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| | From:  Candi7502 (Original Message) | Sent: 3/1/2008 5:46 PM |
hello everyone, my name is Candi. I live in Arizona. I have 2 dogs (cockers) one canary and Gracie my Afracan Gray (31/2) I joined this group to maybe get some help with Gracie. She (never been sexed) is really in a biting stage. No matter what I do she lunges and then bites and believe me it is not a love nip. She has never really liked my husband even tho he is very sweet to her and gives her treats and such, she has always bitten him. With me I could do most anything but now I am really fed up with her making me bleed. Please help me, I love her and believe me she is very well taken care of. Each day she gets fruit and veggies along with her pellets and seed mix. Clean water at least 2 times a day( cause she cleans everything she eats) and her cage is always clean. Plus she has toys that get moved around in her cage. So question....what else can I do, I love her but my husband is sick of the biting. Thanks for the help Candi P.S. we also have 8 grandchildren one is due in Sept. and 4 kids of are own. |
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| | | From: Indy75 | Sent: 3/1/2008 6:14 PM |
Welcome to the group. You are probably going to get a million different opinions on this problem. I have had two greys. One I handfed at around 4wks and lived to 16yrs old. The other is Bubba who will be 3 this summer. Two totally different personalities. IMO I think they go through a stage of trying to let you know who is boss. And if you let him get his way IMO the tendency can stay. Since you said you could do anything with him before I don't think he is a mean bird. Just one letting you know what he wants and don't want. And testing you. I got my first bloody bite the other day from Bubba. But I knew exactly why. He was reacting to a red sweater I had on. As soon as the sweater was gone he was back to normal. That is just one example of them reacting to something they don't like with a bite. The first thing is to see when he likely to do this. Maybe when you are trying to get him in the cage. Alot of people will put a treat in cage and they will go in and eventually he connects this in his head and you can train him to go in with treats. Allie did that but not cause she bit. i just thought it was cool to train her to go in on command. Used the treat for her to learn. I think first you have to decide if you do go to pick him up and he bites if you will go through with it even though you know you are going to get bit. Cause some people will withdraw their hand and the bird just learned if they bite you will leave them alone. So now when he doesn't want to do what you want he will bite. There are times maybe a bird gets to choose what he wants but IMO they don't get to know that. I'm still in loving control. Also does he bite when someone else is around. They will let you know if there is percieved danger (even though the person there is the one YOU love) I also would stick train him. It might be just the spring time thing these guys go through. But with me if I put my hand out for a step up (is he trained to do that) I don't ever stop or pull back. For me this has always worked. My hubby would hesitate and he would get nailed. If he did it my way the bird knew exactly what to do. So I guess my answer would be is to watch when he does it and try to see if you can figure out why he is doing it. Here is another example. You are sitting with the bird and he bites and you put him right in the cage cause of the bite. He can then think the next time if he wants to be put back and left alone he will bite and he will get to go back to the cage. We see the cage as kind of a punishment but to them its their home. Allie was trained that if she was tired of being with us she would give kisses and lean toward the cage. Something we started by kissing her before going to the cage. Now Bubba is totally different he is velcro bird and wants to be with you all the time. Indy |
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Welcome Candi. I also have a grey. Mine is Murphy, age 15, and I haven't touched him in 7 or 8 years. He comes out of the cage and plays on his tree all day then goes back to the cage for food and at bedtime. Works for us. I taught him to go to the cage on command many years ago. One thing I failed at was teaching him to step onto a stick when he was young. I have paid dearly for that mistake. He bites and twists and hangs on for dear life. I can't take it so I just had to stop handling him. This is the time of year for greys' hormones to kick in, bigtime. Yours is too young to feel the need to breed but old enough to start feeling those hormones kick in. Right now Murphy is a pistol. He slams against the cage to try to bite me. When a day starts like that, he gets to stay locked up all day. He doesn't care. He likes his cage a lot. He was so naughty on Thursday that he was locked up til about 6 p.m. when he acted lots calmer. Then today he's back to regurgitating every time I look at him. Strange goings on, but normal for this time of year. You will learn to "read" Gracie's moods and body language if you'll watch to see how she's acting at various times. I can tell when Murphy is getting ready to lunge. I back off rather than having a confrontation. (I don't like blood or pain.  ) Once you start a stepup you do have to follow thru and you aren't allowed to holler or cry out loud.  I do it anyway. I love Gracie's name. I would name my next bird Gracie if I ever got another. Sounds sweet. Annie |
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| | | From: momnoah | Sent: 3/2/2008 8:04 AM |
 Candi!
Make yourself at home and jump in wherever. I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with Gracie. It's hard being stuck in the middle. It can sometimes be tough figuring out why a birds will do something. I can just be hormones, or it can be something else that has changed that she doesn't like. Birds can be very sensitive to changes in the environment and their owners moods & feelings. Think back to just before this started. When did she change? Was it sudden or gradual? Had anything changed right before she started biting? Sometimes it can be as simple as a moving the cage, adding a new toy, or taking an old toy out of the cage; an air freshener; a new throw rug, a change in hair or nail color... Watch her body language closely. It may give you a clue to why she is grump, or at least help keep you from being nailed. While I used to live in AZ, I now share my home in Mississippi with Kit- Goffin's Cockatoo; Rica & Nikon- Alexandrine Parakeets; 15 Cockatiels- Calypso, Sonny & Pearl, Domino & Penny, Valentine, Banana, Dusty, Sandy, Jellybean, Flynn, Sonar, Gabby, Smoke and a WF Pied tiel (yet to be named); Monkey- a cat; Frances- a box turtle; and humans: Michael- Hubby; Matthew & Joshua- sons. |
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Thank you everybody for your advice. Today Gracie is happy and not biting. We had pancakes for breakfast...yummmm She eats almost everything except carrots..yuck isn't that funny. and I would like to know if anyone knows if it is ok that she drinks milk out of my bowl in the am. She loves it and always want's out to share my cereal. my vet said it was ok as long as it is whole milk and not low fat..what ya think. I think she is happy because my grandson is here and he loves her too. So onward and upward! Thanks again, Candi |
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I disagree with your vet, but you have to be the one who makes the choice. I don't think any bird should ever be exposed to our saliva. You take a bite and dip your spoon back for another and there's the human saliva in the milk. We have a horrible amount of bacteria in our mouths. Many birds can't digest the lactose in milk. Some can get away with having milk but others will get diarrhea from it. To prevent him from exposure to your saliva, it would be best to get him his own little bowl and put in a little bit of cereal plus a tiny bit of milk. Since you said he likes it, obviously you know he isn't getting sick from it. So now the choice is yours after hearing two sides.  Annie |
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Hi Candi, and Welcome to The Nest!! I can't help you with your Gracie problem, as I don't have a CAG. However, I have to say that I too am surprised that the vet said it was okay for her to share your bowl. Is he/she an avian vet? I think that Annie's idea of giving Gracie her own little bowl of cereal is an excellent one. I'm looking forward to hearing all about your family of humans, birds and dogs! I'm sure glad you found us, Candi! Abby |
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Welcome to BB and it's great to have you here... I'm not much on allowing the birds to firstly have milk but I do let them have some cereal though not from my bowl. I've always been picky... for their well being as I'd hate to pass anything along to them. I'm glad the bad behaviour stopped and we all go though the same thing... just now my big female M2 decided she wanted to test the skin on my arm and sure enough it can bleed... And didn't see that bite coming so they can be sweet and bam!!!!! too late. I have a assortment of species and a diversity of personalities. http://community.webshots.com/user/scots001 |
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