Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Discuss the methods and techniques of clicker training, target training and bonding. These are usually the first steps in training a young parrot.

Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Dejavu » Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:53 am

Hi,

My baby conure which I recently got develop a fear. The first few days I had him were perfect however he had a taste of my ears, and then ever since he developed the biggest desire of biting my ears really hard. And then it transitioned into jumping into my face to try and bite my face. So I've done some research and took some advice online. So, every time he bites me, I try to remove his beak from my ears (being as patient as possible because it's painful) and then removing him from my shoulder (since he is very consistent) and then I try to distract with food and toys so he forgets about it. However the little guys is very consistent and tries to quickly jump back for a giant bite. So after the third or fourth try , I just put him back to the cage and give him a firm no. Unfortunately, I believe that me trying to physically removing his beak and remove him from my shoulder and then putting him back to the cage caused him to develop fear. He still comes to my hand and takes treats from me but sadly he fear twitches everytime I move or saying anything and he doesn't let me pet him anymore. Not sure what to do at this point. What do you guys think?

Thank you.
Dejavu
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise green cheek conure
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Michael » Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:17 am

Actually, it sounds like everything you've been doing has encouraged MORE biting. In other words, what you are doing is teaching him to bite. You want to be looking at doing exactly the opposite if your goal isn't to teach him to be a biter.

Here's a recent article and videos about how to genuinely stop biting.
User avatar
Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Pajarita » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:10 pm

I think that we need more info. How old is the baby? What is his diet? (Babies usually revert and need to be handfed for a while after coming to their new home as well as needing special soft food) How many hours are you spending with it during the day? What is your daily routine with him?

The reason why I am asking these questions is that babies don't bite UNLESS they have been taught that the only way to get their point across is to bite the human. All babies are sweet-tempered (even lions and tigers and bears OH MY :D ) but they all nip when very young - not because they want to cause harm but because their beak is the most sensitive part of their bodies and they use it to learn textures and such PLUS they don't know their own strength so, hard nips are common with them so maybe your baby is not really biting you but simply nipping too hard . You see, parrots are not naturally aggressive animals, they are not predators where they need to kill to eat or live in a hierarchical society where they need to fight to achieve higher status - they just defend and protect themselves and the ones they love (mates, babies, nest, etc). But if given no other way of getting what they need and are not getting, they will bite because they KNOW the human is the one at fault. Not that I am implying you don't care about your bird or that you are not treating it right because I am not! But babies have more needs than adults and GCCs, in particular, are VERY needy little birds so there could be something he is resenting and that you are not catching for the simple reason that you do not know - know what I mean?
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Dejavu » Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:46 pm

Hi,

First off thank you for your reply. So he is a Turquoise GCC and he is almost 12 weeks old. Ive had him for almost a week . I really see your point here, maybe him biting me was a sign that he wants me to feed him more. Maybe Ive done things too quickly, so now im just taking things step by step. First thing Ive done is top up his toys, since he is showing that he desperately wants to come out. I am also regulating his out of the cage periods, where our only interaction is feeding and then I lure him back to the cage ( he still eats from my hands and jumps on me all the time but theres a small fear =, twitches and mini screams and that). The thing I am working on right now is his diet, I have a gut feeliing that im not regulating the diet well. So im gonna try to work that out. I was able to pet him before but not anymore, but I guess I shouldnt worry about that now. Could please you kindly give me advice, as I have not owned a parrot in a while and this is a learning experience for me.

Thank you.
Dejavu
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise green cheek conure
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Michael » Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:56 pm

That bird is just a baby and still learning how to be a bird. You can't punish or "discipline" a bird for being a bird. You have to learn how they are, build trust, and encourage the behavior that you actually want. Avoid behavior (like biting) that you don't want but do not get mad about it. Encourage good behavior instead. More information in the article/videos I linked and in my book. Wishing you success.
User avatar
Michael
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 6286
Location: New York
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot, Cape Parrot, Green-Winged Macaw
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Dejavu » Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:37 pm

Cheers Michael!
Dejavu
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 3
Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise green cheek conure
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby suddenly got fearful after trying to dispiline him

Postby Pajarita » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:00 am

Ahhh, see? That's a completely different scenario and the poor little baby is most likely hungry and very lonely and that's why he is reacting the way he is! Now, babies need to be on people all the time so this 'putting him back in his cage' once he eats is NOT good and needs to stop asap. Babies are always with their parents and you are now his parent so you need to spend many, many, many hours with him on you or he will become disaffected (and you do NOT want him to become disaffected because that would ruin him forever as this is the ONLY time window you have to teach him that humans are loving, that they can be trusted and that we are the bringers of everything good). As to feeding, yes, he is just a little, little baby and needs to be handfed at least three times a day and given soft food twice a day served warm and fresh (once in the morning and once in the evening).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


Return to Taming & Basic Training

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests

Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store