Biting For Rewards

(Back to Main Biting)

Many owners unintentionally reinforce their parakeets to bite.  A bonded parakeet may decide to gently nibble or bite their owners.  Many owners make the mistake of allowing this and it leads to biting.  When the parrot bites them, they react with many loud verbal responses such as, “No bite!”  Unfortunately, the bird does not see this as a punishment but a reward.  The bird perceives the situation as stimulating and rewarding and many budgies will seek to reenact this reward.  From a bird’s viewpoint, he believes you like this biting so he is only giving you what he believes you want.

Don’t make the mistake of rewarding your bird for this behavior.  The best way to deal with this negative reinforcement is to completely ignore it.  If you ignore the biting and do not make a fuss, then your bird will eventually stop this behavior. If your bird bites you, move your hand back without saying a thing and continue with what you were doing.  Your parakeet will eventually understand you did not like this and will stop biting you.  Do not make faces because many parakeets find interest in facial movements.

If biting becomes relentless because it has been unintentionally reinforced start removing yourself from the room as soon as you are bitten.  Again, do not say anything just stop what you are doing, place your bird down, and walk out of the room.  If you consistently do this then your parakeet will start to associate biting with you leaving.  It works wonders and many parakeets cannot cope with being left alone.  This method only works if your parakeet is bonded to you or has been handfed.