Suddenly started biting

[maris]

Hello,
I got my little guy when he was about 12 weeks old. He's now about 17 weeks old and two weeks ago he started biting me, even though he was pretty much tame from day one. He hasn't had a moult yet. Am I silly to think perhaps he has hit puberty and is just being moody? He's less likely to step up, too. I can't think what I've done to lose his trust, except that I took him to the vet.

[OP]

It sounds like he could be going through the terrible teens. He will be testing how far he can go. The good news is he will grow out of it. Don't let him know if it hurts, just suck up the pain, unless he draws blood. If that happens you will need to chastise him by a stern NO.

[Hezz]

I would suggest that he started biting when he became comfortable enough in his present environment to make his stand and show his character. When birds first come into a strange place they are more inclined to be a little docile and go along with what you want. Once they are feeling more settled and secure, their true personality comes through.

He should be starting a moult any time soon, extra eggfood for protein will help there. When he bites I would let him know that he is doing the wrong thing. I don't believe that ignoring the bad behaviour is good for either you or the bird, and certainly not good for your relationship.

[maris]

Nov 27, 2017 19:28:01 GMT OP said:

It sounds like he could be going through the terrible teens. He will be testing how far he can go. The good news is he will grow out of it. Don't let him know if it hurts, just suck up the pain, unless he draws blood. If that happens you will need to chastise him by a stern NO.

Doesn't hurt anything but my feelings and makes me uneasy to go in the cage. Fingers crossed for a speedy exit from this stage!

[maris]

Nov 27, 2017 20:31:29 GMT Hezz said:

I would suggest that he started biting when he became comfortable enough in his present environment to make his stand and show his character. When birds first come into a strange place they are more inclined to be a little docile and go along with what you want. Once they are feeling more settled and secure, their true personality comes through.

He should be starting a moult any time soon, extra eggfood for protein will help there. When he bites I would let him know that he is doing the wrong thing. I don't believe that ignoring the bad behaviour is good for either you or the bird, and certainly not good for your relationship.

Oh I hope it's not his true personality
Will look at egg food, though it's hard getting him to eat anything other than seed. After three weeks he's finally eating a balanced diet pellet the vet gave him.

[Hezz]

That is not what I was meaning, but rather that he feeling comfortable enough to not simply accept everything about you and what you do to him. Budgies often go through a nippy stage in their first year; how long it lasts depends a lot on the bird's character, and how well you are bonding.

[maris]

Nov 28, 2017 19:33:58 GMT Hezz said:

That is not what I was meaning, but rather that he feeling comfortable enough to not simply accept everything about you and what you do to him. Budgies often go through a nippy stage in their first year; how long it lasts depends a lot on the bird's character, and how well you are bonding.

What kind of time frame do you reckon I'm looking at? Weeks? Months? Gulp.

[Hezz]

Something like that - weeks to months.

[maris]

I can't wait for this to be over. He's really getting rather vicious now. Will he one day just suddenly be his old self again?

[helenmat]

Just keep talking softly to him and let him know you are not going to hurt him, keep training and practicing step up. If he bites say a firm NO and don’t give him any reward. If he is nice and good then reward him with praise and a treat , he will soon get the idea that it doesn’t get him anywhere. Good luck.

[maris]

Dec 6, 2017 22:41:47 GMT helenmat said:

Just keep talking softly to him and let him know you are not going to hurt him, keep training and practicing step up. If he bites say a firm NO and don’t give him any reward. If he is nice and good then reward him with praise and a treat , he will soon get the idea that it doesn’t get him anywhere. Good luck.

Thank you.
He still won't eat anything but seed so I can't treat him. He will never step up any more (that's when he's vicious) so there's also nothing to treat him for.
He will strangely still eat from my hand, though.

[lovebirds]

Personally, I think it's to do with the visit to the vet, and it sounds as though he's lost a lot of trust because of that. He was probably hurt or scared (or both) when he was there, and he's associating that with you. If you or the vet reached into his cage and caught him when you were there, he is probably scared he's going to get grabbed again. It sounds as though he's biting out of fear. I had a budgie who was absolutely bomb-proof in most ways, but after going to the vet a few times, he really used to dislike me putting my hand into his cage, even though it was always the vet who reached in and grabbed him. The vet had to catch him that way, as even though he was great with stepping up, he didn't like to be held in a closed hand.
Yours might be a bit less scared if you open the door and let him come out in his own time, then get him to step up when he's already out of the cage. Show him that he's going to get a reward, and give it to him as soon as he steps up....although, as you say, it's a bit tricky if he doesn't like many foods yet. Try him with capsicum seeds. I've always found them to be a bit of a favourite with my birds. Get him to try them, and then if he likes them, before you ask him to step up any time after that, hold up the seeds, then as soon as he steps up, give him the seeds so he has no time to bite you, even if he thinks of it. It sounds as though the biting has become a bit of a habit now, so it might take a little while to get him out of it. Any time he bites, put him down and turn your back on him for about 20 seconds. Don't say anything. They don't like being ignored and sometimes if you make any comment or squawk at being bitten, they take that as being a good thing, since noise and squawking is 'good' in the parrot world. 
As far as his dislike of most foods is concerned, it's always a good idea to just to put a bit of everything that you want him to eat in his cage each day. Eventually, he will start to have a pick at it, and then no doubt find that he likes some of those foods. When you have him out playing (or even just in his cage), you can put some birdseed with things that you want him to eat, eg. get a piece of broccoli and cut the ends of it off, so they are about the size of seeds, and mix it with a small amount of birdseed. That way, he'll start to get used to the taste of different things.
Back to his biting, though... just be very gentle with him overall, and talk to him reassuringly. Don't make fast movements or put him in any situations where he feels unsafe. Let him come out of the cage in his own time and pick him up after he's out. Reward him when he does the right thing and ignore him for a short while every time he bites, and I think he'll improve pretty quickly. I hope so, anyway. All the best. 

[maris]

Update :
All of a sudden a few weeks ago Parsley was way more adventurous than he had ever been. He started coming out every day, landing on my head and sitting with me. His biting was rare. Then last week he was more reluctant to come out and is biting much more viciously again. He's started moulting so I hope it's hormones again.

[helenmat]

It sounds like hormones to me too, be patient, it will pass I’m sure.