Things You'll Need
- Wooden toys
- Treats
- Cage
- Cover
Instructions
Spend plenty of time with your pet bird. Many owners do not spend enough time with their birds and the birds will bite in retaliation for this lack of attention.
Observe your bid closely before handling him. If he is sleeping or eating, he will not want to be disturbed. Note his body language before approaching him. A bird that is not ready to be handled will often fluff up their feathers and strike out at you.
Expose your bird to new people and events to socialize him to new scenarios. Birds will often bite if they feel their territory is threatened, so allow your bird plenty of time to rest and adjust to new situations before handling.
Blow a small, gentle puff of air into the bird's face and sternly tell him "No" when he attempts to bite. Offer him a wooden block to chew on instead of your finger.
Place your bird inside his cage and cover it if blowing gently in his face does not work. Closing him in a dark cage serves as a time-out period and conveys to the bird that biting will result in confinement. Do not speak to or interact with your bird at all when he is in time out.
Leave your bird alone when he is molting or during other stressful times such as mating season. Elevated hormone levels in your bird can make him more aggressive and harder to handle, so it's best to just leave him alone until he no longer shows any aggressive tendencies.
Reward your bird when he responds properly to the "No" command. Give him a small treat such as a nut or a piece of fruit to reinforce that not biting you is the correct course of action.