Majorly aggressive young Budgie - Don't know what to do?

[winterfrost]

Hello everyone - I'm in quite a desperate situation.
I brought home (bought) a supposedly eight week old male Budgie last December after I lost my wonderful cockatiel a few months prior (she was a really lovely bird- made me fall in love with them completely). And yes, he's definitely a male, no doubt about it. I did my research, checked out all of the taming steps, asked for advice from other Budgie owners, and honestly I thought everything would be okay.

So, when he first came home he was left to settle in for around a week. In this time he came out of his shell, would sing and reply, play with his toys- totally interactive. After a week I started the taming process (which originally just started with him hearing my voice), and he very quickly started to want to come out of the cage, step on my hand, fly onto everything and anything, play. And yes, I took it very slow and went at the recommended pace- I did not force him at all and he showed happy signs with everything that was going on. 

He was really sweet for around two weeks, until one night he was acting strangely hyper. It was before his bedtime so I figured to let him out (to see if he was getting too antsy in his cage- he has a big cage at the moment, but he goes in there just before eight to settle down- that night he didn't want to settle at all). So I let him out... just for him to fly onto my hand and dig his beak right into it. I didn't think Budgie bites were that bad- but he was seriously dead set on trying to gnaw my finger off. It wasn't a warning bite, it wasn't a testing bite, it was a full on 'I'm going to draw blood if it's the last thing I ever do'.

Immediately I thought I must have read the situation wrong and tried not to react and put him into his cage to settle. I thought after a night he'd maybe be fine in the morning and be in a better mood. So in the morning I let him out like I always did and immediately he flew over to me and started biting- it wasn't as aggressive but it still hurt. I just ignored it and decided to get on with my day- all the while he was desperate to stay on my finger to bite it. He'd also started biting everything in his cage, his perch, his toys, anything and everything- it wasn't a testing, it was like 'I'm going to rip up my perch' and 'I'm going to throw everything everywhere because I can'. 

This is where it gets really bad. It started with wanting to gnaw on my finger to now it's aggressive attacks no matter what I do. I could let him out, go to the other side of the room, and he will fly over to me and find any piece of skin that isn't covered and dig his beak in as hard as possible. It's impossible to do step up anymore because he's set on biting anything in range- even when it's not near him/going to him. When I checked online everything I found said that I was doing something wrong- like I was frightening him or I wasn't reading him right, but no matter how I present myself (or other people for that matter), he just wants to bite and get angry. 

I really want to interact with him and let him be happy, rather than feeling like he has to bite everything that's in front of him (and yes, he lunges at things... even when they're not near him, he'll fly over to lunge at them like he just wants to be mad for the sake of being mad).

I get that this is (probably?) a hormone thing, but how do I react to this behavior? And what can I do to maybe lessen it? It's getting to the point people don't want to be around him and he can barely come outside the cage without causing some type of trouble. 

He gets everything a Budgie should, a large cage, toys, treats, fresh food- even affection though he totally just wants to bite me no matter what I do. I don't force him out to do anything, I don't shove him onto my finger- he just targets it and decides that's all he wants to do. He even presents himself happily, like when he's in his cage he'll be happily chirping to himself, singing along with the television, playing with things, generally being comfortable. 

So I'd really greatly appreciate any help given. Also as a note he is going through his first molt right now and I imagine it's really frustrating him- is there anything I can do, or do I just ignore this and pray it all goes away?

[ffiscool]

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure what to suggest as it does sound a bit more aggressive. A lot of them go through the biting stage. I had it, and my ear, lip always got it. But it stopped

Others on here will have suggestions and hopefully be able give some guidance

Would be lovely to see a pic though

[Hezz]

It is so wrong for others to say that it is something that you are doing wrong ...... how would they know??? Some budgies go through a terrible bite phase, most go through a more moderate one, but you are doing the right thing by not over-reacting to his bites. There are a number of different ways to address the biting - diversion, time out, firm "no"'s or all of the above. Unfortunately there is no quick fix; you are going to have to be determined to wear him down. Does he have heaps of chew toys in his cage? Paper to shred, balsa wood to chew up, fresh veggies to gnaw on, etc?

The moult and his age are the biggest contributing factors right now. It could help him to gently mist him with a spray bottle of water (previously unused), even if he hates the water (some do) it does help soften the keratin sheaths on the new feathers, making them easier for him to remove and less itchy.

[winterfrost]

Feb 18, 2016 2:34:17 GMT Hezz said:

It is so wrong for others to say that it is something that you are doing wrong ...... how would they know??? Some budgies go through a terrible bite phase, most go through a more moderate one, but you are doing the right thing by not over-reacting to his bites. There are a number of different ways to address the biting - diversion, time out, firm "no"'s or all of the above. Unfortunately there is no quick fix; you are going to have to be determined to wear him down. Does he have heaps of chew toys in his cage? Paper to shred, balsa wood to chew up, fresh veggies to gnaw on, etc?

The moult and his age are the biggest contributing factors right now. It could help him to gently mist him with a spray bottle of water (previously unused), even if he hates the water (some do) it does help soften the keratin sheaths on the new feathers, making them easier for him to remove and less itchy.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

I've tried in the past to use time out/firm no's to stop the biting- but they all didn't work. At first when he was biting my finger I tried distraction (whistling/singing/showing him something else interesting), but he'd just pause then go right back to it. He seems like a little Jame's Bond bird, because no matter how firm I say 'No', he just carries on with just as much confidence- so then I moved onto time out which he just never picked up on. He'd bite, I'd be firm and put him back to have a time out, see if he'd calmed down, and then just had a total repeat of the situation.

At the moment I'm thinking more of an 'ignore all bad behavior, positive reinforcement otherwise' response might work?

And yes, the little bossy boots has all of the toys I can afford (nearly all of them he can shred up). He gets fresh veggies daily, exercise, DIY toys. As far as I can see it, he has plenty of items to distract himself with and keep entertained (and keep his destruction going). 

And thank you for the water suggestion- turns out bathing is the one thing he likes! Never seen a bird shimmy like he does. x 

[ffiscool]

maybe if he is bathing and irritation of feathers easing, he may bite less?

[Hezz]

I thought of that as well, Fran, after the last post. We can only live in hope, I suppose.

winterfrost, how long has he been biting for? It seems to me that you have tried the different options, but maybe not stuck to them for long enough for the message to get through. Budgies can be some of the most stubborn creatures on the planet, when they choose to be. I spent 12 months with a hen of mine, reaching an understanding that biting was not acceptable, and I am positive that we only reached that through sheer perseverance on my part. Maybe there are easier ways to have gone about it, but at the time I worked with what I knew, and in the same situation would probably tackle the problem in the same way. She would still get a nip in every now and then but usually this was when she considered I was pushin' the lovin' a little too much. You could say we reached a compromise, Smudge and I.