How to Stop your Pet Bird from Biting You!

1. Find out why your bird is biting. Like many bad habits, we may teach our birds to bite by giving them what they want when they bite.
2. If you can anticipate when your bird might bite, simply avoid the situation. Feed the baby before he gets frantic. Don't leap onto the battlefield when the war is in full swing. If a bird is afraid, take a lower perch for yourself by sitting down, don't stare at him, talk quietly and reassure him until he is comfortable. It is a good time to sing for him.
3. All young birds go through a teething stage when they learn how to use their beaks to climb and to interact with the world. Remember that birds do not have hands and must use their beaks, so don't punish your bird for normal feeling, tasting, climbing or "preening you" behavior. Just let him know that he needs to be gentle. When your bird grabs hard enough to hurt you, shout "BEAK!" Do NOT make a long drawn-out paragraph out of the word "BEAK!" like you might with "Owwww" or "Nooooo". You want a quick alarm sound. Don't make a big deal out of it. He's learning how hard he can hang on without hurting you. You don't want a song in this situation. Sing to him when he's being good.
4. If he persists in grabbing too hard, keep the bird at your waist level, on your hand - not on your shoulder, and if he still keeps biting, drop your hand down about one inch until he loses his balance a bit. Don't move far enough to make the bird fall. You want to get his attention. You don't want to scare him or hurt him.
5. Train your bird to stay on your hand where you have the control position, and avoid 90% of biting problems.
6. The final option is to put the bird in a cage for 2-minutes of "time out". Completely ignore him during this two minutes. Turn your back on him and don't talk to him. This banishment from the flock is a very severe form of punishment for a bird. Because the flock represents safety, this punishment should not be used lightly. If your bird was hungry and wanted back in his cage to eat, pay more attention next time and put him back before he bites. We don't want him to learn to bite to get back to his cage for a quick snack either.
7. NEVER, NEVER HIT YOUR BIRD. Birds do not understand physical punishment. Hurting your bird will make him afraid of you. If you want a loving pet, never thump him on the beak or hurt him. He should see you as his friend and refuge.