my cockatiel bangs his beak on the perch--what's wrong??

Question

just in the past couple of weeks he has started to bang his beak on the perch. i'm not sure how old he is exactly and he acts fine otherwise, but this worries me. anyone know what is going on?

Answer 1

This is a perfectly normal male cockatiel behavior. Don't worry.

Answer 2

First, I would suggest checking to be sure that his beak is aligned properly, that he can open and close his mouth without any issues, and that he's eating okay. It's natural for a bird to rub his beak back and forth across a perch or other object after he's eaten to clean off his beak and keep it shiny & free from excess karoten build ups.

Second, I would say to check the top part of his beak where his beak meets his feathers all the way around. If you see signs of a flaky beak or scaley spots, he's more than likely got an excess build up of karoten (sp?) on his beak that he's trying to scrape off and eliminate with all the banging or rubbing. If he doesn't get it off on his own after as you say a few weeks, I'd get him vet checked to make sure his diet and overall health is okay.

Third, check out his envirnoment. It's natural for a bird to want to bang their head against their perch or cage when they're either scared of something or startled by a sudden, strange sound or noise, or something new is happening that they're just not used to. Ask youself several questions and observe what's going on around his environment when this is happening. Have you recently moved his cage or moved something else close to his cage and area where he normally lives? Are you watching a show on tv that has an animal that's making noises, running around, or another bird on the screen? Are you cooking and something's smoking? Did you recently change the ringer on your cell phone or get a new door bell? Did you add any new toys or take something away from his cage that he doesn't like?

Look at everything on, near, and around the bird and his cage and room he's kept in...and I'm sure by observing when he's doing his beak banging, you'll find out the reason for his cause for concern or fear and correct the problem.

Lastly, if none of the above seems to help or you can't discover the problem, it maybe simply behavioral. Spend more time with him and interacting one-on-one, taking him safely outside of his cage and giving him some special treats each day so he can get more time with you, the Owner that he loves!

Good luck!

Answer 3

Is the bird banging his beak or is he wiping it back and forth on the perch? Beak wiping is normal. If he is trying to make a lot of noise, he need attention. And I heartily agree that personal contact is VERY critical to the bird. Remember a cockatiel is the most intelligent bird on earth, or so I have been informed.

Answer 4

He could be looking for attention. Do you take him out of the cage a lot? We have one, and we got a big box, filled it with Timothy hay, a little tree trunk, and he loves it. He just loves his box.

You need to spend at least a few hours a day with them, as they can get bored just like a human. If he continues, then ask a good vet doctor, hopefully a bird specialist.

Answer 5

this is a protection kinda of difficulty, it could sense intimidated or scared or territorial. i'm assuming that's your case, relatively if it hisses whilst it does this. Mine will try this often times interior the path of the nighttime whilst she's coated up and this is dark, if she hears somebody coming close to to her cage.

Answer 6

If he's banging it hard, he probably needs attention of some sort. If he's just grating it against his perch, I think he's probably just grooming/wiping. My parrot does that a lot.

Answer 7

he's trying to kill himself!