Hand with a mind of its own lol

[ParrotsForLife]

So I have been talking about Tiko a lot lately and sometimes when she does try to bite or nip my hand just naturally or instinctively moves quickly and she will fly off my arm and most likely end up on the floor, I really don't know how I can control something that happens instinctively its like trying to keep your hand on a hot stove.

[liz]

Protect your arm even if you use a small towel on it. Do you have an exclamation that you use. Mine is "owe". Others say ouch and so on. Be careful with potty words. They pick them up fast.

Sometimes the birds go through a phase of biting. I chalk it up to something that is wrong with them. Myrtle gave me a bloody day and then was okay the next. I was going to take her to the vet but she was okay the next day. Rambo and Myrtle don't really bite. Myrtle is mouthy and will chomp or chew on me to get my attention. One time she chomp me but I was busy and did not say owe. She asked me "owe ?"
Rambo only chomps when most other birds would bite. He can usually tell me when something is wrong. Some times with body language and no words. He/she has been socialized over the years and actually is able to explain himself.

To me it is like a Toddler who is out of control. Something is wrong but the child is not able to tell you what. Just protect yourself until the bird learns better.

[Wolf]

No one can always control everything, especially when something is an instinctive reaction, although most can learn to gain some control over such reactions give enough time. The thing is not so much that you need to learn this type of control as it is that you need to learn the bird.

I would suspect that Tiko is pretty similar to my own Grey, Kookooloo as I have found through reading the stories of many Greys that have a tendency to bite and they seem to very often exhibit most of the same behaviors just before taking a bite of you. One of my favorite one's it the practice of luring you in by bowing their head and asking to be scratched or asking for kisses and then when you are close enough biting you instead. Who says that animals don't lie to us?

Just like other parrots there is usually some sort of warning that you might get bitten, but as in other parrots there are also times that there is no warning at all, but most of the time there is something that will give their intent away. Greys, generally do not like to be touched and if you insist on giving unwanted head scratches or other physical contact you are going to get bitten. My Grey will normally catch my hand with her beak and gently move it away, if she does not want me to touch her or very often you will see them move away or even just lean away from the approaching touch. These are the most obvious and the easiest signs that they do not want to be touched. But what do you do about the bird just being in a poor mood and seems to bite without warning? Sometimes you just have to accept it as part and parcel of having a bird, but by watching my Grey very intently, I have discovered that Kokooloo gets a look on her face that shows mostly through her eyes when she is in such a mood. I really do not know how to describe this look other than to say that it is what I would call a sly look and once you have seen it a few times and gotten bitten you can see it from across the room. Watch Tiko very closely for this scheming or sly look and when you see what you think is it go ahead and ask her to step up and see if you do or don't get a bite in just a couple of minutes. If you do get bitten then you know that this is the look that I am talking about and remember it and it will help you to avoid most of her bites.

[ParrotsForLife]

Protect your arm even if you use a small towel on it. Do you have an exclamation that you use. Mine is "owe". Others say ouch and so on. Be careful with potty words. They pick them up fast.

Sometimes the birds go through a phase of biting. I chalk it up to something that is wrong with them. Myrtle gave me a bloody day and then was okay the next. I was going to take her to the vet but she was okay the next day. Rambo and Myrtle don't really bite. Myrtle is mouthy and will chomp or chew on me to get my attention. One time she chomp me but I was busy and did not say owe. She asked me "owe ?"
Rambo only chomps when most other birds would bite. He can usually tell me when something is wrong. Some times with body language and no words. He/she has been socialized over the years and actually is able to explain himself.

To me it is like a Toddler who is out of control. Something is wrong but the child is not able to tell you what. Just protect yourself until the bird learns better.

I don't get a chance to say anything sometimes because she acts fast sometimes and I don't know shes biting me and my hand just moves her off balance.She knows not to say bad words and I never use them on her anyway, I can admit I have to other people and Tiko has said the F word a couple of times and my mam tells her thats a bad word not to say that so she rarely ever does.

[ParrotsForLife]

No one can always control everything, especially when something is an instinctive reaction, although most can learn to gain some control over such reactions give enough time. The thing is not so much that you need to learn this type of control as it is that you need to learn the bird.

I would suspect that Tiko is pretty similar to my own Grey, Kookooloo as I have found through reading the stories of many Greys that have a tendency to bite and they seem to very often exhibit most of the same behaviors just before taking a bite of you. One of my favorite one's it the practice of luring you in by bowing their head and asking to be scratched or asking for kisses and then when you are close enough biting you instead. Who says that animals don't lie to us?

Just like other parrots there is usually some sort of warning that you might get bitten, but as in other parrots there are also times that there is no warning at all, but most of the time there is something that will give their intent away. Greys, generally do not like to be touched and if you insist on giving unwanted head scratches or other physical contact you are going to get bitten. My Grey will normally catch my hand with her beak and gently move it away, if she does not want me to touch her or very often you will see them move away or even just lean away from the approaching touch. These are the most obvious and the easiest signs that they do not want to be touched. But what do you do about the bird just being in a poor mood and seems to bite without warning? Sometimes you just have to accept it as part and parcel of having a bird, but by watching my Grey very intently, I have discovered that Kokooloo gets a look on her face that shows mostly through her eyes when she is in such a mood. I really do not know how to describe this look other than to say that it is what I would call a sly look and once you have seen it a few times and gotten bitten you can see it from across the room. Watch Tiko very closely for this scheming or sly look and when you see what you think is it go ahead and ask her to step up and see if you do or don't get a bite in just a couple of minutes. If you do get bitten then you know that this is the look that I am talking about and remember it and it will help you to avoid most of her bites.

Tiko has asked me before for a scratch and then went to bite instead but I was too quick for her lol and one time Coco in the pet store asked my oldest sister for a scratch and he tried to bite her and told her to F**k off but he always lets me and my mam give him scratches.

[Pajarita]

They do get into that habit. My new bird, the male ARB, does that. He comes close to where I am, looks me straight in the eye and bows his head as if asking for a scratch but, as soon as he feels my finger on his head, he turns it up and tries to bite. I know he is going to do this so I am paying a lot of attention and, as soon as I see the head movement, I move my hand out of his reach and simple say: "No, that's a bad bird. No biting" and walk away. Eventually, his need for touch and affection will overcome his bad habit and he will allow me to scratch him... it's a matter of having patience and consistency in the actions and phrases used.