How to Prevent Birds from Biting When Being Handled

Just like our cats and dogs, birds should not be punished for bad behavior such as biting. Punishment can lead to increased aggression, fear, apathy, and avoidance behaviors. It’s important to see through the eyes of the bird and determine whether it bites out of fear, aggression or avoidance.

Tips to handling a bird that bites
• Use a wooden perch and teach your bird “up” and “off”.
• Reward the bird with tiny treats
• Once the bird is comfortable on the perch, use this as a means to move your bird.
• Eventually, train your bird “up” and “off” on your still hand.

A bird can just as easily learn that certain behaviors will be followed by a positive reinforcement.

What happens during a bird exam?

Like cats and dogs, birds should be checked by the veterinarian every year. If possible, it’s always a good idea to bring the bird to the veterinarian’s in its cage. Do not clean the cage before bringing it in as the cage will say a lot about the bird's health.

The veterinarian can learn a lot about your bird by it’s home environment. They will be looking at the:
- environment,
- food,
- feeding arrangement
- droppings on the bottom of the cage

The bird will then be securely restrained to prevent injury to person or pet and examined in depth physically. Any abnormal changes in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, feathers, wings, legs, vent, chest or abdomen will be noted.