[babypiggy]

so ajax turned three in may....

lately he's been really really nippy....
i dunno what we do wrong....
but evne in the morning when we take him out he will bite

he usually doens't bite me... and sometimes he'll bite mark..

last week he just all of a sudden bite mark on the face thne a few days later on the arm

he also has been quite nippy towards me
i tried ti just leave him be and walk away not saying a word
but he gets mad and bites again..

im just curious why he is beginning to be nippy..... everything is the same (cept mark is on vacation for a week so he's home during most of the day).

he wasn't like this when he was 2.5 to 2 years old.. but at three?
does it get worse at three?

do any of u guys notice any change when they turn three?

anywho i'm just curious

thanks
(i jsut woke up and i'm really not away yet... hope it all makes sense)

[TPG]

Wish I could help, but Alfie will turn three this September. He's been a nut job the whole way through two - so I don't expect anything to change!!

[Picco]

im sure he's just jealous of mark being around more (in HIS time), LoL.....anyways maybe someone who went through that age can help you better, il let you know my experiences NEXT year:giggle: when picco is 3.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Kumiko is coming up on 3 1/2 soon, and although a TAG, he's pretty typical of Grey behaviours in general. Kumiko has been a nipper for coming on 2 years now, and will bite hard fairly frequently too. Sometimes it's our own fault for not paying attention to his body language, other times he's just plain ornery (getting up on the wrong side of the cage ). As they mature, their hormones can wreak havoc with their moods, and being summer with much brighter and longer days, this seems to be the root of the situation for many Greys. We've even noticed that Miu is much more cage protective and nippy and very stubborn about just about everything.

EXAMPLE

M2MM: (opening cage door, and extending a hand) "Hi Miu, do want to come out of your cage now?"
Miu: upon this "intrusion," he rushes the door, bent down, beak open, hackles raised. Interpretation: "don't wanna! Go away and let me play with my toys!" (He LOVES being in his cage with ALL his toys)

This can happen regardless of where he is (ie. the sofa back, coffee table, even the floor) if he's somewhere he WANTS to be, there's no prying him away from his chosen location or activity.

Of course, with Mark home this week, that can play into Ajax's behaviour. A major change in routine can unsettle any parrot, and "upset the apple cart" so to speak. He may well settle back down once things return to normal (or at least improve somewhat.) Best to get used to the way he is now and learn to work around his moods. Don't put yourself at risk of that big beak of his (especially faces). Keep your face away (out of striking distance) until he calms down later in the year. If you provoke him, you will be bitten, and you don't want to reinforce this behaviour into a bad habit.

[EinsteinsMom]

I have to say I am very lucky, if Einstein doesn't want to step up intead of biting he will take a finger very gently in his beak and push my hand away. I don't insist unless there's a really good reason. He has never bitten even if i insist he step up from his cage, but if he is somewhere else and actively playing watch out! Luckily he gives good warnings with his body language, and I have learned to distract him before trying to pick him up in those situations.

[Mama2ManyMouths]

Rule of thumb about biting: It's always the human's fault, period.

Learn to assume responsibility and work from there. There are very few exceptions: ie., when the bird is sick and doesn't have the energy or inclination to warn you first. But, again, this is not their fault, we still need to be more observant. Any time a parrot is behaving in an unusual way, get them checked by your vet. You could end up saving your baby's life.

[babypiggy]

well i hope i get my sweet boy back when "daddy" goes bak to work (tuesday)

i really miss him

in the past three years my computer cables have not interested him

but lately they have



i just put him bak on his stand tell him a firm NO and leave the room for about 5-10 mins.. depending on what i find to do in the meantime.



i'll keep u guys updated when the week goes back to normal

*keeps my fingers and toes crossed*

[Birdlette]

Earl just turned 2 so I don't have experience with three yr olds yet... So far no sign of the terrible twos except that he is a general all-round brat anyway...

[ShanLung]

Birdlette, on 02 August 2010 - 01:47 PM, said:

Earl just turned 2 so I don't have experience with three yr olds yet... So far no sign of the terrible twos except that he is a general all-round brat anyway...

Read a tiny extract from
Understanding the mind of your grey and other parrots
http://www.anafrican...d-of-your-grey/


Far too often, because people do not see or do not wish to see the reason for
the biting, they rather conveniently say the parrot bite them without reasons at
all.

Or they say its the Terrible 2 or 3. That hormonal changes came.
That might be the case. But even at that, the nuances of the emotions can be so
easily seen in them.

Blaming hormonal changes is another cop-out.

Even without hormonal changes, a parrot might get out of the wrong side of the
bed on that day.

I do not do to them what I done the day before because I can do that the day
before or even on the hour just before. That the birdie liked it then do not
mean the birdie like the same thing now.

The birdie showed so much of what they liked that it is so much easier to make
yourself more receptive to their moods there and then and act to them according
to their moods there and then.

That is just simple courtesy and respect to fellow intelligent sentient.


Warmest regards



Shanlung

山 龍

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9

[Roseilee63]

EinsteinsMom, on 29 July 2010 - 08:10 AM, said:

I have to say I am very lucky, if Einstein doesn't want to step up intead of biting he will take a finger very gently in his beak and push my hand away.

Indy does this to

[georgi]

The trick is, to avoid the bite altogether. Learn to ready their body language - a bird will never bite without giving you a sign first. It could be fluffy feathers, sleeking feathers, a head or body movement or a subtle change in their eyes. Parrots don't want to bite, their first instinct is to flee when confronted with something they're not happy about but that's not always possible for domesticated birds - so they give you a sign but if you ignore it, they resort to biting.

Usually, when they start biting, it's because it's a learned behavior. They are finding that biting is producing results, it's being reinforced in some way. Maybe when they bite, they are getting what they want - a hand to go away, to be left alone, a fun reaction from the person being bit. Sometimes we really have to think about how we are reinforcing the behavior, it's not always easy.

My husband learned the hard way, he suffered a lot of blood loss because he couldn't read our CAG. He's go to give Pickles a scratch or pick him up and i'd tell him to hold it, can't you see he's going to bite but he'd go for it anyway and pay the consequence. He finally started watching Pickles body language and respecting Pickles needs and he doesn't get bit anymore.

There's a really good magazine out there called GoodBird magazine (downloadable) that has a body language section in each issue. They show pictures of different parrots with different body language and you try to figure out how the bird is feeling, then flip to another page for the answers. It's very helpful and the whole magazine is dedicated to Positive Reinforcement.

Anyway, you don't need to live with a biting bird - all behavior can be altered with patience and respect. Good luck!