Cockatiels and Biting What Frightens a Cockatiel
By Eleanor McCaffrey,
Copyright, No portion of this text may, copied,
printed or reproduced
without author's written permission.
Your new bird or your loveable, sweet, tame,
handfed cockatiel that you have had for years, all of a sudden is starting to hiss and bite. You are confused,
hurt and maybe even angry by this change in behavior. You wonder what you are
doing wrong. You think
your bird doesn't like you. You may even be avoiding your bird for fear of
getting bitten.
Biting is a common problem with parrots and
cockatiels are small parrots. Cockatiels have powerful little beaks that can bite right through a
fingernail.
If you understand
the reasons for biting then you can help remedy the problem.
According to Sally Blanchard, a very well known avian behaviorist, there is no
such thing as a mean bird. Biting is always a response to a situation and provoked. Bird's always give a warning before biting. Biting is never the bird's fault.
Why Birds Bite
Biting is not a natural parrot behavior in the wild, according to parrot behavior consultant Liz Wilson.
In the wild, birds use their beaks to eat, climb and preen. Birds do not
bite one another but will show aggression to defend themselves. This is
instinctive behavior. Wilson states that parrots in captivity
bite for survival or control
Survival biting occurs when a bird is
frightened
and feels
threatened.
Control biting means that the bird is given
some type of reward
that encourages it to bite again. Yelling "ouch", throwing your bird
off of your hand, shaking, wobbling or moving your hand, tapping the bird
on the beak, or blowing in its face,
reinforce
this behavior. Your cockatiel will quickly learn that biting causes a response
and the biting can become even worse. Don't
ever hit your bird or tap it hard on the beak as punishment for biting. You can
severely injure your bird. A
beak is a living organ with blood vessels nerve endings, and pain receptors.
Your bird will also lose trust in you and become afraid of hands.
Biting from Fear
Symptoms of a frightened bird include hissing, crying,
squawking, shivering, hiding on the bottom of the cage, backing up into a corner, constricting
the body
so the bird looks skinny, or puffing out feathers
and facing the back of the
cage. Cockatiels are afraid of
changes
in their
environment.
All new birds go
through a period of adjustment because they are moving into a new environment.
You can expect them to be frightened during the first week. Things that frighten
cockatiels include sticking your hand inside of the cage to grab them, trying to
restrain them by holding them with a closed fist, (unless their breeder spent
plenty of time doing this with them), objects that are hanging over their head,
such as a lighting fixture or plants, new home decor placed near their cages, sudden movements
of small animals or children, strange visitors coming to your home and being approached from
behind. They are also afraid of
loud noises
such as the sound of deep voices, screaming
or yelling, the high pitched voices of some toddlers, loud music or televisions, slamming doors,
barking
dogs, thunder and fireworks/firecrackers. Any of these things can cause a bird to bite.
Sometimes a cockatiel will lose trust in you. You are then
perceived as source of danger.
If the biting is being caused by one of these reasons, you need to
provide a more secure environment for your cockatiel. Birds feel more safe in a
cage that has corners. Keeping your bird's cage with
at least one side facing a wall can help make it feel
more secure. Placing the
cage away from an inside door, where approaching people can startle it, may also
help. A single cockatiel
that has bonded strongly with you, thinks
of you as its mate. It may become very possessive of you and bite you when
another person enters the room. It is biting to warn you
because it perceives that you are in danger. You bird is telling you to fly away. Unfortunately, you
can't so you get bitten. (If your bird is biting you when other enters the room, put the bird back into the cage and start hugging your
family in front of the bird. A book called the Well Behaved Parrot states
that this can help remedy this type of biting.)
Instinct
Instinctive behaviors may cause a bird to bite the first time, according to avian behaviorist Mattie Sue
Athens. Crankiness,
sexual related,
hormonal
aggression
and territorialism
are the most
common
instincts that cause biting. Crankiness most often occurs when a bird is not receiving a full
10-12 hours of sleep
at night, does not
feel well from malnutrition due to an improper diet or a
physical illness.
If you
think your bird may be sick, it probably is. Take it to an avian vet immediately.
You may be making your bird cranky if you are bothering it when it
is busy playing, eating or napping. Sometimes your bird may just want to be left
alone.
