Bird enjoys bitting finger?

[Axel]

My budgie, Doodle, is a bit weird when it comes to fingers...

Every now and then I can touch their beak and give them a tiny bit of millet but for the most part, they lunge and bite my finger.

I know they like to be pet sense one night when they were tired he wanted me to scratch his neck. It almost seems like Doodle thinks biting is a game!

Their bites don't hurt, but it's not fun to be bit either way haha. They are only 3-4 months old if that helps. They were purchased about 1.5 months ago and have been let out less than a week ago.

Any tips or tricks? Thanks!

 

[Axel]

Update:
I have got them to let me pet their beak, and they seem to understand it's not a game now. However, I'm having trouble moving to above their beak to their head feathers. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[GailC]

At that age, he could be starting to molt and won't want to be touched. Also, budgies aren't big on being petted or scratched like the bigger parrots.
For now, focus on bonding and building trust and not so much on touching.

If he does bite, don't react and continue to handle him. I have a new budgie that will get on my hand and sometimes he chews way harder than is necessary. I stop moving and wait until he stops biting before I continue with whatever we were doing. That way he won't learn that biting will make me go away.

 

[clark_conure]

Sounds like very good advice from a new member! give that a try, post back if you need more help! And let us know if this is successful.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

I agree that budgies aren't big on being petted but some other small parrots love it. It isn't limited to bigger birds like you said, my tiel and GCC both love to be scratched and I've seen countless videos of people scratching lovebirds and parrotlets.

 

[Axel]

Ok! Thanks everyone! I will work a bit more with handling for now and post if I need help. <3