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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 25, 2014 21:04:01 GMT -5
So, I am formulating a theory here and I could use some imput from the group. I belong to several quaker sites beside this one and I have noticed a recurring theme on all the sites....
The theme is, Quakers bite for no apparent reason, suddenly, with little or no warning.
So here is my question...
I am wondering if this is true of hand fed babies that have only one owner and were purchases as babies or whether it is more of a problem in re-homed/rescued/adopted birds?
After having Mr P for 7 months now, he and I have formed a good bond, however, he still bites me for what I call no apparent reason. Now, I understand why he bites when he doesnt want to step up, and really, that hasnt been an issue anymore because I understand (and respect) his body language. He has learned over the months there is no need to bite me when he doesnt want to step up, I respect the fact that he doesnt and I leave him alone unless I MUST put him somewhere else (like...when I'm leaving my house and he has to go back in his cage)
What I am at a loss to understand is the unexpected biting, AFTER he has willingly and happily stepped up on my hand. A few weeks ago we were singing Old McDonald which he LOVES to do. He was sitting on my chest singing with me when he bit the h*ll out of my chin, enough that it bled pretty badly. We have not sang Old McDonald since because he likes to sit near my face when we sing and he has lost his shoulder/near the face privilege for awhile.
So, I'm curious. For those of you who experience the unexpected biting without warning, are your birds rescues/rehomed or did you get them as babies and you are their only owner?
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Post by cnyguy on Jul 25, 2014 22:03:22 GMT -5
My thinking is that it may just be a "parrot thing," but one that not all parrots do. Ralph will sometimes bite for no reason, but not often. Usually when he bites it's because he's upset or annoyed, as when I handle his food dish. Ralph was a hand-raised Quaker and has been with me since he was just under 6 months old, and has had no other homes. George the YCA was a wild-caught parrot with two or three prior homes and a long stint in the pet department of a chain store. He would sometimes bite without reason, but mostly it happened when he was in his Grouchy Parrot Mood.
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Post by biteybird on Jul 25, 2014 22:21:31 GMT -5
Bonnie is hand-raised. We got her from a breeder when she was 8 weeks old. She, too, bites some people (not usually me) without warning after sitting all cute and fluffed up and apparently happy. We don't know why, maybe it's a hard-wired behaviour in parrots who like to test the power of their beaks!
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 25, 2014 22:36:38 GMT -5
I've had a lot of rescues over the last 20 years or so (I'm old) and the only other bird I've had that seemed to bite for no reason was my blue front amazon. And actually, he would LAUGH this evil laugh after he bit you. I even rescued a quaker a long long time ago and don't recall him biting me unexpectedly. So, I was wondering if it was a quaker thing, coupled with being rehomed or just a quaker thing where multiple houses and owners didnt really make a difference.
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Post by msdani1981 on Jul 25, 2014 23:05:36 GMT -5
Zach said that Chewy will sometimes bite without warning if they're next to Chewy's cage, but not usually if they're in other rooms. He was hand raised, and we got him right after he was weaned.
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Post by msdani1981 on Jul 25, 2014 23:07:13 GMT -5
Taz was hand raised, as well, and we got him just after he was weaned and there's almost always a reason for his biting.
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Post by biteybird on Jul 25, 2014 23:13:04 GMT -5
The pet shop near my work has a blue quaker parrot. When they let him out of his cage he sits on their shoulders, then nips hard and says 'ouch'. He thinks it's a great game.
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Post by easttex on Jul 26, 2014 5:29:12 GMT -5
I don't get any unexpected bites from Peppy. I always expect them, and he never disappoints.  I got bit a few times by my rehomed CAG, but in retrospect there was always a reason. Once she had me thoroughly trained, she knew a soft warning bite would suffice, but she will chomp anyone but me. I'm curious, too, about Quakers and biting. I don't think Peppy bites for no reason. He's been conditioned over the years to use it to get what he wants, which in most cases is to be left in his cage. He's not unfriendly, though. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 26, 2014 7:53:25 GMT -5
We've had Casey over 7 years, we are her second home but she was still very young when she came here, she has only bitten me once in all those years and that was years ago when like Gary, she was guarding her favourite food, salmon and I was just moving the dish a bit so it wouldn't fall. She does like to get a reaction out of other people though, she will sit nice on them and then bite for no reason, that I can see, to get a reaction out of them. So I guess Quakers like drama and love to see how people will react |
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Post by easttex on Jul 26, 2014 8:27:40 GMT -5
This is such an interesting topic to me; it's been on my mind all morning. (I have time on my hands.) Is the Quaker unfairly maligned as a biter? Probably not. It seems to be too common to dismiss. They're not very far removed from the wild, so how would this help them as part of a survival strategy? Does something about being so communal in nature cause them to be more squabbly? (Is that a word?) I could ponder this for a long time. They are so fascinating!
