Biting

[meowingaround]

obviously you've never been bit by a cockatiel.. yes they penetrate the skin, in fact I end up with infections from those bites that you think are so harmless.

Compared to breaking bones and snapping fingers ,yes its harmless.

I dunno. Yeah, a big bird can do more serious structural damage, but pain does matter. I didn't think keeping birds was something we got into because we wanted to be uncomfortable and bleeding all the time. One bite from a small bird is not such a big deal, but a small bird really going at you can damage quite a bit of surface area. They are quick. And while a big beak has crushing power, a little beak can be quite sharp. I understand the need to avoid rewarding the undesired behavior, but I think if you are clever about the training process, you should not have to subject yourself to blood-letting on a regular basis. You can't afford to with a big bird, so why do it with a small one? Maybe on a rare occasion to avoid the bird learning the wrong lesson, but if you are really getting hurt all the time, I think it is time to think about changing the approach not just "cowgirling up".

exactly

[Jontchaav]

obviously you've never been bit by a cockatiel.. yes they penetrate the skin, in fact I end up with infections from those bites that you think are so harmless.

Compared to breaking bones and snapping fingers ,yes its harmless.

I dunno. Yeah, a big bird can do more serious structural damage, but pain does matter. I didn't think keeping birds was something we got into because we wanted to be uncomfortable and bleeding all the time. One bite from a small bird is not such a big deal, but a small bird really going at you can damage quite a bit of surface area. They are quick. And while a big beak has crushing power, a little beak can be quite sharp. I understand the need to avoid rewarding the undesired behavior, but I think if you are clever about the training process, you should not have to subject yourself to blood-letting on a regular basis. You can't afford to with a big bird, so why do it with a small one? Maybe on a rare occasion to avoid the bird learning the wrong lesson, but if you are really getting hurt all the time, I think it is time to think about changing the approach not just "cowgirling up".

Nonono, they have the exact same sharpness of the beak, doesnt matter if its small or big.. Bigger parrots bites hurts more and always will.. When i play with my amazon it bruises my fingers and sometimes makes me bleed...and no its not constant biteing hard but sometimes he bites a little too hard. My amazon for example penetrated my girlfriends skin when it was on her shoulder and then fell of, and it was not a bite it was just holding to something so it can climb up...a cocatiel that climbs up because of loss of balance would never dig into your skin.. You cant compare it... A big man hits harder than a small man..

[pchela]

You're wrong. I've been bit by both. A macaw latched onto my arm and bit down hard, breaking skin because he was testing me. I didn't budge and eventually he gave up and stepped up for me. A cockatiel bit my thumb, by the cuticle and sliced it open. It was a small cut, the one on my arm was bigger and bruised. The cockatiel bite hurt more. It bothered me longer. I have lots of examples like that. If a macaw decided to bite as hard as he could then a cockatiel bite would be no match but you are saying that cockatiel bites don't hurt period and bigger bird bites do hurt period.

It's kind of like a paper cut. They're small and you can't really see them but they hurt much worse than a big cut does. Do you get what I'm saying?

[MandyG]

Nonono, they have the exact same sharpness of the beak, doesnt matter if its small or big.. Bigger parrots bites hurts more and always will.. When i play with my amazon it bruises my fingers and sometimes makes me bleed...and no its not constant biteing hard but sometimes he bites a little too hard. My amazon for example penetrated my girlfriends skin when it was on her shoulder and then fell of, and it was not a bite it was just holding to something so it can climb up...a cocatiel that climbs up because of loss of balance would never dig into your skin.. You cant compare it... A big man hits harder than a small man..

Ok, we can all agree that a bite from a bird hurts. Whether one hurts more than the other is not the topic at hand here. Let's all return to the original purpose of this thread and discuss how to prevent bites from occuring in the first place and how to deal with them when they occur.

If you'd like to continue a discussion regarding which bird, in your opinion, bites harder please create a new post.

[meowingaround]

PROGRESS!!!!

So since the biggest issue is the other bird and Windy getting aggressive towards me, NOT Willow, when they are together. Today I have them together. First just playtime.. then I held the millet in a gloved hand on top of the cage and clicked each time Windy or Willow ate from it. I totally ignored Windy's bites.

Then both birds were in need of a nice shower, sooo I brought Windy in first, he was a tad hostile, but I didn't scold or acknowledge that in anyway. Managed to get him on the clothing rack I use for their showers. Went and got Willow and they had a shower together.

Windy seemed a bit calmer at this point so I carried him on my gloved hand and Willow on the other hand and again let them spend some time together preening.

Then I got Windy from the cage in my gloved hand... and went to the other side of the room sat down and watched tv and IGNORED his biting me but praised him whenever he was calm. He bit hard and often at first out off frustration, but eventually stopped.

When he finally put his head down for a scratch.. I obliged he nipped, but no blood, I ignored but praised him when he put his head back down and managed a little scratch. With leaving off on a positive note in mind I carried him back to the cage to enjoy Willows company.

I feel very hopeful it's always been my desire to let the birds be together, but Windy was always so hostile towards me I was afraid to really give it a go.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

PROGRESS!!!!

Yay!