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Cockatiels and Biting, How to stop a cockatiel from biting, stopping cockatiels from biting, how
to tame a cockatiel, how to stop cockatiels from biting, stop a cockatiel or other parrot, bird from biting,
hand taming a cockatiel, how to hand tame a cockatiel,
stopping a cockatiel from biting, how to tame a cockatiel, how to tame a new, rescued, formerly neglected or abused cockatiel,
taming cockatiels, taming a cockatiel, taming a bird, how to tame a bird.
teaching cockatiels the step up command, teaching the step up
command to a cockatiel, teaching birds the step up command,
how to gain a cockatiel's trust, gaining the trust of a cockatiel or other bird,
how to gain the trust of a cockatiel, parrot or any bird, how to pet a cockatiel or other parrot.
How to Stop
Cockatiels from Biting
How to Tame and Teach All Birds the Step Up Command
By Eleanor McCaffrey,
Copyright, No portion of this text may be used, copied,
printed or reproduced
without author's written permission.
The information on this
page will help anybody who has a bird that bites, or is trying to tame a new
cockatiel or a formerly
abused/neglected cockatiel. On the previous page about biting,
two main causes
of this behavior were identified. Cockatiels bite for
survival or control.
Biting for survival is influenced by fear and instinctive behaviors, such as
crankiness, territoriality and breeding related aggression. Once your cockatiel bites
and gets a reaction, it bites for dominance and control. If you missed the first page on biting,
return to the
main index
and find
"Cockatiels that
Bite."
According to Sally
Blanchard, a well know avian behaviorist, there's no such thing as a mean
bird. Biting is never the bird's fault. Biting is always a response to a situation and
it is always provoked. Please read the first page. It will help you to avoid
doing things that will make taming a new any bird virtually impossible.
When working with any cockatiel that
bites, you must first identify the cause of the
biting. To read about the causes of biting, CLICK HERE.
Once you have identified the cause, there are several things that you can do to help stop it. There are no quick
fixes or miracle techniques to tame or re-tame any bird. It takes time and patience to stop a bird from
biting or to tame a new or previously owned bird.
First,
Ignore the negative
behavior and try not to physically react by pulling your hand away, even though
biting hurts. Quite often a firm but quiet verbal command of "No, no,
no", will teach a bird that biting is unacceptable behavior. Reinforce desirable
behavior with praise and treats. Second,
Watch your bird's body
language. Cockatiels will always give you a warning sign, like hissing, before they start biting.
Stop whatever it is that you are doing that is provoking your bird and
give it time to calm down. Don't force the issue until your bird is more
relaxed. Body language and
what it means is on this page. CLICK HERE Third,
gently nurture your
bird by talking to it quietly and spending as much time with it as possible. Birds respond to our voice tones and energy
levels. Lowering your energy level and speaking to your bird in a slow, calm and
quiet voice can help. If talking is upsetting your bird, (Signs include: Bird turning
its back or head away from you, trembling,
hiding in a corner on the bottom of the cage, running and flapping
wings in a frenzy) sit next to the cage
quietly and read a book or magazine the first few days instead.
Fourth,
don't allow a
cockatiel that bites to perch on your shoulder.
This makes your bird feel dominant. Keep your bird on your arm or hand at
chest level or on your knee and maintain eye contact.
Fifth,
keep your bird's wings clipped. This will make it feel
more dependant on you.
Sixth, teach your bird the Step Up
command. Note: Cockatiels,
will use their beaks as a third foot to help balance
when stepping onto your hand. This is not biting.
Gaining Your Bird's Trust
Gaining the trust of a new, untamed bird or a bird that is afraid of hands,
territorial or was previously abused and neglected, requires a
great deal of time, patience and effort. Trust is not part of the package when
you get a bird. It's something you have to work towards achieving. To gain a bird's trust, it must first learn that you are
not a threat and that you
are not going to hurt it. The more time you spend with your bird, the sooner it
will learn this. Spend as much time as you can, sitting next
to your bird's cage. Read a book or magazine. Do a crossword puzzle. Eat your dinner next to the cage. Talk to your bird in a gentle,
slow and loving voice. Cockatiels are sociable, flocking birds and they need interaction
with humans. Sooner or later your bird is going to
come up to the front perch by the cage door and show an interest in your voice. Don't ever stick your hand inside of the cage and grab or towel your
bird to get it out of the cage. This will cause a cockatiel to bite
and lose trust in you. You want your
bird to come to you willingly, not by force. Your cockatiel must trust you enough
to come up to the front of the cage, accept treats from your hand, eat something out of the palm of your
hand, step onto the cage door and step directly onto your hand. Munching on popcorn often entices a
reluctant bird to come up to and step onto an opened cage door. Food is a powerful
motivator when working with birds. When your bird finally sits calmly in front of
the open cage door or steps onto the open door, offer treats or some loose seeds in the palm of your hand. For birds that are tame,
but are afraid of fingers and bite, hold a treat with your fingers
instead. Talk softly, until your bird starts eating the food.
