My cockatiel bites?

Question

One of my cockatiels bites a lot and i have no idea how to stop it.The female never bites and im wondering why she doesnt bite and he does.I always talk to him and make sure hes not frightened but he still bites.So does anyone know how to stop this?

Answer 1

If you want a bird to stop biting, you need to know why it's doing it in the first place.

Without actually seeing the bird, you, and your home it makes it a lot more difficult to pinpoint the problem. Reasons for biting include: biting from pain (medical condition, like a tumor), mate possessiveness, cage possessiveness, scared, tiered, likes only one s*x. The first thing to do with an agressive bird, is to take it to the vet.

Read Sally Blanchard's article; http://www.companionparrot.com/agression...

use common sense and follow it to the letter. Sally has been working with companion parrots for 30+ years (senior in the business!). Her advice is very down to earth, and it works.

Meanwhile, I would clicker train him to step up onto a handheld perch. If you don't know anything about clicker training here is a great book http://www.amazon.com/Clicker-Training-B...

You can also join a clicker group, just do an on-line search.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

Sorry to say, it is common for the male to bite. You have to talk to him and reasure him, he sounds like he might not be tame. To tame a bird, there are many books on this subject. Female Cockatiels are much less agressive than males. The males get very possesive and don't want others' to infringe on his territory. You might get bitten a lot more trying to get him to stop, but if you pick him up a whole lot more, sooner or later he might stop. Hope this helps. P.S.  I have 25 years experience as a bird fancier and belong to a Bird Club, I have friends that own Pet shops, so I have a lot of experience, especially with Cockatiels, because I used to raise them and sell them.