Is This Bluffing

[nasinclair]

Hi,
We bought a Lutino Male Indian Ringneck recently who was apparantley 8 months old and am wondering if he is going through the bluffing stage.
He will fly to my shoulder, head and hand all fine when he wants to come to me which is a lot without any biting, but if I approach him to step up I always get a bite or if I want to stroke his head same happens. When he does this his eyes pin a lot and he lets me stroke him for a few seconds before he bites while making a very quiet ticking sound like a clock...also he wolf whistles and sings imitations of songs but only sings and imitates when he is about to go for a bite, is this bluffing or anything to worry about?

[julie]

yep sounds like bluffing. I laugh at mine when they do it to me, i just stand there and laugh right at them and then say ha ha you dont scare me. They stop and give me the worried look (kinda like they think ive cracked it). If it goes on for a bit and they start getting bitey I use my fingers as a distraction and say a stern no and then if they are still lunging i will gently touch their beaks and say no. My youngest one knows that no means stop whatever the little terror is doing. Yesterday he was playing with the blinds and i said no and he makes the funny little noises like he is back chatting me and moves away. The trick is to make them think you are brave enough to stand up to them, thats why I on purposely dont let them know what they are doing is working.

[effekt]

That does sound like bluffing. One of my IRNs did the same thing. She'd step up on to my hand on *her* terms but if I approached her to step up, she'd give me a nip.

I read about a method to teach them an alternate way of biting, which saved me lots of pain during their bluffing stage: when they bite, don't react, don't pull your hand away (it can be hard cuz it hurts!), but if they bump your finger with their beak (first few time will be on accident), immediately stop and walk away. They'll soon learn that biting won't make you stop, but if they peck or bump your hand with their beak, you will understand that they want to be left alone.

It worked well for me, and my Kashi still bumps my hand when she doesn't want to be bothered.

Good luck with your new friend!

[solobaby]

solo is just 8 mounths old and is doing the same but when i say no it gets worse he just gets more angry ? maybe its somthing im doing wrong ?