Budgie Keeps Biting

[karatepanda]

I just got a new baby budgie been about a month now. At first he was scared in the cage I was able to hand feed him and then he would step up on me and play. Recently now he loves to stay out of his cage flys around and loves to chill on my should. Though now he is biting everything. My neck, hair. Shirt and fingers. I tried the blow on the face trick and tap his nose but he gets mad and tries to bite my finger. Even when he stands on my finger he tries to bite it. Like a baby teething how do I stop him from biting everything or is this normal he seems real happy overall.

[Hezz]

Perfectly normal for both a young bird and a relatively newly acquired bird. He has now settled in and is allowing his personality to shine through. Young budgies almost all go through a nippy stage during their first year, some it lasts no time, for others it can go on for months until they realise that nothing is going to change. It is your job to make sure he abides by the rules you set. I'm never sure who came up with the idea of blowing on them to stop biting - it has never worked for me.

A gentle tap on the beak has always been my preferred method, along with a firm growl-ly "no", but some people prefer to put their birds back into their cages when they bite. You have to decide how you want to discipline and then stick to it.

[karatepanda]

Thanks good to know he’s young and is starting to get hyper haha. Question then about his nails there getting sharp do we leave them alone or someone suppose to trim them?

[Hezz]

Claws (and beaks) should not be touched or need to be touched unless the bird has some underlying health issue. If they have natural tree branches for perches, no sandpaper or grit perches please, and plenty of things to chew on (cuttlebone), claws and beaks will look after themselves.

[karatepanda]

How about bathing how do I get him to get In the water to clean him self he only drink it. I tried to mist him with water but he does not even notice

[Hezz]

Do not force the issue. Give him the opportunity to bath and leave it at that. Budgies are desert birds; they have not evolved to need to bath regularly. If you want to give him the best opportunity to bath, get him some budgie-safe foliage, wet it down and hang this up in his cage. Most likely he will rub himself over the wet leaves - this is how they have evolved to bath on a regular basis. Some budgies will never jump into a puddle of water; others love it, but almost all will enjoy wet foliage.

[karatepanda]

Awesome thank you So much for the tips!!!!

[Marianne Marlow]

As Hezz said, don't worry if he doesn't bathe, I have 9 budgies are half of them wont go near the water, some of them will rub themselves on wet basil or dill leaves.

One of my birds has never had a bath, he goes up to the bath, takes a sip and then flies off