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 26, 2014 18:52:14 GMT -5
i ponder this every time Mr P bites me for no reason, wondering what in the world brought THAT on. I didnt think about them being so communal in nature as a possible reason that biting seems to be so hardwired into them. Then again, budgies and tiels are really communal too and in the 14 years I had my little budgie, she NEVER bit me. Ever.
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Post by benegesserit on Jul 29, 2014 21:00:30 GMT -5
Happy was rehomed with us and was at least 1.5 years old (she laid eggs within a month of two of moving in.) She will bite us for many reasons. Sometimes it's because we're being too pushy with petting; if she gets scared by a noise; if my husband moves too quickly and doesn't warn her; if she's jealous that the cat is sitting too close or getting too much attention; if we aren't paying attention to her and she WANTS us to be attentive; a freckle looks like a bug and she needs to rid us of it; I have a hairband and that clearly doesn't belong on my head, or if she is grooming us and gets overenthusiastic. When I sing to Happy or play music for her, she gets a bit wild. She paces back and forth, bobs her head, turns in circles and sometimes bites. I think with her it's similar to playing with a puppy...sometimes they get too excited and nip? That's what she does.
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 29, 2014 21:49:22 GMT -5
I had to stop singing Old McDonald with Mr P. At first he started out just sitting on my chest and snuggling his head under my neck. Then he started hopping from my hand onto my chest every time the music played but there were no lyrics. Then he started banging his beak against my chin like he does to his toys. This progressed for months, until one day he bit the H*LL out of my chin. I thought maybe we could just continue singing (there was a youtube video that went with it) and he'd sit on his playstand but he got FRANTIC when the music came on and wouldnt listen to the song or try to sing, he just kept running back and forth on his playstand trying to get to me (his wings are clipped). I was sad to stop but he bit me so hard I'm hesitant to let him back up on my shoulder, anywhere near my face.
I have started in the last week, making Mr P wait for a few minutes before I put him back in his cage until he calms down. He gets really excited when he sees the "yummy" dish as it's visibly different looking than his regular food dishes. So far, this seems to be working and as I put him back into his cage, I just tell him to be a good boy and not bite me, and so far he hasnt. Been about a week now.
I swear I need one of those signs I've seen going around the internet that says "I haven't bitten anyone in this many <insert number> days!"
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Post by biteybird on Jul 31, 2014 4:39:50 GMT -5
OMG, Bonnie has only drawn blood once & I think it was accidental (she was playing and hadn't got used to controlling her beak power!).
Now & then she gets carried away nipping, but if it's over the top I say 'NO' and she usually stops. Our main problem is squawking every 2 seconds when she knows we are in the house (but we haven't let her out of her cage). Seriously, it's driving my husband out of his mind....
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 31, 2014 4:58:25 GMT -5
If Bonnie can talk, try to get her to speak English to you instead of squawk. Mr P hollers "BABY" to me as his flock call, or "hey baby". It is so much better on the ears then the squawking! When she starts to squawk, answer her with whatever word you want her to use to call you with. When she finally says it, make a big deal, coming running to her (since they are normally calling for attention)and she will soon get the idea to use that word (since it gets attention) then squawk. I guess it's a tradeoff. Mr P rarely squawks or makes noises that are hard on the ears, instead he bites. LOL
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I got bit a few times by my rehomed CAG, but in retrospect there was always a reason. Once she had me thoroughly trained, she knew a soft warning bite would suffice, but she will chomp anyone but me. I'm curious, too, about Quakers and biting. I don't think Peppy bites for no reason. He's been conditioned over the years to use it to get what he wants, which in most cases is to be left in his cage. He's not unfriendly, though.
