Kodi is just a biter and I just have to accept that...

[KiwiMango]

After several months of training Kodi, I have decided that no matter what I've tried, it's just part of her personality since the day I got her (the breeder said she was the sweetest of them all...but I just can't see it). She won't stop, infact I think she enjoys it...'oh here's an ear, lemme go bite that' 'oh a finger, should be nice' (toes are esp fun)...her style is to never let go and to bite harder. She loves attention, is very excitable, and hops around like a silly girl, but sometimes I'm scared of her, esp when she gets under my chin and bites my neck for no reason, just cuz it's fun. She's got the most pointy tip of a beak too. Mango is always on the sidelines when this happens with a concerned chirp to her, he has been so good about not biting and I have a feeling he even tells her to stop. I can see why Mango yells out in the night having to deal with Kodi too.:p

what i've tried:

earth quake method=bite harder
spray water=bite harder and enjoy getting wet
holding beak and saying no=bite as many fingers as possible during this process
one-on-one talk=proceed to bite my lip or nose
cage time=Mango comes to the rescue and entertains her
taken away from the room Mango is in=Mango goes crazy and Kodi could care less:rofl:

She is only 5 months old so maybe she will settle down by year 1:rolleyes:

[butterfly1061]

Sarah,

She's only 5 months old and she will settle down. Mine bit like this until they were a little older, so be patient. It will get better. Sounds like she's really seeing what she can get away with like a 2yr old :rolleyes:

[Zorro]

Oh how naughty! You might want to try wearing thick leather gloves when you interact with Kodi during the day for awhile. Just ignore her biting as it seems like an attention-getting behavior. She'll eventually figure out it doesn't get the dramatic response she's looking for. And set some boundaries with her - don't allow her to sit on your shoulder near your face or neck until she learns to behave! She's obviously got the upper hand - yours, that is!

[Janie]

Sarah,

She's only 5 months old and she will settle down. Mine bit like this until they were a little older, so be patient. It will get better. Sounds like she's really seeing what she can get away with like a 2yr old :rolleyes:

Sarah, I agree with Jackie 100%! I had a bitter for the first 7 to 9 months after I got him and he has matured and doesn't bite anymore. He might grab a mole or freckle but that is rare now. I did not like the bites but I loved him and knew that it was something I'd have to keep working on or learning to deal with. Of my three birds I do believe he has the biggest heart and is the sweetest. Don't give up on her just yet! I think she will bite less as she matures but being female, you will likely find that even as she matures and gets nesty, she's gonna bite. :)

[snowboardmandy]

I had a lovebird just like Kodiak at one time...his name was Boomer. He was probably 3 or so when we adopted him and I have no idea what his life was like at his old home, but he was a nippy little guy, just like Kodi, all the time. It was tiresome, and I found the only way to get him NOT to bite me was to wear beanie hats to cover my ears, long sleeved shirts, and to try to distract him with something else to chew on. I don't know where he learned the habit, but for as long as I had him, I couldn't break him of it no matter what I tried...

[Cooper]

I've tried leather gloves with Cooper, she's like Kodi, but is bit older (coming to 2 years) so how old before they calm down?? The gloves let me interact with Cooper outside of the cage, but I don't feel that this is a good long term solution and may never get her to not bite. I can pet the top of her head, but only while she is gnawing on the thumb of the glove (she's gnawed through, so time for new gloves).

[sdgilley]

Dealing with a biter can be tricky. I agree with Jackie, your birdie could very well grow out of the biting. OR she might grow out of part of it and still attack ears or something irresistable. Like Janie said, her biter boy still gets the occassional freckle.

I have a biter, Peter. He's a dedicated hand biter. He's eased up on other biting, which is good. Whenever he bit me, it drew blood. So my lip or forehead or hand got a deep bite. Now, I handle him with a washcloth over my hand to protect them. But I don't get bites anywhere else (for now). He likes to fly to my head and hang out with me there. I don't worry if he's on my chest or shoulder either.

Good luck. Don't give up on your bird!

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I'm not a fan of the gloves, personally. I have a biter as well. (See multiple threads on this section of the forum started by my user ID with the name "Melody" in the title.) My hands are COVERED with bites right now from Miss Melody.

I can call her a rotten little hen all day long, but the bottom line is, 99% of the time she warns me with body language that she is going to bite me. There are times (like when I'm trying to pluck her out of Milo's cage) when I have to just let her bite me because I need her to do what she doesn't want to do. That's when I get bitten.

I had to laugh at your comment about how you get bitten on the lip or nose when you have 1-1 talks with your bird. God, if I could have a dollar for every time somebirdy has decided to make themselves a nose ring during a Chat ...

[LauraO]

I totally believe that Kodi will grow out of this bitey phase as she's young and this behavior is very normal for a bird her age....I'm not a fan of gloves and feel it just perpetuates the behavior and discomfort with hands. There are ways around gloves and one of the best is to stick/dowel train your bird. Most of our birds are stick trained and it makes life easier to handle them if they are bitey/nesty/moody/scared of hands.

[Mummieeva]

I to had a bitey hen. She went in stages too. The dowel/stick trainign is a excellent thing to try. I have a few scars on hands from Baggy. But I learned to read her cues and move faster..lol.




Steph