BITES

[bettyboop]

Hello ,
We have a three year old CAG .He has been with us 7 weeks . He is out of his cage 4-8 hours per day , talks up a storm and allows us to scratch his head and is really sweet except when he is on us . He bites us everytime we allow him to be on us , I mean break the skin bleed , we do not react ,except we do tell him NO and we take him back to his playstand and walk away and go somewhere private and scream LOL....He pecks at our heads , not preen, pecks , pecks on our faces to the point we can not allow him on the shoulder . He is like a big bully , we adore him but not his beak. He does step up the first time we ask and is fine for a while and then he starts in with a big bite .I know that a bird who bites needs to be handled more , but when you come out bleeding , how do you overcome this , if we have a towel on our hand he finds another place .We also have an Alexandrine who sends a very clear message when she is going to nip or bite , but this guy sends no warning .I realize all birds bite but this is to the point , picking him up is not fun . Any suggestions ? Thanks

[siobha9]

I dont mean to be funny, but I wouldnt pick him up! I would start by trying to pet him while he is on a stand or something - that way you can get away if he turns nasty. Eventually he will trust you and then you could hold him.

That is what I have had to do with one of my guys. I have only been picking him up for about a month and I have had him for nearly a year. I would put him on the back of a chair and try to pet him. Or on his stand.

[bettyboop]

Siobha, Thank you , that is not funny advice , very smart, LOL...I just do not want him to be where we can not handle him . I realize he is still in early adjustment , my prior Grey who passed away , it took 7 months before we could handle him . So I suppose we will just sit and visit .
Thank you,
Betty Boop

[judygram]

Well 7 weeks is not long enough to gain the complete trust of a 3 year old grey, it takes lots of time and patience when working with an older grey. But one thing is for sure, as long as he acts this way I would not allow him on your shoulder as he could do some serious damage to your face.

I would follow Siobhan's advice to tell him no when he bites and put him back on his playstand or back in the cage and turn your back and ignore him for a bit then try it again. He will eventually learn that is not acceptable to bite and he gets ignored for doing it, they hate to be ignored. Give him some more time and see if things don't improve.:P

[bettyboop]

Hi Judy,
I know that 7 weeks is not long enough to gain his trust .My question is with a new bird that bonding has not taken place , is it correct not to handle them until their is more trust in the relationship? Can bonding take place without handling them ?
He seems so "I'll show you " , or arrogant . Things start off very well , he does the lean in where he wants to be on us , he even says "step up", then after a few minutes , when absolutly nothing is going on, he bites.
Thanks for the tips.
Mary

[siobha9]

I would still handle him, but just not actually "on" you. Pet his head on a stand. Let him sit on the kitchen table and give him rubs. Just dont have him on your shoulder. When he is up there firstly he thinks he is bigger than you,and secondly you cant really see what he is doing or read his body language.

You can give great cuddles with your bird right in front of you and bond that way. Oisin does that too, he is much better now though. I could be happily petting him, he would have his eyes closed as if he is really enjoying it and then like a switch goes off and he whips his head around and bites. When he is in front of me 90% of the time I can see it coming and tell him no bite without actually getting bitten. Of course I bear scars for the other 10% of the time :angry:

[lovemyGreys]

Here is a thread on reading your grey's body language, may be useful to you ..

http://www.greyforums.net/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,27/func,view/catid,5/id,70476/

[bettyboop]

Thank you GURU ,
However I am familiar with the signs . This guy just snaps and does it , when we say no , to whatever he is up to .There really isnt time it happens so quickly.My Alexandrine gives me fair warning , easy to read .

[Dave007]

Kinda simple
3 yrs old with prior bad habits. Likes to bite face. In the future, probably cheeks. In the future, probably neck. In the future, probably earlobes. In the future, probably neck and head hair. In the future, probably jewelry. In the future, probably shirt collars.
The bird is simply one of those that shouldn't be anywhere above your lower chest.

PS--towels scare birds when used to grab and pull away birds. They should only be used for important things like when a person needs to perform hygiene on the bird.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/04/29 22:38

[bettyboop]

Thanks Dave ,how can I break all of this . Is there hope ? Like I said , he is so fast , even when he is in my lap, head down, cooing, from head and neck scratches , he will flip that head around and bam it's done . I am bleeding ..Just like a bully !!
Mary(BETTYBOOP)