Biting

[Deleted]

I think it might be a bit late to stop Munchy, (because he rarely bites outside of the cage, so I can't put him into time-out, so all I can think of to do with him inside the cage would be to try to get him to step up and have a misting bottle on hand to give him a squirt if he's naughty) so this is mostly for future reference.

How do you train a bird to stop biting?



I think Munchy's is all hormone related these days but I've never had much success with him anyway. And when he's like this it's either give him a ball to throw up all over or he's doing it to everything in sight, including his iodine block.

[samwiseg]

Usually trying to stop a behaviour (such as biting) that is already established is a bit of a task Ira but in my limited experience not rewarding the bad behaviour is key.

Saying the word "NO" firmly and deeply and putting him back in the cage and ignoring him for a short period of time (say5 minutes) would be my solution, but then everyone is different so if that treatment would work for you I dont know! You may still suffer some bites along the way but hopefully once he understands that he goes home and doesn't get any attention after biting then he may in fact stop. But for this conditioning to work it must be applied EVERY time without fail otherwise he will think he can get away with it

I hope you find a solution and manage to train him out of it as it cant be nice having sore fingers all the time

[OP]

Whiskers has also turned into a biter, not all the time but is getting more and more. He tends to bite more when he is on my hand and my fingers are doing something. Other times he will bite when he tries to stick his beak up my nose and I put my hand in the way. All I do is shoo him away which works well but is not permanent. I have scolded him, tapped his beak, none of which seems to work. If I put him in the cage it is too late and he doesn't know why he is in the cage. I know this isn't an answer for you but I am letting you know you are not alone in this. ffiscool has done a lot with Bailey for quite a while.

[ffiscool]

I did, but not so much now. I would like to think that it was my training that stopped him, but honestly, just he grew out of it a bit. he does it occasionally now, but not as much. I used to say NO very loudly and tap him on the beak.. or I put him back in his cage or shooed him off me in a sort of fling, so he knew not nice. but whether any of that went in.................

[Deleted]

My nan's suggestion was to bite him back! Not sure he'd understand that!

Confining him to the cage after is all well and good, but most of the biting happens inside the cage (probably territorial), so that doesn't really work. When he's really bitey, however, that could work because if he does bite outside the cage then I should be able to catch hold of him, but he might just fly off and he might just fly off if I try to put him away without grabbing him.

I have the spray bottle ready (he hates being misted) so I'm going to do some training with that inside the cage, also with millet for when he doesn't bite. I expect to be bitten. I might start with a stick first to save my fingers a little bit!

OP I wonder if it's something to do with them being a tad over-affectionate, or us coming between them and what they want to be affectionate with. I've noticed that Munchy eventually grew out of his first moult grumpiness (which I did not deal well with) and though he might get his beak around me when I catch hold of him each day, he hardly bites and usually just threatens instead. But once his hormones peak he's like a different creature, though sadly he also wants to spend more time with me.

On the plus side, he is playing with a toy that he would usually never look at twice. On the down side, I can't even put out his play gym cos he just regurgitates on bits he likes! He's even doing it to the fixtures of the cage! Like the wing nuts holding on the perches! I don't want to give him his mirrors or balls because he'll be really bad with those, but I guess I could put out some other toys in the hopes of distracting him!

Thanks for the advice, guys I'm feeling better about it all now. Earlier I wasn't feeling great and when he's also hormonal he honestly puts me off birds, and then I fall back in love with him again Seriously, his hormones are on a 7 week cycle and mine are on 4 but I swear they coincide way more than every 28 weeks!

Hopefully he'll settle down in a few days. I let him stay out and up late last night because it was his first time out of the cage in weeks and I hadn't seen him in ages, but it's early nights from now on. He might have been up late at my aunt's house. 12 hours of sleep usually keeps the worst of this at bay.

[Deleted]

Oh, also, I'd been considering only putting one or two toys in the cage and out on whatever he has to play or perch on, and I was going to put them away at night and put different ones in and out the next morning. Considering what he's like at the moment, do you think that would make him more territorial or make him less attached to any particular item?



