How to stop cockatiel from biting? 12 tips

Keeping pet birds at home and building a strong bond with them is a popular commitment. Still, a cockatiel is cute and entertains its owners with its funny activities. However, aggression, anger, and biting are undeniable in cockatiels. Therefore, precautions to protect fingers, ears and hands from cuts are important.

A pet bite is dangerous and painful. So, do you want to give your kids access to an untrained cockatiel? If not. We show you more tips that you can use as a cocktail owner. With the following guidance, your hands will be safe, and you can pick cockatiels without wearing gloves.

12 tips to stop Cockatiel from biting

Birds biting is not just painful but also shows their dangerous impact on human skin. Bite of sick cockatiel can transmit disease in humans. However, internal transmitted diseases are difficult to cure. So, let’s apply the below techniques to save your health.

1- Don’t force your Cockatiel

Your cockatiel will be your best companion, but don’t force them. Here, the word power is not for eating but also for forcibly getting their attention, imposing your desires, and forming a quick bond.

However, during your violent behavior, they warn you with their body markings. If you see your cockatiel lift their foot and move away from you, give them a chance to stabilize.

In fact, a cockatiel is not like a cute bird, which will breed quickly. Time and your attention draw them to you. Still, if you forcefully anticipate your desires, your cocktail will never make you a good friend. However, instead of building a strong bond, they will constantly bite you.

However, forcing can stress your bird, and they may lose their appetite. Therefore, the disease makes cockatiels sensitive, and they try to bite their owners. Soon, try to release your cockatiel on his own when he exhibits lunging behavior.

2- Ignore negative behavior

Some people are not familiar with how to raise and train cockatiels. They use their principles to train them. In this instance, they make their cocktail aggressive and rude. That’s why despite trying hard, they failed to train them properly.

Therefore, on the first day, if the cockatiel shows their bad behavior, leave them for some time and ignore their negative behavior.

Plus, your coolness also plays a role in preventing the cockatiel from biting. Cockatiels never break their bad habit, if you reward them after biting. For sure, they will bite again and again to get more rewards. Still, avoiding praising them and trying to stay calm are the best solutions.

3- Show kindness to nurture your cockatiel

If your cockatiels are aggressive, you should be gentle and kind with them. Nothing is more helpful in raising a cockatiel than gentleness. Spend as much time as possible with the birds and just say NO to stop them. With your loud voice, the cockatiel shows its anger. Of course, some of you can’t control the loudness.

But in front of birds, you should try to stay calm and speak softly. It is very possible that your lovebirds will feel irritated and will not bond because of your excited voice. It’s up to you whether you want to annoy your cockatiel or try to stop their biting habit.

4- Train your cockatiel about step-up cue

Step-up ideas are wonderful for cockatiel training to divert their attention from biting. You can give training on your shoulder, perch, and hands. It’s hard to train but will be accurate for a cockatiel,  even for every bird. 

• First and foremost, take your cockatiel’s favorite item. Give them a chance to step up on your finger with the help of it. 
• Secondly, take help with perching. Provide them with a favorite perch and allow them to move on it. 
• Thirdly, you can carry a cockatiel on your shoulder with the help of food. If you don’t take help with the third element, then the cockatiel will hurt your shoulder. However, allow them to move from shoulder to shoulder. It can make them amaze and divert their attention to bite you.

5- Use step off techniques

Fact, after stepping up tips, cockatiel will not feel the security of stepping off. Then they hurt your fingers and shoulders badly due to fear. By using perches and lowering down your shoulders, you can allow cockatiel to step off easily. 

• Allow your cockatiel to move on perch from shoulder and let them in a cage. 
• Simply lower your shoulder in front of the cage door to easily step off the cockatiel. 

6- Scratch cockatiel head

Birds, including cockatiels, love to scratch their heads. Mostly, they do this during the normal molt. Sometimes, the cocktail shows the need to head them off. However, if someone scratches their head, the birds feel calm and satisfied.

Finally, when a cockatiel tries to bite you, politely scratch their head. There are more chances to get rid of cockatiel habits.

