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| Starting to Bite; 8 week went from loving to Biting | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 13 2008, 12:11 PM (477 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Aug 13 2008, 12:11 PM Post #1 |
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Deleted User
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Our 8 week old Parrotlet named Abigail nod2 , went from went from being very loving bird (wanting to be held, scratched and handled) to biting and yelling at us. It started about 2 weeks ago when we noticed that she began biting on our nails and cuticles (picking that was painful at times). As a result we began to correct this behavior by firmly telling her “no”, we also tapped her beak when necessary. It would take 6 to 8 times before she got the message and stopped. If she continued to miss behave we placed her back in the cage. When this behavior first appeared, she would typical get the message and revert back to her normal self. About 3 days ago she has begun to express more aggressive biting habits. She would come to us wanting to be held but then bite aggressively and communicate that she was mad or frustrated. Background: We have had her since she was about 3 to 4 weeks old, she was hand raised, wings are clipped, resides in a large cage in our living room, is not allowed to be on our heads or higher than us, has plenty of room and toys, initially she was weaning but still cried for food - so we did continued a once a day feeding for about 2 to 3 weeks, hand feedings are very rear now and server more as a treat, she still comes to us and seesm to want to be handled, although we only talk to her she has definitely communicates well via variety of sounds, she use to love to be scratched and handled –not so much any more, she still seems to always want to be around us, when top of cage open and we leave the room she shouts and eventually will try to follow us, loves sitting on our shoulder, loves punching hole into thick paper, is a member of the family and there is little doubt that she is training us. Concern: She seems to be getting more aggressive with her biting, be it from frustration or just not wanting to be handled as much any more. We fear that we are loosing this once socially interactive and loving bird to one who does not want to be near humans or handled. Please help! Mur :question: |
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| Deleted User | Aug 13 2008, 05:45 PM Post #2 |
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Hi Mur, welcome to the site. Did you handrear this baby yourself or did you buy her? The reason I am asking this is, Abigail would not have been weaned at 3 to 4 weeks old, her crying for food would have been because she needed to be fed. Sorry I know I have said this before too, but I dont believe that a young bird should have its wings clipped either. If they arent allowed to fly as babies, there is a very high risk of them having weak chest muscles as adults... But this is too late to worry about at the moment. You say that Abigail is now 8 weeks old, she has now got to the stage that she is pushing the boundries to see how much she can get away with. You really do need to redifine what she can and cant do. You are doing the right thing in respect of putting her back in her cage when she bites, you could also try 'positive reinforcement', when she does something good, give her a tiny treat, nothing that will fill her up and nothing that takes anytime to eat, you need to be able to give her these quite quickly... I wouldnt tap her beak, I would blow on her head and tell her 'no' when she goes to bite you. Please bear in mind that she is only a tiny little thing and a small tap to her is like a sledge hammer to us... Start at the begining and take things nice and steady, reward her often and I am sure you will have a loving baby back within no time :) Good luck |
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| theexbrit | Aug 14 2008, 02:13 AM Post #3 |
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Co Admin
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This is from "Simplepetcare.com".......... Wing Clipping The decision to trim a bird’s wings is clearly a preferential decision made by the pet owner. Owners of free roaming birds may enjoy seeing their birds fly around the home and may not want to trim the bird’s wings. Cage bird’s wings should be trimmed regularly to prevent the bird from injuring itself by trying to fly around in its cage. When considering whether to trim a bird’s wings or not, consider the following positive and negative results: Positive • Birds will be protected from themselves – they will be unable to fly into mirrors, windows and ceiling fans • Trimming can cause a bird to be more tame and less aggressive Negative • Trimmed wings can cause a bird to lose its balance both on a perch and while in flight • Unbalance flight can cause the bird to crash and injure itself • The bird will be unable to escape predators like cats • The bird could get caught behind furniture or doors and not be able to get itself out • Incorrect clipping can cause wing damage Bird owners who choose to clip their birds wings should trim the wings every 6 – 10 weeks after the start of the molt cycle as new feathers grow back. Before trimming your bird for the first time, you may want to find an experienced person or veterinarian to assist you. The first trimming should not take off too much of the feathers giving the bird a chance to adjust to its lifestyle with limited flight capabilities – each time you trim you can take off a bit more. It is important to not cut too deeply so as to not cause the feathers to bleed – never clip the blood feathers or the pin feathers". Here's 2 very good articles on the subject......................... http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww19eii.htm Hope this helps. |
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