Training Issues

[TerribleTim]

Hey gang, I could use a little advice.

I've been working with Iago to get him over his biting issue. He was always a cuddler, sitting on my shoulder from the first day I got him (even before I took him home he took right to me and would sit on my shoulder). I've gotten him over the biting deal by training him to let me pet the back of his neck/head. Recently I've noticed he is a lot more agressive when sitting on my shoulder and I don't like it. He tends to chew on my collar and nibble at my neck, ear and hair now. He never did that before. Ideally I'd rather he sat on my hand, but he doesn't like stepping up on to my hand, he will only do it on my wrist, and then he bolts for my shoulder.

So here are my questions -
Is his agressiveness while on my shoulder being caused by something? Is there something I can do to fix it?

How can I keep him from running to my shoulder and keep him down on my wrist and eventually hand?

Also, he some times screams while we are in the room. Is covering his cage until he calms down a bad thing?

[allirho]

Is it just nibbling or is it painful biting?
If it's just nibbling around the hair, ears, collars of shirts etc. then I would say he's not being aggressive, he's just getting bolder and more comfortable around you.
Chances are he's just starting to explore more and becoming more comfortable on your shoulder, which is why he's now starting to 'test' through his nibbling to see what everything is.

My birdy had the same issue with always darting for my shoulder rather than staying on my hand.
I'm still working on this but the issue has gotten a lot better since when I first got him. Here's what I've been doing:
- first, target train and teach the bird to step up onto your hand with target training
- reward/treat/scratch/pet/talk to the bird often while he's on your hand
- try to block him from getting up onto your shoulder in the first place
- when my bird gets onto my shoulder despite my blocking him then I push him off gently with my hand nearby so that he lands on my hand instead (my bird is flighted so he will catch himself in the air and fly to my hand. DON'T do this if your bird is not flighted. Actually, I'm not even sure if I should admit that I do this for fear some people might think I'm being cruel... but my line of thinking is that the parrot will learn I don't like him sitting on my shoulder)

The whole point of this process is to teach the bird that the hand is a good place to land and the shoulder is not. I noticed that the more comfortable my budgie got with me the less and less he would fly towards my hand and the more willing he would be to trust that my hand was a fun and safe place to be.

I would refrain from covering the bird's cage when it screams because you're only teaching it that when it screams you will come to the room, whether it be to let it out or to cover the cage.
My bird doesn't scream, but from what I've been reading here on this forum it would be a much more effective way to completely ignore the screams and then when the parrot makes a quieter/more pleasant noise you can give it attention.

[TerribleTim]

The strange thing is, he doesn't scream when I'm not in the room. He does it when we are in the room, like when we are watching TV. It's like he is mad that we aren't paying attention to him, even though we are right there where he can see us.

The biting, I wouldn't call it painful, just annoying. It's gotten more agressive lately, but it isn't full on biting. I just don't like it. And I'm not sure how to get that through to him. I usually get irritated and put him back on his cage. But I don't know how to get him to understand that what he is doing is why I put him back. Make sense?

I've tried blocking him so he can't run up to my shoulder before. Then we are instantly back to square one on his fear of hands, he starts screaming and trying to bite my hand and then I have to work with him again to get him to let me pet his head, which is why I started that training in the first place. I don't know if the previous owners did something that made him hate fingers, but if a finger comes near him he freaks out. It was a lot of work to get him to where I could touch him with my hand. I can't really push him down off my shoulder or he freaks out about the hand thing again and it's back to square one.

This step-up thing has been insanely frustrating with his fear of hands. I can pet his head, but he just won't step onto my hand. He also won't step onto my arm unless I have a long sleeve.

[Shelby]

The strange thing is, he doesn't scream when I'm not in the room. He does it when we are in the room, like when we are watching TV. It's like he is mad that we aren't paying attention to him, even though we are right there where he can see us.

If he is doing it for attention, you could try leaving the room whenever he starts screaming and then come back and reward when he quiets down. He will eventually learn that you will only hang out with him if he isn't screaming.

The biting, I wouldn't call it painful, just annoying. It's gotten more agressive lately, but it isn't full on biting. I just don't like it. And I'm not sure how to get that through to him. I usually get irritated and put him back on his cage. But I don't know how to get him to understand that what he is doing is why I put him back. Make sense?

First of all, the only thing you are teaching him is that biting = going back to the cage. This will lead to problems later, as he will start to bite you when he is done playing so you will put him back in the cage.

Secondly, from all that I have read/observed, birds don't really understand the concept of discipline or punishment. They only understand positive reinforcement or getting rewarded for good behavior, and a little cause-and-effect. When dealing with parrots it's really important to think about whether you are encouraging unwanted behavior inadvertently and if you are being careful to reward all the good behavior you enjoy.

Since your bird seems to enjoy your attention/company, when he starts getting aggressive you could put him down and turn your back and ignore him for a few seconds. Don't even talk to him because birds can find their owner's voice positively reinforcing. Also, some people have been successful making a loud "EEP!" noise when their parrot bites them. Sometimes birds don't know they are hurting us and so we have to let them know when they are.

[TerribleTim]

Interesting thoughts. Thanks for the input. I'll have to think about how best to deal with him when he gets a bit agressive. I don't like raising my voice to him, so I'm not sure how I feel about any sort of loud sound like the "EEP" you mentioned. I think loud voices, like yelling, tend to scare them and I don't want that. It's been tough to get my daughter to understand that, she thinks you can just yell at him like a dog when he is being loud. Luckily, she rarely is at our house these days (19yr old).

[Shelby]

Well there's a difference between yelling at him vs. making a noise when he hurts you. Think kind of like a high squeaky noise, not so much shouting the word "eep". Volume-wise it's probably just a little louder than normal talking but it lets them know they're hurting you. It should not startle him into flying away.