I need help with an unfriendly parakeet?

Question

I recently bought 2 parakeets (accidentally - a boy and a girl). I already have a cockatoo, so I figured a parakeet would be no problem. Anyway - upon arriving home both were extremely hand shy - or hand terrified! Within about 20 minutes I had the boy hand friendly and stepping up on command (has NEVER bitten me). Then there is the girl... I've been working with her for 2 weeks now. I've tried going slowly, food treats in the hand, etc. The few times I've gotten her in my hand - she bites non stop. Quite a few times I have allowed her to bight non stop and kept myself from making a noise or movement thinking that after she saw I wasn't reacting she would stop - WRONG! Likewise, when she's on the carpet or a piece of clothing - she bites it non-stop. Is there anything I can do or is she destined to be mean forever? I want her to be able to be held by people - kids in particular... PLEASE HELP!!

Answer 1

I had the same problem. It just took A LOT of patience to get my female to calm down. I have never had problems out of my male. I would suggest taking her out of the cage...with gloves if the biting is bothersome...and perching her on your shoulder. Thats what finally broke mine. We just let her crawl around all over us and she eventually quit biting. Now she steps up and is very well behaved. How do you remove them from their cage? If your cage opens at the top that is much better than pulling them through a small door-it breaks the trust bond. When she bites give a firm NO command. It seemed to discourage the biting with my female.

Answer 2

We had parakeets when I was younger and also had a male (which we bought first) and a female (which we bought later). The female wasn't friendly until the male died and then that's just because she was lonely. Anytime we would take her out, she would just fly away and hide. What you're doing seems good, though I wouldn't tolerate the biting at all if I were you. If she doesn't shape up, you might want to consider taking her back and explaining the problem. Be aware that these birds can live a long time (ours lived 10-13 years) and the problem might not go away.

Answer 3

First of all i would separate her until you get her tame. The reason for this is because she has a companion right now so she don't need you. When the bird bit you and you gave no reaction that was good. But to save your hand pick the bird up with a washcloth or glove and stroke its head with the other bare finger on you opposite hand. Every time the bird tries to bite your finger, blow gently in her face to distract her. She'll soon learn that if she bites she gets a blast of air.

Answer 4

I had THE SAME problem-had a male and then "accidently" got a young female-They got along great but the female was sooo mean to me-eventually I left her alone and continued to handle the male-then I ended up getting more over the last few years (another male and 2 other females)-They slowly started following the tame male and steped up on my hand so I can put then back in the cage (their wings are clipped so when they jump off they cannot get back in the cage)-ANYWAYS-after months of doing that I finnally got the last one (the mean one) to stay on my shoulder after a bath (only because everyone else was on my arm too)-Have patience- I learned they will follow other birds- see my pics and if u have any questions email me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11126218@N00/

Answer 5

u know what to do i think that she feels lonly or that the boy bird is bothering her see i had a parakeet like that but when i moved it and bought her some stuff she playeed with she was fine then one day she started biting me then i bought her a bird it was a girl has to be same ok so then i notice that she was happy well that what happen to my bird well hope it works with u same way oh anyway my bird died few years ago :( ok bye

Answer 6

In my experience female parakeets (aka budgies) are meaner then their male counterparts. Watch how she behaves towards the other birds. If she gets along with them then leave her in a place where she is close enough to the other birds to feel connected and can watch them interact with you and your family. Eventually she'll get the point and come around because she sees the other birds doing it. However she may never be kid friendly.

The sweetest, tamest budgies are the ones you get when they are very young.

Answer 7

Well, have you tried using some millet seed? My parakeets love millet seed. It's supposed to be a comforting food and a treat. You can find them in pet stores such as Pets Mart or Pet Co. I barely go to a lot of other places so I don't know any other stores. You could also ask a vet or a pet shop. I have 4 at home.

Answer 8

i would train one at a time, using this method. you have to be extremely gentle. 1 try to put your hand in the cage, but don't touch him. if he flies away, try again in about 15 min. repeat until he doesn't fly away. 2 the next day, or week, when he is comfy with you hand in the cage, start stretching it around and opening and closing it. 3 after he is comfortable with 2, probably about a day, and doesn't fly away, hold a small perch in your hand and move it towards him. if he flies away, try again in a few min. 4 after he is comfortable with that, move the perch rite above his feet, and say step up, wile gently pushing up on his abdomen. he should step up hold him there a few min. then put him back on his solid perch and leave him alone. this shows him that this thing really isn't so bad, and that it is safe to sit on. 5 next, after doing step 4 for about a day, every 15 min or so, get a short perch, about as long as your finger, and hold it with your finger on top, do step 4. 6 then do it w/o the perch. gradually move out of the cage, out of the room, to a different floor, until he is OK with it all. i wouldn't keep i longer than 5 min. out of his cage. the next day, add a min. to get it up to 6 min. next day, 7. animals need this gradual adjustment. it may seem to be taking forever, but he needs that. best of luck to you!

Answer 9

solution = put bird in cage, then submerge in swimming pool for 20 minutes, bird is cured no more biting, seriously this will never be cured the birds nature is to do these things,so save yourself the trouble and get it off on someone(preferrably enemy) and try another one this bird will never stop,i owned a pet store for a while, and the birds were the nastiest creatures, i eventually stopped selling birds, they carry salmanella eat their own feces, and when i see people letting the filthy things bite their tongues its repulsive they are eating particles of bird poo, point birds are born with certain characteristics, either good ones or nasty ones, you cant change that, possibly slightly alter, but never change them get another bird, good luck to you

Answer 10

Sit this bird down and play the movie Dumb and Dumber so he can see what happened to Petey! LOL