do get bitten when I have to scoop her up and put her back in cage for biting but it's just part of my job as a parent.

Honestly, if possible and safe to do, I'd just leave her where she's at and walk off at least a couple of steps and try to think of how you can avoid getting bitten in the first place.


1.) Handling her while she's biting is encouraging her to bite
2.) Taking her back to her cage while she's biting, or even before she bit, is rewarding her for biting. It's not the fact that you are trying to "punish" her by putting her in her cage, just the mere fact that you are handling her which is rewarding in itself.

I also wouldn't use a cage as punishment. This has the potential to back fire in one of two ways.... One, bird learns to bite to go back to their cage. Two, bird learns to bite any time they don't want to go back to the cage.

Which just creates a cycle of biting....



The only bite that can't be rewarded is the one that never occurs. In short, it means to try and avoid putting a bird in a position where they feel the need to bite. I know, easier said than done! It also means learning to read a bird's body language and learning to back off before the bite occurs or learning how to redirect the undesired behavior into desired behavior.



I have an untamed wild caught african ringneck. I decided to move her from an aviary into a flight cage. I did this without having to chase her or towel her. She's also gotten out of the flight cage 3 times now, and I've had to get her back into the flight cage. (she'd rather be in the aviary... I don't blame her!) I've done this, once again, without having to chase her or towel her. (except once where I shooed her off the top of the aviary and she flew back to the flight cage, but then I left)

Getting her into the flight cage was done completely hands off. When she got out of the flight cage, getting her back in was also done hands off. Didn't even use a perch or anything like that! She was imported May of 2013 and she is a flighted bird. She's scared of humans, and will bite as a last resort.

 

[Mizzely]

I would encourage you to look at this situation without the word aggression. Birds are rarely aggressive, rather they use their beaks to speak when we aren't listening. You are also working with a young parrot who is trying to figure out her place in the world, and she is going to test the limits of her world and push against the limits she finds. This is all natural and part of growing up. Target training and positive reinforcement are going to be your best friends.

Also, cage aggression is not what you defined it as. Again, you can think of it without that word - it's cage protectiveness. The cage becomes a nest for our birds regardless if they treat it as such, and cage protection is simply defending a home. So if she's only biting when she has to go back in, she simply doesn't want to go back yet, which goes back to the original statement I made about testing limits.

My quakers are legitimately cage protective and they also don't step up I get them in their cages daily without ever touching them or using a towel, and I rarely get bit. Target training and positive rewards for the cage. I also never use the cage as a punishment, because then it DOES become a negative place to be and who wants to go there?

Easiest way to not get bit is to not put yourself in the position to BE bit.

 

[Lodah]

I would definitely do some stick training as that has the potential to STOP the biting in its tracks! Firstly, no biting has occurred to your hands as they are on the perch and secondly there is no reinforcement for them to pick up a bad habit.

Once they realize that you are going to get them on the stick... it also tells them that what they are doing is a no no... then eventually all you have to do is pick up the perch and say the UH UH word and they catch on quickly!

It takes a while... but GCC are very nippy to begin with and its something you NEED to curb very quickly or else it will make you and them miserable!

Good Luck!

 

[Monica]

Once they realize that you are going to get them on the stick... it also tells them that what they are doing is a no no... then eventually all you have to do is pick up the perch and say the UH UH word and they catch on quickly!

That just sounds more like punishment rather than training...


I mean, it's a good idea to have a bird to be perch trained, but it shouldn't be done in such a way that it teaches them that whatever they were doing was wrong...

 

[Lodah]

That just sounds more like punishment rather than training...


I mean, it's a good idea to have a bird to be perch trained, but it shouldn't be done in such a way that it teaches them that whatever they were doing was wrong...

I think you are missing the point... Pilo has NEVER been punished! He just knows that being placed on the perch means that he wont be able to interact with us directly! But from a distance! He is happy to go on the perch... and definitely does NOT think its a punishment!

