Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Tiel is 3 years old now. His Name is Buddy. He bites a lot. I can't take him out of his cage with out him biting. What can i do to make him stop this?

Thanks

This can sometimes be a hard problem to solve. The best way but which does take a while is letting him come to you. Sit in the same room with the cage (preferably in a smaller room where you can shut the door.) Open the bird cage and sit in a chair a foot or so away. Hold a favorite treat or even hold a bowl containing the treat on your lap. You can sit there reading the paper, a book, listening to music etc just something that can keep you in the room sitting for a long period of time with the cage open and a tempting treat. The first day your bird may not even come out of the cage but be patient. If after a few days he still will not come out of the cage you may have to take him out of the cage using a handtowel etc to catch him easily without "chasing" him. Be patient if he bites place him down on the nearest surface (floor, couch etc) do not run him back to his cage or he will know he gets to go home if he bites. Then when he is calm offer the treat again and let him step up onto your hand or wrist.

Distracting sometimes also works. Offer a treat or toy in one hand while getting him to step up with the other. make sure the item is in place where he can easily bite it but not the hand you want him to step onto.

There is another way which can be used, it does seem to work quickly but in "some" cases it seems to promote fear instead of trust, in other cases it seems to work great. Remove your bird from its cage using a hand towel. Hold the bird securely in the towel (don't press hard on the chest, instead hold around the neck area where it is protected, a bird can't be easily choked because the have a hard column that protects their trachea but they can be killed easily by too much pressure on the chest.) Gently talk to your bird, rubbing the top of its head and speaking in a soothing voice. Gradually loosen the towel as he seems to calm down. Offer treats or a toy while still holding. Many people claim that after just a few hours their bird will be completely calm and handleable others do have problem with their birds regressing to biting.

Thanks, I will try both ways.