My bird is a biter!?

duct tape works

If your bird is as big as a turkey there is a great Thanksgiving idea that would stop your having to worry about its biting anyone again. I leave that to your imagination (but don't forget the stuffing).

Tell people to stop touching your bird. If he does not bite you then I would not worry about it. Looks like your birdy does not like being touched. If I was a bird and saw this big hand coming towards me I would bite it too.

no. birds aren't like dogs that they can be trained. i don't know what kind of bird it is, but good luck with it. he might be sick, or have had a bad experience.

Yes, you can trim off the tip of his beak. They do it to newly hatched chicks all the time.

rub tobasco sauce on your fingers and let him nibble. he difinitly wont like it but it'll teach em'.

Smack him across the beak.

i dunno but the last answer was pretty good

http://www.petplace.com/birds/how-to-stop-your-pet...

Section: Biting Be Gone!

Biting is annoying and can even be dangerous, but since birds are prey species, punishing them can be damaging – both physically and emotionally.

The best response to a bird nipping painlessly on your flesh is no response at all. Some birds perceive almost any response as reinforcement for their behavior. After all, behavior that isn't reinforced isn't likely to become a habit.

What if it's more than a “nip”? If your bird bites your hand, move it toward him, and he'll have to let go as your hand approaches his body. If your bird bites another part of you, remove him immediately, using a towel if necessary.

Preventing Biting

Good care fosters good behavior. Make sure your bird has the right size and type of cage, proper cage placement, sufficient exercise, adequate sleep, clean water for drinking and bathing, good food and ample opportunities for interaction.

Practice Patterning Routines

Pet birds can be taught good behavior and cooperation through redundant, happy, patterning routines. The most commonly discussed patterning routine for parrots is “step-ups,” which involves a human prompt for the bird to step onto a hand or perch. The bird learns what's expected by practicing stepping from hand-to-hand, and from hand-held-perch to hand, or perch-on-command.

Practice in safe, neutral territory and be sure that your hand is approaching from below, toward your bird's belly rather than from the front. With regular practice, a strong verbal command to “step-up” is then always greeted with a little lifted foot. Actually, once your bird learns to associate happy interaction with the words “step-up,” he'll probably begin using those words when he wants to be picked up.

Companion parrots must also learn to enjoy, appreciate, or at least tolerate towels. They learn this by playing games such as “peek-a-boo” from behind a towel or “find-the-toy." The more you play, the more easily you'll be able to stimulate these interactions later. All this cooperation patterning when your bird is one, two, three, or five years old, is intended to prevent the development of uncooperative or violent behavior later, when he reaches sexual maturity.

http://www.cockatielcottage.net/bite2.htmlHow 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 food 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.