The Step Up Command
Once you bird has learned to eat out of your hand, it may step onto your hand
without you having to doing anything else. Even if your bird does this, it's time to
teach it the Step Up command.
For birds that bite, move your finger or the palm of your
hand in a steady, rather quick upward motion forward towards your bird's
lower body, right above its legs. Try to imagine that its upper
legs are invisible and you are going to move your hand right through thin air. The
motion is exactly like the way you move your hand through a lit candle flame.
Don't pull your hand back or stop, giving the bird a chance to bite. The idea is
that your hand should be quicker than the bird's eye. If your bird is not
responding to this technique and is getting even more aggressive. Stop and try again the next day.
Talk to your bird quietly and instead
of moving your hand or finger quickly, move it very slowly, right above the legs and gently
apply pressure on the lower body. This is another way to get him to step up onto your hand.
For birds that do not bite,
Slowly move your finger or the palm of your hand towards the top of the bird's legs
right below the abdomen. Apply gentle pressure
to the top of its legs in a slightly upward motion towards its body. This should get him to
step up onto your hand.
Some Biters and Non-Biters,
may respond better
by learning to step up onto a perch instead of your hand. You would move a perch
the same way as you would move your hand. This is called Stick Taming or Training. What works for one bird may not work for another one.
Always use a command
such as "Step Up,-- Up
Up, Up,-- Hop or Jump" for all birds, biters and non-biters, while moving your hand. If
your cockatiel starts biting while teaching it to step up try to ignore it. If
the biting becomes very aggressive, then stop and don't force the matter. Tell him
you love him anyway and that
you'll try again tomorrow. Thank him for coming up to the open cage door, for visiting with
you and for eating out of your hand. You may need to do these things this for a few days. If you succeed in getting your
cockatiel out of the cage and onto you hand, practice going in and out of the cage for a few days.
When your bird is completely comfortable with this procedure, take it into a room away from the cage so you
can start taming and playing with it
for about 15 minutes.
It's
better to keep taming sessions short but have more frequent sessions throughout
the day. This also helps to break up boredom.
Always praise your bird in a cheerful and lively voice tone, the same as you would a
toddler taking those first steps. After all, isn't that what
you are trying to get your cockatiel to do, take a first step onto
your hand?
Returning to the Cage
Always return your bird to the cage while it is still in a good mood and before
it gets tired. The last experience out of the cage should always be a positive
one. If your bird keeps flying away from you as you approach the cage, keep your bird
on your hand or finger and keep your hand close to your waist or
chest. This will block your bird's view of a flight path
for escaping. Talk to your bird softly to help distract it. Once your
reach the cage, place your hand
near the open door so your cockatiel can step onto the door by itself.
Keep your body close to the front of the cage door, to
block off a "runway"
for your bird. If your
bird
won't go back
without biting or
trying to fly away, take a
soft cloth napkin, wash
cloth, placemat or other piece of fabric and place it in back of your bird ,
like a
curtain,
to block its view and
slowly move it towards the
bird. By letting the cloth gently brush your bird's back and tail, you should be
able to coax it to go back inside of the cage. (I wore an apron and just picked it up).
Say something like "Go Home".
The bird should return to its
cage without feeling threatened
by you or your hands. Always praise your bird and have a special treat
ready for it when it goes back into the cage. Eventually your cockatiel will associate the words "Go
Home" with returning to the cage and a treat. It will
step inside on command.
