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Showing posts from February, 2025

Why Birds Bite

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  Why Birds Bite Birds bite.  Understanding why birds bite, is the first step to stop biting.  A close encounter with a bird's beak at some point, is the one thing I can usually guarantee a bird's owner.  That and a close encounter with bird poop.  They are the two things a bird owner should expect.  That's the bad news.  The good news is, biting for the most part is controllable and you can poop train a bird.  This article isn't about poop though. The first step to avoiding a bite is understanding why a bird is going to bite.  The obvious answer is that  a bird is going to bite to defend themselves .  They will bite out of fear.  A beak is a defensive weapon for a bird and I think most of us would expect a wild bird to bite us rather than act tame.  Especially if the bird is in pain or afraid you are a predator. Bites Are Often Defensive I think this is the crux of the reason why so many owners struggle with their pet bir...

What should I do when my parrot bites me?

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  What should I do when my parrot bites me? A recurring question appears at least once a week on my Facebook wall: What should I do when my parrot bites me? A LOT of advice comes in the comments section of the person who asked the question. The one we find most often is: you must ignore the behavior. There are also: you must punish your parrot, put it back in its cage, give it a tap on the beak, say a big “NO”, etc. I have even read: you have a parrot, it’s normal that he’s biting! The common point to all those comments, all advice given, is to intervene, one way or another, AFTER the bite. In my opinion, the question “What should I do when my parrot bites me?” should be replaced by “Why did my parrot bite me?” “and more especially” how to avoid next bites?”. To answer these last two questions, let’s review the frequently observed comments: 1. You must ignore the bite. I understand why this advice is given. Sometimes parrots use their beaks to test objects (texture or structure of ...