Bites me when i feed it

[MrAspen]

Hey!
I have 2 kakarikis and one of them is very intrested on biting my hand! Both of them is soon 3 months. She never shows any sign of agression and is very happy to come to me for treats, but when i feed her them she takes a bite then spots my fingers holding her treats and bites HARD. She will always draw blood. They are hand tame from the breeder and are very calm! But she jusy randomly bites??

Help!

I have tried to look for info on this! but i cant find any!
Is she just young and play bites to hard? or dose she not like me?
Something that have worked is to train her to step up with a clicker that keeps her from biting if i am firm and calm! But i want her to know that humans are fragile!

 

[Feathery]

Hi and welcome!


Perhaps you should remove your fingers from her acceww. Or try to offer her treats from a flatten palm.

Maybe even need to remove your fingers from stepping up and using a T perch until she stops finger biting.

I'm sure someone here will be able to offer some sound advice and guidance!

 

[Fuzzy]

@MrAspen!

What sort of treats are you feeding? Is she ok with your hand/fingers at other times, ie. without the treat? What is her body language like when she comes to get the treat? Does she take the bite of treat nicely and then her body language changes afterwards and she goes for your fingers?

If she is happy to come take a treat from your fingers, ie. with no aggressive body language, maybe try holding the treat a different way so that she can't easily make contact - hold it between your nails with the back of your hand facing upwards rather than to the side (doesn't matter if your nails are short) so that her beak will slide off if she tries biting. Or if she is ok taking the first bite, drop the rest - anything to avoid the bite. However if she really hates fingers, you could start off by offering her a much bigger treat like, for example, a slice of apple or the end of a short length of millet spray. Then slowly work on shortening/making the treat increasingly smaller so that she gradually gets closer to your fingers. By the time she reaches your fingers (after days/weeks if necessary) they will hopefully be paired with good things (the treats) and she will realise there is no need to bite them.

When you are using a clicker to train her to step up are you using treats as a reinforcer then?