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how do you get your confidence back when they bite

2K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  elijahfan 
#1 ·
yep she bit me, i moved my hand a way sharpish then was to scared to but my hand back up so used millet to get her back in the cage,

i think she is worried about stepping up now because her perch gave way last time we did it, she was on my shoulder i could see her i put my hand low said step up and she went for me i know i keep saying this but i really dont think she likes me, i feel like we just haven bonded and that she doest want to, i am now to scared to get her out at all

maybe she is picking up on that, i dont know i am guna give her a brek for today, i normally ahve her out at night for a cuddle but tonight she really doesnt want to know,

could she be worried that my finger is going to move or she is going to fall, i did let her tap it with her beak but she went to bite it hert

i knwo its stupid but i fell like crying, i bought her tame but she doesnt seem to want to know
 
#3 ·
I know your bird is still rather young. Are you sure she is really trying to bite you? When I got Charlie he was only 6 weeks old and he had a bit of an issue with a slightly deformed leg. The only way he would step up onto my finger was if he could grab onto it with his beak. He wasn't trying to bite me but was using his beak to steady himself. It was a bit of a pinch but once he was on and settled he released me. Now that he is older he has gotten stronger and more confident. You can't even tell one of his legs is a bit deformed and he now hops confidently from perch to perch.

I hope this helps you in some way and please, as hard as it is, don't be scared of your little baby. You have introduced her to a whole new world and she is trying to figure out her place in it. Be calm, confident, and patient. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
thank you :D i have had a cry about it lol got told of by someone on msn

she was probably checking, my budgies droit al the time, difference with them is it doesnt hurt as much well hardly at all, i had to grab one to get them back in the cage and she sunk her back in, it didnt hurt that much so i let him doit

maybe she was just checking all i felt was a sharp pinch, i ahv had trouble getting her off my shoulder,

i dont know if anyone understands noises but its sounds like a pig almost but a bit more high pitched, i dont think its a hiss i take it i would know if it was, i have since had my hand back in the cage, she toke millet from me and stepped up played with my wrist bands, i think she might be stubborn,
 
#8 ·
yeah she eats fine, do you think the bite was her looking for food ? or letting me know she wanted some ?

she neevr stops eating out of her tray, she does fine the bigger bits more difficult but hey are still there for her loves millet cant get enough of it
 
#9 ·
I also wanted to add that you've only had her for a couple of days, you can't expect there to be a bond already. It will take a few weeks of making her come out and sit with you, and talking to her and being her friend before she'll show that she actually craves your friendship.
 
#11 ·
Have you seen her drinking water? some breeders neglect to watch for that. Some birds learn to drink after they learn to eat. If not try approaching her with a spoonful of water. see if she will drink from the spoon.
 
#12 ·
yes she drinks :D i was asked by the breeder to change the way i give her water as he thought it wasnt best, so i will get another today, but apart from that she does drink from it

i know i am going way to fast, the breeder told me last night she wasnt biting, but finding her feet, she might have been pulling herself up, maybe she is sencing that im nervy and worried im gunna move my hand?

i know i ahve to be paitent i just dont wnat her to become untame or end up not liking me
 
#13 ·
Sit with her and talk to her. Try and imagine what it would be like if you were taken out of familiar surroundings and put into a strange house, caged with a great big giant looking after you.......you'd be a bit nervous I would have thought. You have to learn to relax with her, sit with her, talk to her, let her do things at her speed for a little while. It's all very new for the both of you, try relaxing and enjoying what you've got rather than rushing her to do something that she's not ready for. It all takes time.
 
#14 ·
i worked out what is wrong with her, she is nervous about perches, i found a perch on the floor i am guessing it fell, because i got her a new one today and she was doing the same making a noise at it and nibbling

yet i put my arm in and she hops straight on ? i am keeping her in the cage during the day to get out to my hand and will get her out tonight, sit her on her stand if she go on it, lol
 
#18 ·
I think your getting tame and bonded confused, she is just acting like any tame cockatiel would be like in a new enviroment with strangers she is feeling out her surrondings and getting to know you and as far as bonding that is not something that is immediate with any bird it takes time and patinece.
 
#19 ·
i think i am, she came out on her own tonight, and stped up on to my arm, she seems happiest there, then went up on my sholder, i used millet ot bribe her to where i could get her to step up braced for a bite which never came, she did step up after keeping my hand still them sat on my tummy with millet let me stroke her :D

i know it will take time, how do you know when you have bond or started to bond ? i do feel i have made prgress to night all be it tiny, u kept her off my shoulder and she didnt go to bite
 
#20 ·
birds use their beak as a "3rd leg", and they test objects (including our skin) to make sure it is safe for them. Not just the young ones the older ones do it as well.

my youngest babies will be 2 months old on the 19th and 20th of this month, They perch great on the rope perch, the cage door, my hand/ arm but when I sat one one the swing last night (it's a conditioning /trimming) swing (their nails are long and i've got little cuts all over my hands/ arms) they didn't like it one bit, they were unsure of it because even know i stopped it from moving when I placed it on it, every little movement they made the swing moved. So I had him step back up on to my hand and placed him on their Rope perch and then he was fine - went straight to preening.

the "pig" noise you are hearing is her begging for food Alot of times when a bird is purchased at this young age Even know its "weaned" at the home it was born at, it will revert back to bieng un weaned at it's new home - because it's a new envrioment, new surroundings and its scared silly!.

I just had this happen with a baby budgie, A friend of my b/fs mom got one of my albinos he was eating on his own for almost 3 weeks before I let him go. She came back 3 days later with him because she was worried sick because he wasn't eating. 2 days later I picked him up in the bird room to put him in the cage for the night I could tell he was under weight (every time i checked on the birds he was near a food dish and most of the time eating)
So I placed him in a cage on his own, and brought him to my sons room - he's been eating every single time I check on him and he's picking weight back up :)

So now I will no longer let them go at 1 month 2 weeks old like I have been, it'll be closer to 2 months old if not over 2 months old. (for the budgies), the tiels of course most of them don't wean until 10 weeks old
 
#21 ·
The bonding takes time.. they have to learn to trust you. I have my Tiki for about 7 wks. We are finally bonding, to the point that as soon as I open the cage he is ready to come out and step up, get some millet and go with me to what ever room I am headed for. Tiki is a year old and had been with his breeder since he was hatched. It took several wks for me to even get him to step up on my hand. So it sounds like you are making good progress. Tiki wanted to bite too, so I used a small perch for a while. I think they have thier moods too, just like we do. Today, he hasn't wanted to come out of his cage until just a bit ago, the door has been open for several hours. I didn't bother him, he knew he could come out if he wanted. But he maybe was being stubborn, because I gave him a bath yesterday and he doesn't like that much. :)
 
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