It did stop him biting our hands!

Nuff said!

 

[Monica]

Perhaps just bad phrasing then? Which is what I was thinking it was?


I mean, we want him to go onto the perch because he wants to! Not because he's being forced to.


I didn't think I read it the way it was intended, but it's good to double check!

 

[Donna turner]

I'm sure all gcc are different but cheeky doesn't ever want to go back to the cage so when I put her up she got no satisfaction for biting. I'd give her 10or15min and get her back out. After a few times she seemed to know that "don't bite "was a warning to stop or get put up. I always give her a seed (unless she's biting) for going into her cage . This makes her happy and therefore me too. On the rare occasion she doesn't want to come out I respect her wish and a little later she always wants out.

 

[SMini13]

Thank you to all for your insight!!
You have given me a measure of comfort!
I am going to begin training her this weekend.. any sort of recommendations...(other than patience )?
I have been giving her more space .. i.e. letting her come out of the cage on her own.. seeking me for a "step up".. which has been working beautifully!
I know nothing will change overnight .. so I will continue to work on small improvements for both myself and amelia.
However I did get her to like blueberries by eating them with her.. WIN!!!

 

[Monica]

I do need to fix the links... but these will be a great place to start!



Free Training Resources | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[CrazyKozmo]

Yes, that GCC adolescence is awful! I think mine hit it around 8 months old.....it lasted about 1 year. It took me awhile to tune in to the body language, so I got bit frequently! Once they get past this stage, they become the perfect bird. Sweet and cuddly. Patience and awareness, on your part, is key right now. You'll get your sweet, cuddly bird back...it'll just take some time.

 

[Rabb.D]

its very simple its your boyfriend... parrots have a close emotional connection with their owner becoming partners in turn forming a relationship with you, if you go out a lot and spend time with family and friends don't waste time keeping pet birds, i barely go out of the house...

 

[Rabb.D]

just for you information i let my first mynah go even though he was friendly sooty also, cause i was in rehab and that damn place locks you up 24/7 like sheets arse, so i couldn't take care of him find him another owner willing if you are willing i think at this stage its too late... (( i feel bad

i know how it feels to give up a partner you love more than a human being

 

[Heather F]

just for you information i let my first mynah go even though he was friendly sooty also, cause i was in rehab and that damn place locks you up 24/7 like sheets arse, so i couldn't take care of him find him another owner willing if you are willing i think at this stage its too late... ( i feel bad

i know how it feels to give up a partner you love more than a human being

Let it go? Like, outside? A tame bird doesn't have the skills to survive in the wild. This puts me in mind of a sign I saw in a pet store or vet's office once: "Releasing your pet outdoors doesn't make it free, it makes it food."

To the original poster: please don't get discouraged, it is certainly not "too late." Your bird is going through maturity and yes it will be challenging for a while. But don't be one of the myriad of people offering their bird up for rehoming as soon as it stops being a compliant baby and starts developing hormones and a more independent attitude. It just takes patience and learning to read your bird's mood.

 

[Rabb.D]

no i meant him gave it back to the store, good jolly god wat ek

 

[SMini13]

Let it go? Like, outside? A tame bird doesn't have the skills to survive in the wild. This puts me in mind of a sign I saw in a pet store or vet's office once: "Releasing your pet outdoors doesn't make it free, it makes it food."

To the original poster: please don't get discouraged, it is certainly not "too late." Your bird is going through maturity and yes it will be challenging for a while. But don't be one of the myriad of people offering their bird up for rehoming as soon as it stops being a compliant baby and starts developing hormones and a more independent attitude. It just takes patience and learning to read your bird's mood.

DONE WORRY!!
I don't give up easy.. my boyfriend jokes that I am more stubborn and persistent than the bird!! haha
I don't leave her much as I'm in school full time she is with me all the time!
I know what commitment i signed on for and plan on keeping her forever.. if she will have me
This will take work.. as all things great do!
Thanks for the support!