Don't grab your bird or throw a towel over it to put it back inside of the
cage. This will just frighten your bird, making it more aggressive. Forcing your
bird to do something it doesn't want to do will usually provoke a bite and isn't very productive. There's a big difference between
teaching your bird do
something and forcing your bird to do something. Petting
As soon as your cockatiel has learned the step up command
without biting, encourage it to hop from hand to hand. Have your bird slowly walk up a
"Hand Ladder" that you make by moving one hand slightly higher then
the other, in a series of steps. Use your command word for each hop or step. Make
a game out of it and lavish your bird with praise. If your bird doesn't want
to do it, then once again, back off and wait until it is more relaxed and
receptive. For some birds, repetition like this can be upsetting, so watch your
bird's body language and stop before you notice a change in body language that
would be a warning signal for biting. Play the game slowly and frequently throughout the
day, everyday for short
periods of time. When your bird stops biting while playing, it's time to try
petting it.
Slowly approach your
bird
from the
front. Don't ever sneak up on it from the back. This will startle your
bird and its immediate reaction will be to bite you hard. Gently rest your index finger against its chest,
apply a bit of pressure and try to stroke the feathers while softly repeating your perching
command (hop, jump, step up). Once you touch the feathers, your bird
should hop on top of your hand. It may put up a bit of a fuss at first, even
nipping you
a bit. Ignore it and try
not to respond
even though it may hurt. The
objective here is to touch the bird and reassure it that hands and fingers
do not impose danger. Do this for short periods of time, daily, until your
bird lets you pet it. If your bird's body language changes, warning you that it's getting extremely upset, stop and try
again later or
you will get bitten hard.
Scritches
Choose a word, such as Kisses, Scritches or Loving, as the word you want your bird to
associate with affection. You can add a soft
kissing sound after the word and vocal cockatiels will learn to mimic the sound,
kissing you back! While
talking softly,
slowly
move your index finger forward, placing it an inch above your bird's head.
Slowly bend your finger and gently
pet
the feathers above the cere.
(Right above the beak)
If your bird nips you, try to bear it. Keep repeating your chosen word quietly. If your
bird gets very agitated and starts to bite hard, stop and try it again later
when your it's more calm. If you keep this up
daily, your cockatiel should allow you to pet its entire head as well as the neck
area. When your bird
starts bending its head down for you, it's letting you know that it wants more "Scritches".
If you don't have success with this, try stroking you cockatiel's head with the
tip of your chin.
Your results are going to depend on how patient and devoted
you are to your bird. The more time you spend with your cockatiel,
the faster it will respond.
Mama
Bird- This method worked on Mama Bird within 2 weeks. She rarely bites when outside of her
cage unless I ignore her warning signs.
She usually gives me closed beak taps to express annoyance instead. She also allows
me to replace her food dishes and cuttlebones without biting and to offer her treats through the cage bars. However, she will bite if I poke a finger inside the
cage bars or interfere with her
playing or eating. I respect her territory and property and don't do these things.
Mama will still bite anyone who offers her their hand to hop on. She is a one person
bird. According to her avian veterinarian, she, like some single birds, is pathologically
bonded to me. Mama now has a new companion cockatiel named Cookie.
More information on how to tame and work with new birds or formerly abused birds can
be found on the bottom of this page CLICK HERE
How to Stop
Cockatiels from Biting
When working with any cockatiel that
bites, you must first identify the cause of the
biting. To read about the causes of biting, 
Once you bird has learned to eat out of your hand, it may step onto your hand
without you having to doing anything else. Even if your bird does this, it's time to
teach it the Step Up command.
For birds that bite, move your finger or the palm of your
hand in a steady, rather quick upward motion forward towards your bird's
lower body, right above its legs. Try to imagine that its upper
legs are invisible and you are going to move your hand right through thin air. The
motion is exactly like the way you move your hand through a lit candle flame.
Don't pull your hand back or stop, giving the bird a chance to bite. The idea is
that your hand should be quicker than the bird's eye. If your bird is not
responding to this technique and is getting even more aggressive. Stop and try again the next day.
Talk to your bird quietly and instead
of moving your hand or finger quickly, move it very slowly, right above the legs and gently
apply pressure on the lower body. This is another way to get him to step up onto your hand.
For birds that do not bite,
Slowly move your finger or the palm of your hand towards the top of the bird's legs
right below the abdomen. Apply gentle pressure
to the top of its legs in a slightly upward motion towards its body. This should get him to
step up onto your hand.
Some Biters and Non-Biters,
may respond better
by learning to step up onto a perch instead of your hand. You would move a perch
the same way as you would move your hand. This is called Stick Taming or Training. What works for one bird may not work for another one.
Scritches
