Why did I get bit...

Working with the huge variety of birds that I deal with on a regular basis, I feel there are really only FOUR reasons why someone will get bit:

1. The balance - this is the lowest level and not actually a bite, but a grab and possible hold. The bird is using its beak as a hand, testing your finger or arm to see that its sturdy. It also happens when a bird losses its balance and grabs the first thing it can, which is usually skin.
   
2. The warning - birds, like people, sometimes don't want to be bothered or even touched. They'll give a nip as a warning that they aren't too keen to having you in their space. You will sometimes get this same warning nip if you scare them inadvertantly or hit on a tender pinfeather.
   
3. The Bite - just what it says. You ignored the first warning nip and now they are pissed.
   
4. The Killshot - it happens when the bird is angry, hormonal, in fear of its (or its mates) life, if it feels trapped. This is purely a defensive attack because the bird feels it has no other recourse and you will feel pain. These are the bites that draw blood or end up with stitches.

These aren't set rules, not based on scientific research... these are fundamentals that I've concluded in the years that I have handled all shapes and sizes of birds. Generally you will be warned before you are bitten and if you ignore the warning, you'll probably need a bandaid real soon. In short, pay attention to the body language of your bird. Know what sets him off, scares him or makes him defensive. Build trust. And know that bites heal.

I added a sticky to this because it's wonderful information to have. Very well put together, thanks!

i hope it helps

It will.

I've noticed a lot of people are traumatized by previous bites they've had from birds, myself included. I was bitten by a Moluccan Cockatoo once and have been wary of large grey beaks every since. No blood was drawn, but man, those things are quick and powerful.

My Green Cheek Conure has bitten me for three of the above reasons. He tends to beak when he's unsure of his footing. He bites as a warning if I try to grab him and he wants to stay in his cage. And I've been bitten for ignoring those signs. Now I've learned to read his body language and can usually understand what he's thinking.

However, if he sees the phone and he can get to it? All bets are off and my face WILL be attacked.

Ya some birds have quorks and all bets are off. the rescue has a rainbow lory that is sweet till it sees paper move. As far as cockatoos are conserned they have a wierd phycology all bets are off to me they are poisonous...

Perch wrote:

As far as cockatoos are conserned they have a wierd phycology all bets are off to me they are poisonous...

They're not poisonous, they're sweet! Most of the time. I'm going to find Vikki a cockatoo to bring home for you.

Quote :

As far as cockatoos are conserned they have a wierd phycology all bets are off to me they are poisonous...

It's fun(ny) to read people's biases against certain birds, even experienced people. And I don't mean bias in a negative way. It's normal to have certain likes and dislikes.

I love the toos. I think they're easy to rehab out of neurosis and aggression. I "get" them.
Amazons on the other hand! For all these year I never "got" them. They were poisonous to me. I have many a scar to show pretty much every encounter I've had w/ an amazon. After starting to read henpecked's advice on them, I think I understand why amazons and I don't get along. I'm too inyerface for them.

After reading perch's post ,i feel the need to add , the offensive bite.Like when one hen gets jealous of you spending time with another hen and decides that she's going to "kill" that other bird or you if your in the way. I think these are the worst bites and it's usually more than one. Of course i'm speaking about Amazons mostly. I have noticed many Xbreeder birds that are Xpets are the worst of the biters , they have no fear of humans and have been handled roughly in the past.The breeding history makes them aggressive anyway and when they start to bond back with a human they forget themselfs and can really chomp you.Did you see the video of Nitro biting me ? I was preening pin feathers and lost a chunk of my thumb, he's a work in progress but we're making headway.PS he's about 700+ grams and guess how he got his name.I love to handle him but have a hard time getting him off me without getting bit, he wants to bond so bad.

How about the "I want that" bite. If I ever stop petting Einstein, he'll sometimes give me a little nip and try to get me to pet him again.

So I guess, Mango(budgie with overgrown beak) bite would be in The Killshot category?
I have to take those bites, when I clip his beak about once a month. I can't let him fly out and have to be careful not to squeeze his little body and in the same time make sure he won't escape. Did I mention he is screaming during that, so I do it as fast as possible
Since it's not big deal for me(the bite part), I feel sorry for my little fellow, who is scared each time...

Cap'n West touched on one category that is missing, the displacement bite. Scooter started doing that this Spring when he also chose sides and decided he needed to defend me from my husband. Most of these were in the warning bite category of severity, but my husband would walk in the room and *I'd* be the one to get bitten.

I think the learned bite is also it's own category. These guys are pretty smart, and if they give a genuinely pissy bite once and it gets a certain reaction, they can learn "hey, that was fun/useful!" and do it again in a much more deliberate way. I accidentally taught Scooter to nip me when he's out with me and I ignore him too much. It's very effective because if I'm genuinely ignoring him, it will startle me and I will react before I realize what I'm reacting to. I'm working to get him to consistently rub his head on me instead of nipping by reacting very enthusiastically to that. I can easily imagine and have read stories about less social birds learning to bite because the reaction of the human is just plain fun to watch. I don't have the impression that they really understand that biting our hand hurts... I don't have the impression that they have that kind of ability to put themselves in our shoes... I think they see what happens when they do it or else it's just plain reaction as when you hit a pinfeather wrong or they are fearful.