A Biting (Chewing?) Problem

[chompie_puppy]

Clopin is scared of hands, shoulders, heads, etc. She will very reluctantly step onto a hand-held perch for me if I have her target stick and clicker ready.

As a result my usual interaction with her is through our training together and just sharing my food and talking with her. She has a lot of trust issues with people but she has slowly but surely come around and is starting to trust me more and more.

Well, today she was climbing out of her cage to perch on her door. I was fiddling with the window close to her cage when I suddenly felt something land on my shoulder!

Clopin immediately started chewing on my shirt (it has a lot of embroidery things on it) and working her way up to my neck. However, when she actually reached my neck she just kept on chewing! Ouch! She reached my ear and it was pretty painful!

I didn't know what to do as it didn't seem like aggressive biting. I don't know...?

So I just didn't make a sound or give any reaction and then leaned over her cage and she calmly stepped off my shoulder. A minute later and she was back on my shoulder and chewing/biting again!

Can anyone advise me on how can I make her stop?

Just look at this innocent face! I never dreamed she could have such a bite!

 

[Riley's mom]

I would rather be bitten by one of my macaws then any of my little guys. The macaws bite down and then their done. My little ones grab the skin and hang on twisting and turning. Very painful. My conures will start that kind of behavour every now and then. When they get in their "moods" like that, after telling them in a stern voice "no bite" I make them step up on my hand and put them back in their cage for several minutes. Then I open the door and we try again. They have moods like we do. Although, when mine start acting aggressive, in our case here, it usually means its time to clip the wings. It's an attitude adjustment with my guys. Good luck.

 

[Sharpie]

It may well be a phase that she's going through... it seems like a lot of birds new to trusting people do this. Can you have a towel or something over your shoulder to help protect your shirt? Having her step off onto something when she gets too into it will help. Hang in there!

 

[Chicklette]

This is quite normal. Parrots tend to go threw a phase in their lives where they bite. I would not allow her on your shoulder. Sometimes they don’t mean to bite as hard as they do. I have been bitten MANY times by Chiquita and Boomer. Chiquita was totally wild, no human interaction what so ever so she was very wild and Boomer was severly abused so I new what I was in for. If I can stop the biting you can too, just don't give up. I read a ton about it. How I got threw it was learning their behavior and if they were in a bad nippy mood I would leave them alone. I also gently blew on them and they stopped when I did this. It MIGHT work for you, depends on your birds personality but I would give it a shot.

How long have you had Clopin for?

 

[chompie_puppy]

Thank you for all the advise!

It is difficult to keep her off my shoulder now that she has discovered it. She is fully flighted and I want to keep it that way (since her wings were practically butchered before I got her). So she can just fly to my shoulders whenever she wants.

Today was much better! She stepped up onto my shoulder when I let her out and she started chewing my shirt again. When she got to my skin I snapped my fingers and she stopped. I immediately rewarded her with a sunflower seed.

This happened about 3 times and she stopped biting/shewing on my skin!

So I put her back in the cage when I thought I was starting to push my luck. I'll see how she goes tomorrow.

Courtney, I've had Clopin since 14 October 2008. She also came from a bad situation, though she wasn't physically abused as much as she was neglected. I started clicker training her almost immediately after she came home. I wanted to start building trust with her in this way, but this is the first time she's ever made such physical contact with me! The most I could ever get her to do was fly to me on command but then land on a handheld perch.

 

[Chicklette]

Oh that is great. I never thought of snapping your fingers. EXCELLENT idea! Im so glad it’s working for you. I will remember that one.

Courtney, I've had Clopin since 14 October 2008. She also came from a bad situation, though she wasn't physically abused as much as she was neglected. I started clicker training her almost immediately after she came home. I wanted to start building trust with her in this way, but this is the first time she's ever made such physical contact with me! The most I could ever get her to do was fly to me on command but then land on a handheld perch.

Hay, we have something in common, Chiquita was neglected, no attention what so ever, Boomer was severely abused, neglected, starved and dehydrated when I got him. He went straight to the vets.

Im so happy she is making that kind of progress with you now. It had taken a long time but abused birds need different care as you probably know. If you get them to do something and you push it too far they regress. Then you have to start at the beginning.