Nippy Green Cheek

[Blu]

I got a new Green Cheek a last thursday. I had interacted with him before I bought him and he was a sweet heart. The store workers said the same things and one of the workers even took him into his daughters show and tell and he said he did great. But now when he is home he is pretty nippy. I need suggestions to get him to stop nipping

[Lizz]

You changed his world.

I took my friends son with my kids to a museum. We got on the elevator and went up a floor. The room was not the same as when he got on. He was scared and would not get off.

You can't explain to him where he is and where his friends are. He is scared. He misses the other birds. Let him out to explore the house. Talk to him until he realizes that he is safe and you have not taken him away to hurt him.

Rambo is the only bird I know with enough vocabulary to explain things to him.

[Pajarita]

Does he bite you out of his own initiative or is it when you ask him to step up? Because if he flies out to bite you, it's one thing, but if he bites when you ask him to step up, he is doing it because he doesn't know you from Adam and you are presuming too much. Parrots are not like dogs, they have not been bred to be human oriented, you need to win them over and make them love you. So, for one thing, leave him alone until he wants to interact with you. Open his cage to let him out, talk, sing, whistle to him, give him an occasional treat (they cannot be fed pellets or seeds all day long, these birds are mainly fruit eaters so they need a large piece of a different fruit every day), keep him company, etc but don't ask for anything. You would not like a stranger touching or handling you, would you? Well, it's the same thing for a bird with the added problem that you are a giant compared to him.

GCCs are incredibly affectionate little things but they require hours and hours of shoulder time (there is nothing they like better than cuddling next to your neck) and, when they don't get them (and he did NOT get them in a petstore), they get nippy so you need to gently and gradually make him love you. If you do things right and take your time, he will love you to pieces in no time at all. But don't rush things. What you do in the first weeks and months with a bird is the foundation of your future relationship with you so do it slowly and do it right.

And, my dear, don't believe everything a salesman tells you about the product he is trying to sell to you. I know that you said he was a sweetheart to you in the store but that was because he was scared (scared birds are always nice).

[Blu]

I forgot to mention, he is hand fed if that makes a difference. He nips when he wants me to scratch his head or I am not doing it right and he sorta bites when I pick him up but its almost like he is getting leverage on my hand. I will keep working with him and I will see if that helps

[Pajarita]

Yes, it makes a difference but they are all hand-fed, if they weren't, he would be completely terrified of you and banging himself against the walls when you come near. He must be going through his beaking stage (similar to teething in babies when they test everything with their mouths).