My Parakeet Bites Me

User Question
i have three parakeets - nazo (like yours) gizmo, and willow (my new one). i just got willow but i have had nazmo and gizmo for about 4 months. But they are not finger trained yet now that i just got willow i had to wait i little bit. But now that willow has been here for a bit i will do it now.

Nazo is REALLY mean she bites me (but i don't let her if i can) and get mad all the time (i don't know why). My plan is to let them out of there cage and i'm geting a rope perch so they can go to the top i will have toys, treats,and more.

any tips to help me i know that i have to get there trust first but i do need a little help nazo is still mean and biting me, i need to get their trust, and i need to get them finger trained thank you for the help bye

Lisa's Answer
Parakeets aren't normally biters. They only bite when they're upset or scared. It sounds like somehow you're upsetting or scaring Nazo if she is biting at you! You need to really look at what you're doing here. Your hand shouldn't be anywhere near the bird's face unless it is fully trained. Otherwise the bird sees it as a threat. When you change the food and water, you shouldn't be near the bird at all. So how is your hand getting near her head, that she is even able to bite you? You need to stop doing that :)

Nazo isn't biting because she's mean. Nazo is biting because she's afraid of you and is terrified and trying to protect herself. You're the older one here, you need to be the one to treat Nazo nicely. You can't blame her for defending herself from an aggressor.

I have full instructions on the site how to finger train a bird - and it starts with a perch. It does NOT start with your finger. The bird needs to learn to trust you before your hand is anywhere near her. So start with that and work with your parakeets every day, being slow and patient. It will take a while to finger train them but it is well worth it. You really shouldn't let your keets out of the cage until they are fully finger trained. Otherwise if there was an emergency, you wouldn't be able to get them back into their cage and to safety.

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