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| Question about Pets:Bad birdy!? |
She's just never been socialized. Read my answer that I wrote just before this one. It will tell you how to get started getting her more familiar with people, instead of afraid of them as she is now.
If you can't find it (it's long, or I'd repeat it), just remember that a pointing finger stimulates the fear instinct in a bird, because the finger looks like a snake or other approaching enemy. What you need to do is keep getting closer and closer to your bird with your HAND (not finger!).
Keep leaving your flat hand in the cage with the bird for longer and longer periods of time each day until she doesn't think the hand is a big deal anymore. It will take a lot of patience to go through the stages of getting getting closer and closer to her while leaving your hand next to her for longer and longer periods of time. Make every visit of your hand a rewarding one -- I don't mean with treats, but by your company being soothing instead of reactive.
However, since she bites, you might want to always keep a piece of apple in the part your hand that's closest to her, to begin with. That way, when she bites, she will bite into the apple instead of your hand. The important thing about that is, it will keep you from jumping and making sudden movements when she does bite. Sudden movements and sudden noises just encourage more fear in her, and thus more biting, which is her only defense.
If you can't even get a hand in her cage, start with a stick. Just be sure never to point it right at her (snake instinct).
Always train in a quiet, controlled environment and speak soothingly. Don't burst into laughter or other exclamations during training if she lunges and bites. Keep speaking to her soothingly. She has to know that she can trust you to keep the environment calm and even, and that her biting will not change that. Finally, she will learn that biting isn't necessary because you will never startle her or hurt her.
One other thing is to always make sure she is not biting out of pain, like from malnutrition due to not getting any fresh fruits or fresh greens (like carrot tops). Sick animals are crabby animals, just like sickness doesn't put people in the best mood either.
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