PKFreeze
New member
Hi, I am new to this forum but mostly made this account to get some advice on my bird. His name is Fester and he is a canary winged parakeet of about 8 months old. I purchased him around a month and a half ago from my local Petco; he has been hand fed.
Lately I have been having a lot of trouble with him biting. I've read a decent amount about bird behavior and biting but every source I consult seems to have conflicting advice and not much has seemed to work. For the first week I had him he did not bite at all; and progressively it has been getting worse since then. Now every time I go to let him out of his cage he threatens to bite before I even open the latch on the door, he bites when I change his food or water, and threatens me when I come close to him while he is on his little playground that is next to his cage (he can climb to it at any time so long as he is out of his cage). Most of the time his bites hurt immensely, and he has drawn blood several times. I have tried pushing back on him, I've tried ignoring him, I've tried putting him back in his cage and covering it with a blanket immediately after the bite, I've talked to him sternly, but still the behavior won't stop and seems to only be getting worse. I am not sure what I'm doing wrong and I'm worried that this is putting a damper on our relationship. Lately I have been reluctant to even interact with him at all because of his bites. He has bitten my lip, neck and cheek before too, while sitting on my shoulder.
I have noticed that this behavior seems to diminish when he's away from his cage, which leads me to believe that it could be a territorial issue, but he still does bite away from the cage (but usually does not draw blood in this instance). If he is in his cage and I leave the room he will scream, usually until I come back, yet still does not seem happy to see me.
I am also not sure if it may be hormonal. If it may help, I am female, but I do not actually know his sex as he was never tested for it and the workers at Petco didn't know.
Please, any help and advice is greatly appreciated. I'm sure you all get threads like this a lot but I don't know where else to go for help. I know Fester has the potential to be a sweet and loving bird, and I have seen this side of him before. I want him to be a trusting and loyal companion, and I want him to see the same in me. Thank you!
Lately I have been having a lot of trouble with him biting. I've read a decent amount about bird behavior and biting but every source I consult seems to have conflicting advice and not much has seemed to work. For the first week I had him he did not bite at all; and progressively it has been getting worse since then. Now every time I go to let him out of his cage he threatens to bite before I even open the latch on the door, he bites when I change his food or water, and threatens me when I come close to him while he is on his little playground that is next to his cage (he can climb to it at any time so long as he is out of his cage). Most of the time his bites hurt immensely, and he has drawn blood several times. I have tried pushing back on him, I've tried ignoring him, I've tried putting him back in his cage and covering it with a blanket immediately after the bite, I've talked to him sternly, but still the behavior won't stop and seems to only be getting worse. I am not sure what I'm doing wrong and I'm worried that this is putting a damper on our relationship. Lately I have been reluctant to even interact with him at all because of his bites. He has bitten my lip, neck and cheek before too, while sitting on my shoulder.
I have noticed that this behavior seems to diminish when he's away from his cage, which leads me to believe that it could be a territorial issue, but he still does bite away from the cage (but usually does not draw blood in this instance). If he is in his cage and I leave the room he will scream, usually until I come back, yet still does not seem happy to see me.
I am also not sure if it may be hormonal. If it may help, I am female, but I do not actually know his sex as he was never tested for it and the workers at Petco didn't know.
Please, any help and advice is greatly appreciated. I'm sure you all get threads like this a lot but I don't know where else to go for help. I know Fester has the potential to be a sweet and loving bird, and I have seen this side of him before. I want him to be a trusting and loyal companion, and I want him to see the same in me. Thank you!
