Grooming or biting...?

[JadeW]

Not entirely sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes! Cas isn't a biter. Not really. He'll nibble at my earrings and fingernails. Unfortunately, sometimes he'll find one of the moles on my arm or back of the neck and I think he's trying to preen them... But it kind of hurts when he bites at my flesh O.o Is this something I should just be ignoring, or is there a way I can get him back to nibbling at hair or nails?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Yes, he's trying to make you "perfect". I don't know if you can really teach them not to do this entirely, but I've had luck telling Scooter "be gentle" and moving him away from the "flaw". I also try to preen him back when he's preening me nicely. It is a natural behavior and a positive one. They do squawk or snap at one another when one hits a sensitive place, so it's not outrageous to think they might be able to understand that not all preening attentions are good. I'll be interested to say what the more experienced bird owners here have to say.

[Kim S]

I think its funny you use the term squawk when one hits a sensitive spot. Thats exactly what I do,
Kika cleans my ears, he seems to think it can never be clean enough. But the edges are a bit more sensitive than he thinks, so if he is a bit too enthousiastis, I yelp a bit. Usually he backs of for a few seconds using scratching and preening himself the way we humans would rub our neck saying: "Jeesh, I didnt mean it that way" and then resume grooming me.
If he does it again, I tell him a stern "No!". Usually thats enough to make him stop grooming me altogether.

[Michael]

Are you certain that these mechanisms don't merely serve as attention and thus positively reinforce the undesired behavior?

[JadeW]

Hmm, I'm not entirely sure about anything. I know that I don't want to reinforce the behaviour, but I'm never really prepared for the nibbling at my moles so I kind of peep and jump. Kind of silly because I can't really imagine him drawing blood... But I guess I just need to suck it up, not react, and distract him with another behaviour I'd rather have him do like step-up. Although he seems to be much more willing to step up when he knows I have his millet in reach

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Are you certain that these mechanisms don't merely serve as attention and thus positively reinforce the undesired behavior?

Supposing the bird isn't doing the behavior for attention per se, but already HAS attention and is doing it because it is self-reinforcing (allopreening). In that case, interrupting the behavior in some way would not be reinforcing and could serve as a minor deterrent. It certainly worked with Scooter for exactly the behavior the OP was concerned about. I coupled it with copious positive reinforcement for a more gentle approach.

It seems to me that if parrots are intelligent, they can just as easily learn that behaviors result in undesirable consequences as desirable consequences. It seems to me that one just has to be VERY careful because it is easy to 1) hurt the bird) 2) damage trust or 3) get it wrong and actually give a consequence that is perceived as desirable. I know punishment is a word that doesn't go over well in the modern world, and it is certainly true that corporal punishment is a bad idea with a being as fragile as a bird, but after years of being told that horses are "negative reinforcement animals" I personally believe that any creature capable of learning can learn via any of the approaches. The trick is maximizing the odds of getting the right approach for the creature and behavior you are addressing. With parrots, that means think positive reinforcement first, but that doesn't mean you can never, ever consider if other methods might not also be effective.