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Post by misha on Sept 6, 2011 23:50:55 GMT 10
Hey there,
I'm new to the forum thing, mucked around on fish forums before but now I have a shiny birdy!
OK, so I got a GCC about 2 months ago, she is just about 7 months old. We've had to hand tame her ourselves which was going really well, she's really cuddly and sweet but over the last 2 weeks she's become really nippy (drew blood today >.<) with no warning signs - she'll be happily sitting around, maybe come nibble my cheek or fingers and then she'll just start clamping down and when I try and get her away she squawks and carries on.
This isn't every time we handle her, but it is at least twice a day.
I guess I'm just after some advice at what to do, I'm sure there are people here that have had similar situations! Sorry for the novel, I just need some help because I'm really not a fan of this biting business!
Thank you in advance for your help, it really is much appreciated =)
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Post by Laraine on Sept 9, 2011 10:58:07 GMT 10
Hi Misha
Welcome to our forum. My only suggestion is that it might be hormonal, but could be wrong. We have a lot of knowledgeable members. Robyn, Mike do you know the answer?
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Post by twr on Sept 9, 2011 13:59:32 GMT 10
7 months seems young for it, but we are coming into spring breedting time and and a bird that is old enough can change personality at this time. My adult conure (Sun) about 4 weeks ago started aerial attacks on the lorikeets, who he sees as rivals for me. He has never liked them, but this behaviour is new. A wing clip has solved the problem for now, but that won't solve your issue. Luckily, he has not started to bite me. The best way for now, may be to learn her body language and avoid handling when she is giving her signs. Look for pinning eyes and fluffing of feathers. Be observant of these signs and avoid forcing her to do things. Go for positive reinforcement instead. Have you looked into clicker training. When a bird is clicker trained, sometimes you can diffuse a situation by diverting them with a behaviour that the bird knows will bring about a treat.
Those more knowlegeablethan me will pop with more & better advice.
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Post by Robyn on Sept 9, 2011 19:59:24 GMT 10
I have been breeding these little sods for years now & to be honest i am still trying to work them out. They do seem to go through aggro stages but i really can't pin point any one thing that gets them into that mood. I did however witness my neighbor's GCC (which i gave her last season.) bite her on the face because i got to close to said owner. I felt so bad as i should have known better. As Lyn & I were just discussing Cheekies behavior when the kids were visiting, Lyn had mentioned that the bird got very nippy. I sometimes think they do stop all this aggression as they get older. rationalparrot.com/biting.htmlMisha, check out the link it may help. |
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Post by misha on Sept 10, 2011 11:55:51 GMT 10
Thanks guys for replying.
I heard of clicker training but I really don't know anything about it! I'll have a read of that article Robyn and see what comes from that.
Again I do really appreciate the advise, it's been a pretty disheartening couple of weeks and it's just nice to get some ideas.
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Post by twr on Sept 10, 2011 15:31:03 GMT 10
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Emma
Addicted Member
My baby Jingo
Posts: 111
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Post by Emma on Sept 12, 2011 16:38:31 GMT 10
My little GCC Jingo is nearly 11 months and latey she has been getting really moody and nippy. She gets really quite agressive and bites alot harder and often than usual lately but I just put it off as hormones since we're coming into spring now. But she does get a little moody from time to time anyway.  |
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Post by Robyn on Sept 12, 2011 20:58:17 GMT 10
These little darlings certainly put us in our places when they are not to happy with us. They are usually very nippy for the first 12 months or so & then seem to get better & settle down. I think if you take notice when they nip & whether or not you were doing something the bird didn't want to do. The little buggers usually bite me because i have done something they didn't like.
But if you can get past all that they are very cute & cuddly.
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Post by twr on Sept 13, 2011 13:04:48 GMT 10
I think if you take notice when they nip & whether or not you were doing something the bird didn't want to do. The little buggers usually bite me because i have done something they didn't like. There's usually a reason, at least to the bird, as to why it bit. So, like Robyn said, we just have to figure out what it was that happened that the bird wasn't happy about. Not always easy that easy to do  |
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Post by twr on Sept 13, 2011 13:27:39 GMT 10
This is a link to an article written by a well known bird behaviorist from USA. She explains a system to break down what happened into stages. She explains better than me, so I won't try. www.behaviorworks.org/files/articles/ABCs%20of%20Behavior%202004.pdfIf you're interested in more by her, here is her website www.behaviorworks.org/I'm booked in to do her Caregiver Course, but there's a waiting list of around 12 months from the date you put your name down. |
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Post by misha on Sept 15, 2011 21:27:20 GMT 10
Just thought I'd post a bit of an update, from the first article I read it talked about avoiding getting bitten so I made sure she stayed away from my face in the morning and left her a bit more with her cage during the day - just giving her a little space - and it's seemed to have worked, also changed her diet and yeah, she just seems a lot happier and she's even cuddlier than before ^.^
Thank you everyone for posting! I'll keep reading the articles that you've all posted =)
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Post by twr on Sept 17, 2011 19:29:34 GMT 10
Glad to hear of your progress |
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