Best way to handle an aggressive bite?
- Thread starter peachy
- Start date
I know it is difficult, but not reacting is the best thing you can do. Yelping is okay, but don't pull or shake him off balance. Just take your hand away quickly and quietly leave him. The best thing to do otherwise is to familiarize yourself with the warning signs of biting or aggression, as well as the times and situations when your bird is most liable to bite. In your case, when going back in the cage. Try to make these moments as quick and stress-free as possible. Don't loiter around near the cage before putting him back if it stresses him out to do so. Just take him in the room, put him back quickly and leave.
Back on the topic of biting, never punish your bird for biting as you would a dog or child. They don't necessarily understand nor respond to this. Also, they're many times smaller and physical punishment won't be helpful, and at best, harmful. I do "punish" my bird in a sense. If they get nippy or crabby, I put them back in their cages or won't let them sit on my hand or shoulder and be petted. This way, they see affection as a privilege, and they get that they won't get anything good out of biting or being nippy when playing.
In your case, I recommend just using this "punishment"-- putting him away when biting and disallowing affection to reduce the biting behavior. Also, try your best to limit your reaction to the bite itself.
Back on the topic of biting, never punish your bird for biting as you would a dog or child. They don't necessarily understand nor respond to this. Also, they're many times smaller and physical punishment won't be helpful, and at best, harmful. I do "punish" my bird in a sense. If they get nippy or crabby, I put them back in their cages or won't let them sit on my hand or shoulder and be petted. This way, they see affection as a privilege, and they get that they won't get anything good out of biting or being nippy when playing.
In your case, I recommend just using this "punishment"-- putting him away when biting and disallowing affection to reduce the biting behavior. Also, try your best to limit your reaction to the bite itself.
BoomBoom
Well-known member
- May 2, 2012
- 1,722
- 58
- Parrots
- Boomer (Sun Conure 9 yrs), Pewpew (Budgie 5 yrs), Ulap (Budgie 2 yrs), Eight & Kiki (Beloved Budgies, RIP)
The best way to handle an aggressive bite is to avoid situations where it might happen. With birds being unpredictable, this is not always possible. You will, in time, be able to read triggers the more you watch your bird's behavior.
When a bite is happening, as said above, try not to react. It is okay if you do, you are only human! But try not to make a scene of it, your bird might enjoy your reaction and try to bite just to get the same effect. You can also rock your hand gently so as to redirect your bird's beak. Don't shake your hand too much as it might cause injury or worse degrade your bird's trust. If a bite has already happened, give a stern 'NO' after, look displeased. If it continues, set your bird on the floor and walk away. You can also put him in the cage if he performs aerial assaults until he calms down. I usually don't like using the cage as time out punishment because I want to see it as a happy place, not one of incarceration. Sometimes though, you have to do what you have to do. Just use this as a last resort.
Most of all, do not take the bites personally. Don't be afraid, birds are unpredictable little things and they don't mean to harm.
Best of luck, you'll get through this!
PS. Think of reasons as to why he might give you a severe bite. Has anything changed? Could he be upset about something? Has he been hormonal?
When a bite is happening, as said above, try not to react. It is okay if you do, you are only human! But try not to make a scene of it, your bird might enjoy your reaction and try to bite just to get the same effect. You can also rock your hand gently so as to redirect your bird's beak. Don't shake your hand too much as it might cause injury or worse degrade your bird's trust. If a bite has already happened, give a stern 'NO' after, look displeased. If it continues, set your bird on the floor and walk away. You can also put him in the cage if he performs aerial assaults until he calms down. I usually don't like using the cage as time out punishment because I want to see it as a happy place, not one of incarceration. Sometimes though, you have to do what you have to do. Just use this as a last resort.
Most of all, do not take the bites personally. Don't be afraid, birds are unpredictable little things and they don't mean to harm.
Best of luck, you'll get through this!PS. Think of reasons as to why he might give you a severe bite. Has anything changed? Could he be upset about something? Has he been hormonal?
Last edited:
- May 14, 2011
- 1,260
- 3
- Parrots
- 13yr. old male umbrella cockatoo,
we call him Amigo!
7yr. old Goffin cockatoo, she IS Sassy!!
What I do with my cockatoos, for different reasons, is set them on a towel or baby blanket before putting them away. I pick them up, under the towel, and let them find their perch in the cage. Works like a dream!
lquan
New member
I don't have good experience with large parrot. I used to have (I think was an amazon) when I was 9 to 11 years old before I had to part with him to move to America. I didn't have another parrot until I started my own family with 2 toddlers. For small parrot like conure, it is very predictable for me when my GCC is going to bite. I just grab her by the beak first so she can't bite before I grab her. Even though my GCC doesn't bite very hard, I had to control her biting habit before she is capable of biting hard. My GCC rarely bites. She gets fiesty and bites only when somebody tries to come between her favorite food. They usually don't bite without reason.
It used to be hard for me to put my GCC into her sleeping cage without getting bitten, too. What I used to do every time was to grab her with 2 hands, kiss her a lot on the beak while scratching her neck, tell her nighty-nite, walk to the cage, then put her in the cage. Don't show her the cage while doing this. Get her to feel comfortable in your hand first. Now a day, I don't have to grab her while putting her in the cage anymore. I just let her perch on my finger while kissing her continuously on the beak, tell her nighty-nite, and slide her into the cage. Her sleeping cage doesn't have any door
; just a white sheet draped over the front of the cage over the opening. The rest of the sides of the cage are boarded up with cardboards. She can easily come out of the cage through the sheet in the morning on her own. I think because she knows that she can leave the cage anytime, she doesn't need to resist with biting. (She is potty trained and trained to go wait in the bathroom by the opened window for me to wake up at 7:30am.)
It used to be hard for me to put my GCC into her sleeping cage without getting bitten, too. What I used to do every time was to grab her with 2 hands, kiss her a lot on the beak while scratching her neck, tell her nighty-nite, walk to the cage, then put her in the cage. Don't show her the cage while doing this. Get her to feel comfortable in your hand first. Now a day, I don't have to grab her while putting her in the cage anymore. I just let her perch on my finger while kissing her continuously on the beak, tell her nighty-nite, and slide her into the cage. Her sleeping cage doesn't have any door
; just a white sheet draped over the front of the cage over the opening. The rest of the sides of the cage are boarded up with cardboards. She can easily come out of the cage through the sheet in the morning on her own. I think because she knows that she can leave the cage anytime, she doesn't need to resist with biting. (She is potty trained and trained to go wait in the bathroom by the opened window for me to wake up at 7:30am.)
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