Strange Situation

[tracymulder]

Hello, there are not really any posts that i can see which are similar to mine.
I will start with a history, got her in january at 2 months of age and she is now turning 10 months.
She apparently stepped up for the breeder but never did for me, she was terrified of me when i got her home.
Wasn't till around May that i got her to take stuff from my hands, she never bit, then after a couple months she started to get cocky and nippy with my hands.
Then at the beginning of aug she started to fly from her cage to sit on the couch with me and would taste my leg etc. and if she got to hard i would say gentle, and really praise her when she would be gentle and say ouch when she was too hard.
Now for the past 2 weeks she has been flying everywhere i am she wants on me or right by me to get onto me but then she is being really aggressive.
What am i doing wrong, she can't be scared of me cause she is coming to me and she doesn't like it when i am on the phone, out of the room or apartment.
I am at a loss of how to get her to stop biting me, i mean why come near me just to bite me, its not as if i am going at her.

[TomAndGene]

Hi,
My bird was fine when i first got her then she starting getting nippy like you're explaining, I'm not sure if its the bluffing stage or not but the only way i got my bird to stop was to not react at all to the biting. I may be wrong but saying ouch is letting your bird know that she can hurt you. I stopped reacting and after a couple of cuts and bruises from my bird she will almost never bite me anymore and is very well behaved when it comes to biting. You could start by showing the back of your fist with your hand clenched and as she goes to bite it she won't be able to get a grip on anything, This shows she's cant hurt you.

My bird hates my brother because when ever she goes to nip or walk to him he flinches or moves away which teaches my bird that she can control him.

If she knows she can't hurt you or control you she should give up on the biting.

As for your bird flying to be with you chances are she thinks you're her partner or "best friend" and she probably see's the phone as an object getting attention rather than your birdy getting the attention My bird will fly to me but once she's with me she will just sit there and behave.

If your bird is being vocal when you leave the room or apartment you have to show that being loud will not make you come back. My bird was very vocal every time i left but after showing no interest in seeing her while she was being vocal she now understands that it won't help her get my attention. Your bird will always want to be with you and around you and the biting is just a habit you have to break for your bird.

[ellieelectrons]

I agree with everything that Tom has said and I'd like to add that my Charlie sometimes behaves lke this too, usually when he's bored. I believe the "right" thing to do in my situation would be to offer some kind of distraction or alternative mental stimulation such as doing trick training. I do this sometimes but not always. It's an area I could improve in.

Ellie.

[tracymulder]

okay thats great thanks for your advice i certainly will try them all.