But make sure your cockatiel wants you to touch their body or not. The constant effort may injure your finger.

7- Provide a peaceful environment

Noise-free environment refers to calmness. But if cockatiel gets a noise-free area with pollution and improper light. Then it shows that your cockatiel is disturbed. Although, adequate light, temperature, and soft bedding are included in a peaceful environment.

8- Leave cockatiel isolate

Whenever a cockatiel bites you while playing with them, the best solution is to isolate them. In most cases, the cockatiel prefers solitude. When they don’t want anyone to touch their body and want to be alone. In this case, don’t impose your rules on them. Try to leave your cockatiel alone as long as they never show signs of activity.

There may be another reason why your cockatiel wants solitude. Most likely, they want some rest. So, if your area is noisy, a cockatiel will not sleep well. Keep them in a noise-free environment and avoid waking them.

9- Give your cockatiel maximum time

Pet birds need the maximum time of owners especially when they are alone. No doubt,  food, water, and toys make the cockatiel busy. But requirements of a good companion cannot be fulfilled with eating items. About 7 hours per day are a must for cockatiel training. If they don’t meet their necessity, they become possessive and show their anger. 

Undoubtedly, cockatiel will be active, relaxed, and tamed with your maximum time. Otherwise, try to make the interaction between a pair better by spending their time. 

10- Don’t allow your birds to sit on the shoulder directly

Without teaching, never allow your cockatiel to directly sit on the shoulder. They will climb with their beak and may be stuck to move on. In this matter, check cockatiel mood and train on your fingers. When your cockatiel is trained,  take a risk to allow them access to your shoulder.  

11- Keep your cockatiel independent to clipped wings

Perhaps, if your cockatiel clipped their wings in front of you, never screamed at them. They clipped their wings to show their dependence on owners. Yet, with a little bit of harshness, the cockatiel will get away from you.

Even it will be hard to develop trust again. However, give your birds a safe zone to stop them from biting.

12- Loss balance with tilting your hands

Last but not least, this is a golden tip for cockatiel owners. At the starting days of training, you may face lots of biting injuries. Therefore, letting the birds in cages is not safe for their health.

So, whenever you step on your cockatiel on your finger, they will try to bite you. In this instance, just a tilt can lose their balance. Perhaps, the cockatiel’s intentions will be diverted.

Why does my cockatiel keep trying to bite me?

There are lots of reasons that your cockatiel continuously bites you. 

• First of all, unfamiliar places make them annoyed, and they want to escape. In this instance, they feel helpless and show their anger on the owners.
• Your screaming act makes them confused and powerless. That’s why cockatiel takes help with their beak and prefers to bite you.
• When cockatiel does not meet all requirements like food, water, and toys, they show anger on caretakers.
• Lastly, too much ignorance makes them aggressive. Because they want attention rather than ignorance of their companion.

How to tame an aggressive cockatiel?

Aggression is a common reason that cockatiel bites you. However, with taming, your cockatiel will come close to you. 

• You can tame cockatiel with their favorite food. Because it helps to develop trust between both of you.
• Develop hand taming addiction to your cockatiel. When you offer food to a cockatiel after remaining hungry for a whole day, they will happily accept. 
• Cockatiels are socialized and want the attention of humans. Therefore, spend some moments daily and speak with them.
• Hence, cockatiels never impress with your louder tone. Talk with your pet in a less energetic voice to maintain trust.
• Always prefer to play with cockatiel in a cage. After some day, get the birds out of the cage and give them outdoor access to play.

Final thoughts

After spending your precious time reading, you’ve got tons of ideas to stop the cockatiel from biting. As you read, how to ignore negative actions and why we don’t force a cockatiel. Perhaps, you are worthy of kindness and training.

Additionally, you can distract the cockatiel with step-up, step-off, and tilt hand tips. Your maximum time is the golden moment for them.

Also, according to the cockatiel choice, you can leave them alone. Additionally, if you give cockatiels free choice, they feel secure. To tame your cockatiel easily, you should use hand taming and feeding techniques. Using all of the above guides, your cockatiel will soon be your friend.