Question about biting

Hello ! I recently purchased a parakeet from a breeder who hand feeds them. My little guy is till with the breeder because he is still young fed I can pick him up in about a week. But im allowed to see him everyday which I do. Today was the 4th day. The first day I went he was the last one and the breeder just picked him up with his hand and put him on my finger (which I thought was crazy because petco and petsmart birds loose trust when you grab them) but anywhoo I held him for about 2 mins and put him down and left. 2nd day I held onto him a little bit more and he was biting biting and I mean biting hard to the point where he could just be biting my finger and hold on without his feet. Same with the 3rd. The 4th day I went to the back and opened the cage and he just flew out and flew around my friends and I about 4 times and I just put my finger up and he flew to me. He wasn’t biting me much right away at first (usually he was biting my finger at which he was perched on) but today he didn’t do it much he was biting the finger of my other hand which I went to pet him. Once again only sometimes. But his bites hurt hurt like not normal parakeet bites (I don’t think) the breeder said he does it because he was hand fed. Will my parakeet continue to keep biting me ? If so will he still bite as hard as he usually does ?


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Some of this could just be baby behavior (???not sure ), but your bird has not established a trust bond with you yet..Adult and young birds often bite as a last resort (when other attempts at communication fail- they will bite due to fear and unfamiliarity with hands).
Your bird could continue to bite unless you build trust and read his signals better...I am not super familiar with the behavior of very young parakeets, but it could be a combination of factors leading to this behavior.

A healthy young-adult bird will rarely bite if you read his/her signals and build trust slowly before invading space and pushing boundaries, but again, this guy may be super young, so that may not apply 100%.

Have you had other birds?

noodles123 said:

Some of this could just be baby behavior (???not sure ), but your bird has not established a trust bond with you yet..Adult and young birds often bite as a last resort (when other attempts at communication fail- they will bite due to fear and unfamiliarity with hands).
Your bird could continue to bite unless you build trust and read his signals better...I am not super familiar with the behavior of very young parakeets, but it could be a combination of factors leading to this behavior.

A healthy young-adult bird will rarely bite if you read his/her signals and build trust slowly before invading space and pushing boundaries, but again, this guy may be super young, so that may not apply 100%.

Have you had other birds?

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Well you see this bird I guess knows it’s me, reason I say that is because when I start walking to his cage he comes to the front and starts I guess dancing he does some sort of bobbing with his head. I have had 2 other parakeets but they were bought from petco. This bird also bites the breeder tho as well. Even the other little birds that are in the cage with mine (they are much younger) come up and start bitting my fingers


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How old is he? If he's super young, it's probably a baby behavior related to food or something-- that bobbing is often a begging behavior in young birds and often they do it when they want food. Now, it can lapse into adulthood in some cases (the bobbing) but if he is a BABY, it probably is a feeding thing/ behavior related to wanting a feeding--I could be wrong though. That is just my gut, but I haven't raised baby parakeets, so I'm guessing.

noodles123 said:

How old is he? If he's super young, it's probably a baby behavior related to food or something-- that bobbing is a begging behavior in young birds and often they do it when they want food.

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I’m not sure on the exact age I would assume around 10 weeks old

My parakeet is the oldest of the bunch he is the purple/bluish one in the back


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Bpy said:

noodles123 said:

How old is he? If he's super young, it's probably a baby behavior related to food or something-- that bobbing is a begging behavior in young birds and often they do it when they want food.

Click to expand...

I’m not sure on the exact age I would assume around 10 weeks old

My parakeet is the oldest of the bunch he is the purple/bluish one in the back


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Click to expand...

The breeder also feeds the birds pellets, no seeds at all unless it’s millet (I’m pretty sure that’s a seed) along with fruits he is also introducing vegetables slowly


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I am hoping someone with more baby parakeet experience chimes in-- my experience with parakeets is restricted to young and adult (I never had a true "baby" and they look pretty young--younger than any of mine ever were).

noodles123 said:

I am hoping someone with more baby parakeet experience chimes in-- my experience with parakeets is restricted to young and adult (I never had a true "baby" and that one does look pretty young--younger than any of mine ever were).

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Awe no worries thank you for everything you have said so far !! It helped me get some what of an idea. If anyone else knows anything please comment !!


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The following is from youtube.com watch it and target training when you get the bird home. jh
[ame="https://youtu.be/AuxOUvC90EQ"]YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://youtu.be/RT_9WFWWInk"]YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://youtu.be/ia5xcCj6VMs"]The Most Important Tool in Training - YouTube[/ame]
Watch these and remember that Routine is a big thing. jh