Biting, Stopping before it really starts

[udannefitz]

My Cag is about 7 months old. He has always been gentle and friendly to everyone. Recently, he has started the assertion of his will with 'clamping down' with his beak harder and harder. He does this more with other family members now than with me but once in a while tries it on me. I would like advise how to nip this in the bud (bite) before it becomes a real bite or aggession display. He does not really display body language at first, it usually happens after someone has had him step up and he realized that they may be putting him back in his cage or removing him from a 'no' place. Any suggestions on training?

[judygram]

Diane, maybe you are not paying attention to his cues that he has had enough or doesn't want these other people handling him, biting is one of their main ways of letting you know they don't like it.

Your grey is getting older and becoming more independent, he is trying to see what he can get away with, he is not going to stay that gentle little grey you once knew, not meaning that he is going to be mean now but just a little more stubborn. He is finding out he can do and get away with more and he is testing you.

My grey has never bitten me but I can tell a difference in her from the time she was less than one year of age, they can go thru phases and such but if you keep up with your consistency in handling him then you should not have many problems with him.

They are gonna have times that they may not want handled much or maybe none at all and you have to respect that just as we have times we want to be left alone.

[snakeopus]

I actually was about to start a new thread about this, and am not trying to hijack this thread. My (7 month old) baby (or not so much baby anymore!) is doing the exact same thing. He does not want to 'step up' as much anymore and has been clamping down more on my fingers. I don't want to know how much a real bite will hurt, even though I know it it's unavoidable.

But this is just part of growing up? There are times, like right now, where he's happy as a clam...Chatting away, flapping his wings on the highest point in the room, and doing his hybrid "wolf whistle."

[Jane08]

Like Judy says they do disply body language before they bite it's just that you might be missing it as sometimes it can be very subtle. This is very common for young greys testing what they can do. You need to teach them what is acceptable.

Both of ours have been through it and the way we dealt with it was to avoid being bitten as much as possible by watching for body language.

If we missed the body langiage and got bitten we then immediately took them off us said "don't bite" and placed them on the perch and turned around and ignored them or walked out the room. They soon learnt that the fun stopped and this was caused by them biting too hard. When they used their beaks in a way that was acceptable I lavished them with praise and told them how good they were.

If it was a really hard bite I placed them back in the cage for a short time. This needs to be immediate though so they undersand the link.

After consistently doing this they both learnt what is acceptable when using their beaks on us.

[domyoburk]

Question for our two folks with 7-month old greys: are you forcing your birds to step up?

That is, after all, the old-school bird lore - just press your fingers into their abdomen until they have to step up. After all, sometimes you just have to move them, right? You need to leave and they have to go back in their cage, etc.? This approach works until our smart birds figure out they can just bite you to make it stop.

Our behaviorist gave us strict instructions to never force a step up, especially with our hands (Ursula was biting too). When we absolutely must mover her and we know she's in a biting mood we use a perch (but then reward her). We offer our hands but don't force the issue, and the biting has stopped entirely. At first I thought this approach would be impossible (what do we do if we need to move her and she won't step up) but I was surprised how just being more sensitive and clever can work wonders. Sometimes we leave the room for a minute and then come back when Ursula now wants to be with her flock. Or we take advantage of her desire to come with us at a particular moment in order to make a move we'd planned on making later. We also do lots of positive reinforcement training for step ups at other times than when she's just going to be locked in a cage or moved away from something she wants (is it any wonder they start resisting when coming with us is always a bummer of an experience?).

Anyway, don't know if any of this helps, but I am so happy with my girl and our relationship is so much better that I thought I would share.

[danmcq]

udannefitz wrote:

My Cag is about 7 months old. He has always been gentle and friendly to everyone. Recently, he has started the assertion of his will with 'clamping down' with his beak harder and harder. He does this more with other family members now than with me but once in a while tries it on me.

The others have given good advice and comments.

You are working with 3 different dynamics here:

1. Your Grey now has a will of his own and is trying to exercise it.

2. You are the favored and thus receive less bites and more compliance.

3. The less favored ones receive more bites and they will become harder due to their less loved status. This will remain true forever, unless he changes favorites.

With that established, now you need to deal with this on a case by case basis. What I mean by this, is there are times a step-up MUST happen and there are times you just asking. If it's a must, demand the step-up in a no nonsense voice and body language. If it's a non-required step-up request, change your voice to a normal question. Your Grey will quickly learn the difference in your tone and body language.

The less confusing signals you give you Grey, the better.

As others said, you must learn your Greys body language, so you know a bite is coming before your hand ever gets that close. If it is a MUST DO step-up, ball your fist, bend in inwards and go forward with the tight back of hand exposed only as you say in a stern voice Step-Up. he will learn he can not bite your hand and will just step-up after a few times of this.

Others have mentioned using a perch. This is a good idea, if they will do it. Our Grey will start running or flying the minute he see's a perch coming his way. Only you can determine if your grey will except it or not.

Also, as others mentioned. Always praised them for compliance, whether they did so willingly or not once you have them where your going. Or even just for stepping up as you walk along with them.

I have found that if I start praising my Grey as I approach, his mood and thinking changes to being much less aggressive. They all love praise and that happy voice and face they see and are familiar with.

Hope you have success in getting this issue back under control and at a level that you both understand each other. :-)