Some issues

So, Oz used to be the sweetest little guy, but for the past week or so, he's been getting increasingly aggressive towards me. He still loves his cuddles and being with people, but his sudden bursts of bad mood are getting more frequent. He rarely goes a day without a bite rampage and his bites are starting to hurt quite a bit.

I draw the line at him biting my nose/lip, that's an instant cage time out. I try to just ignore him when it's the hands. I'm that close to banning him from the shoulder until he gets over it.

He's a little over 6 months old now. He used to only live with me, but since I moved there are 4 new people in his life and 3 other animals. Also, he could pretty much always see me in my old appartment, but since he's in my room now (the parents don't want his cage in the living room) he sees me a lot less. I still take him out very often and do have stands for him around the house, but I work more now than before so he does get less attention =(

I've also stopped clicker training him because I lost my clicker (gonna get a new one today or tomorrow). Could that have been a part of why he gets angry sometimes?

Any suggestions on how to help him with his new behaviors? He also bangs his beak on the cage sometimes.

Definitely not gonna give up on him, I love him just as much as I did when he was a cuddly baby. It just makes me a little sad that we can't have the quality time we used to have...

How old is OZ? Is he molting? My P'let is a maniac right now. She is sooooooooo, sooooooooo moody. She is molting. My Sennie is a little moody too but nothing compare to Kiwi. Yesterday my husband was minding his own business when kiwi crawled up on to his shoulder and bit him in his neck and face, she drew blood.

I don't like my birds on my shoulder and don't allow it, for the very reasons you just described. I would ban him from being up there, at least for now. He is unpredictable right now, it's not worth the risk.

around 6 months old. He does have some pin feathers around his beak right now... I'm also starting to think it might be the hormones, considering he just tried to mate with my hand -.-'

Off to the cage for you mister...

Oz could be quite upset with all the changes going on in his life and is trying to express his displeasure in the only way he knows how.

Clicker training can be done without a clicker, although it can help with training itself.


Why are you ignoring him when he bites? He's upset and he's trying to tell you something, and you are ignoring him! Please, try to understand him and try to figure out why he feels the need to bite! Maybe if you can figure out why he's biting, you can avoid getting bitten and he'll be happier for you learning to understand him!

Yep, Monica is right. He is upset and, most likely, he is lonely too. He went from been the center of your attention to been relegated to a bedroom on his own. He doesn't understand why you have abandoned him for these other people.

Well, I read somewhere that giving attention when they bite could encourage them to bite even more. He's my first bird, so it's kinda hard sometimes when everyone says completely different things =(

I do try to see what could have set him off, but most of the time it seems completely random to me! (I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason in his head thought...)

This cockatiel is only six months old.... does that mean he's being hormonal? If he's being hormonal, does that mean he's trying to mate and reproduce?????

I don't think it's hormones... at least not in the sexual sense.



Kiryon, I didn't say to *give* attention to him when he bites, I just don't think it's a good idea to ignore him when he bites. Rather than ignore the bites, it's better to avoid them. The only bite that can't be rewarded is the one that never occurs! Now, I know, easier said than done, but it's possible! Learn to understand your bird and figure out why he does the things he does rather than ignoring the behavior and hoping it goes away! That's not a very good way to approach a problem...

Pajarita said:

Yep, Monica is right. He is upset and, most likely, he is lonely too. He went from been the center of your attention to been relegated to a bedroom on his own. He doesn't understand why you have abandoned him for these other people.

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Actually, he spends quite a bit of time with the whole family! His cage is in my room, but his playstand is on the table in the living room. He loves EVERYONE in my family, it's so sweet. There's not a single person in this household he hasn't flied to and cuddled with =/

MonicaMc said:

This cockatiel is only six months old.... does that mean he's being hormonal? If he's being hormonal, does that mean he's trying to mate and reproduce?????

I don't think it's hormones... at least not in the sexual sense.



