# Hand trained twiggy, Rapid fire biting, screaming all day.



## bbleigh1989 (Oct 4, 2013)

So twiggy, is about 8 months old now. Were still not sure if she is a "she" or not. But lets say she is. 
Im having a few behavioral problems with her, that have seemed to get worse over the last month.
1. Biting. constant rapid fire biting. One moment shes snuggled on my shoulder, enjoy being petted, then out of nowhere she will attack my hand, and when i move my hand away, she follows it and keeps biting it. I ignore it. Because Ive been told giving her attention for it, even though negative, rewards the behavior. But ignoring it hasnt made matters better.

2. Screaming. Holy moly. Twiggy screams all day, every day. 
If she isn't out of her cage, she screams and screams and screams until it sounds like shes losing her voice.
We keep her in our office, because we have 3 cats that she loves, but they don't love her. So even though she doesn't see us every minute of the day, we spend about 3 one on one hours with her a day, sometimes even more. Shes spoiled to death, as far as we can tell, shes healthy, has tons of toys, gets lots of treats, sings and talks and whistles alot.
She just seems so starved for attention.

So, for the biting...any ideas on why she would be doing this? and how to stop the behavior? 
and screaming, same thing? anyone got a screamer on their hands? how do you deal with it?


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## goose'smom (Jan 1, 2014)

Is the biting like hiss hiss, open beak pecks, or she all out biting down and hurting you? Sometimes Goose will do the hiss hiss peck thing when I am petting her and she wants me to switch to a new place or if I hit a feather funny. I think sometimes while we pet their heads we can accidentally pull a feather backwards and hurt them a bit and they just react! Doe she settle down after a few seconds and want to be nice again? 

Also, she sounds like a he. Most females have one sound they make that just changes in intensity where the makes will whistle and sing different tunes. My guess, even in spite of the wonderful home and care you provide her, she is lonely when she in the office without you. Is there any way she could spend more time even in her cage but somewhere she could see you? Or have you considered getting her a mate? We got Goose a mate and now she doesn't make a peep all day. She is so happy!! Sometimes when I go to get gh out she lingers in her cage if she is busy. It shows me she is really content now. Just a thought  I hope that helps!!!! These babies are complicated! Hahaha


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## bbleigh1989 (Oct 4, 2013)

Her bites are more of a chicken peck. She's never actually hurt me doing it. And as far as spending more time with me, we keep her in the office because we have cats too, and we haven't figured out a good way to incorporate her cage into the living room without the pesky cats getting to her. And I can't get rid of my boyfriends cats! I've tried rolling her out into the living room before, and she still screams because she can't get out of her cage, since cats and birds don't mix. I've thought of getting her a mate. But right now that's not possible. I'm just trying to figure out a way for now to make sure she's happy!


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## Nokota (Jan 27, 2013)

Female birds will often just use their beaks to communicate anxiety or to just grab things.

If the bites are not painful at all, odds are she's trying to tell you something and isn't showing aggression.

My female does that from time to time. It scares people who don't know her, but I've learned to live with it and have always ignored it.


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