I recently brought home a 5 month old green cheek. He’s been really good so far… except for the fact that any time there’s fingers near his feet, he bites HARD!
He doesn’t seem to be afraid of hands. He happily accepts treats, head scritches, and will even rub his head against me if he wants some scritches. But the moment any fingers go near his feet, he bites hard enough to bruise.
I’ve been target training with him, and he has done very well with it. I’ll hold out the stick and ask him to “touch”, and he’ll come from wherever he is and gently touch it with his beak. I’ll give him a click as soon as he touches it, and give him a teeny piece of millet as a reward.
I was hoping that since he was doing so well, I could use this to get him to step up; but he is much more interested in biting me than touching the stick. When he does bite, I try my best to not react (sometimes a sharp inhale, because it hurts!!!) and then leave the room for a minute or two.
He will, however, step up onto anything else (his scale perch, food bowls, my arm, etc.) no problem.
So my question is… could it be something I’m doing wrong? Is this normal / does it usually take a long time for a parrot to get comfortable stepping up onto hands? Do I keep trying, or should I back off for a while and just stick to what he’s comfortable with? Are there any other training exercises I can do to try to get him to a point where he’s more comfortable stepping up?
I am a first time parrot guardian, so any guidance would be appreciated!
(Also a new member and first time forum poster, please let me know if I make a mistake!)
He doesn’t seem to be afraid of hands. He happily accepts treats, head scritches, and will even rub his head against me if he wants some scritches. But the moment any fingers go near his feet, he bites hard enough to bruise.
I’ve been target training with him, and he has done very well with it. I’ll hold out the stick and ask him to “touch”, and he’ll come from wherever he is and gently touch it with his beak. I’ll give him a click as soon as he touches it, and give him a teeny piece of millet as a reward.
I was hoping that since he was doing so well, I could use this to get him to step up; but he is much more interested in biting me than touching the stick. When he does bite, I try my best to not react (sometimes a sharp inhale, because it hurts!!!) and then leave the room for a minute or two.
He will, however, step up onto anything else (his scale perch, food bowls, my arm, etc.) no problem.
So my question is… could it be something I’m doing wrong? Is this normal / does it usually take a long time for a parrot to get comfortable stepping up onto hands? Do I keep trying, or should I back off for a while and just stick to what he’s comfortable with? Are there any other training exercises I can do to try to get him to a point where he’s more comfortable stepping up?
I am a first time parrot guardian, so any guidance would be appreciated!
(Also a new member and first time forum poster, please let me know if I make a mistake!)