Kiryon, I didn't say to *give* attention to him when he bites, I just don't think it's a good idea to ignore him when he bites. Rather than ignore the bites, it's better to avoid them. The only bite that can't be rewarded is the one that never occurs! Now, I know, easier said than done, but it's possible! Learn to understand your bird and figure out why he does the things he does rather than ignoring the behavior and hoping it goes away! That's not a very good way to approach a problem...

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The only thing I meant by 'ignore' was not giving him any attention during his tantrums, if I wanted to ignore the problem, I wouldn't post about it here... I just wanted to seek opinions on what could be causing it and remedy to it... It's why I gave so many details about his age/environment and all.

I'm also starting to think it could be the hormones since, as I wrote earlier, he tried to mate with my hand today...

Well, mating with your hand does bring in a definite hormonal change now! But being hormonal doesn't make him bite, it just means that the triggers for biting are heightened.


What I was reading was that when Oz bites your hands, you ignore him and "allow" him to bite you (i.e. you don't stop it, nor do you try to avoid it), but when it's your face, he gets a time-out.

What I'm wondering is *why*? Why is he doing this behavior? And can you figure out the cause? Then can you fix the reason why he's biting so he doesn't bite?


From what you said, it sounded like all the new changes may be upsetting him, and that's throwing him off. New environment, new people, new animals, less attention, less training... Someone walking by or even one of the other animals walking by or making a noise could be causing him to act out. Maybe it's something going on outside? Maybe it's not enough stimulation for him from before you moved? Maybe it's too much? Too much sensory input?

What happened before the bite to result in the behavior? What happened afterwards?



I'm trying to understand myself! I missed your first post about him mating with your hands so didn't realize he was gettin frisky! (sorry about that! ) Definitely try to redirect his behavior there!

Yeah, at first I was confused, but when I realized what he was trying to do it was 'whoa there mister'... At least now I know he's definitely a male...

I guess it just baffles me. We moved 3 weeks ago and for 2 weeks he was perfectly fine with all the new stuff. He's had a little 4 am night fright recently thought. I opened the lights and sat/talked softly with him fora few minutes and he was fine again when I put him back in the cage. The other pets aren't out at the same time as him.

I made a little test earlier and sat alone with him in my room for about an hour, with no distractions, it was me, him, the bed and his favorite window perch. He was moody at first. But after 20 minutes of whistles, soft talk and attempted petting, he calmed down considerably and stopped biting me when I went to pet him. He just threw his head against my fingers like he used to and now he's been in a cheerful mood pretty much all evening.

As for allowing the biting, well my mom says to just put him in his cage every time he does that, but I worry that he'll just spend too much time in his cage if I do that and just become impossible to handle.

Punishment doesn't always work as well with parrots, because they may not understand that you are punishing them for a behavior that you deem as bad.

Hope he is ok after his night fright! And it sounds like the two of you had a good evening! I hope he continues being in a good mood!

Kiryon said:

Yeah, at first I was confused, but when I realized what he was trying to do it was 'whoa there mister'... At least now I know he's definitely a male...

I guess it just baffles me. We moved 3 weeks ago and for 2 weeks he was perfectly fine with all the new stuff. He's had a little 4 am night fright recently thought. I opened the lights and sat/talked softly with him fora few minutes and he was fine again when I put him back in the cage. The other pets aren't out at the same time as him.

I made a little test earlier and sat alone with him in my room for about an hour, with no distractions, it was me, him, the bed and his favorite window perch. He was moody at first. But after 20 minutes of whistles, soft talk and attempted petting, he calmed down considerably and stopped biting me when I went to pet him. He just threw his head against my fingers like he used to and now he's been in a cheerful mood pretty much all evening.

As for allowing the biting, well my mom says to just put him in his cage every time he does that, but I worry that he'll just spend too much time in his cage if I do that and just become impossible to handle.

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Well, there you go! There's your answer! He wants things to go back to where they were before!

Yeah, I've started taking some 'alone' time with him everyday and he does seem to be in a better mood with the rest of the family too after our sessions =)