Wall-E won't stop biting

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I don't think that reacting to birds biting is a good idea, don't react, don't show fear or annoyance and they will stop over time because they are not getting a reaction.
Punishment for doing what is natural to them is cruel, they are only a generation or two away from being wild unlike dogs which have been domesticated for thousands of years.
Time outs - putting the bird somewhere else, not in its cage which should never be a punishment may work but how would you like to be shut in a cupboard for shouting at someone. They are like kids, and kids have to learn not to hurt each other which is best done by kindness and persuasion or distraction as beating the child will make it think that it is OK to hurt others.
Casper says "i'm a good boy" in a voice that sounds like a small child shut in a cupboard. Heaven knows where it comes from as there were no children in his previous home. I worry about this.

Did you hear the joke about the parrot that, after being shut in the freezer for five minutes as a punishment, tells the human 'OK i'll be good but tell me what did the chicken do to be plucked before being put in there and frozen?

[Charlie Brown]

I don't think that reacting to birds biting is a good idea, don't react, don't show fear or annoyance and they will stop over time because they are not getting a reaction.
Punishment for doing what is natural to them is cruel, they are only a generation or two away from being wild unlike dogs which have been domesticated for thousands of years.
Time outs - putting the bird somewhere else, not in its cage which should never be a punishment may work but how would you like to be shut in a cupboard for shouting at someone. They are like kids, and kids have to learn not to hurt each other which is best done by kindness and persuasion or distraction as beating the child will make it think that it is OK to hurt others.
Casper says "i'm a good boy" in a voice that sounds like a small child shut in a cupboard. Heaven knows where it comes from as there were no children in his previous home. I worry about this.

Did you hear the joke about the parrot that, after being shut in the freezer for five minutes as a punishment, tells the human 'OK i'll be good but tell me what did the chicken do to be plucked before being put in there and frozen?

I wondered how long it would take for words like cruelty, violence, abuse or other similar words... would appear....

I try to be clear on this... for examole: when my bird bit me I simply held the beak or keep the finger in its beak...
I know my fist is the size of my Quaker, I know that with a simple pinch I could do irreparable damage. But my skin is also tougher cos I'm a gardener, so keeping my finger in the birds beak is a pain I did handle and eventusly they lost interest in it ... of course on occssions they were very determined and I shouted at them, quickly shoving them in their cage and a towel over till my annoyance was over...

Any parent never shouted at their child?
Any parent never wondered: why r u like this child?
Even the best parents loose their temper, but that doesn't make the violent people...

Some ladies can be less tough, and the skin a bit softer and the fingers smaller giving the birds totally the upper hand...

I don't claim to be an expert, but giving back as good as I get from my parrots has worked well for me when it came to biting (obviously I don't bite back lol )...
Though not at all with Siniy when it comes to screaming, it's her way or no way, and that's where she and I clash. I admit I have often pulled a towel over the cage at random times during the day... when I feel my frustration rise, I know I won't be able to work with her... so a towel will keep everyone quiet.
When Siniy screams the whole house turns into a riot. And that's also why I took the white pair of Quakers upstairs...

So, I'm not an expert.
I am still learning.
I had some successes
And at least one total failure with one tame bird ... (Siniy's screaming)
The two boys are still a work in progress as they weren't hand reared...

The pictures below are of Siniy. The sitting on the shoulder is what all parrots do.
The being on her back was a trick she quickly accepted. None of the other Quakers accept doing it....
However, often I ask Bianca to show me her tootsies and she raises one foot for me to touch and hold here little tallons, or will lift her wings up for me to kiss under... again none of the others do any ofthis.

Ultimately I don't believe there is a formula, like in families, each family unit is different.

My aim here is to show that there are many ways of handling a situation.

The generation thing I find difficult to accept. For me it's more a question of some creatures are easier than others to domesticated.

Essay over...
Apologies if my methods are a bit harsh, but doesn't Siniy look like she wants to be where she is?

Apologies for hogging this thread.

Merry Christmas everyone

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

[Dragonlady2]

I have learned over time that negative reactions to unwanted behaviour from my birds will result in negative behaviour from them. I believe biting is a form of communication. Training and trust will, most of the time, garner positive results. Some birds trust more easily than others. I am not a proponent of establishing dominance. I do use the "stink eye", turning my back and leaving the room when there is behaviour that I would rather not see, like excessive screeching. Birds are so perceptive and cognitively have the ability to understand some basic concepts around this. When my birds used to bite, I would let them know with a loud "no" that I was not happy and then I turned my back to them for a few minutes. In a flock, birds will squabble and peck at each other and they don't do it quietly. The bird getting hurt lets the other one know it.
For us humans, we have to work hard at gaining their trust to form a relationship with them.JMO

[09ladybug09]

