Stepping up and biting

[Flip]

Hey gang,
so Kiwi is definitely coming into her own, which means that she has found her beak strength and is testing it every chance she gets! I call her my little biter-bird (behind her back of course). We are telling her "no!" when she bites, and she will stop and look at us as if to say "I didn't do it..." What a brat! I do have a question about behavioural training though. I know she's at the nippy age, but I'm wondering if there is anything in particular I should be doing to discourage her?

Also, she doesn't step up. When we put out our hand to get her to step up, she generally will fly over our hand onto our arms and then run up to our shoulders. I've been trying to teach her "step up" but it's hard when she launches herself out of her cage when we open the door. It's not a habit I want to encourage. Any tips?

Thanks!
Meagan

[Jally]

Hi. Maybe she is afraid of your hands? Try asking her to step up on to your arm instead. Or, try an open palm, a face down palm...do you wear fingernail polish? Have rings that may be scaring her?

I am all for ignoring bad behavior and rewarding good behavior. I read recently somewhere that a bird doesn't get any kind of attention when they are playing quietly on their own. So, if he gets any attention when he does naughty stuff, he's going to keep doing the naughty stuff for the attention. Makes sense to me.

[linda040899]

If my memory serves me correctly, Kiwi is about 3 months old and she's in that "testy" stage! In other words, let's try this and see what happens.....

Best thing to do is begin using commands when you want her to do something. You may have to take her to a small dimly lit room (bathroom?) for short training sessions. When handling my birds, I try to remember to use the "up" command when I want them to step up. Laddering (repeated step ups in a row) can reinforce the command. To go from my hand to a different perch or location (back to their cage), I use a different command. Verbalizing your wishes will make it very clear what it is that you expect.

Of course, you may find times when Kiwi just doesn't feel social and won't step up. If Harley (TAG) is resting and I ask him to step up, I may get a nip for disturbing him. With me, it's never a case of this is what I want and you will do it.