My 4 year old African Gray Parrot has gotten into the habbit of biting everybody but me?

Question

How do I get him to stop?

Answer 1

Tell everyone he is in contact with that even though it hurts, don't pull away or make any noise when he bites. This shows him that biting doesn't make the person go away. If that doesn't work after a few days, when he bites, gently pinch his beak and while still holding it, look it right in the eye and say in a firm voice -not yelling- "no, that's too hard" and don't break eye contact. Wait until he looks away. This teaches him that you're still boss and he needs to listen. I never teach my birds not to bite completely, they are just trained very carefully about how HARD they bite. If they feel threatened, they need to be allowed to look and act scary, so I teach them to reach out and hold a person's finger very gently and move it away. This usually scares the person into leaving the bird alone and neither you nor the bird is upset with anyone. A few of my birds that never learned to control the strength of their bite have been trained to knock their beak against the person's hand -like biting without actually opening their beak. This is a very easy alternative to teach the bird and you will never have to worry about them actually biting even when they're scared. If you want more advice, please email me.

Answer 2

Your parrot is in "Love" with you and See's you as his "mate", he is biting others as a warning to "keep off his girl" (even if you are a boy) the only thing you can do is find a quiet room that can be made pitch black, and perfectly safe, put the cage in there. EVERY time he bites someone, give a firm "No" and Tap the bird firmly on top of it's beak, then You must place him in this room as a "Time-out". Ignore any noise he /she makes, and leave the bird in there for 30 minutes, and until it is perfectly quiet.
It will not take long for him to realize that this behavior is not on, and he should stop with-in a week or so. It will also help to have others ofter him/her his favorite treat, and have other family and friends spend time with the bird. African Grey parrots are exceptionally intelligent, and he should learn fast.

Answer 3

Amazons, African Greys, and Cockatoos tend to do this a lot. I have a Blue-fronted amazon, a Goffin Cockatoo, and a sun conor. Beleive this or not, if you are shorter you are more likely to get bit. Especially if your tall, and handing it to a shorter person. Also depending on the personality of the bird, he might not like it when someone pets him to "rough". You didnt give me enough details so you cant be sure why he is biting or not. He seems to feel comfortable with you. If he is shy around others, tell your family and friends to look away when they catch the bird looking at them, until the bird feels more comfortable. Also blinking a when the bird blinks makes it feel more comfortable. Going back to what a said before, if you are holding the bird, hold him above your head, or at eye level, just keep him away from your face. Also when handing the bird to someone or taking it out of its cage, make eye contact with the bird, and offer your hand to be stepped on, approaching from below. If the bird is threatining to bite take a small object and place it 1 inch below to beak and offer your hand to be stepped on. If the bird is biting you or someone else, move your hand towards the bird. Even though your natural reaction is to pull away, DONT! This could rip flesh, injure the bird, and even teach the bird to bite! Dont scream when a bird bites, say don't! Or Stop! Dont say no. Also if givin the opprutunity a bird will bite its favorite person's family, or friend!! And of course, have your family talk to him spend time with him and it helps if your family members play with him themselves rather then with you in the room. Hope this helps and sorry its so long :/

Answer 4

Your Grey has pretty much claimed you as his own and doesn’t want anybody near you and also doesn’t trust anyone enough to allow them near him.

You can start by having people spend more time around him. Not necessarily touching, but just being around him. Have others offer him treats, not just as rewards, but for being in the same area with him. He should eventually learn to at least tolerate people.

When he does bite, don’t yell. Simply place him in a cage away from the crowd, preferably in a place he doesn’t want to be as soon as he bites – not a second later. Only leave him there for a few minutes at a time. Birds have, what can be considered, short-term memories or short attention spans. Keep him in the cage longer than that and he’ll likely forget and not understand why he’s being locked up.

Answer 5

Birds want to please, and they crave groups and attention.

That being said; a REAL punishment for anti-social behavior - like biting - is a time-out and a scolding.

Hold the AG below eye level, make an ugly angry face and say NO! NO! NO BITING!! then put the bird in the cage without any further coment. Cover the cage if possible and leave the bird alone for a period of time (10 or more minutes).

It shouldn't take long before it puts cause and effect together and behavior changes.

Answer 6

You need to work with him NOW. Do not let him get away with this bad behavior. Make him step up and down several times a day with every one. If he sees that biting gets him his own way, he will get even worse. Contact an avian vet/behaviorist for help if you need. They do tend to like one person better, but this is still bad behavior.

Answer 7

He is an African Grey they usually only bond to one person. That's just the way they are its the breed.

Answer 8

thats like me and my cockatoo Sam. He only lets me and my Dad pat him. Thats because were the only only ones that spend time with him.

Sam only let me pat him after i had been fedding him for a couple of weeks and I didnt flinch or pull back when he bit me. I had to show it that i was not scared of it.

Answer 9

Well..u shud get everybody in your family to spend sum time with the bird. It might be that its only use to u not anyone else...