Not lovie related but I just wanted to share.....

[LauraO]

that I'm afraid of Cookie, the Meyer's parrot's big beak :omg: :omg: :omg: . Don't get me wrong, so far he has not tried to bite and has not been aggressive at all. He's actually doing better than I'd hoped. But today, I came home for a quick minute and was visiting him. He's fascinated by us when we eat, so I took some sunflower seeds out of his food bowl on the table and started eating them. He got excited, well as excited as he can get, and came out of his cage to share in the fun. So I fed him a couple of sun seeds but was sooooooooo scared because that beak had to come REALLY close to my hand. I even flinched and I think it scared him a little.

How does one get over the fear of the BIG beaky :confused: :confused: .

[bellarains]

Hey Laura,

I was a bit leary of Cappie's beak too, and to be honest, he can give a pretty good nip, but it's not really that bad. The main difference I see between his bite and the lovie bite is, he does more of a twist and holds on where as the lovie bite is a quick piercing bite.

I think the way you get over the fear of the bite is to take one and learn that you do live, and the pain goes away. Well, it goes away eventually :rolleyes: That's about the only way I know ;)

[jknezek]

I agree with Lori. My eclectus has a soft beak so the bites are supposedly not so bad. However, he grabs and grinds on occassion (shower time seems to be the most upsetting). Once they give you a good one and you realize it hurts but heals quickly, it's not so bad. However, I don't think you ever quite stop being afraid of getting nipped, you just learn to live with it. Just be aware, you are probably in the commonly called "honeymoon period". The first two weeks or so after bringing home a new bird. The real personality will come out after he adjusts and settles in. Then you will see what he is really like! My Kiwi's honeymoon period was the only time he really tolerated being pet. Now... well, he loves to be held, talked to and played with, but petting is pretty much asking for a nip.

Jeremy

[Elle]

The main difference I see between his bite and the lovie bite is, he does more of a twist and holds on where as the lovie bite is a quick piercing bite.

Yeah! Right! You never met Sam! She would hold and twist until she was satisfied with the sceam of pain that would come out of me!

[LauraO]

Well Cookie got my husband the night before last while he was putting the cover on his cage. The bite broke the skin and my husband was whining for two days.

AND I don't care what any of you say about taking a bite from that beak to get it over with :eek: :eek: :eek:. Cookie tries to bite me often and I've in no way felt the urge to stand there and take it. Luckily he hasn't gotten aggressive yet so his trying to bite me has been slow and he backs down when I say no in a firm voice.

[BarbieH]

I think it's best to maintain a healthy respect for any beak, big or small. (BTW, Gracie also digs in and twists when she bites. Regular little Marquis de Sade she is.) The goal is not to get bit, not to have that be a part of your relationship. Building this early relationship, to me, means not giving the bird a reason to feel it has to bite.

Now, that's nearly impossible to do, especially with a rescue animal. We had to learn what was allowable and what was not with Gracie. After she got a few real good bites in on me, I was more cautious than ever about handling her. It took even longer to get over it.

Now we have a good understanding of each other. I still respect her beak, but she had to get very comfortable before she felt that she didn't need to keep using it. :eek: It took time.

When I think of any bird, but especially the big ones, it reminds me of swimming in unfamiliar waters. You want to take your time to get acquainted, and respect nature.

Added: Stridex pads work real well for cleaning birdy bites that break skin.

Best wishes,

[bellarains]

Oh NO,

I didn't mean to literally stand there and let Cookie bite you. I'm not that sadistic ;) . I think they sense when tense up afraid of the bite, so be relaxed, but of course always be on guard, watching for that "I'm gonna get ya" body language.

I will tell ya that my hubby dealt with Cappie in a strange way, but it seems to have worked. When Cappie would get nippy and bitey, hubby would get him in the bird hold, turn him over and start nibbling on him. It really made him stand up and take notice. I guess the "If ya bite me, I'll bite ya back" method worked with him :wink:

[LauraO]

Sure Lori....I know your wanting me to take one to the nose just to show I can :lol :lol.

Poor Cookie. I'm looking for some good info on the Meyer's on the web but haven't found much luck. I'd like a board similiar to this to get some good info. Cookie has behaviors that I have no idea what they mean or if it's good or bad. I've started stick training him. He hates the stick and bites at it or runs away but will step up if I'm determined. The bad part is he gets terrorified if he's a foot from his cage. I'm thinking it's been the only constant in his life so he's attached to it. I have no intention of taking him away from it so early in our relationship. I think he's starting to like me...or wanting to bite me. He acted like he wanted to jump on my shoulder today, but I don't want none of that.

Anyway, I'll be sure to share my first Cookie bite when it happens because you not it's not a matter of if, but just when :omg:.

[Paulette]

Laura....have you looked on the birdsnways.com site they have lots of info on diff species....and magazine articles that are very helpful. I would be a little nervous too and I think you will do fine. I use a cracker to distract while teaching "step up" or wear a big ring... for some reason birds like to bite jewelry.
Paulette