Territorial Aggression
Biting can also be a sign of aggression, which is a
normal instinct.
In the wild, cockatiels defend and
protect themselves from
predators daily.
A pet cockatiel can become defensive of its own territory as well,
protecting its cage, toys, food and mate, the same as a
wild bird would protect
its nest and young. Don't
invade your bird's territory.
Don't ever put your hand inside of the cage and grab
your bird to take it out. You want your bird to come to you willingly, not by
force. If your bird doesn't want you touching the cage, then
don't. Putting your hands, new toys or different foods inside of the cage
disrupts your bird's "nest". You are then perceived
as a
dangerous predator
and your bird will lose trust in you. This causes birds to fear fingers and
hands and
become biters. Take your bird out of the cage when
you replace food or toys.
According
to Julie Rauch, former editor of Bird Talk Magazine and author of many avian care books, a cockatiel
that is
never handled or played with and
is ignored
by being left in its cage all of the time or a single bird that is left home
alone all day can become cage bound. A cage bound bird
becomes very territorial and possessive of its food, toys, cage and will bite. It almost becomes phobic, feeling compelled to
defend its territory.
This is often the case with birds that have been rescued from abusive or
neglectful homes and birds that have been in pet shops for a very long time. Cockatiels that are overly attached to
their cages need to be gently nurtured and taken out frequently to prevent further
problems such as feather plucking or screaming. Patience is needed to re-establish a
trusting relationship with your bird so you can coax it out of the cage.
As a very young bird
becomes a juvenile, approaching the age of an
adult at 2 years of age,
it may no longer want to cuddle or be pet and will bite you
if you try. This is normal, temporary behavior and it's the
equivalent of a human teenager
who wants more independence to explore the world around them. Expecting our pet birds to behave like baby
cockatiels for their entire
life is unrealistic. Kittens grow up to be cats, puppies grow up to be dogs and baby birds grow up to be
adult birds with adult hormones.
The hormonal changes that occur in adult birds
can cause
your bird to have mood swings,
which you may not understand. One moment your bird will be loving and gentle and then suddenly, it will become
a biting machine. This type of behavior is caused by
hormonal changes
and surges that your bird does not
have any control over. It simply means that your cockatiel wants a mate and wants to breed. An
inability
to breed
may cause your
bird to
feel frustrated
and bite. Normal
hormonal changes occur during the year so this type of biting is usually
temporary. The remedy is to be patient with your bird and wait until the mood passes.
Mirrors
in a bird's
cage can cause this type of
frustration.
Your bird will preen, sing and display
feathers for the image but the image does not respond. Your cockatiel
then becomes frustrated and starts to bite. Some birds can become very
possessive
of this
bogus mate,
biting to
protect it.
If your bird thinks you are its mate, you are also frustrating it.
Cockatiels can become very
possessive
of their
human mate
and may
also bite you if someone enters the room. They think that biting will make you go away from the other person.
NEW BIRDS-- If you
just got your bird a few days ago, if it wasn't a handfed, handtamed bird it
will probably hiss when you come near the cage and bite if you put your hand
inside. Your cockatiel is just
afraid
because it doesn't know you and it is now in an unfamiliar
environment. If
your new bird is an older
bird
that was neglected, it may be cagebound
or territorial
as well. Give all new birds at least a week to adjust to you and their new home. Don't
take it out of the cage for the first week and keep visitors and friends away.
Go over to the cage, sit down and talk to your bird softly for about 10 minutes,
then go back to what you were doing and let your bird watch. If your bird
whistles to you, whistle back. Do this several times a day throughout the first
week. When the first week is over, DO
NOT put your
hand inside of the cage or grab your bird with a towel trying to take it out.
Your bird will see you as a predator, bite and lose any trust it gained during
the first week. You want your bird to come out of the cage willingly and not by
force. Tame your bird using the method described on the next page, How to
Stop Birds from Biting.
There are measures that you can take to help stop a bird from biting.
Click on
"Next"
for page 2,"How to Stop a Bird From Biting".
Cockatiels and Biting
Why Birds Bite
Biting from Fear
Instinct
Territorial Aggression
