nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) (12/19/89)
I have a 3 year old Blue Front Amazon which we got when he was about 3 months. He had a real problem with biting also and what we did to break him was to blow sharply on him when he bites. This stops him right away. The reason I disagree with the water method is because I think it makes them more agressive, it kind of gets them mad. When you blow on them, they are surprised because they don't know where it came from. With water, they can see the squirter coming from your hand. Anyway, it takes patience and persistance on your part. I may take 6 months to 1 year to break. I also found that being gentle with your bird makes them gentle in return. If you start shaking them when they bite, their natural instinct is to hold on using their beak. One final comment and this may be a hard one to swallow but..... when they bite you give them no satisfaction with a reaction. Act like it doesn't hurt, because what they want to do is see some result of a bite. This by far really tests you as . But I seriously think you will get results if you try these suggestions. I know, I had bloody hands every day! Good Luck Nora
heneghan@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (joseph.t.heneghan) (12/19/89)
In article <3343@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes: >I have a 3 year old Blue Front Amazon which we got when he was >about 3 months. He had a real problem with biting also and what >we did to break him was to blow sharply on him when he bites. >This stops him right away.>I also found that being gentle with your >bird makes them gentle in return. My Nanday disagrees with you. He does like gentle treatment, but he will every now and then clamp down. He had my daughter in tears, she has since learned to discipline him when he bites and they get along great about 90% of the time. >this may be a hard one to swallow but..... when they bite you >give them no satisfaction with a reaction. Act like it doesn't >hurt, because what they want to do is see some result of a bite. ...and if a child has a hissy fit when s(he) can't have candy in your grocer's check out line, ignore that behaviour, and every thing will be fine... I think that you have to train animals. They have to be conditioned with positive and negative reinforcement ~= psych 100. When they're good, praise them. When they're bad, smack them. and play with them and love them and give them a balanced diet and keep their cage clean! Good luck, Joe Heneghan >Good Luck >Nora
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (12/20/89)
In this month's issue of Bird World, there is an article by Chris Davis, a highly qualified and respected bird behaviorist, dealing with training pet birds. Her method of choice seems to be bringing the hand with the bird on it down sharply to knock the bird off balance. They seem to hate this. Another method she uses is immediately after the bird displays an unacceptable behavior, return it to its cage and cover it for exactly ten minutes, during which time you do not talk to the bird and have no other contact with it. She does not address the "water method" although I have used it and it has been highly successful for me. None of the birds I have sprayed have then disliked bathing. The key is to set the squirt bottle on stream when it is a punishment, and spray when you are misting the bird for a bath. However, she does specifically address physical punishment and condemns it in all circumstances. Mostly because a bird is not an animal like a dog or cat and does not understand being struck. It will teach him only fear, not specific corrective behavior. The combination of taking the bird off balance when on your hand, and spraying when the bird is doing something wrong when he isn't on your hand has helped me tame many wild caught imports and helped me discipline many naughty little domestics who are going through the "terrible twos". You may find that many domestic babies go through a testing phase, much like a human child. They will keep pushing until they get a response from you. It is a means of the bird trying to determine its boundaries of acceptable behavior. The key to overcoming this seemingly awful period is being totally predictable and non-arbitrary in your praises and punishments. EVERY time the bird displays unacceptable behavior (i.e. biting, chewing on electrical cords, eating your shoes, etc.) you have to react in a similar manner. The bird has to know that this behavior is never acceptable. If you choose to put the bird back in his cage. Make sure he is inside and covered for the full 10 minute period. More and he will fall asleep, negating the "lesson". Less and he won't feel deprived of anything and the punishment won't work. And don't let his screaming and yelling make you feel guilty enough to take him out. From what I hear, Nandays are among the most stubborn of birds. It may take lots of time, but don't give up. Mikki Barry
nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) (12/20/89)
I just can't understand why all responses to peoples suggestions always results in somekind of sarcastic reply. I know what tamed my bird and that was gentleness, and my bird is not afraid of my hand because it had a weapon in it. And furthermore, as my keyword line states, "aggression breeds aggression" just read this net and you can see that. Proof is in the pudding! OK so strike your match.
heneghan@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (joseph.t.heneghan) (12/20/89)
In article <3358@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes: >I just can't understand why all responses to peoples suggestions >always results in somekind of sarcastic reply. I know what tamed >my bird and that was gentleness, and my bird is not afraid of my >hand because it had a weapon in it. And furthermore, as my >keyword line states, "aggression breeds aggression" just read >this net and you can see that. Proof is in the pudding! OK >so strike your match. I suspect that you were responding to my response. I was not trying to be sarcastic. I just feel that negative reinforcement for bad behaviour is appropriate for both birds and people. What's wrong with aggressive behaviour?...it's still communicative. You can allways read the title of an article and then not read the article because you really don't care about the subject matter. Anyway, I try to be gentle with my bird. If he bites, he gets bopped, not hard, but enough to let him know that his behaviour was unacceptable. He has done just fine in this environment. In fact he's learning to talk (from what I've read, wouldn't happen if the bird was unhappy). We're working on "hello". He'll only say it when prompted, but he's getting clearer all the time. This is really exciting for me. I've never taught a bird to talk. I've only taught children (sometimes I wish I had not). Merry Christmas, Joe heneghan
nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) (12/21/89)
In article <12287@cbnewsd.ATT.COM>, heneghan@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (joseph.t.heneghan) writes: > In article <3358@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> nora@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (nora.y.mclaughlin) writes: > I suspect that you were responding to my response. I was not trying > to be sarcastic. I just feel that negative reinforcement for bad > behaviour is appropriate for both birds and people. What's wrong with > aggressive behaviour?...it's still communicative. You can allways > read the title of an article and then not read the article because you > really don't care about the subject matter. > > Anyway, I try to be gentle with my bird. If he bites, he gets bopped, > not hard, but enough to let him know that his behaviour was unacceptable. > He has done just fine in this environment. In fact he's learning to > talk (from what I've read, wouldn't happen if the bird was unhappy). We're > working on "hello". He'll only say it when prompted, but he's getting > clearer all the time. This is really exciting for me. I've never taught > a bird to talk. I've only taught children (sometimes I wish I had not). > Merry Christmas, > Joe heneghan Joe, I used to get into hitting my bird, and my dog, and what I found out was when I began using hand signals with my dog, sometimes, she would mistake it for me going to hit her. I just firmly believe that you don't want your animal afraid of your hand no matter what. There are other ways to discipline. F of correcting a bird or dog, (I realize I am talking to you about a bird), and in the case of the bird, also, dropping your hand quickly as I read on an earlier post, is very effective. I guess I jumped around alot in this paragraph, but just want to emphasize that you don't want your animal no matter what it is to be afraid of your hanHave you ever noticed put your hand to your bird and see it kind of just open its beak like he is going to bite you? Well maybe not , but if you do, that is the bird going into self defense mode, waiting for the smack. This I my opinion and my experience. Nora