# I'M too nervous to touch them.. Will they be aggressive?



## luckylucy123 (May 17, 2013)

I have two 'tiels, one called Zuzu and one called Violet. Zuzu, my usual aggressive 'tiel has started to become muuuch calmer with me, he goes on my arm/hand and chatters away to me .. On his terms that is!

Buuut I would like to know, even though I can put my hand towards Zuzu and he doesn't seem bothered at all.. will he bite if I touch him? What are the chances? I'm just so nervous of this because alot of people say it hurts? IS that even true??

Sorry for all the questions but I would loooove dearly to bond with Zuzu )he's my first ever bird so it would mean a lot !)

:grey tiel:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Nope! Their bites don't hurt. It's more like a mouthing. A budgie or a lovebird will nail you. A cockatiel is a pretty gentle bird, so don't worry. A word of warning though, cockatiels have been known to lunge, but please don't fear it. It doesn't automatically mean a bite is coming. It's just their way of telling you something is uncomfortable to them.

Side note story: actually, the reason I found Beaker was because he is a lunger and his old owner got scared of him, so she put him up in the newspaper. Pretty silly huh?


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## luckylucy123 (May 17, 2013)

Thank you for the reassurance! I am now on my way to try get him to step up. It may take a while but i'll try


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Does he like millet, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, hemp seeds, a bit of bread, a cheerio etc?? If so you can easily teach him to step up ( if he will accept it out of your fingers... if not you will have to work on that first) Hold the treat and let him have a nibble.. hold your finger of the other hand in front of him and as he is eating the treat slowly move it further away from him so he has to step up to reach... as he steps, give him the command "step up" if he is uncomfortable when you move the treat away , just back up a step and let him have a few bites of his treat.. you want this to be fun and interesting not scary or stressful. Take it at your birds pace... some will learn fast others will be more hesitant. My green cheek learned to step up in about 10 minutes like this.


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## luckylucy123 (May 17, 2013)

Oh wow, thank you for this info. I had no luck earlier just putting my finger near him so I will use your method. I shall try a few treats and see which he likes best first.


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

You'll be fine. Sounds like you're off to a great start already. 
As Lougirl said their bites don't hurt. I find if Skiddles tries to bite my finger whilst she is on me I don't move and she gives up. It works for me and her. The only time I find a bite hurts is when she decides I need a nose piercing. Lol!


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## Izzy_Meadows (Jun 6, 2013)

I have an aggressive bird, you learn to hold your hand still while they bite so it isn't too bad. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk


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## ccollin13 (May 24, 2013)

Even if you have the tamest cockatiel in the world, there is always a chance you could get bit, because that's really the only defensive mechanism they have. The thing is, in my experience, of all pet birds, cockatiels are probably the least likely to bite and the least painful biters. Budgies, even though their beaks are tinier, like to bite down and then grind their beaks in your flesh (at least, my Chelsea did!). Some parrots will hang on while biting. A tiel is likely just to nip - kinda like pinching your finger in something. Really not too bad 

Izzy is absolutely right - if you can hold your hand still when they bite, it's actually better. Once your bird realizes that biting doesn't get you to go away, he won't do it as much  Good luck!


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## blueybluesky (Jul 9, 2013)

I agree that cockatiels bites don't hurt so much, my budgie nova is a tiny little thing and hers hurt alot more. The only time Car Alarm has drawn blood when biting some one was the normal vet and to be honest I couldn't blame him the vet wasn't the nicest of people :lol:

I think you'll do fine though, they tend to do nibble things more than anything when they aren't happy.


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## luckylucy123 (May 17, 2013)

Thank you everyone 

I'm doing 10 minutes each day or so, so hopefully it will work.
I got a lunge from Violet today just 'cause I tried to get near Zuzu but it didn't hurt .... and I kept my hand still which did help!


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## luckylucy123 (May 17, 2013)

blueybluesky said:


> I agree that cockatiels bites don't hurt so much, my budgie nova is a tiny little thing and hers hurt alot more. The only time Car Alarm has drawn blood when biting some one was the normal vet and to be honest I couldn't blame him the vet wasn't the nicest of people :lol:
> 
> I think you'll do fine though, they tend to do nibble things more than anything when they aren't happy.


This is quite funny.. hehe! I giggled at the vet not being nice .. so Car Alarm (cool name!  ) bit him hehehe..


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