What am I doing wrong???

[Birdlover42]

My Quaker is about 4-5 months old now and still biting which I figured was due to her being a baby. She's now getting extremely fiesty and aggressive and biting hard. when I try and hand her a toy to distract her she bites my finger. Last night she was on my shoulder which she loves to do before bed. She's sweet and snuggly then suddenly chomps HARD on my lower lip. I have a wound from it. I try so hard to keep her entertained and she's spoiled rotten. I feel I'm doing something wrong which I feel terrible about. I think she may be starting to feather pluck too .and when she preen my fiance and I she plucks pretty hard. PLEASE HELP! I NEED MAJOR ADVICE!!!

 

[Lwalker]

I have no Quaker specific knowledge but if she is biting, shoulders should be a no-go zone. She could do serious damage to you. I have had six birds over the years and only one (Cricket) has been allowed regular shoulder time. The others got lots of time on my hand, in front of me, but not my shoulder or head. Helps avoid nasty bites.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

What makes you think she's plucking? Baby birds don't usually pluck unless there's a medical issue.

If she's molting that may make her extra cranky. Spoiling is fun but only spoil as much as you can do for the rest of her life because once they're used to that much attention they will always expect it.

 

[MauiWendy]

I have no Quaker specific knowledge but if she is biting, shoulders should be a no-go zone. She could do serious damage to you. I have had six birds over the years and only one (Cricket) has been allowed regular shoulder time. The others got lots of time on my hand, in front of me, but not my shoulder or head. Helps avoid nasty bites.

I agree, shoulders are a privilege for well behaved birds. What if it was your eye she latched on to instead of your lip. Birds can inflict serious damage at lightning speed. Until this bitty stage passes and she can be trusted, shoulders should be off limits.

 

[Hjarta5]

I'm not sure when a Quaker becomes an adult, but mine is always more bite-y with me when shes hormonal. Currently, mine is also molting so it adds to the crankiness.

Do you do any training with your Quaker? I find that helps with the behaviour sometimes when I work on tricks and cues with her.

 

[Mizzely]

Quakers love drama. What do you do as soon as she bites?

There's a few reasons birds bite

1) they've learned it's effective communication because:
2) previous body language has been ignored or
3) it gets a perceived reward

So you need to determine what one is applicable.

 

[Birdlover42]

I worry she's plucking because she plucks pretty hard and when she preens us it's hard and pulling out hair. At her age I don't think she's already molting or hormonal and I dread when she becomes cranky when that occurs. Lately when I work on training she bites whether it's step up or redirecting her with a toy etc she still bites. Prior to her I've had cockatiels and had no idea what I was getting myself into. I feel guilty that I didn't realize how different she would be and bad for her that she may not be happy and that's why she's acting out which is why I'm here to ask for advice. I just want her to be happy and healthy which could explain why she gets her way so much and is now extremely spoiled

 

[Kima]

Could you be doing something that is startling her. It could be something as benign as picking up a piece of paper. Also, is she on pellets? A bad diet sometimes causing plucking. Quakers are volatile, leave cuddles for night, make it quite dark, sit with her and do nothing else lol! It took me over a year to finally get mine to understand that biting mommy is bad, and even now I still get the occasional nip.

 

[Birdlover42]

Kima, thanks for the response! I don't think I'm startling. But we did put up Xmas decorations and that seemed to bother her. She was very scared of the tree so maybe that's it! The entire time we was putting up decorations she asked doing? Over and over. Maybe that has upset her. I feel like I'm doing something wrong and I want to fix it .I don't want her feeling anxious

 

[SandraK]

My Quaker is about 4-5 months old now and still biting which I figured was due to her being a baby. She's now getting extremely fiesty and aggressive and biting hard. when I try and hand her a toy to distract her she bites my finger. Last night she was on my shoulder which she loves to do before bed. She's sweet and snuggly then suddenly chomps HARD on my lower lip. I have a wound from it. I try so hard to keep her entertained and she's spoiled rotten. I feel I'm doing something wrong which I feel terrible about. I think she may be starting to feather pluck too .and when she preen my fiance and I she plucks pretty hard. PLEASE HELP! I NEED MAJOR ADVICE!!!

When she bites, pick her up and put her back in her cage. Try not to react (I know it hurts, I have 5 Quakers) and walk away from her cage - ignore her for 5-10 minutes no matter what she does. Any changes in a fid's habitat will upset them a bit because their normal routine has been changed. Something new is in their living space and they don't know if they are still safe or not.

 

[SandraK]

Sez the expert parront while putting up Xmas decorations in the family room which the fid's room is part of.