Parrots are some of the most common and most beloved pets in the entire world and not just among birds. They are smart, witty, intelligent, curious, and playful birds that any owner would love to have in a home. Guests would also love how witty and silly a parrot can get. In most cases, a parrot can be the party animal in the entire house as its antics can crack anyone up.
As fun as parrots may be, they may end up doing things you would not expect them to do. Parrots bite, and that is something that may be more common than what most people think. They may not be too aggressive in the sense that they will come right at you just to bite you, but parrots do bite from time to time for one reason or another. You don’t want to end up on the receiving end of a bite or having your parrot bite a guest.
Reasons why parrots bite
Like any other animal that bites, a parrot does not bite for no reason at all. They are not supposed to be aggressive animals that simply bite for the love of it. In fact, unlike a lot of animals that bite, they do not even bite you for food. That said, there are underlying reasons as to why a parrot bites.
Fear
When a parrot bites, there is a really good chance that the reason for doing so is out of fear. It is common for any animal to try to fight back during a situation wherein it does not feel safe as something may be inducing fear in it. In that sense, when a parrot does not feel safe, it will not hesitate to bite people out of fear. Parrots that are prone to fear are usually the ones that will end up biting more often than other parrots.
In that case, if your parrot is prone to biting, there might be a good reason for its fearful nature. Parrots that are not used to getting social with humans tend to be more fearful than others. And if you happen to have acquired your parrot as an adult either as a captive-bred specimen or a wild-caught bird, circumstances in its past life might have led it to become more fearful and defensive to the point that it will often bite people who get too close to it.
You
Truth be told, one of the reasons why a parrot bite is you. If you are the owner, it might be because you do not socialize with it or that you often punish it with your hands. There must be something wrong with the way you brought your parrot up and the way you approach it. If you are simply a guest, the reason why the parrot bit you must be because you tried to approach it in a sudden and unexpected way. Since birds are easily startled, they do not know what to do in certain situations, and their instant response to such is to bite. In such cases, you have to change your approach and the way you handle and take care of your pet parrot.
Aggression
If your parrot is not biting out of fear, then the logical conclusion is that it is biting out of aggression. However, keep it in mind that parrots are not naturally aggressive. That means that a parrot’s aggressive nature must be triggered by something in its past or in its immediate environment. An aggressive parrot must be an unhappy bird because of certain factors. Some may point out to their territorial nature as a reason for their aggression while there are others who say that an aggressive parrot is the product of stress and lack of socialization. Regardless of what the reason for the aggression is, your job as an owner is to make sure that the parrot becomes less aggressive so that it will not end up biting anyone or anything.
How to stop a parrot from biting
Having a parrot that bites for any reason is something that can be quite difficult. You won’t be able to handle it as often as you would have wanted to, and you cannot even go near it top hand-feed it with treats out of fear that it might end up taking a finger with its sharp beak. Your guests won’t even have fun with your parrot because they would not want to end up with a wounded finger when they try to socialize with it.
Other than the fact that a biting parrot is dangerous on your part, it is also just as dangerous on the part of the parrot. A biting parrot means that the bird is unhappy and probably stressed. Birds that are stressed are easily more prone to illnesses and poor health. That means that you would not want your bird to end up being unhappy. As such, one of the best ways to make sure that it isn’t as aggressive or as fearful is to see to it that you get to minimize its biting. This merely the first step in making sure your feathered pet is on its way to becoming a happier and friendlier bird.
The best way for you to help make your bird less likely to bite is to improve your relationship with it and to calm it down to the point that it will begin to trust the people around it. Try doing these:
Try to make it more receptive to handling
While there most people are not gifted at training or taking care of birds, you can still stop a parrot from biting by making it more receptive to handling. Bribing is probably the best way for you to do so. Take the bird out of its cage and try wearing gloves to make sure you keep your fingers safe from a possible bite. Use treats when bribing the bird as it will easily focus more on the food than on your hands. Do not yell at the bird or use any sort of punishment as it might lead it to become more aggressive than it already is. Patience is the key here because you should make sure that you do this with repetition. See to it that you do not lose your cool when trying to make the bird more receptive to getting handled.
Start becoming more sensitive towards the parrot
Birds are more empathic than other animals. They are also a lot more sensitive towards how their owners are acting and feeling. What that means is that they tend to be reflections of how you act around them and how you treat them. So, in that case, if you are usually showing signs of aggression and frustration towards or around your parrot, there is a chance that it too will become more aggressive. In that case, try to become more sensitive towards the parrot by acting at your best towards and around it. Do not show any signs of frustration and aggression around it as your parrot will easily pick up such emotions and will begin to become more aggressive because of it. Instead of losing your cool around the bird, try to become calmer and using a soft voice around it so that it will also learn how to stay calm.
