Parakeet BITES!?

Question

I have a keet! His name is george but he has a problem.. BITING! whats a simple way to get him to stop and not make him get his way!?

Answer 1

Can you tell us when he bites? My new budgie, E.T., chews on my fingers when he's been sitting there for awhile. With this, he's telling me he wants to move around or eat his food. I first, gently, tell him "stop" and touch his beak with my thumb, one he stops chewing I reward him with whatever he wants. Over time you can stop physically touching him and just tell him "stop".

If his situation is not as above, and he is a "wild child" then here is what I would do.

Sense hands seem to be the "enemy" and he wants nothing to do with them, make him like them. Before bedtime, remove his food dish. In the morning offer him his food in your hand, if he goes for it great! He's learning to associate. If not, try again in 15 min, if he still doesn't get it, then replace his food bowl until the night. Keep doing this until he learns that "hand" equals "good". This can take 1-2 weeks, depending how tame the budgie is.

If you have any questions, or I just didn't understand the situation, please message me. Good luck with George!

Answer 2

My parakeet did the same thing when I first got him, I culdnt even get him out of the cage without a glove! But I got some advice on how to deal with it and He finaly became tame... now he is such a sweet bird! Ok so hat you need to do is show him your not afraid, its almost impossible for a parakeet to break the skin, you just got to say you no what! your only a little bird you cant hurt me! you just got to think that in your mind! Thats how you show him your not afraid, then when you try to get him out of his cage and it grips on to your hand, pull up it will cause him to let go. Next what you need to do is offer it treats you know seeds and fruit nstuff, that will make him think that when you aproach him you are goin to give him a treat. You need to do this before he gets to old, then he will never stop biting.. keep trying and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Answer 3

This isn't much information to go on. Under what circumstance do you get bitten? Is Georgie hand-tamed, as in, he is comfortable with being handled? If he isn't, then of course he's going to bite you--he's afraid of you.

If he is tame, then are you forcing him to step up on your hand when he doesn't want to? Are you trying to pet him and he doesn't want you to? Are you sticking your hand in the cage and he doesn't want you to? Are you just too close to him and he doesn't like it?

Birds have a very defined sense of personal space. They tend to take it more seriously than people do, and if he feels that you're invading his, he'll be sure to correct you! This personal space includes not only the immediate area surrounding his body but also his cage, which he sees as his home and his "safe place". Birds are more sensitive to their space than people are, and just being too close to a bird can be considered an offense worthy of biting. One cockatiel I used to own, Angel, would attack my hand if I laid it next to her, because it was "in her space". In any other circumstance, however, she lived up to her name. It wasn't a matter of a "bad" bird, it was a matter of my social ineptness as a part of the flock.

Often times, birds' social signals are hard for people to read; they're much subtler and different from a cat or a dog's, and because of this they may go unnoticed. Birds generally do try to give a warning that they don't like a situation, before they resort to biting. Does George lower his head when you put your hand near him? Does he open his beak or raise the feathers on his forehead? Do his body feathers tighten against his body, making him appear to shrink in size just a little, or do the feathers on his back stand up like a dog's hackles? Does he hiss, squeak, or make any other noises to indicate his feelings? If you have overlooked these cues in the past, he may have learned that they are a waste of time, and that the only thing you respond to is a more forceful approach: biting.

Like all parrots, 'keets are intelligent and emotional. They are not like dogs that will simply do whatever you want them to without question--they are little beings with their own personalities, and they feel that as a part of the flock, they deserve their fair share of respect.

I know that some budgies have a habit of preening too hard--this is different from defensive/offensibe biting, because they really have the best of intentions, they just don't realize they're being too rough. You may not be able to recognize this kind of biting for what it is unless you have watched birds preen each other and know the sort of mannerisms they use. If this is the case, you can try to redirect his attention by offering him a toy or piece of raffia or cardboard, something other than your hand (but not a treat or piece of food), that he can chew on instead. This will keep his little beak busy and allow you to continue handling him while saving your skin.

I suggest reading up on parakeets, owners' guides for parakeets usually have helpful information on how to hand-tame a 'keet and get it to trust you, and how to avoid a face-off when you try to get Georgie to step on your hand. If Georgie's biting does not fall into one of the situations I have described--if, for example, he is sitting quietly on your hand, apparently content, and then suddenly bites you out of the blue--then you may want to talk to an avian behaviorist. Birds are complex creatures, and it will probably take that much to figure out what is going on in his little head, and how to fix it!