Biting parrots are far more common than you may think. Thankfully, there is an easy way to tell which parrots will bite you and which will not. The secret? If it has a beak and it's a bird, then it will bite you eventually if you handle it.
That's right, all pet birds bite. While this is not to say that all birds are aggressive, it should serve as fair warning to anyone who is interested in owning a pet bird.
You will eventually get bitten... and it will be painful.
If you're not still reeling with shock from these revelations, then you may just have what it takes to be a good parrot owner. Once you can accept that your pet bird is inevitably going to bite you one day, check out the information below to learn more about the reasons that birds bite and what you can do to manage the issue.
Just because a bird bites you does not mean that the bird is mean, aggressive, or isn't bonded to you. Parrots use their beaks for a variety of functions: preening, eating, climbing, and playing, for example. Parrots often use their beak in the place of a hand to grab onto toys, food, perches, and sometimes their owners. If your bird is normally good-natured, you may need to evaluate whether or not your parrot is really biting you or is simply using his or her beak in a normal, healthy fashion.
If you are able to determine that your parrot is not playing, trying to climb, attempting to preen you, or isn't simply afraid, then aggression may well be at the root of your bird's biting. Aggression in parrots can be a serious problem, leading to unhappy birds and even unhappier owners.
Owning a parrot that bites out of fear or aggression is no fun. Not only are bites physically dangerous due to the power of a parrot's beak, but they are a sign that the bird itself is unhappy with some aspect of its situation. Every pet bird owner wants to make sure their feathered friends are happy -- so when problem behaviors such as biting rear their head, it's important to act quickly to remedy the problem before long-term patterns of these behaviors set in.
Some problems are just too big for even experienced bird owners to deal with alone. Birds that are extremely aggressive, overly destructive, or that self-mutilate need professional help, and fast. Don't be afraid to seek the help of a certified parrot behavior consultant if your bird starts displaying behavior problems that you feel you can't handle.