Desperatly Need Help

[Jabberwocky92 0]

Dalek has begun to bite everyone, and its not his loving or grooming nibbles, it is full out biting hard enough to sometimes even leave a nasty red mark. He has even bitten my younger brother twice and once nearly pecked out his eye when he bit him and my brother was doing nothing but watching tv with him on his shoulder!

 

It has gotten to the point where I have even considered putting him in the flight aviary because I can not risk him hurting my brothers any more, I have a brother with slight brain damage and it's just to damn risky to let Dalek out of his cage anymore when Daniel is around.

 

I have said no sternly everytime he bites and put him back in his cage after he does it but nothing seems to be working, he just gets even madder and tries to bite you when you change his food. He is about four months old and I am wondering if this is just a stage or if it is a serious behaviour problem.

 

Please help, I don't want to have to get rid of my beautiful boy, but if this behaviour continues, i'm going to have to.

[Dave_McMinn 0]

Is he moulting? Often birds will bite or be defensive when they are moulting.

 

Has anything changed ins his world? How old is he? Sometimes, as silly as this seems, it might be hormonal. He might have the puberty blues.

[Jabberwocky92 0]

Is he moulting? Often birds will bite or be defensive when they are moulting.

 

Has anything changed ins his world? How old is he? Sometimes, as silly as this seems, it might be hormonal. He might have the puberty blues.

 

 

He isn't moulting at all that I can see. He has no pin feathers or anything like that.

He is four months old.

Nothing has changed in his world at all, everything is the same in his cage and in my room. I try to keep things the same as possible or if i'm changing something introduce it to him slowly, like a new toy or something like that so he doesn't get cranky or scared.

[**KAZ** 0]

He's at that age Expect moulting soon

[Jabberwocky92 0]

He's at that age Expect moulting soon

 

 

So I just ignore the biting and it will go away?

[Cheeky 0]

Oscar went through a spell like that when he was about 2! It was a total pain but he eventually grew out of it, took a while though.

[Jabberwocky92 0]

I'm so glad that i'm not the only one that is having or had this problem. I have told my parents and my brother to just stay away from him and just let him settle and that. I am going to continue letting him out, but only let him in my room, instead of around the house on my shoulder to keep him calm and that. And if he bites me, i'll just put him back in his cage until he calms down once more and hope it works.

 

Thank you all so much for your help.

[**KAZ** 0]

Has he a mirror in the cage ?

[Hezz 0]

Hi Jabberwocky, don't know if it will help, but it is something I have found helpful with mine. When the bird first bites, and I mean there and then!!!! I use my index finger, bring it higher than their head, but in front of their face, if you get my meaning and give a very difinite NO!! It's like a dominance thing, bring your finger down towards, and over their head and again NO! Or an noise like AH,AH, like you would a dog or child doing the wrong thing. Usually what the bird will do is lift it's beak/head and try again at your finger, but just very, very gently tap on the top of the bird's head and again, NO or AH AH and after a couple of tries I have found that they will just then gently raise their heads and nibble, rather than the "lunge and bite".

 

It is just a stage, and I am sure they all go through it, but for my small experience, it seems to keep the whole "bite" mentality under control. As a pet he isn't much of a family member if you can't be sure he will behave, and I can see it could be a little frustrating if you want him to get on with the rest of the family. I have been doing this with my hen who has all the stroppy- hen syndrome and she is now at a stage where she can let me know how she feels without having to draw blood!!! She doesn't actually like being touched and while I appreciate that, there are times when it is going to have to happen, so now we are at a stage where she will tolerate me holding/ touching/feeling etc without getting all pent up about it.

 

Sorry, its a bit or a rave, but if it helps you, then good!! Good luck! :D

[Jabberwocky92 0]

Has he a mirror in the cage ?

 

Nope Kaz, no mirror in his cage. I heard they were bad for him, so I never bothered getting him one.

