Why Is My Parrot Biting?
Parrots bite for several reasons, some clear, some not. To understand your bird best, you need to know the body language of your bird. Below, I covered a few reasons why parrots bite, both obvious and obscure.
First, a bird who is not comfortable with you will bite out of fear. It’s one of the only weapons they have to protect themselves. Although they have clawed feet, using these feet again a being 100 hundred times their size is not easy. The beak is easier and more efficient. If your bird is biting you because they are frightened of you, you need to work on building your relationship with the bird. A new bird for instance should be allowed to stay in their cage, talk quietly to the bird, and don’t force your hands on the bird.
There are also a lot of parrots who do not like hands, or do not like to be pet and cuddled. They will bite if you persist in touching them. You can use alternative methods, such as training a bird to land on a perch or petting or scritching a bird with a q-tip or other soft object.
Even a tame bird whom you know well will sometimes bite you if they are frightened by something else, such as another person or animal showing up. Often, they will nip you on the ear and then fly. This is normal behavior towards someone they care about. The bite is to warn you a threat is present, and they want you to fly away with them. The bird cares about you if they do that, their intent is to keep you safe!
These are the most obvious reasons for a parrot to bite. There are quite a few not so easily translated. For instance, there is the confused bite. Often when I am cuddling my conure or cockatiels, they will see one of my fingers out of the corner of their eye. This will cause a bite almost every time. They tend to assume the finger is another bird or individual trying to get between the bird and her cuddles. Many times, this confused bite ends in the parrot rubbing their head against the finger, much like an embarrassed cat licking themselves. A related bite is when a parrot does not wish you stop petting it. If the parrot can tell by your body language or words that you are about to stop, they may bite you. They are quite intelligent and learn your signs quite quickly. Many birds will nip you for attention as well. My conure has learned if she chews my ear a bit, I will take her off and give her a quick pet. Beware of doing this, you are basically rewarding your bird for biting. Although I don’t personally mind, I need the distraction occasionally, it is not a good habit for most.
Then there is the selfish bite. This bite means ‘its mine.’ You are either trying to take something away from the bird or keeping the bird from getting something it wants. It doesn’t have to be food. My conure will bite me when I try to keep her away from the keyboard. Sounds straightforward enough, and simple training can rectify most issues with this. However, one thing a lot of parrots will do is bite you as you are getting them a treat. Although you are the one getting the treat, they still don’t want you to have it. When my conure does this, she alternates between bites of food and bites of my hand to remind me its hers. Best thing to do is not let the bird sit on you when you get a treat and lay the treat down somewhere instead of direct feeding.
Revenge biting is something that can take different forms. For instance, many parrots will bite their owners after their owners have been gone for what the bird considers an unreasonable amount of time, as if punishing them for their infraction. Many parrots will also bite if they saw their owner giving affection to another bird, animal or human. Some parrots bite at bedtime because they simply do not wish to go to bed. Cage aggression or area aggression can also cause bites (as well as hormonal issues). A bird will try to defend what it considers its territory. My conure will bite any of my cockatiels that attempt to sit on my chest for instance. This is ‘her spot’ and she is not willing to share. Naturally, that’s all the cockatiels want to do now!
Lastly, there is the hormonal bite. This bite, although it can be related to cage aggression or the ‘you are my mate, stop hanging around with that other bird’ bite, occurs due to sexual frustration. If a bird has chosen you as a mate, and you are not doing the things that a mate should, the bird may start biting you out of simple frustration. The best path is to try to eliminate the hormonal situation. There are lots of resources on how to limit your bird’s hormonal urges, such as having a solid 12-hour night and not petting the bird in certain ways. A bird may also benefit from this if they have chosen an object for a mate, and bites you in an attempt to keep you away from that object.
In conclusion, there are many reasons why birds bite, and this is only a sample. The best way to handle bird bites is to try to figure out why they are biting and, if needed, to change the situation through positive behavioral modification. The situation itself and your bird’s body language are key to understanding the bite.
