# How to teach my tiel that biting is not okay?



## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

My tiel is a sweet girl. She has been with me for a while. She has always had a good time going to bed. We have a ritual that we do and she lets me pet her head before going to bed. She also steps without a problem to go from her cage to her bed. That is ... until a couple of days ago. She has started biting me when I approach her and does not want to step on. I'm sad thinking that she is some how mad at me. I don't know why she doesn't like me all of the sudden. My parents visited last week and all of this started on the day they left. They have visited before and it hasn't turned into a problem with her. 

She has also been going to bed 1/2 hr later than usual this week. I'm on vacation and I have been missing her sleeping time but like I mentioned, for only about 30 min. She has still been getting her 12 hrs of sleep. I don't know what to do. Yesterday and today I had to force her to step on b/c she just wouldn't want to and would bite me every time. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't leave her on top of the cage where she was. I hope I didn't make things worse.  She is just as sweet as can be with my DH but she is being very mean to me. Today she was even mean at dinner time. I gave her corn and since she would not eat it, I try to hand fed her. She took the corn and threw it. She did this a couple of times. It surprised me b/c she likes corn. 

When my DH is home she is always very sweet to him and prefers him over me but she still very sociable with me. We have never had trouble at bed time. I'm really very sad about this and I'm afraid about tomorrow's bed time. I'm afraid that she will bite me again and will not step on. What will I do then? Any advice? What could be going on?


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

My first thought was hormones, but you said she was getting 12 hours of sleep a night and that she was fine with other people...I mean, it could still be the case. This sudden change is strange...maybe it's because you look different somehow and she doesn't recognize you? Did you change anything recently? 
And what do you mean you're forcing her to step up? As long as you're not grabbing her or sneaking up behind her I think you'll be fine. 
I've never had a bird that didn't bite at first so I don't know how you feel. I just kind of let them bite me over and over again until they realize I'm not trying to hurt them. My finger has had it's fair share of wounds 
Anyway, hopefully someone with more experience with this can help you. Good luck with your birdy!


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Birds have mood swings. Don't take it personally. Willow gives me the worst fits about bed time. And when I force her in- if I try to give her a treat to make up for it- she viciously snatches it to throw back at me. She gets pretty ugly sometimes. Just remember they are like forever toddlers. That might help you not take it so personally.


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## Justice361 (Dec 30, 2012)

I don't know the reason behind the sudden change in behavior, but as to the title of the topic, I did find a method to stop a tiel from biting. (I'd need input from the more experienced members here to know for sure if this is a proper method.)

He talks about it at 1:39

http://www.ehow.com/video_4951850_tame-cockatiel.html


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

Fredandiris said:


> My first thought was hormones, but you said she was getting 12 hours of sleep a night and that she was fine with other people...I mean, it could still be the case. This sudden change is strange...maybe it's because you look different somehow and she doesn't recognize you? Did you change anything recently?
> And what do you mean you're forcing her to step up? As long as you're not grabbing her or sneaking up behind her I think you'll be fine.
> I've never had a bird that didn't bite at first so I don't know how you feel. I just kind of let them bite me over and over again until they realize I'm not trying to hurt them. My finger has had it's fair share of wounds
> Anyway, hopefully someone with more experience with this can help you. Good luck with your birdy!


Hello. Thank you for the response. I've had my tiel for years. She knows me well. I haven't changed anything with myself. I can even wear my hair all over my face and she still knows its me. I know b/c I've tried it before when playing with her. I didn't really force her by grabbing her but I did continue placing my finger for her to step on and she finally did but she wasn't happy about it and tried biting in the process. The one thing that has been a little bit different is that my DH and I are on vacation this week and things are different that way. This has changed her bed time a little bit by ~ 30 min. Also, my parents were visiting last week and the biting, unhappy bird started when they left. Maybe those little changes have added up? Anyway, she is a little bit happier this morning.


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

meaggiedear said:


> Birds have mood swings. Don't take it personally. Willow gives me the worst fits about bed time. And when I force her in- if I try to give her a treat to make up for it- she viciously snatches it to throw back at me. She gets pretty ugly sometimes. Just remember they are like forever toddlers. That might help you not take it so personally.


Thank you. You are right. Maybe I've I need to give her time. She is truly like a 2 year old some times. It was interesting that she would take the corn from me yesterday and throw it  She was not happy. My DH is home this week and she loves him to death. That might be another possible reason I guess.


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

Justice361 said:


> I don't know the reason behind the sudden change in behavior, but as to the title of the topic, I did find a method to stop a tiel from biting. (I'd need input from the more experienced members here to know for sure if this is a proper method.)
> 
> He talks about it at 1:39
> 
> http://www.ehow.com/video_4951850_tame-cockatiel.html


Hello. Yes, back to the title. I watched the video you recommended and did see what was recommended at 1:39. Does any one know about this disciplining method? Would that work? Or would she just loose trust? 

Thank you for the link.


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

I really don't want her to start becoming a biter. She has been so good all this years. She pretends that she is going to bite people she doesn't know if they get close to immediately pet her (she needs warming up). With people she knows, she pretends that she is going to bite too but not always (when you do something she doesn't like, like offering her a toy and she is not in the mood to play). When I offered her something and she didn't want it, she would pretend that she would bite but she never actually would bite and the last two nights she has bitten a little bit hard, which scares me. I reacted by taking my hand away and saying "ouch!" and "no!". I later on read that letting her see a reaction on my part might want to get her to do it more.

But how should I react? With strangers, I just don't let them touch her though I don't think that she would really bite. At the vet's she is super friendly with anyone that approaches her (vet, vet techs ...). When she pretends to bite, we just stop doing what is bothering her. Last two nights though, we were just getting ready to go to bed. Something that she loves doing. 

One thing I did do was to add a couple of toys to her small cage. I took one out today to see if it helped. She wasn't too happy with the toy. I think that maybe the vacation changes have affected her some. She doesn't like changes much. My parents visit might have also affected her for they were staying in the room right next to hers and she could hear them when she was already in bed. Usually things are more quiet around my house at bed time.

Today she seems a little bit happier. She has let me pet her a couple of times and has stepped on without problems. She has also eaten breakfast. It might just be a night thing. I'm hoping things go better tonight.

Overall, I don't want her to become a biter.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Having absolutely no reaction when she bites is the best thing to do. 

When anyone starts getting aggressive, I keep a blank face, pick up the bad bird, and set them away from everyone else or me. 

If you react, she will do it just to get a rise out of you bc she knows she can.


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## BabyMoo (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank you for the advice *meaggiedear*. That is what I'll do next time she bites. 

I do have to report that tonight she behaved like a total angel. All day she did good but tonight my DH picked her up and she was all so happy and sweet about it. I asked if he could help me by giving her to me and so he did and she stepped on my finger without a problem. We did that a couple of times and when it was time to go to bed I did what we always do (we have a ritual me and her) and she behaved perfectly. She let me pet her and when it was time to step, she did. One thing I did do for dinner was give her rice with egg. She loves rice and I hadn't given her any rice for about a week. I had been trying to give her other things more healthy ... like corn last night. I wonder if she was wanting rice and was upset for not getting it. She usually gets some rice about twice a week (mixed with egg). 

Anyway, she did better tonight so I'm hoping that things continue to improve


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Haha! She was just having a mood swing. I didn't even know tiels had those! Well, hopefully she'll keep reverting back to her normal self.


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