 

 

And thank you so much Hezz. I will take that advice with me and give it a go tomorrow. WHen he's on my shoulder and bites me, I lift my head up and open my mouth and that seems to make him settle down.Though he does get a little pissy that i'm the boss and he isn't. I've been watching the budgies in the aviary and saw them doing the same thing, so I thought if it worked for them it would work for me. LOL

 

BUt I like the finger idea much better. LOL

 

He doesn't like being touched either and bites if you try and do that, and that wasn't a problem, I mean, he's his own budgie, I wouldn't want people poking me constantly. LOL But it was when he started to actually lunge and bite that I had to get help on this forum.

 

Again I can not thank you guys enough for helping me with this. I am so ecstatic that I can keep him and that this is only a stage. I was freaking out something chronic that he had a behavioural problem.

[Hezz 0]

Hope it helps, Jabberwocky. My point with the not liking to be touched was that there are times where we have to whether they like it or not. I have found that a small amount of handling, with little stress has helped my birds with the few times they have seriously had to be handled, like illness or injury.

 

Also the very worst thing you can do if he bites you (or anyone else) is to REACT. Don't make a noise, don't flinch, don't throw him off. That also is the dominence thing - you react, he has won!! Listen to a flock of parrots for a while - they are deafening!!! they are all trying to out do each other, they don't have a dominant leader so they all have to try to make their mark, not be ignored. So after the bite, the finger, the AH,AH until you are in control and then see where you go. Maybe back into the cage, or if it seems the lesson has been learnt, stay out and keep on trying.

 

Maybe I have been lucky with mine, but if you can stiffle the initial impulse to react negatively to the bite, go quickly into the finger response, I have had fairly quick results. But doesn't mean you won't have to go through it a number of times before the bird will stop biting altogether, but I have found the bites tend to get less and less agressive.

 

Again Good luck!!

[Jabberwocky92 0]

Thank you all again. I am completly sure that it is only pubity problems because today he has woken up and is snuggly and his normal playful, distructive and cheeky self with no biting. He looks like he's starting to moult around his beak, so i'll be buying moulting aid to put in his water next week when I get paid.

 

Again I can not thank you guys enough, you have saved me the tough choice of picking between my family and my budgie (and to a teenager that is the hardest choice ever xD).

 

I am working hard on not giving a response when he bites me or lunges, he did it before with my finger and I just ignored him. He then sulked on my shoulder, where he is still sitting. xDD

[moglet 0]

Dalek very obviously adores you, so the biggest punishment for him would be not to get your attention.

 

He will grow out of it I;m sure. I had a biter for a while, he was supposed to be my daughter's pet but apparently I was the love of his life and he would bite anyone who tried to take him off me. I used to put him back in his cage when he bit someone and he HATED that. He soon either grew out of it or learned he didn't like the consequences.

 

Budgies are very switched on. Dalek will come good!! He sounds like one of those very special birds that come along once in a while.

[amanda 0]

i would not worry jabberwocky my two favourite budgies do that but pebbles he one in my room she is growing out of biting shes probably about 7 months old i think its a budgie thing you know.

 

on a side note your picture thats on the side when you post is that of matt smith who plays doctor who cause it looks a lot like him?

[Jabberwocky92 0]

Thank you both so much. Yes, Dalek is a very special budgie, and I adore him with everything. I was worried when I first got him that he wouldn't be taken care of well because I do suffer from PTSD (hence a lot of posts on here), but he has given me a reason to get up every morning, even if it is just to change his food and water and give him a little snuggle.

 

 

And yes, Amanda, it is Matt Smith from Doctor Who. I adore the show so much, and that is why I named Dalek, Dalek. Though at the moment he's living up to his name with the biting. LOL

[moglet 0]

I totally get that reason.

 

My little dog, Daisy, is my furry angel. When the kids are at their Dad's or I am really down she makes me get my shoes on and go to the park. Watching her enjoying just belting around at top speed always helps. Having her snuggle under the doona at night is so comforting.

 

Dalek is a lucky boy to be so loved