Hello budgie experts.

 

I have an adorable little budgie called Nelson. At least he's mostly adorable until he get all bitey.

 

He's just going through his first moult losing the stripes on his head, so I think that makes him around 3-4 months?

 

Nelson is very tame, spends a lot of time out his cage, and I've even got him come to me when I call him (if he's in the mood).

 

However, a couple of times a day he gets into a really bitey mood. It's not fear biting or territorial biting. I think it's either like a game for him, or just a kind a psycho mood he gets into, and he can't stop himself.

 

Sometimes when he's on my shoulder, he'll start biting my ear or my neck. And youch, it hurts. And he'll often attack my fingers. Or if I'm holding him by my nose and he suddenly gets in this nippy mode, he'll bite at that too. As I said, he doesn't do it all the time.

 

Up till now, I've been telling him firmly 'NO! No Biting!', holding my finger up at him as a hand signal to stop, and putting him down away from me. He'll then fly or jump straight back to sit on my head, then when I gently take him off he'll start with the bites again. (I don't let him sit on my head for long as I don't want a hair full of poop.) This might go on several times, then he'll usually fly up in a huff to his favourite spot up on the chandelier making goo goo to the fake candles. (He thinks they're girl budgies, the silly thing.) After being told off today, he headed back to his cage and began head butting his numerous toys.

 

I know he's excited when he bites as he often does that 'happy and excited' head bobbing thing.

 

Anyone got any advice on behaviour therapy for this type of biting?

Hi Stace,

 

Others will know more than me about budgie behavior. but maybe he is crabbier right now due to moulting?

 

Anyway, I wanted to say "Hi!" and welcome to the forum!

He is flirting with you and courting you that is what budgies too when they are single budgies. They see you as their mate so especially males will bob their heads, some may regurgate their seed, they will flirty with your fingers if you give them the chance because I think the nail to them represents another beak of a budgie, if you don't want him bitting I would remove him from you they get the point if you remove them from what they are doing but never physically punish and they get being removed more then they do the word NO. I have a male budgie who is a single boy who does the same thing. They get more flirty at certain time...I would say every 3 months they get pretty flirty but will flirt with you all the time if you let them. If you don't want a hair full of poop or anywhere else you remove and after a few times if you removing and being stern he will stay off.

 

 

Thanks, Finnie. I also thought Nelson's biting might be because of the molt, but I'm not sure.

 

Elly, I'm sure you're right about the flirting. But when he's definitely flirting he does that 'close talking' thing to my finger or thumb and sort of butts me with his beak, like he does to his toys sometimes.

 

However, when he get bad bitey, it's more like an out of control, I just wanna bite everything on you, kind of thing. Like a crazy drunk trashing a hotel room.

 

It's good to know I'm doing the right thing with the NO! and removing him. I'm hoping he'll learn, or grow out of it. I never physically punish him.

 

I've only had him for a couple of months, so it's a learning process for both of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's see if I can post a picture. Here's Nelson in September just before the moulting began. Sitting on hubby's head.