Biting can be a common behavior among parrots, and being in the parrot family budgies are naturally included, and what starts as a one time thing can easily turn into a habit. With a few simple (and mostly painless!) techniques however, you can often change your "fids" behavior rather quickly and eliminate biting, or better yet, stop it before it even becomes a habit to begin with.

To do this though we need to think of things from a budgies view point rather than a human one, and make some immediate changes to our own behavior and how we handle him or her.

First off it is very important to realize that biting is a learned behavior and that it is a habit that they essentially learn to do it by our actions and how we react. 

Budgies like most birds live in the moment, and they are much smarter than many give them credit for. They like other parrots are always looking for ways to get what they want, and biting is often the first thing they try as young chicks to attempt to make this happen.

Just like children budgies love attention, and negative attention is the same as positive when they really want it. They love to get reactions out of others, and have different moods just like we do, so to avoid/stop this behavior a bite needs to have no reaction from you, or cause you to do anything differently which your budgie might view as positive. 

By reacting to a single bite, either verbally, such as saying "bad bird", or by an action such as pulling away or putting him in his cage, you are essentially teaching him that biting will get him something.

It is important to look at a biting from your budgies viewpoint and how they often try to use a bite. Contrary to what some may say, there is always a reason behind biting and if you can figure out what it is you will be in a a much better position to try and eliminate it. There are 3 basic reasons why a budgie will often bite.

Fear Or Anxiety. This is usually the most common reason for a budgie to bite. Some common things that will cause anxiety are: 

• A move to a new home
• Handling them roughly
• Chasing them, especially while standing over them which can be intimidating
• Trying to pet or touch them before they have had a chance to develop a bond with you

Frustration. Since budgies can not use an unlimited vocabulary to convey what they want or need, when body language does not get them what they want biting is a last resort. to get your attention. Some common reasons for frustration include:

• They have been out of their cage for an extended period without access to food or water
  
• They are tired and need to rest
• You have (often accidentally) encouraged breeding behavior through diet or environment

Boredom. The reasoning behind this kind of bite is similar to frustration, but the idea is more to get a reaction out of you because their basic needs are not being met. Common reasons for boredom biting include:

• Lack of appropriate toys 
  
• A diet with poor variety
  
• Not receiving enough one on one attention and affection if they are a single budgie

These reasons mentioned above can often be avoided to begin with, or redirected quickly with a few easy steps which we will discuss below. There are some ways that you should never handle a bite however, and here are a few of them which will do more harm than good.

• Yelling at them
  
• Pulling away
• Squirting them with water
  
• Physically try to punish them, such as flicking their beak
  
• Putting them back in their cage or on a play gym
  
• Giving them a toy or treat 

By resorting to above actions you are actually conveying the following messages to your budgie:

Yelling At Them: One of two things happen when you raise your voice at a bird. Either they will get excited and repeat the behavior for attention, or get scared. Both of these are the opposite of what we want to accomplish when it comes to eliminating biting.

Pulling Away. By pulling away when they bite they will quickly learn that anytime they do not want to step up, a bite is a great way for them to control the situation. 

Squirting Them With Water: This will only diminish whatever trust you have built up thus far with you, and can often also cause further behavioral and anxiety problems. If done extremely you could cause physical harm as well. 

Physically Trying To Punish Them: It should be pretty obvious why this is not the way to go or a wise method. Not only are budgies delicate and easily injured because of their size, but again by physically assaulting them you will only cause a great deal of distrust, confusion and anxiety.  We have never found any kind of negative reinforcement to be useful or successful with any parrot, budgies included.

Putting Them Back In Their Cage Or On A Play Gym: Returning them to their cage or other "safe" place is something that should be done only when they are doing something you want to encourage. Otherwise, they will see biting as a way to get to another area they can not easily reach on their own, or simply when they are tired or hungry.

Giving Them A Treat Or Toy: Again, by giving them a toy or treat you are essentially saying "I approve of what you are doing, here is a treat to show my approval". Treats and toys should only be used to encourage good behavior, rather than as a short term pacifier to get them to stop unwanted behavior.

In reality there the idea we are trying to convey is that there are much better and faster ways to get our feathered little friends to realize that biting is a bad/pointless idea, and that there are better ways to get what they want! 

As we mentioned above, there are a number of common reasons for biting to start in the first place. Here are some great ways to combat the most common ones, and encourage better behavior in your little feathered buddy to make things easier on both of you.

A Move To A New Home. After bringing home a new budgie they are naturally going to be overwhelmed. They are in a new cage, new house and with a new family. Make sure to give theme enough time to acclimate to their new cage and home before pushing them too quickly as far as training and bonding are concerned. Playing the radio or T.V for background noise can help a lot to make them more comfortable. Talking to him or her softly will help get them used to your voice and start to build trust with you.

Once they have started to get more comfortable in their new home, they are starting to chip, climb around their cage, play with toys, etc, you can begin offering them a treat from your hand and getting them out for short training sessions. Remember not to push them too quickly, and always end things on a good note!

Handling Them Roughly. Rather than grabbing your budgie roughly, it is much better to patiently get them to step up on your hand or perch if they have flown to the floor, or you catch them exploring an area where they should not be. 
Not only will this be much less stressful for them, but it will encourage them to think of you as a trustworthy and helpful way to get from one place to another safely.

