Biting Out of Jealousy

(Back to Main Biting)

Some owners report that if they are holding their bird and another person enters the room, the parakeet will begin to bite.   Some parakeets do this because they are hardwired to distract you from any person they perceive as a threat to your relationship with them.  Keep in mind that parakeets are monogamous creatures and once they form a bond with you, it’s almost as if they perceive you as their mate.  Because of this, they will defend what they believe is rightfully theirs and this includes you.  This type of behavior can be seen in tamed or handfed parakeets.

Parakeets cannot control their feelings so sometimes they express their moods by biting.  This should not be taken as personal attack because the parakeet has no intension of hurting you.  Your bird is most likely only trying to distract you.  It only continues with this type of behavior in the hopes that this will cause you to move away from the person or thing that it does not want you around or close to.  It’s been known that some married couples are sometimes at odds with an aggressive bird because they do not know how to deal with this particular situation.  This is only because they don’t understand the bird’s behavior and why it is acting as such.

Training your bird not to bite takes a lot of persistence and hard work.  It is very difficult to let the bird know that the other person is not there to destroy the relationship between you and him.  You need to start by letting the bird and the person interact with each other while you are not around.  This person needs to offer treats and maybe begin reassuring the parrot with a nursery rhyme in a sing-song fashion.  Though the parrot will not understand what you are saying, this sing-song sound in your voice seems to calm the bird and also serves as a method to gradually build up a relationship with him.  It is crucial that the person the bird has bonded with not be present during this interaction.  If the person that it has bonded with is present, this sometimes leads to more biting and will only make the situation worse.  In time the parakeet will start to develop a relationship with the new person. Though progress can be tedious and take a long time, you need to continue practicing this until you are sure you can be around without the bird resorting to biting.

Once this is accomplished, gradually introduce yourself into the room with the other person in the room also and let the parakeet interact with the both of you.  If the bird is perched on the person it initially disliked, treats and lots of praise should be done to reassure the bird that this person is fine and will not cause any harm.  Place the finger close to the other person’s finger and praise the bird for staying there.  Do this exercise and gradually increase the increments of time.  You will be amazed at how quickly the bird learns to enjoy everyone’s company. 

Keep in mind that this process can take weeks or months.  Never expect the budgie to be as close to another person as it is to you.  These birds can learn to tolerate other people but it will always prefer to spend time with the person it likes the most.  Thankfully, parakeets are good natured parrots and very rarely do they resort to this type of behavior.