Why Is My Bird Biting Me?

[Eggnog101]

Im having the same problem my new male tiel was afraid or everyone biting and hissing. After a few days he calmed down but still is a bit shaky. He doesnt seem to trust anyone. He seems afraid of a persons hand. So my friend who sold me him for $30 i knew he neglected him because of all the damage to his feathers and so forth and I wanted to save this tiel from such horrid conditions. It seemed that when i asked if my friend ever hit the bird he replied yes. A cruel person not fit for responsibilities. I mean who smacks a bird it was so young when he got it and the first couple of days they are shaky and scared so theyd hiss and bite. He wanted him to love him the first day he got it. And because it didnt do that hed smack it and throw it. I took this bird away from him. And the tiel seems so much happier calmer and more loving. Things take time, trust when broken is hard to get back. But it seems hes doing alot better than before. Hes a pied cockatiel. If you want why not add a few toys to the cage or rerange everything so she wouldnt really look at it as hers and she'd get more use to you. I say rearange or get toys try it out.

aww. your poor cockatiel!

That sounds good, I'll rearrange some of his toys, maybe switch his fresh food dish and his pellet food dish around. Thanks for the idea!

 

[TwoCrows]

Eggnog, your bird is gorgeous! I am glad he is becoming more tolerable. LOL It is not easy to work with cranky birds, but they do come around after a while and in your case, they will bond with you and you alone. The more grumpy they are, the more likely you are the only one that can handle the bird. I still struggle with my cranky Cockatiel, however he has come a long way and after 16 years, he rarely bites anymore, although he still gives me the evil eye and opens his beak my way. LOL But he has not really bitten me in 4 or 5 years now. I work with him every day. I give him his space when he wants to be alone, but when he is in the mood for humans, I use that time to work on him. I love him anyway, no matter his grumpiness. LOL

Keep up the good work!

 

[serama hen]

aww. your poor cockatiel!

That sounds good, I'll rearrange some of his toys, maybe switch his fresh food dish and his pellet food dish around. Thanks for the idea!

I hope it works.

 

[Eggnog101]

I hope it works.

I do too, he's still super grumpy though.

 

[Sairi]

Hello! to start off, your bird Apollo is a beauty! I have raised cockatiels for a long time, and i have some advice for you...
1) do you have any other birds of similar species? if so, apollo might be showing off how handsome he is or how he can defend his cage.
2) do you hang out with him? having him with you for an hour a day might boost his human factor. (my cockatiel is always with me)
3) Have you switched around his perches lately? switching around their enviroment is a good way to make them feel like theyre somewhere else and make them less territorial
4) Corrections! if he attacks you, never run away. find a way to scare him if he does so, aka bang on the cage, yell, and he will tone it down. (remember, this does not work if hes been a cagebird all of his life! this might make it worse in some cases, so be wary!)
5)patience! one of these millions of comments has an awnser somewhere!

(exp) 1 cockatiel

 

[ladybirdb12]

