Cleo has a bad learned behavior. She wants to bite/beak hard SOMETIMES when she steps up. If she is in a place where she needs to be rescued, she hops eagerly onto my hand. Otherwise, she'll nip and run from my hand/finger OR the perch when approached.
She was rescued from a hamster cage in a bad petstore in Indiana so there is no telling what her history is.
She is very loving otherwise, allows me to hold her head in my hand and eats eagerly out of my hand. ROLLS on her back for some belly scratching, etc. as long as it's on a perch.
I've been able to clicker train her to bring a ring and put it in a cup, to wave, and some other things. But I cannot UNTRAIN her from this bad habit.
Any ideas??
Mark.
P.S. I have "ignored" some users, so I apologize upfront if I don't reply. I'm on this board to learn more about my birds and to share what I know. I'm not on here to debate who is more knowledgeable.
Thank you.

Have you tried a quick quake and "NO BITE!"? Or the "PSSSST!" distraction followed by "NO BITE" Mr Buddy learned quick with that. Now when he sees the others acting up and biting or playing too hard he says "donnnnnt! donnnnnt! DONT BITE! DONT BITE!" He's in there saying that right now as matter of fact!! lol Somebody must be being bad.

^That is what Echo-Bella was 'trained' to [No bite]. It workds great with her and we're working on it with Harley. Mark, its obvious by all the improvments Cleo has made that you are working wonders with her. Keep up the good work!

Does she bite only finger or perch? Does she bite if offered an arm? Maybe a finger is just bait. If she is biting after getting on a quake or distraction should work to divert her attention.

My preference would be to try distraction rather than the quake. It can be counterproductive, as she may have begun to learn this behavior because of uncertainty over whether the offered "perch" was stable and safe. If you quake her, it proves that its not safe. I think ingrained, learned biting behavior (particularly with a Zon) might be the most difficult to change. One alternative approach is to offer her something that is ok to bite (like anything other than your flesh), when stepping her up, like a "bite stick".

When dealing with a tough question like this, Mark, it might be good to consider talking with a behaviorist who is experienced with Zons. Someone who is used to dealing with Zons with 'issues', you know?

you right Nate but it depends when the bite is happening, before or after stepping up.

My little GC use to bite like that, I say "OUCH, NO BITE"! and shake my head no, and it's worked well with him, however, the little stinker now shakes his head and says "no,no"! when he bites me, and then says, "that's no nice"! But it has worked for me. I hope this helps a little.

Hug's
Judy

Hey...I'm there! you know of any???
Mark