I've tried pretty much everything to get her to stop. Good news though is the last 2 days she's only bitten me once, but I haven't gotten her off the cage or out of it. She still tries to get me when she's on it or in it. There were a few instances where she normally would have bitten me that she didn't so I say that's progress. When I'm feeding my birds breakfast, I hold a bowl while they eat fruit or cereal, they perch on my fingers so Wall-E takes that opportunity to bite me some times so I started trying to grab her. She flies away from me and knows she did wrong. I never actually grab her but she gets the point. Same when I let her chew on my phone case because I'm holding my phone she thinks that my fingers are fair game but I go to grab her or move her off the phone and she doesn't do it again. I've told my husband that no matter if she keeps biting me or not I would not get rid of her. She's my baby and I could not do that to her or my other conure that has bonded with Wall-E. I try to pay as much attention to Wall-E as I do Pickle but she makes that hard with her biting. Regardless I love her.

[09ladybug09]

My new black capped conure Wall-E bites me anytime I try to get her from the cage. She doesn’t bite my husband though. When she bites me, it’s really hard and she won’t let go. When she’s off of the cage she only bites occasionally and it’s not as hard. Again she doesn’t bite my husband. We’ve had her for 5 weeks now. I’m the one who takes care of both of our birds. I don’t know how to get her to stop. It’s very discouraging because I love her so much. And I feel bad because my other bird can fly , Wall-E is growing her feathers out still, and she flies me but Wall-E is scared to but when I go to get her off the cage she bites me so I leave her. I want to be able to include her. If and when she flies down to me she wants to be perched on my fingers or my head and we have no problems usually. She will even go out of her way to bite me. Yesterday I was getting my other bird to step up and Wall-E ran from the back of the cage to my finger and just chomped down. I’m running out of finger space that doesn’t have a bruise or scab. How can I stop her from biting me when getting her off or out of the cage?

UPDATE: It's been a while since I posted this. Wall-E is doing a lot better on the biting. She still will try to bite when I go near her and she's in or on the cage. She flies to me more now and doesn't usually try to bite me when she is on me. She's learning what be nice means. She does sometimes still try to bite when I have her step up on to my finger from other things but she seems to have started trusting me. She's only gotten me 2 times in the last couple of weeks. All in all she's doing much better.

[Lady]

Thanks for the update Crystal, good news is always pleasant to hear!

[09ladybug09]

My new black capped conure Wall-E bites me anytime I try to get her from the cage. She doesn’t bite my husband though. When she bites me, it’s really hard and she won’t let go. When she’s off of the cage she only bites occasionally and it’s not as hard. Again she doesn’t bite my husband. We’ve had her for 5 weeks now. I’m the one who takes care of both of our birds. I don’t know how to get her to stop. It’s very discouraging because I love her so much. And I feel bad because my other bird can fly , Wall-E is growing her feathers out still, and she flies me but Wall-E is scared to but when I go to get her off the cage she bites me so I leave her. I want to be able to include her. If and when she flies down to me she wants to be perched on my fingers or my head and we have no problems usually. She will even go out of her way to bite me. Yesterday I was getting my other bird to step up and Wall-E ran from the back of the cage to my finger and just chomped down. I’m running out of finger space that doesn’t have a bruise or scab. How can I stop her from biting me when getting her off or out of the cage?

UPDATE 4/8/2018

We've had Wall-E now for going on 5 months. She still bites me or she at least tries. I keep my fingers away from her at all cost. Instead of having her step up on my fingers I make a fist and haver her step up on it or I have her step up on to my arm. I think she just doesn't like women's fingers. When my father-in-law stopped by with his wife Wall-E went right to him and didn't try to bite but when his wife tried to put her fingers near her she would try to bite. She didn't try to bite my step-dad either but she tries with my mom. I do know that at the pet store it's women that handle the birds so I don't know if it's distrust from that or from when she was bought and returned to the pet store. She still has an attitude but she is definitely more loving though. She cuddles up to my husband and kisses him a lot. She also has to constantly be perched on my arm or my head. She falls asleep on me a lot! She still does great with my other conure Pickle. So I don't think she will ever stop bitting at my fingers but I've just learned to adjust. Sometimes Wall-E does kiss me and we have our morning rituals. It could be all be worse. Being optimistic!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Excellent progress, it took about six months for Casper to stop biting me. Its only when I look back I realise that very gradually we had both adapted. As I was getting less nervous about the possibility of a chomp, the chomps also reduced - and vice versa.

[Dragonlady2]

Way to go! I wonder if the women are a little more timid and Wall-E senses it. In another few months, you will look back and see even more improvement.

[09ladybug09]

She's definitely been biting a lot less. As time goes on. She did bite me this morning just because she felt like it. I have noticed though that I'm not as scared of her biting me. It hurst but I'm more used to it so it's not such a big reaction any more.