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10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

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10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

Postby TrishMM » Tue May 31, 2016 11:16 am

Hi all. Some guidance or advice on "bluffing " Would be appreciated . This little one is Bailey and he (she, maybe ) turned 10 weeks on Sunday. He is happy and very lovable and loves nothing more than to snooze while perched under my chin. HOWEVER , last Thursday ( 5 days ago) he suddenly seemed anxious and was "beaking" at my hand every time I asked him to step up, he bit on me a couple of times, hard enough to hurt but not as hard as he could. It was such a sudden change that I worried he may have gotten a fright somehow but on research it seems to be this phase called "bluffing". I am completely ignoring the bad behaviour and continuing to reward his good behaviour. I am doing my best to encourage him to spend time on me without making the situation worse but I am a little concerned as to how long this might go on and is it likely that my friendly , happy , lovable little friend won't ever come back to being his old self ? Is bluffing really just a phase and is ignoring it the best plan? Thanks in advance. ** Edited to add that he also had started to pin his eyes on the same day bluffing started, sometimes it's happiness at his favourite food but other times it's definitely a warning , " I don't want to do that " . **
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Re: 10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

Postby Wolf » Tue May 31, 2016 6:58 pm

I am not a fan of the idea of not responding to anything that my birds do especially when it comes to biting and bad behavior. His parents and siblings would not have ignored it if he bit them. nor would any member of his flock in the wild ignore this behavior. That does not mean that I would make a big deal about it either. I would start telling him something like " No Bite" and either placing a small stuffed toy in front of his beak to distract him when he shows that he wants to bite. And if this does not help enough, I would also move his beak to one side when he goes to bite. If he succeeds in biting, I again would still do the " no Bite" verbal thing and then place him down on the closest safe surface and ignore him for a few minutes before allowing him to get on me again. This will not work overnight as it will take some time for him to understand that you are telling him no.
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Re: 10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

Postby liz » Wed Jun 01, 2016 6:58 am

That bird is so adorable in that picture. He looks so innocent.

Wolf uses "no bite". I use "owe" to let them know they went too far. "Owe" is understood by my birds as they have caused pain. Myrtle has a habit of grabbing my ear to hold on when I am moving too much. I was finally able to teach her to leave my ear alone by saying it.

My birds do not bite. I have had times that they bit me for a reason. Myrtle went through a day of biting me and bringing blood. She was okay the next day. The reason she was biting me was not clear so I accepted it as I would a human who was in pain or got up on the wrong side of the bed. Birds can feel pain too. Though mine are able to talk a lot they cannot tell me if they are feeling bad.
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Re: 10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

Postby Pajarita » Wed Jun 01, 2016 11:28 am

Yes, I also do not believe in not reacting when hurt and actually make a big deal out of it :lol: . Now, I have no real personal experience with babies because the only babies I've known were lovebirds, budgies and tiels which are so very different from the larger species and from their adult counterparts but, for what I have read, he might not be really bluffing but simply growing up.

Babies are always extremely complacent, they always step up when we ask them to, they are always happy to see us, to cuddle with us, etc but as they start growing up and feeling more self-assured, they start becoming more independent (especially species like IRN's which are more aviary than companion). And this means that they might not want to step up every time we ask them to. I am not saying this is the case with you but I have noticed that most people who claim their baby bird started biting them when they ask them to step up are actually asking them several times in a row, not taking into consideration that the bird already told them it doesn't want to. Personally, I ask them once and, if they don't do it, I leave them alone for a little while and ask them again later (and this ONLY if I really need them to step up, if I don't, I don't even ask a second time).
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Re: 10 week IRN , " bluffing " , fact or fiction ... help needed

Postby Peanut_power » Mon Jun 06, 2016 5:18 am

Another green IRN owner here...

We went through a bit of the same with our little bird, but we've thankfully gotten past it now. Though in our case, I think it was a combination of some neglect as well as the hormonal changes after a difficult period with my baby daughter.

Just stick it out and don't lose heart, things will improve.

I've come across many people who believe bluffing to be a bit of a misconception, but I do think there is a bit of an impact. 10 weeks seems a bit young though.
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