Eggnog,
You have your handfull lol. I too handles birds, breed cockateils and have large parrots.
Sair,I kind of disagree on hitting the cage, and such forgive me for saying this. Everyone has ideals to handle a parrot, lol like everyone knows the perfect way to train a horse. Lol
Parrots are not pets!!! They are part of the family, which = FLOCK.you are his flock (mate maybe) .
Changing his toys around and such never heard about that for the reason of protecting his house (cage), if you have a female that is laying eggs then that's why you change around the toys and such.
anyways, you need to study his breed, a very good site is
Birdchannel.com
some birds are a one person bird.
instead of using a glove, use a towel cover his head he cant see and less stress for him and you. Another way to train him and like I said everyone is different about training birds or any critters. I use a spray bottle, with water, put the setting on jet spray, if he bits say NO BITE, THEN SPRAY HIM ONCE, LOL IN TIME ALL HE GOT TO DO IS SEE THAT SPRAY BOTTLE, ITS FUNNY HIS MIND IS SAYING SHOULD I BITE OR SHOULD I BE NICE LOL.
they are very smart, an African grey parrots has a mind that is equal to a 5 year old child. So you are dealing with a very smart bird that can outwit you lol I know mine does lol all the time, but I have always said my flock OWNS ME LOL, and I am happy about that, they trust me.I might sound crazy, but parrots can be your best friend, they will do there best to make you laugh lol.
as for yelling at him, think about in the wild the flocks will yell even when they are next to each other that's their nature YELLING, so in a way he out witted you because you yell back lol funny isn't it? I am not laughing at you so don't take this wrong. Its funny because he got want he wanted.
Instead of yelling, whisper he is going to think about that, also again you can use the spray bottle and whisper HUSH, if he don't just spray him and not say a word to him, he will get the ideal. Soon, he when he yells just walk up and place the bottle in his sight and don't say a word to him lol.
I have a cockatoo, macaw and a grey AND ARE KNOWN TO BE VERY LOUD BIRDS!!! but my house is very quiet because of how I trained them using the spray bottle to show not saying a word to them but show them the bottle.
Aer ideal about him trusting you and being a flock, is when you have dinner, give him a plate next to you, umm like brown rice, veggies, eggs with egg shell mixed in that's very good for them. You can find out on the site that I gave you, what they cannot have. But flocks of birds eat together, this can really help him and you.
But remember, give him time, all parrots have their ideal on time, meaning some can take a few days others can take years, just don't rush them.
if one day you cannot feed him but you have someone else that can, easy fix!!!!! Lol put a stuff animal on top of his cage, he will be wondering if that thing will get him, fingers will not worry him at that moment its that thing on top of his cage, just take it off as soon as the food and water is done.
If you have any question just ask
good luck

 

[Eggnog101]

Right now, Apollo is siitting on my hand, nibbling at my keyboard. I had to kick him off my shoulder because he kept biting my earings, lol, now he's sitting on my keyboard XD I definatly won't be banging on his cage, that just seems mean to me, but everyone has their own training style. he is now licking/ nipping at my fingers, and won't let me use half of my keys haha. He just let me kiss his beak lol, he kissed/licked my pinky again.
the glove was an- NO! NOT THE POWER BUTTON! APOLLO!- emergancy, a one time thing. I don't know why, but he's acting sweet and curious all of a sudden... he's probably sick xD he just hopped onto my arm without me asking him. Computer Nerd Bird lol. I know, this is just basically a play-by-play... sorry, he's just so cute!!

 

[Eggnog101]

Hello! to start off, your bird Apollo is a beauty! I have raised cockatiels for a long time, and i have some advice for you...
1) do you have any other birds of similar species? if so, apollo might be showing off how handsome he is or how he can defend his cage.
2) do you hang out with him? having him with you for an hour a day might boost his human factor. (my cockatiel is always with me)
3) Have you switched around his perches lately? switching around their enviroment is a good way to make them feel like theyre somewhere else and make them less territorial
4) Corrections! if he attacks you, never run away. find a way to scare him if he does so, aka bang on the cage, yell, and he will tone it down. (remember, this does not work if hes been a cagebird all of his life! this might make it worse in some cases, so be wary!)
5)patience! one of these millions of comments has an awnser somewhere!

(exp) 1 cockatiel

1: no
2:yes
3:no, he falls down when I change them.
4:I try not to shreak when he bites me, I just tap his beak and say 'no.' I don't think banging on his cage or yelling at him will work.

 

[Eggnog101]

Right now, Apollo is siitting on my hand, nibbling at my keyboard. I had to kick him off my shoulder because he kept biting my earings, lol, now he's sitting on my keyboard XD I definatly won't be banging on his cage, that just seems mean to me, but everyone has their own training style. he is now licking/ nipping at my fingers, and won't let me use half of my keys haha. He just let me kiss his beak lol, he kissed/licked my pinky again.
the glove was an- NO! NOT THE POWER BUTTON! APOLLO!- emergancy, a one time thing. I don't know why, but he's acting sweet and curious all of a sudden... he's probably sick xD he just hopped onto my arm without me asking him. Computer Nerd Bird lol. I know, this is just basically a play-by-play... sorry, he's just so cute!!