Why is she starting to be mean?!

[parrotlover]

Hey guys Chevy is starting to be a bit mean and pushy. When I just want to pet her or somehting she seems to nip. Whe I don't get the right spot when i give her scritches she's ugly and semi-bites me if I don't get it good. Is there a way to fix this? Also when I was giveing her treats earlier she was biting at me for some reason.... Please Help!!!

[GlassOnion]

Not all birds like being pet, don't pet her when she's clearly telling you not to. The scritching thing.. It's a cockatiel thing because mine does it too. Just avoid being nipped. It's time to start reading body language and avoid bites as you can't really 'fix' her way of communication.

[liz]

Parrotlover - she is testing you. Don't react when it happens and try to stay clear of situations that you know it will happen.

It is easier to stay out of a battle than to win one.

[Maria]

Hey guys Chevy is starting to be a bit mean and pushy. When I just want to pet her or somehting she seems to nip. Whe I don't get the right spot when i give her scritches she's ugly and semi-bites me if I don't get it good. Is there a way to fix this? Also when I was giveing her treats earlier she was biting at me for some reason.... Please Help!!!

Parrot lover -

How long have you had your bird? Has she let you pet and scratch her before and liked it and seemed to cuddle, turn her head, and let you? Or not? Birds also have their moods. Sometimes they just don't want to be bothered, or want to rest, etc. That's also one of the ways they will let you know this. If she backs away from you like this at these times, or tries to nip at you, don't push yourself on her. Take her signal. You also might, at times, stick your finger out, saying "scratch, scratch, scratch", while wiggling your finger, letting her just watch that, with hearing you say "scratch.... " When you do this, don't, per say, push your finger toward her. Just show her your finger about 6 or 7 inches away from her face, while doing this. Let her just look and see, while she makes the association with the finger action and the word scratch repeated. Eventually she will at times, when you do this, just come toward you, sticking her neck out, toward and onto your finger, wanting you to scratch her neck. A signal of a bird backing away or nipping means "please stop what you're doing at this time". When a bird gives this signal, you should never continue to come toward them. It is also best to let a bird do the coming toward you. With a combination of letting the bird also come toward you, eventually also, when you do go toward the bird gently and slowly (always with talking sweetly too), the bird will let you and she will come toward you and interact with you at the same time too. Showing a bird that you're not going to push yourself on them, and gently showing your bird things while talking sweetly while letting them come toward you, also helps a bird build trust and comfort with a person. It also lets a bird know and feel that you respect their boundaries or their moods.

If she has also let you scratch her before and liked it, and has interacted with you the cuddle way when you do it - then she's probably just not in the mood for some reason at the times she's backing off and nipping.

Also - bird behavior is a bit agressive when they feel it's time for them to mate. In the wild, they signal this by doing things like the following: Aggressively biting and chewing off bark from trees, and throwing/flinging the pieces of bark from their beaks (to mark their territory). Loud screeching. Nipping. Agressively bobbing up and down. I don't know the situation.

Sometimes a bird might also nip when they're not feeling well and don't want to be bothered. Make sure your bird is not also showing signs of sickness, such as listlessness (kind of just sitting there, not playing, not wanting to do anything), feathers ruffled. If you sense your bird might be sick, get him to an avian vet.

How old is your bird?

Hope this helps.