probably been done before

[katchafire]

Ive searched on here but all i can find is out right biting, thats not what my bird is doing. he starts of nibbling something and it very quickly turns into a chomp. for example my bird will be happily sitting on my arm them move down and nibble my sleeve and then chomp the skin above the sleeve. Is this baby behaviour like testing/tasting etc that they hopefully grow out of. I believe my bird knows that its biting me and not mistaking it for clothing but I cant be positive on that. He will sometimes lick me and then bite softly I try to distract him when hes nibbling with his toys or a popsicle stick. But that will last for a minute or so and then its back to testing and biting my clothing/buttons and then skin. He does listen to a firm no but yet again that doesnt last long either hes back to the nibbling.

Is there any other way I should be dealing with this? should I completely ignore it and just let myself get a biting or keep distracting him and if he bites put him back in the cage for bad behaviour. Hes still just a baby and i dont want to mess up on training him.

[julie]

I know exactly what you mean, my little otherwise sweetheart is doing it. I push his beak away and tell him no, its slowly working. No seems to work better with him when he is trying to eat the curtains thou. Mine is around 4 months.

[Rogue]

I got my IRN about a month ago and she's about 16 months old. This is a big part of the reason I have her; the previous owner couldn't handle this behaviour as well as some other biting issues.

I've found that ignoring her works well until she causes pain. Then, as soon as she does, I put a finger in front of her beak to break her concentration, say 'gentle' and then go back to whatever I was doing. It took about a week but she hasn't caused pain from this since then.

I'm not sure exactly what it is but I assume it feels good for her beak. She does it to anything soft, not just clothes.

[jimmyjack]

as i read this, i have my two 4-month olds doing the very thing. one is, at first gently then more insistantly, trying to pull one of my nails off, the other is nibbling my toe. you're not alone.

though im speaking from an amateur point of view, the behaviour is quite different to aggressive behaviour, and seems quite innocent - though very cheeky. i think its a younger thing - testing, tasting and getting used to using their beak.

[Melika]

I do what they do to one another- If Hane bites a little too hard I say "Anghhhhhhh!" with that little grating voice they have and shake the hand he's on. That way he has to catch his balance and let go. He caught on really quick and now I can just say "hey" or slightly rotate my hand and he'll stop nibbling too hard.

Of course, if I had shiny jewelry on, the story is completely different. I never wear the stuff so someone with rings on will end up with a ring plus bird hanging from it by it's beak. o.o;

[jimmyjack]

thats great melika! ive found women with nailpolish are an irresistable target!