Anti-Biting Tools for Cockatoos

Hostile behavior in pet birds, such as biting, lunging at you or attacking you, can be the result of inexperienced bird owners. New owners typically do not understand that cockatoos require consistent daily attention, that a cockatoo will favor just one person in the home or that the cockatoo will pick up on negative unwanted behavior from its human companion. Animal Behaviorist Larry Lachman states that two of the most common triggers of aggression in birds is frustration of not having its needs met and social learning and modeling. You must find the root cause for aggression in order to stop your cockatoo's biting.

  1. Social Reinforcement

    • Social learning and modeling occurs when human companions or other birds model positive or negative behavior. Perhaps you thought your cockatoo's playful attempt to bite your husband at breakfast was funny, but the painful nip at dinner hurt. Because you laughed at breakfast, and screamed at dinner when your bird bit you, your cockatoo learned that biting gets attention. Reinforcing positive modeling can be used as a tool to correct inappropriate behavior. By ignoring the bite or automatically placing your cockatoo in its cage every time it bites, your cockatoo will lose its appeal to bite because your bird will not get the attention it seeks.

    Establish Consistent Rules and Patterns

    • Any change in your bird's routine can cause your bird to become aggressive, if not done properly. Cockatoos are a lot like children, and need consistent rules and patterns. Avoid rapid change whenever possible; make changes gradually over time instead of immediately. Keep a consistent food schedule and be punctual. If your bird eats dinner with you every day at 6 p.m., don't expect your bird to understand why you have a dinner date and haven't bothered to feed it. Parrots are creatures of pattern, and any rapid change in your cockatoo's routine can cause behavior problems, states the Animal Hospital website.

    Retraining

    • If biting has become severe enough that blood has been drawn, it is time to retrain your cockatoo to accept human handling. Start by retraining your bird to use the step up/down command with a towel or glove to handle your bird instead of your fingers. Place the glove or towel on your hand, and use it to protect your hand from biting. This type of retraining can last several weeks or until your bird no longer tries to bite your fingers upon stepping up or down. Avoid going into the cage with your hand to retrieve your bird. If your bird wants out, it needs to come out of its cage on its own through an open cage door. Reteaching step-up/down commands and allowing your bird to come out of its cage by itself will help decrease biting significantly.

    Restoring Dominance in Your Home

    • According to Dr. Lachman, parrots are naturally dominant creatures, and unless you take steps to set yourself at a higher dominant level than your parrot, you will have behavioral issues. Remove any perches from the cage that are taller than you, and do not allow your bird to play on top of its cage or to sit on your shoulder or head, as this tells your bird it's dominant in the flock. Avoid leaving your bird unsupervised around children, and never allow your bird to perch on a child's head or shoulders. Large parrots such as the cockatoo see children as lower class citizens and will dominate them, states Dr. Lachman.

    Warnings

    • Never scream or punish your parrot for biting. Dr. Lachman states that punishing your parrot for biting will only make the biting worse. For many birds, screaming after you have been bitten is like pouring gasoline on an already-lit fire. If you light your cockatoo's fire by screaming, hitting or punishing your bird, the biting will increase in strength and quantity, says Dr Lachman. It can be difficult not to scream out in pain when a bird bites you, but you must do your best not to react.