Post by Jane on Sept 4, 2005 11:58:21 GMT -7
A baby African Grey will at some point start to explore your fingers, they also use their beaks to help them climb around and may bite too hard. If you react to this with drama your bird will think it is good fun and do it again. Try not to react to a bite, ignore it so that you don’t reinforce this behaviour.
However, a Grey may also start to bite as a means of asserting itself, as a means of trying to prevent you doing something it doesn’t want you to do or it may bite someone it doesn’t like. This is quite common in a situation where a Grey has chosen a favourite person; African Greys in the wild will defend their nesting sites and their mates, so they can get very protective of their cage and their favourite person. Again, try not to react with drama if you get bitten, but say no firmly. Greys study facial expressions so try to look stern as well. Facial expressions and tone of voice are important ways of communicating with a Grey. An African Grey can learn what the word "no" means so it is useful to teach them. Watch for the body language so that you can avoid being bitten. This body language includes fluffing up all the feathers, lowering the head slightly, flaring the eyes, and looking straight at you while doing these things. If your Grey is biting while you are trying to teach it to step up, use a toy to distract it and remain confident, using a firm voice to tell your bird to step up. If you show fear your Grey will pick it up. If you are too nervous to use your hand try a stick instead. An older Grey may bite because it is frightened so always reassure your bird if there is anything unusual going on or anything new to be introduced.
Don’t shake, hit or drop your bird as these actions will frighten and/or injure it.
A bird that suddenly starts to bite may have a physical reason for biting; it might be ill or in pain or have some local irritation.
Jane
However, a Grey may also start to bite as a means of asserting itself, as a means of trying to prevent you doing something it doesn’t want you to do or it may bite someone it doesn’t like. This is quite common in a situation where a Grey has chosen a favourite person; African Greys in the wild will defend their nesting sites and their mates, so they can get very protective of their cage and their favourite person. Again, try not to react with drama if you get bitten, but say no firmly. Greys study facial expressions so try to look stern as well. Facial expressions and tone of voice are important ways of communicating with a Grey. An African Grey can learn what the word "no" means so it is useful to teach them. Watch for the body language so that you can avoid being bitten. This body language includes fluffing up all the feathers, lowering the head slightly, flaring the eyes, and looking straight at you while doing these things. If your Grey is biting while you are trying to teach it to step up, use a toy to distract it and remain confident, using a firm voice to tell your bird to step up. If you show fear your Grey will pick it up. If you are too nervous to use your hand try a stick instead. An older Grey may bite because it is frightened so always reassure your bird if there is anything unusual going on or anything new to be introduced.
Don’t shake, hit or drop your bird as these actions will frighten and/or injure it.
A bird that suddenly starts to bite may have a physical reason for biting; it might be ill or in pain or have some local irritation.
Jane