bitting tiel!

got 2 7yr. old tiels from a bird rescue. the female is vicious! she will bite through the bars or any fingers that go near her. i can work in the cage and she stays away but if i approach her at all she holds her ground and bites HARD! her mates skittish too but if i go slowly. he will step up and not bite. can ,and if so, how can i train this out of her. thanks for any info.!

For starters they are probably scared out of their minds and need some time to adjust. Please give them at least a couple of weeks before pushing it if hey are already showing such extreme signs of fear. Remember, cockatiels are prey animals, not predators. 90% of bites a re fear driven, and the rest are learned when humans don't respect the bird.

AFTER you have given them enough time to properly settle in, at LEAST a couple of weeks, if she still is lunging through the cage bars I suggest switching her to a new cage, but only when you know you will have time to get her out of the cage and really work with her at least a couple of times a day. Another thing that helps is to remember; NEVER CHASE YOUR BIRD AROUND THE CAGE. Unless the house is on fire or there is some similar emergency, chasing your bird around to catch them ruins trust, don't do it. You need to be patient and come to them with respect and understanding.

I have learned that often a bird has been forced by human hands will accept a perch. I have one bird who I NEVER put my hands inside her cage while she is in it. I always wait for her to come out on her own, or offer her a perch. She was abused by hear last owner, and will rip a hole in me if I reach in there. She readily accepts the perch however, and happily steps from perch to hand as soon as she is outside the cage. Remember to be POLITE with the perch. This is not your excuse to go pushing on her belly trying to get her to step up. Offer treats, entice, never force. Cockatiels are sweet, generally mild mannered birds and forcing is not necessary or fair.

I've raised a crow from a baby and a parakeet before so I'm not entirely naive when it comes to birds. ive had them for just about 2 weeks. i go in slow and gently coax them to step up. they are comfortable w/ that now as long as i take my time. the female will set up on the back of my hand. they came out of their cage and flew around for about a hr. today. twice they landed on me without any prompting. just the female doesn't like fingers. the males ok w/ it but wasn't when i first got them. I've never chased a bird or grabbed them against their will but i bet the previous owner did. thats why she's so defensive. patience and time will tell. just thought you folks might have a special way to go about training her that would curb her aggression. i know she's going to need time and patience, both of which i have plenty. ill let you know how it goes in the near future. it looks promising so far so i must be doing something right.

The main thing is trust trust trust, and it isn't earned lightly. All the advice I gave applies no matter how many birds you have had. You might also consider target training.

well to update you guys. my teils still like to bite but will come out of their cage, fly around, and land on me. they come over to the couch and hang out near my head. they just don't like fingers. if i offer the back of my hand they will step up tho. what exactly is target training?

Here's an article explaining target training.

Right On Target: Target Training For Pet Birds

thanks! ill give it a try.