# 1 year old male suddenly bites!



## Nightbeat1001 (Jan 2, 2018)

My male 1 year old hand-raised cockatiel:grey tiel: Bites my hand when he gets excited. When I say bite, i'm not talking about a cutesy little, hey I don't like that, pinch, I mean full-on blood-lust type bites. When he gets excited he will act like he is enjoying himself but then attacks and draws blood as soon as my hand is within range. He gives no warning; just looks like a happy little bird having fun. He gives his warning signs after he starts his attack. He will lunge, chase, and once he gets me, he will grind his beak into my skin drawing blood 60% of the time.

He enjoys games like Peekaboo, and Cover(blanket or rag draped over his entire body then removed quickly, I don;t play this much with him). He will also attack (but less frequently) with: Whistling(when ever I whistle to him when he is out of his cage), If he is ignored while sitting on my shoulder, or gets too much attention on my shoulder, Movement under cloth(if I wrap up in a blanket or something moves underneath fabric), Pets(scritches), Training(millet and a clicker), and when he gets food.

Peekaboo and cover are the only games he will play(he won't touch any toys in or out of his cage even though he has a large variety). 
He has no problem with me whistling one song, but anymore than one and he starts biting me even though he's the one who chose to stand on me. 
If he is on my shoulder and I start watching tv or computer and ignore him for more than 15 minutes he will start biting my face. The same goes for if I give him too much attention while he is on my shoulder. 
If something moves underneath anytime of cloth or fabric at first he starts 'the crazy song' and as soon as my hand gets close enough(one time he walked up to where my hand was resting) he started the biting.
If I pet his head the wrong way or for too long he will also start the biting.

The bites have never drawn blood, just hard pinches, when it comes to training and food because he is more focused on getting the food. I would consider him slightly food aggressive just in general, even with treats from my plate. Also if I set my plate down (which I rarely do anymore) he will take over the plate as his and start guarding it ferociously while eating.

In general he is not an aggressive bird, most of the time he is loving and sweet but I don't get him out often because of the biting. Often times now, when I do get him out it is not fun for me, I fear when he will start his attack (it is why I had to clip his wings). I am his first owner apart from the person who hand raised him. He is not the first cockatiel I have ever owner either(I have babysat untamed for a friend and had some my own before). He is is bed about 14 hours at the moment so I don't think hormone have anything to do with the biting, but I could be wrong. I usually am with most things in life so why not the health and safety of my beloved bird.
He is making my partially tamed budgie:cobalt: harder to tame. When he is nice toward me the budgie is easy to tame but when he bites me the budgie is afraid of me. (I got the budgie 3 months ago and the cockatiels' biting problem started long before I got the budgie).

I am coming to my wits end with him. I have been trying everything to get him to stop (rewarding good behavior, rewarding good behavior with clicker, not reacting to the bites[which only leaves me with 5 or 6 bites instead of 1 before I pull away] Putting him back in his cage for a few minutes then getting him back out) If there is a trick to bite stopping I have tried it apart from negative reinforcement. I love him with all my heart but it is coming down to either having to leave him as a living decoration in his cage or sending him away. He screams pitifully at me all day from his cage. I can handle the 'stop that' or 'get away' pinches that other cockatiels (untamed at the time) have given me. I want a bird I can play with and not be afraid of. How do I fix this?


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## Carla Formica (Oct 2, 2020)

Nightbeat1001 said:


> My male 1 year old hand-raised cockatiel:grey tiel: Bites my hand when he gets excited. When I say bite, i'm not talking about a cutesy little, hey I don't like that, pinch, I mean full-on blood-lust type bites. When he gets excited he will act like he is enjoying himself but then attacks and draws blood as soon as my hand is within range. He gives no warning; just looks like a happy little bird having fun. He gives his warning signs after he starts his attack. He will lunge, chase, and once he gets me, he will grind his beak into my skin drawing blood 60% of the time.
> 
> He enjoys games like Peekaboo, and Cover(blanket or rag draped over his entire body then removed quickly, I don;t play this much with him). He will also attack (but less frequently) with: Whistling(when ever I whistle to him when he is out of his cage), If he is ignored while sitting on my shoulder, or gets too much attention on my shoulder, Movement under cloth(if I wrap up in a blanket or something moves underneath fabric), Pets(scritches), Training(millet and a clicker), and when he gets food.
> 
> ...


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