Teach your bird *Biting* is not OK

[ParrotsForLife]

I can admit I never knew this before I watched this video and it sure makes sense why ignore biting when you can show them it hurts? I myself used to just ignore biting with my African grey and now I have started to show her it hurts and I haven't got bitten hard in a while, She did bite me yesterday when I asked her to step up but it was just a scratch you see what I mean? She now knows how much pressure will hurt me and she didn't have to bite too hard because she didn't feel threatened she just wanted my hand away.I recommend you watch this video to fully understand and by the way Tiko was sorry for biting me and stepped up and I brought her to the bathroom for a shower and then she came on my bed to chill lol and we both got Pasta for dinner and ate together.

https://youtu.be/PoXMWj-RMh4

[Pajarita]

I've been saying the same thing for years and years and years... Not showing a reaction never made any sense whatsoever!

[ParrotsForLife]

:lol: I've been saying the same thing for years and years and years... Not showing a reaction never made any sense whatsoever!

Its made such a big difference to actually react lol

[Michael]

Last time I was bit was in 2013 and that was caused by someone else unexpectedly. Can't even remember the last time I was bit before then.

[ParrotsForLife]

Last time I was bit was in 2013 and that was caused by someone else unexpectedly. Can't even remember the last time I was bit before then.

In 2013 I would have still had my Budgies and of course my 8 year old Grey Tiko

[liz]

I ignore the bites with a new bird coming in. I don't want the bird to think that biting me would get a reaction or it might just keep going. While bonding I use the word "owe".

Myrtle likes to ride on my shoulder when I am busy so she can get involved in what I am doing. One day I was so busy that I did not respond to her chomp. She leaned out and looked into my face when she asked me "owe?".

[Wolf]

I know that both Pajarita and I, both, have been saying for at least the three to four years that I have been on this forum that ignoring a birds bite is counterproductive. That the bird learns and understand faster and better to not bite when it receives the normal reactions that let it know when it is hurting you, There is no place in nature that one animal, bird or other, bites another one of its kind without getting at least a scream to let it know that it is being too rough. In addition to the vocal response that the biting bird receives, very often the other bird will either fly away or at the very least it will move away or even turn its back on the bird that has bitten it.The turning their back on a bird that they are interacting with is their body language for I don't want to talk to you any more right now. So when my birds bite, I scream to let them know they hurt me and then, depending on the circumstances, I either put them down, turn my back to them and/ or walk away from them. This says to the biting bird, " You bit me ( hurt me) and I don't want to talk ( play) with you right now"

[ParrotsForLife]

And I had to learn all this from a video only recently lol I dont know how I didn't learn this before everyone always says dont give a reaction and now I know the truth.

[Pajarita]

Well, if you had read postings here, you would have seen it said many times. But this goes to prove something else both Wolf and I have been saying for a long time: you can't take anything that you read or is said to you about parrots as gospel! You need to do research on your own and reach your own conclusions because there are too many outdated/wrong concepts out there... First you go to Nature (where you will find most of your answers), then, if it's a medical or physiological issue, you go to scientific studies and last you use common sense. The reason why I put common sense last is that this most uncommon of senses, is nothing but the ability to correctly judge and evaluate a situation BUT, because we know so little about parrots and our 'experience' is geared toward similar species (mammals), common sense doesn't always work well with them.

[Michael]

You folks are presuming the bird even cares that it is hurting you. Maybe yours does. So many people don't have any relationship with the bird and the bird intends to hurt the person by biting (in self defense). And if you let the bird know it hurts then it will especially choose to bite just like that next time to be left alone. You're forgetting that 90%+ of birds that bite people are doing it intentionally to be left alone and people just aren't listening to what the bird is saying. Showing that the bite hurts solves nothing. Training and building a relationship does.