# Budgie biting



## Aerocore (Oct 18, 2015)

Hello!

I recently got my first budgie a few months ago, it's been quite an experience! He has been pretty nervous, and I've tried to take things slowly. Currently, he will go onto fingers, is comfortable outside his cage but only flies to certain spots. He still seems afraid of my hand, and will cringe away if I try to put my finger over his head. He is however, okay with me scratching the side of his head, and will **** it so that I can rub it for him, but will back up as well (Almost as if he likes it but is unsure of it at the same time).

A few days ago, he's suddenly gotten very social and likes to sit on my fingers, but has also developed a habit for biting. At first it was just small nibbles which I was okay with, but he's gotten very aggressive with it, and it's started to hurt. He doesn't seem to be angry, or scared, as he could fly off whenever he wanted. Sometimes he even chirps, and bobs his head while he's doing it. I only have one budgie, and it's just us two in an apartment, so I don't want him to get scared of me.

I was just curious to know if anybody else had any experience with this, or has any tips for helping me bond with a nervous bird, while also not scaring him.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Your budgie instinctively doesn't like you coming over his head with your finger as that would feel like an "attack" from above. Many budgies prefer not to be touched or petted once they are past the "baby" stage.

Do you know his age? He may be at the "teenage" state where the hormones kick-in and budgies tend to become more aggressive. It sounds as though he's trying to show his dominance with the biting behavior.
http://talkbudgies.com/training-bonding/225961-biting-learned-often-avoidable-behavior.html

I'd try some positive reinforcement training and consider starting clicker training with him. 

http://talkbudgies.com/training-bonding/237105-using-positive-reinforcement-training.html

http://talkbudgies.com/training-bonding/265337-basics-clicker-training.html

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I'm looking forward to hearing all about your budgie and hopefully seeing some pictures hoto: soon!!

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## timmylove (May 4, 2015)

*my rio*

hi can someone help me i have bin trying to stop rio from biting and i have tried to say no and put him down then i got told to not do that and not to do anything and as doing both he is biting harder then before and no hes bin really going to eyes and i have no clue what to do know and im worried that im not able to teach him this i have had him over 6 months now and our bond grows every day and hes can be friendly and lovely then he will just bit with out any reason can anyone HELP me please.  :budgie:


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## Louiseandjoey (Feb 1, 2015)

My budgie has done exactly the same thing he is a 1year now he is very tame was hand reard as is not frightened of anything .. And to him that biting is a game! He will fly up to me and be really cute and playful talks in my ear as he can say quite a few words and then he will bite my ear make a naughty chirp while he is doing it and fly off.. He also does it for attention .. My solution which has made it better and he does it less is I either divert his attention with a toy and he then forgets he was about to bite me and doesn't do it or I try to ignore it. After a while you get to know when he is going to bite and you can quickly put him on his perch or gym or somewhere he likes to go and then he won't bite you and now he is getting out of the habit .. As I think they get in a habit of doing it .. 
Also I found saying no, or ouch, or a noise just makes it worse as I'm sure joey started biting me to hear me go ouch for fun. Good luck I just wanted to reassure you that they get better try to ignore or divert his attention


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## MineOfBudgies (Apr 23, 2015)

Ace went through his "teenage" phase a few months ago, and is similar to what you are describing. When I put him on my shoulder, he would bite my ear, and bite HARD. 
He would also bite my fingers too, but not as hard. To deal with this, I simply tried my hardest to ignore it. When he bit my ear however, I put him back in his 
cage or play stand and just exited the room for about 5 minutes. I then came back and acted like it never happened. I think he learned that if he bites dad on the ear, he doesn't get to hang out with dad anymore 

Whatever you do, NEVER yell, grab, or do anything similar to your bird. This will accomplish nothing other than making your budgie loose trust in you and demolish the bond you worked so hard for with him. 
Ace passed through his teen phase within a month or two and went right back to be a happy and cuddly birdie


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## timmylove (May 4, 2015)

thank you Louiseandjoey and MineOfBudgies i will take this in and start to do the same and see how it works fingers crossed he will understand, i have been teaching him to not bite while in his cage as i have a child who will sometimes but their finger through the cage and i have told them but also wanted him to not attack but to sorta say no when someone does it and it has started to work and he has understanding that noone can harm him while in his home. thank you for your advise and will be telling family and friends around rio, i have also moved his cage to a different area and added more perches in and around his cage so he is able to be higher then anyone and it has sorta helped


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hello and :welcome: to Talk Budgies! It's great to have you here with us 

I can't agree more with all the advice given, if he's in his "teenage" phase then he will bite more, even if he's not trying to hurt you. When my girl went through this, I taught her to stop by dropping whatever I was doing, putting her back in her cage, and leaving the room without saying another word. Birds are flock-oriented and it makes them feel upset when it's clear a member of their flock is not in the room on purpose. MineofBudgies has given good info on this  

Best of luck with your little troublemaker! Hope to see pictures soon and feel free to ask about anything else you're unsure of as we're more than happy to help


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