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Hi

2nd post. iv got a 9 month old IRN male, had him about 5 weeks now, he was naturally scared at first but will now take food from my hands, fly over and sit on me and he is touch clicker trained so he's coming along well. 1 thing he hasnt stopped is the biting, he will fly over and sit on my hand for a treat but if I put my hand near him without a treat he will bite, he will also bite if I try to stroke him, I know im doing something wrong so just need some expert advise to tame him a bit more please ??

Hi phlem.

Good job on working with your bird so far. That said, slow your roll. 5 weeks isn't any time at all for your bird to overcome his uncertainties where you are concerned. Evaluate the biting and decide if it is testing/investigating biting or defensive biting. If it is defensive, please stop doing whatever it is that's making the bird feel the need to defend himself. If the bird is just investigating, you want to let him. He will never get over fear of you while you remain a mystery.

Your bird does not want you to touch him. Please stop trying, for now. Every time you reach to touch him you are causing him concern. He remember this (in his birdie way) when your hand is near him for other things. In the back of his birdie mind, he associates the concern from you reaching and places himself on guard in case you try to touch him again. He may be biting to ensure that you do not have the chance to touch him. Have you ever heard the idea that the best defense is a strong offense?

In sum, stop trying to touch the bird, stop doing anything else he doesn't like, and have patience. You may or may not ever get to pet him, but you can probably end the biting.

-MissK