We have a 4 month old pied named Squiggles. She (he?) was hand raised and fed and we bought her at about 6-8 weeks old.
Within the past month or so she has been biting my wife and I. We are very friendly with her and can hold and pick her up and play with her. It's only at certain times and it seems like she is "testing" us to see what she can get away with.
Any suggestions on how we can try to stop this behavior? Perhaps we need to be more dominant with her?
Any information you can provide would be most appreciated...
Andy
Andy,
We can't say specifically what is causing Squiggles to behave this way, but
we would like to emphasize a couple of things. Some pet cockatiels and
other pet birds, need to be played with every day in order or them to keep
their really sweet disposition. If your being more dominant means you are
thinking of some type of punishment, that usually results in a bird being
defensive which translates into more aggressive behavior.
Another possible explanation is birds have days when they just aren't in the mood, much like we humans.
Your Squiggles sounds like a good companion and her nippy moods need to be medicated with your affection and dedication.