September 18, 2019
Bird nipping
New young A grey that nips my neck and ears while on shoulder. Ouch!!!! Is this normal. Is this just curiosity or a problem starting. I sternly say no he stops but continues again
Question:
Answer:
Hi Angela,
This is a common problem with having a bird in your shoulder. I personally believe it is best to keep your parrot at eye level or lower. When he is on your shoulder, he is in control and there isn’t a lot you can do about it. This nibbling can escalate to real biting if you are not careful. Telling him no is not effective for more than one second. If you still want to allow him on your shoulder, then whenever he nips, remove him from your shoulder and place him on a stand. Of course if he prefers the stand, he will learn to nip to get his way. Which is why shoulders can be such an issue. Parrots don’t responds well to negative reinforcement/punishment. They respond to positive reinforcement. You can try giving him something else to chew on instead of you. I’ll give you a link to our page with behavior and training articles. This will help you understand his behavior and how to deal with problems as they come up.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
