Biting hands

[missjanellez]

Hi
my Poopy is about 6 months old now and has been hand-raised.
He is a typical lorikeet and loves all the attention + more that he can get.

He has a great diet, spends plenty of time out of his cage, he has plenty of toys and loves the shower.
We have been training him using the clicker method - which is going quite well, BUT his favourite past time seems to be biting hands - relentlessly. He'll bite between your fingers and all over. I've tried ignoring it and not drawing attention to it, I've tried averting his biting to something else, i've tried to find things that may feel the same as biting at hands but to no avail. We do consistently tell him 'no bite' and try to put him back in his cage or walk away from him as soon as he's bitten, but this is not always possible.
I can handle the nibbling but he is becoming quite hard with his biting.
I'm not sure if it is just a 'beaking' or age thing or what.
Does anyone have a similar situation or any ideas that I can make things more comfortable for all of us please??

[Robyn]

Hi there,

Beaking is normally a gentle nibble & lick that doesn't hurt at all. Biting HURTS. Try closing your hand to make a fist & ask him to step up. If he can't get your fingers he can't bite. I keep those old dolly pegs close by if i have a bitey bird & get them to focus on the peg rather than my fingers. He could also be testing the boundaries. A stern NO & back on the perch.

Can you read his body language? Does he warn you before he bites? What happens just before he bites? If you can identify why he is doing it only then you can fix it. Biting is a learned behavior so you or someone else have actually unknowingly done something to trigger this. It doesn't need much either.

I will check out some of my books & see if we can't figure something out to help.

Cheers,

Robyn

[vankarhi]

it actually sounds to me that by ignoring him for so long he has actually gotten away with it and now it has become enjoyable to him......not to you though.

Ignoring is a good, I do that too, but then when it continues in a session I put them back into their cage and tell them no when ever they do it. Most birds will nibble fingers a bit.......most might even bite a bit but do stop when told to....even Erik will stop. Without seeing the bird I am really guessing only but I think it has become an enjoyable habit on his part.

I would be putting him in "time out" just for a few mins not long because they don't really understand but they do know they want to be with us and if you are consistant then he will eventually learn that when he bites he gets put away from you.

[ElyseB]

My lori is doing the same thing. I wish i had my baby snuggle but back shes being so bad lately, she wont even step up