Why is my cockatiel mean?

Question

For some reason, my cockatiel bites me whenever I try to take him out of the cage. When I finally get him out, he's really friendly. I always use gloves to get him out and try to spend at least a half hour to an hour with him a day. Is their anything I can do to get him to stop biting me in the cage?

Answer 1

1) As stated by others, leave the door open and let him come out when the bird feels like it.  However, that doesn't involve you.  How does that fix the biting when trying to remove the bird from the cage.

2)  Don't use gloves.  Here's the thing.  When the bird sees this weird thing come at him, they react in biting.  Then, the bird will associate this weird, aggressive, threatening thing with you.  

3)  Cockatiels are aggressive in nature.  You're basically invading his home when you reach in there to grab him.

Be patient with him.  Put your hand in the cage with no gloves on.  Place your finger far enough away from him where he can't bite.  However, close enough to where he can see that you're not going to be a threat.

Through time, the bird will associate the finger with "safe", not threatening.

In time, you move your finger closer and closer.  The bird will still snip at you, but be patient.  Eventually, the bird will realize the your finger is safe and then jump on.

Answer 2

he is protecting his home, he prob doesnt like your gloves and thinks they are things onto themselves, he prob doesnt realize that its you taking him out he thinks its just the mean scary gloves....try not to use the gloves and see how he acts, cockatiel bites arent painful at all trust me... check out http://www.parrotcentral.net/how_to_tame... for tips on how to train a bird  goodluck!

Answer 3

My cockatiel does the exact same thing LOL! He pecks at me for a minute when im trying to get him out and once he's out he looks like the happiest bird on earth. He walks rite up to me and sits with me and chirps away. And he is very friendly and has no problems getting on my finger when he's outside the cage. No idea why they do that lol but it doesn't bother me cause I can usually get him out in a minute or two once he's calmed down and he doesn't bite very hard at all.

Idk if you bird will eat out of your hand but a treat works for me. U can get like these fruit things at any petstore. Get the ones for cockatiel or parakeet so they are small enough. My bird didn't eat out of my hand at first but after a while he will get used to the the hand in his face and wont bite/ move away and relize its food. Mite take a while tho cockiels can be harder to handle than larger birds.

Answer 4

i have one and he wont come out unless we open the door and he comes out on his own..they like doing things on their own. i usually walk away and let him come out...then when i come back he is on the door and he will get on my shoulder. hope this works :)

Answer 5

he may be territorial over his cage. let him come out on his own by opening the cage door and sitting near the cage. offer him some treats to coax him out more. you can try target cicker training to get him to come to you aswell.

Answer 6

Your bird is just being territorial.  I don't know if you have tried this, but maybe put a treat out in one hand right when you open the cage and see if your bird focuses on getting the treat and stepping up on your other hand.

Answer 7

Open his door on cage and let him come out on his own, then let him jump on your hand/finger.

Answer 8

Give it a slap " upside the head." That may tell him you mean business . When he does it again, hit him again. If it is a smart cockateil the message will sink in.

Answer 9

Your bird is not mean.  It is fearful.  Birds do not have the capacity to be mean.  Only humans do.

Teach him the Step Up command and use a branch to have him step onto at first.

Google - Nurturing Dominance and read it fully.