My baby African grey still tries to bite - help please

[Salmando9]

Hey guys. My baby african grey is almost 11 weeks now. I have been hand feeding her baby food once a day for a week now. She's just learning to eat by herself now. But the thing is she still tries to bite every time i try to take her out of the cage or feed her. it doesn't hurt now but i don't want her to get aggressive in the future. Do I need to start target training her now or I should i wait because it's normal? Any ideas, please?
Thank you so much

[Michael]

Are you sure it's aggressive biting and not just baby exploration (feeling, tasting, testing, nibbling)? If you're not sure, if you're not left bleeding or massively bruised, it wasn't real biting. 11 weeks sounds REALLY young for a Grey Parrot to be taken home already and still too young to be biting. Forget about target training or any formal kind of training for at least a few more months. That baby is still just learning how to eat and function. I really don't see any reason it should be biting this young.

[Salmando9]

Yeah I think it's just exploration biting. She's actually eating good by herself but I still hand feed her once a day. and she's just learning how to climb and everything.
Thank you for the quick response. I knew she was ok but I just get over worried about her.

Thank you again!

[ginger]

Please, please be extremely careful with your baby. Greys are very clumsy when that young. Yours will need to have very low perches and a cage that is set up for a baby so that if he falls he won't get hurt. Cover the grate with a soft cloth, but don't use a towel because the toenails can get caught in the loops and cause extreme injury. I use fleece because it doesn't have any threads. Place newspaper over the cloth and that will keep things clean.

And, yes, your baby is simply exploring with his beak. It is a perfectly normal behavior.

[Salmando9]

I'm being very careful and spending a lot of time with her. I have her perches really low because she doesn't know how to grab and climb yet, but she knows how to step up fairly well. I have some fleece in her cage. I added a new toy today and she went crazy, and panicked but she got used to it now. And she's actually listening to the words I tell her and I think started to recognize when I tell her goodbye, wanna eat, wanna come out, or wanna go back. She's very smart and playful

[DanielA]

Still? hold on man, you really have to slow it down. Parrots use their beaks to explore everything.(Mine is really picky about food and will only eat 4 types of fruit, and when I show him another type of food he makes the movement as if to bite but is just exploring.) so why don't you wait a couple of months, and then start to get worried?

Good luck!

[Imran Ahmed]

Hello Everyone..
It seems like the problem you're having is everyone's beginning problem. I also have a congo african Grey + Alexandrine parakeet and trust me.... regardless of the type and size, both my parrots at one month old age had the "exploration" problem. It took the Alexandrine about 3 months of age to get over it and my Baby african which is almost 4 months has just groomed into a good mannered Parrot. So it takes time buddy
The trick is to slowly and patiently deal with your parrot. Love it and be with it all the time and help her explore more. Michael's beginner guide for stepping up and bonding with the parrot article are the best across the internet for this and covers almost all the aspects in one article. To cut the long stroy short: My Baby african now 1. shakes hand, 2. steps up and down in return for sunflower seed, 3. comes on stick (on cue), 4.touch the stick (target training) and 5. steps up so i can flip it around and make him lye in my hand like im holding a baby (though he doesn't let go of my fingers).
SO therefore.......... let it be a parrot for some time as she's going to be one of you or US someday down the road and then we'd miss their parrot instincts

[liz]

Don't take it out of the cage. Open the door and let it step out. They will usually step up automaticaly if they think they are doing it on their own. Towels are for drying not grabbing. If you can put the cage on the floor so it can come out and explore from the floor up.

Crawl around and look at things from a babys point of view. You need to baby proof. I did that with Rambo. With Myrtle I even have to baby proof the ceiling and everything in between. I use ceiling fans. Everyone says that is a no no but Myrtle understands them and flies under. She caught the tip of her wing the first time but is a fast learner.

I consider Myrtle as a two year old child. She is into everything and then tells me no if I have to take it away. She will back talk like a toddler using words I don't yet understand.

Your bird is a baby. Treat it like one.