I have had Mollie for 6 months, at first she would step up from inside the cage, but then started to bite if I put my hand in the cage. Now I wait for her to come out, even so I still need to use a perch to get her to step up. Once I walk away she steps up on my hand and is mostly fine, nipping once in a while. Will this continue or will she calm down again?? Mollie just turned 1 this past week, is this the terrible two's?? Should I tell her no when she nips or ignore it all together?? You can tell I am a newbie lots of questions. Thanks Guys, Julie & Mollie

Well, you might get some different responses for those particular questions

I, for one, do say 'no bite' when my birds nip a bit too hard. I don't yell it, I just say it in a firm voice. If they are on my finger or hand when they bite, then I will do the earthquake thingie (tipping the hand slightly, just enough for them to lose their balance).

As for the cage aggression...it is hard to say if it is just a stage or not. Could be, or it could be something your Quaker just prefers.

Now, I tend to not push the issue when my birds bite from the inside of their cage. It is their home after all I have no problems using a perch to get them out. And they have no problems using one (and I'm a huge fan of stick/perch training because of this exact issue).

The thing to remember, when your bird is biting you from inside the cage or when he is on the outside...push gently into the bite. This, like the earthquake, tends to put them off balance. It is something that works really well for reducing the biting behavior.

Hopefully someone else will be along soon to give you some more ideas.

Thanks Carrie Anne I have tried the earthquake method but this afternoon I took your advice and pushed into her bite and she, did stop the nipping after that. I feel the same as you that their cage is their home and private place. So if Mollie would rather come out (or not) and then step up I guess that will be okay, maybe she will warm up more around her cage after I have had her longer. Anyway thanks again.

You should definitely sa no or something. If you want it to stop ignoring will do nothing to help you.

I agree with Carrie Ann all the way... I have one the same and when I need her out in a hurry, I end up unhooking her happy hut and pulling the whole thing out to get her out, then she is fine. She was just at a year old when I got her.
Do you do daily step-ups with Mollie? I have done this with Poppy since day one, in various places of my house and have never had a cage problem with him. Just a thought.

Yes she comes out twice a day and we practice step ups and she does shake hands so we practice that as well. Could this be the terrible two's even though she just turned 1?? She has learned 3 words, so she does respond to us. I guess it is like training my dachshunds, just be firm when training so she understands that nipping is not good. Maybe she just does not like to be bothered in her cage??

What is the terribele twos?

The terrible two's is a stage that I have read about in my QP book and Bird Talk magazine. Similar to human children, where they try out new behaviors to see what they can get away with and try your patience as well. Anyone else out there ever heard of it?? I think I have even seen it referred to on this forum.