Nippy Youngster

[Ira]

Hello everyone

We just brought home our first linnie a couple of days ago, so he's new to us and the environment and hasn't had time to settle properly yet, but is eating, drinking and looking to interact. He was hand-reared alongside his brother from approximate 10-14 days old and socialised with other birds and humans, and is now around 12 weeks.

He's currently being quite nippy, to the extent that my fingers are getting sore because once he grabs hold he won't let go easily, and I'm sure there are a number of reasons, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice about teaching him that biting fingers is not acceptable behaviour? Or at least that he doesn't need to bite hard to get his point across.

Some of this is probably trust and needing to establish a proper bond.
He steps up very politely onto a finger to come out of the cage but once out it's a mostly different matter. Perhaps he doesn't want to be removed from where he currently is. Once he's more settled I might be able to teach him to go home for a reward, though, so it won't be as much of a problem.

 

[LinnieGirl]

Hello everyone

We just brought home our first linnie a couple of days ago, so he's new to us and the environment and hasn't had time to settle properly yet, but is eating, drinking and looking to interact. He was hand-reared alongside his brother from approximate 10-14 days old and socialised with other birds and humans, and is now around 12 weeks.

He's currently being quite nippy, to the extent that my fingers are getting sore because once he grabs hold he won't let go easily, and I'm sure there are a number of reasons, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice about teaching him that biting fingers is not acceptable behaviour? Or at least that he doesn't need to bite hard to get his point across.

Some of this is probably trust and needing to establish a proper bond.
He steps up very politely onto a finger to come out of the cage but once out it's a mostly different matter. Perhaps he doesn't want to be removed from where he currently is. Once he's more settled I might be able to teach him to go home for a reward, though, so it won't be as much of a problem.

Linnies rarely bite but when they do after they first come home it’s usually out of fear. Take it slow. great sign that he steps up nicely. After taking him out, let him explore on his own terms. He should start to fly back and forth to you if unclipped. Offer treats when he comes to you, apple, spray millet, whatever he likes best.
when birds nip, a quick good puff of air to their face followed with a good, “ no”, repeated each time they nip, usually does the trick. They don’t like it. Conversely, treats for good behavior work well too.

 

[Ira]

Yeah, that makes sense. Everything's new. He mostly just sticks to us and what we're doing at the moment, and is happy to ride around on my shoulder whilst I do chores. If he seems interested in something I move closer to let him explore if he wants.

Fortunately even if he's on my shoulder he's proving easy to return to the cage at the moment, just a case of leaning so he's inside the doorway and he reaches for the perch, so I don't need my hands much when he's out. I'm trying to make sure that I put him in a couple of times, close the door, sit and talk to him for 10-30 seconds, and then let him out again, so that he hopefully doesn't associate going in with the end of playtime. He's not going in and out by himself for food yet.

He isn't clipped and flies quite well. He'll fly across the room to snoop at what someone else is doing. He clambered all over my housemate eagerly yesterday evening, then flew back to me when my housemate walked away with him.

I know that he likes millet but haven't attempted to offer it by hand yet. Got a 3 day weekend this week so will start that properly tomorrow. I asked the breeder what fresh food he likes but he hasn't shown much interest yet, perhaps he's too busy wanting to play at the moment. I can but offer them.

 

[LinnieGirl]

Yeah, that makes sense. Everything's new. He mostly just sticks to us and what we're doing at the moment, and is happy to ride around on my shoulder whilst I do chores. If he seems interested in something I move closer to let him explore if he wants.

Fortunately even if he's on my shoulder he's proving easy to return to the cage at the moment, just a case of leaning so he's inside the doorway and he reaches for the perch, so I don't need my hands much when he's out. I'm trying to make sure that I put him in a couple of times, close the door, sit and talk to him for 10-30 seconds, and then let him out again, so that he hopefully doesn't associate going in with the end of playtime. He's not going in and out by himself for food yet.

He isn't clipped and flies quite well. He'll fly across the room to snoop at what someone else is doing. He clambered all over my housemate eagerly yesterday evening, then flew back to me when my housemate walked away with him.

I know that he likes millet but haven't attempted to offer it by hand yet. Got a 3 day weekend this week so will start that properly tomorrow. I asked the breeder what fresh food he likes but he hasn't shown much interest yet, perhaps he's too busy wanting to play at the moment. I can but offer them.

Well that’s a good start! Keep doing those things! As far as fresh foods, even if they’ve been weaned on a good variety of them, sometimes they regress when sent to a new home. Keep offeing them daily anyway. Eventually they will decide to try them again.

 

[Ira]

He wanted to investigate my mug of tea so hopefully I can do what works with my oldest budgie and eat healthy foods with him to encourage him.

I'm getting better at avoiding situations that might make him nip, but he accidentally pinched the skin under my arm whilst trying to climb about under my hoodie so I had to remove him, which rather annoyed him.

At one point he went aggressively for the back of my hand whilst perched on my wrist, so I kept telling him 'Ah-ah!', frowning, and saying to be gentle, and after a few times he settled down.

He's willing to take individual seeds from my fingers so shouldn't be too much trouble with some millet.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

I am so glad you have a Linnie! They are great! 12 weeks is a bit older than is when a hand reared baby is normally sold. So, it is possible after weaning he didn't get handled as much and needs a little work. That can be tougher when babies aren't clipped (modestly) as they love to go exploring instead of sitting with you. I would see if he will take some millet from your hand, it is a great first step! It takes about a month for a new bird to totally relax in a new home, so stick with it! Have pics? We love photos!

 

[Ira]

The Christmas and New Year period got in the way a little bit, but they were taken to visit the breeder's family so got some extra socialising that way, but then there were family issues, so a couple of delays.

He doesn't seem fussed on taking anything from me yet, other than attempting to drink my tea, but I might need to offer slightly bigger pieces to make it more obvious what I'm holding.

He only really started exploring the other day, and now he's been moved up to the bird room, so he's back to being clingy. But he is now stepping up better, for now at least, and being less of a grump. He might have been missing his brother.

I've attempted to attach some photos. He's been named Cocoa.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Hi Cocoa! He's adorable. Glad it is going better. Babies explore with their beaks, so that may be what you are experiencing. I find males to be more "beaky". Have you considered a modest clip? 3 Primaries from each wing is usually enough to help with taming and safety initially. If you find him traveling high or being a bit independent, maybe something to consider. Most let them grow out after that, though Linnies do take a long period to molt them out and regrow. Usually 10-12 month mark you see them drop out and be replaced.

 

[Ira]

Quite possibly, the breeder did say they were going through a beak testing phase.
It was very cute yesterday when he and the budgies briefly met, because my hen budgie was following him around all over me to see what he was up to. She's a nosy madam.

I hadn't considered clipping. I don't know of anyone in the UK who tends to clip young birds. Cocoa's quite the confident flier when he decides he wants to take off and will do loops of the room, so I'm not sure whether it would be more harmful to him to clip him now.

 

[Morgan]

Hey Ira! Happy to see you here finally. And I love Cocoa's new name! How did that come about?

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Clipping is a personal choice. In the US, most of us that handfeed will clip with a modest, 3 primaries from each wing for going home to keep them safe, and aid in the taming process. When they molt out, most leave them flighted. How is it going now?