GCC bites while on my hand?

[Grayson]

Yeah, my Ozzy does this too. He will sit on my hand, being respectful, then he picks at my finger every 10 seconds or so. It doesn't hurt, so I know he's probably just messing around. I don't think it's anything serious, he will probably stop eventually.

[revika]

I've had my 6 month old GCC for about a couple weeks now and at first he would willingly step up but then chew quite hard on my hands (I had quite a few scabs from it). After gently shoving his beak away and saying "gentle" after he would bite, he's basically stopped unless I'm moving towards something he doesn't like. Try also bribing. I managed to get my gcc to step up without biting immediately after with treats.

[AnarchoBoxer]

In my experience, the best thing to do is try to read body language to predict a bite, and to not respond vocally to bites when they happen (hard as that can be). When I got Tuco I was terribly frustrated, but I found that saying nothing, putting him down (if I was holding him), turning my back and perhaps walking away showed him that I don't approve of biting. Now he usually only does it when I "have it coming/should have known better" so to speak, and I've only had hime about 6 months.

It can be hard not to respond to little bird bites, especially if you are new to birds and maybe a little sensitive.. The bites I've had from an African grey hurt significantly less than Tuco's bites early on, in my opinion.