subject: The Biting Pet Bird - 6 Things to Do to Prevent Pet Birds From Biting [print this page] The Biting Pet Bird - 6 Things to Do to Prevent Pet Birds From Biting
Pet birds can only continue to be good pets if they can live peaceably with humans and other pets. Preventing biting can save you the painful chore of having to find another home for your bird. Here are 6 things to do that can prevent or stop your bird from biting.1. Give Proper Attention--Many birds, especially parrots, are social creatures and need 2 to 3 hours a day of one on one human contact. This is just as important as a healthy diet, and proper housing.Lack of interaction can cause your bird to become depress which can cause the onset of disease and infection which often shortens their life spans considerably. Be sure to determine how much attention your bird needs and make sure it gets it.2. Supervise Properly-Frequently aggression can be prevented with proper supervision. A small child who does not know how to handle the bird or another pet that causes your bird to become frightened can trigger biting. Birds with hawked bills are equipped to crush things, and can cause hideous injury to both children and adults.So go slowly when introducing your bird to small children, strangers, and other animals. Never, ever leave your bird unsupervised when it is out of its cage.3. Re-direct the Behavior-Sometimes birds that are instinctive chewers transfer that need not only to people but to furniture and other inappropriate items in your home.Supplying toys for chewing gives them an opportunity to do what comes naturally without injuring others or themselves. The hope is that eventually they will choose appropriate objects.4. Be Consistent with Your Response-Sometimes birds like to see if they can get you to do what they want by nipping at you. Your response should be to put the bird back in the cage and ignore it. This response should be consistent so that your bird associates biting with a lack of attention.In many cases this nips (pun intended) the problem in the bud. The instant this behavior starts, stop it. It is important to take quick action on this. Correcting biting early can avoid having to make painful decisions later.Never hit, yell, or hurt your bird if it bites. This seriously erodes your relationship with it, and very seldom cures the problem.5. Choose Companions Birds Carefully-Some birds get along fine with other birds while other birds can become very territorial and not accept other birds.Before you make a final decision, check to see if the bird you are adopting will get along with the bird you already own. Don't allow birds to be aggressive with each other. The minute this behavior surfaces, put them in separate cages and allow them outside the cage separately.6. Keep Them Healthy-The nicest bird can turn aggressive when they are ill, or when handling them, unknowingly to you, causes pain. Insure good health by visiting the avian vet for regular checkups, feeding a healthy diet.Give them proper attention, let them exercise daily, and filter their air to keep their air passages clear thus reducing the number of airborne bacteria and viruses in their air.
