The biter

[sarahb]

Well if you have seen any of my previouse posts u will know all about buzz the new blue male we recently purchased he is 8months old. Now he dosnt like to get onto your hand but will come up to u and hop on if caz our other ringneck is on there he seems to want to do whatever she does everytime i have floor time with her that is lie on the floor and let her wonder around on me he sits on the cage door as close to the floor as he can get and seems to want to be involved as well but like i said he likes to decide if he wants to come and u cant just go get him unless she is on me. Anyway he come and joined caz on me yesterday and he was having a chew on my jumper but then he had a little chew on my hand first lightly then just got harder and harder is he to old to be bluffing and is this how bluffing works? he has already drawn blood once but i dont want to use gloves as i want him to get used to bare hands but gee it hurts when he gets stuck in and it dosent seem to be like grr i want to bite in an agressive way its just like hmm i might chew u arm off for something to do lol will he get over this? at the start he bit really hard when u got him to get onto ure hand but he has turned it down to a little bite which is bareable. Alos should i be encouraging him to hop on without her being there or should i just let him come when he wants ( will he eventually trust me because he see's caz letting me pat her. I just want to be able to pick him up without worrying about being chewed to death lol i caan handle the biting if it is going to get better and eventually stop but to think this is how it will always be kinda gets me down. He does seem to be good natured really listens to u when u talk and already says what ya doin he is also a very big boy caz our female is 2 yrs old and he is only 8 months and he is bigger then her already. Anyway any imput would be appreciated. thanks

[julie]

Maybe try distracting him with something else when he starts bitting your clothes, with the hopes that he wont work up to the bitting your skin. I have one that even after having him for 3yrs and hand feeding him from a baby is a pain in the butt to get to step up, he runs around saying step up and come here boy to me but he just doesnt like stepping up unless he knows he is going to get something i have. It takes a fair bit of patience and work but it sounds like you are doing ok and are progressing with him. Even if it doesnt seem like it to you at the moment.

[julie]

also with the bitting when he does step up is it just him testing to make sure your hand is stable or is it a I want to see if you will go away when I bite you bite? you could also try having a long sleeved shirt or jumper on and try getting him to step onto your slightly covered hand. try telling him what you are wanting him to do eg step up_say step up as you offer the back of your hand for him to step onto, this way he comes to know what you are trying to do and hopefully he will start stepping on or in my case run around saying step up to me.

It really does sound like you are doing well.

[sarahb]

Hi and thanks for the reply.It dosnt seem like its testing to see if my hand is stable it just seems like he thinks my hand is something good to chew lol i have started wearing my jumper whenever i get him to hop on or when ever he decides he wants to hop on i will start the step up comand im just so used to caz she just gets on any chance you give her lol hopefully with a bit of luck he will get better as he seems like he really wants to be involved when ever me and caz are playing and id like to involve him more if i can without to much pain to me lol i guess i just have to keep persisting with him and see how i go thanks agin for the sugestions

[julie]

He might benefit from some chew toys too. They are pretty strong willed and will test you to see if you back down or not, by the sounds of it you are doing pretty well standing up to him. Just try not to let it get to you and hopefully one day (x fingers for soon) you can look at this thread and see how much progress you have made with him.

[delboy]

hi jus reading cant really give u loads of info cos im in the same boat as u. but jus not as bad by the sounds me ole freind but wot i did spot on ere sumwhere was this woman said about getting 2litre plastic bottle cutting the ends off an slide it over your arm. they can still see your skin an arm an you dont ave to use gloves so i thought" yeah" dis cud work so i knocked 1 up an im ready to go. but my boys" ronnie n reggie" aint biting that hard at mo its jus nips cos there only 12 weeks an i hand raised from 2weeek old an ours jus fly to the highest point which is the ole womans curtains an an they shite right down em which dont please her lol but i hope that might be of sum help soz about the spelling its the cockney in me . delboy