Side note (cos I talk to myself even when I'm typing) going to get a new playgym for christmas, like his old one because it's a really good one to put Jeff on so he can talk to him, but this time I'm not going to glue it, as long as it stays together because last time I did that and when it fell the pieces of wood broke instead of the gym just falling apart. And also it would be easier to clean if I could take it apart. So I should wheelie penguin too for him to play on the base of that with *mumblemumble*

[ffiscool]

sounds like a plan.. Bailey has been much more needy since I was on hols and he was stuck at my dads..

thankfully, I have not encountered the regurgitating on anything..

who would think a little bud could be so complex

[Hezz]

I have never felt that time out for a budgie works terribly well; mine quite like their home, it is no punishment, really. I have always given a (gentle) bop on the beak and a sharp ah, ah sound. No is not sharp enough, and ah, ah is much more like their own "go away/leave me alone" sound. Play around with it a bit to suit your situation, but I would actually go and put them into a situation where they might be inclined to want to nip so that when they lunge at you, you are ready to apply your technique, rather than being taken by surprise each time. If he still gets you, suck it up, lift your finger over his beak/head so he has to reach up to it; he can't lunge at it that way. Then you can gently introduce your finger to his beak while he has his head up, until he stops trying to bit it, saying something to him quietly, even if it is "gently, Munchy" and then lots of praise when he doesn't bite. Does that help at all?

[Deleted]

Ooh, great advice Hezz I'm about to do a session with him to try it out, anyway. Holding the finger higher up sounds good because if I try to bop his beak he just bites that finger instead. I might have to tell him off for all open beaked gestures at my hands to start off with. He's very used to playing with my nails and I don't want to tell him off for preening, but I also want to make things clear rather than possibly confusing him?

Off to get more holes in my fingers!


I did try waiting out his biting in the cage this morning and he gradually stopped and started preening instead. Outside the cage, especially if it's a shock, he tends to get somewhat flung off of me (try shooing him and the other hand gets jumped on and bitten). Good thing he can fly!

[Deleted]

Just doing short sessions. He bit, I did the 'ah ah ah' thing and misted him. Praised him when he stepped up. Fourth or fifth time he stepped up without biting so I praised him, placed him back on the perch and left it at that for the moment. Will try again shortly but I don't want to over-bother him. Will get the millet for the next session too, perhaps?

[Deleted]

Okay, he drew blood the second time. I went on a bit longer but made sure that the final time was one when he didn't bite me. Only issue so far is that he'll cling to the side of the cage after being sprayed, so it's harder to get him to step up from there anyway!

Hezz do you think changing his toys every day will make him more or less territorial?

[neonice]

I think he deserves some millet, good boy.

[Deleted]

I'll definitely use some next time and see how it goes



I always feel a bit weird. On one hand I would like Munchy to be generally tame and friendly, which he is, and to get him to obey commands and stuff. Trouble is, I'm not really around much. I tend to spend my free time with my boyfriend and the rest of the time I'm busy, and will be especially busy in September. I guess I have to face up to the fact that my schedule will mean that I won't be able to be a one budgie person at least until I retire. Mind you, I think it will be fun to watch a couple of them interacting. So much of the joy of having Munchy comes from watching the mischief he gets up to. And at least if I have more than one, though I'll need them to be basically tame and have basic commands, I won't be expecting them to be more of a companion. (She says, with grumpy hormonal Munchy hanging around companionably)

[Hezz]

Aug 13, 2015 10:29:37 GMT Ira said:

Okay, he drew blood the second time. I went on a bit longer but made sure that the final time was one when he didn't bite me. Only issue so far is that he'll cling to the side of the cage after being sprayed, so it's harder to get him to step up from there anyway!

Hezz do you think changing his toys every day will make him more or less territorial?

To be quite honest, I don't know. It may work for you, but I don't really know Munchy, so I would be loath to venture one way or the other. If he is allowed out of his cage, is he able to go back inside if he wants to? I am simply thinking that if he cannot go back "home" when he feels like it, it might just make him more reluctant sometimes to leave it in the first place, or be more possessive of it. If he is able to come and go at will, then that is not the problem. I think you can only try - anything for a nicer Munchy at 'that' time of the cycle.

[Deleted]

I've always allowed him to come and go from the cage as he pleases, and so do my grandparents. The only time I don't is when I'll need to leave later in the day and want to keep him away from his seed bowl so hopefully he'll be peckish enough to go back in