Chasing Them, Especially While Standing Over Them. Predators and threats for a budgie often come from above and chase them. Since we are trying to gain their trust and put them at ease, we want to be as little of a threat as we can. 
Talk to them calmly to let them know you are coming, and approach slowly from the front or side when picking up your so they can clearly see you. This is a much better way to pick them up when they are on the floor especially. 

Trying To Pet Or Touch Them Before They Have Had A Chance To Develop A Bond With You. Do you feel comfortable receiving close or intimate contact with a stranger? Neither does a budgie. Before trying to develop a physical relationship with him or her, make sure to gain their trust an a reasonable bond.  
Your budgie will likely enjoy stretches and petting from you in time, but this needs to come in a natural progression and not rushed as they naturally do with other budgies. Start with offering treats, talking to them softly and spending time together.

They Have Been Out Of Their Cage For An Extended Period Without Access To Food Or Water. The solution to this one is pretty straight forward. Be aware of your budgies natural eating and drinking needs, and have enough food and water available if you are planning to have him or her out for an extended period of time. 

They Are Tired And Need To Rest. Similar to the above suggestions, be considerate of their needs and make sure your budgie is able to get enough sleep each day. Try to avoid training or bonding sessions at a time that they would naturally be resting.

You Have (Often Accidentally) Encouraged Breeding Behavior Through Diet Or Environment. Most budgies begin to mature sexually around 6 months of age. From this time on both males and females will go through natural breeding cycle called Breeding Condition. There are ways to encourage as well as discourage breeding in budgies, and you will find the most common ways to discourage breeding behavior and avoid the natural frustration that occurs when these urges are not fulfilled in the following article: When We Don't Want Eggs!

Lack Of Appropriate Toys. In the wild budgies constantly have something to do. Every natural need they have requires effort and time to find. Mental stimulation and exercise are a one of the essential needs that must be fulfilled for any parrot in our home, and toys are an excellent form of entertainment and exploration. Have a variety of shred-able and foraging toys available for your budgie when they are not actively playing or training with you, and rotate these out weekly to keep things new and interesting.

A Diet With Poor Variety. We quickly get bored eating the same thing repeatedly. A diet of only seed or pellets every day is not in any way what a budgie naturally needs. In the wild they eat a variety of things daily, and what is available changes from season to season through out the year. Giving your budgie a variety of sprouts, veggies, and grains in addition to seed and pellets will keep things interesting and mentally stimulating. Here is an example of what we like to do daily with Our Budgies Diet.

Not Receiving Enough One On One Attention And Affection. Being such social little creatures a budgie will naturally not be happy if they are alone most of the day with no interaction from others. If you have a single budgie, make sure to set aside enough time for attention with him or her one on one daily. If your schedule does not allow for caring for this most basic and important need for your budgie this, it would be very wise get him or her a friend.

As was mentioned, your budgie needs to realize that nothing good will happen from a bite. Obviously though it can be very hard not to react to one when they are in the process of biting down on you! How can you avoid accidentally reinforcing bad behavior and biting? 

A lot of the time biting becomes a way for a budgie to get something they want as was mentioned above. When it comes taking them to a cage or play gym for example, this needs to be something we do only when they are in the right mind set and with behavior we want to encourage. 

Otherwise, we could accidentally be giving them a positive reward for a negative action.

Yes at times it is true that our budgies do not want to go in their cage, but it is also a safe place where they can rest, where their food and toys are, and often where they want to be when they just do not feel like having attention.

By moving a budgie to his cage when he/she bites, they will very likely learn that biting will get them something they wants, for example: 

• When they are hungry or thirsty
  
• When they want to play with their toys
  
• When they are simply tired and want to go back to their cage 
  
• When they are bored and wants a change of scenery
  
• When they want attention from you, etc, etc
  

The list could go on and on. Many times once it is learned, biting is the fastest and easiest way to get something to change or to happen.... which is definitely not the message we want to send. 

Only when he/she is sitting like a good little budgie and being nice are these things going to happen for them. Make sure that when you move them or give them anything (all are a form of reward essentially) they are doing something that you want them to continue doing, and that they have been doing it for a number of minutes before the "reward" 

We are going to let you in on a huge secret... perches do not react when you bite them! When working with a new bird, especially if they are anxious or nervous, always make sure to always have at least 1 (and ideally 2) small and easy to use perches near you when he or she is out for playing and bonding time.

If a bite has already happened previously, try to anticipate what lead up to it. Could one of these reasons be why your little one might have used a bite?

• Did you put your hand into his/her cage to get him out when they were nervous? 

• Did you pick him/her up after they had been exploring, and they did not want to stop? 

• Did he/she fly off of their perch, and you chased them around the room for a bit trying to catch them? 
  

In times like these, use the perch rather than your hands to pick him or her up. There will never be a reaction from the perch when it is bitten, and what point is there in biting something when nothing happens? The answer is there is obvious. There is no fun, reaction, or point in biting when all you have to bite is a lifeless and reaction-less  perch! 

If you are holding your budgie and they try to bite you, quickly use the perch you have on hand and make them step up on it. After an attempt at biting,  it can help to do a series of step ups to reinforce that he/she needs to be respectful and that biting will not be associated with anything they actually want to do. 

If he/she is biting hard and for more than just a quick second, it can help to very carefully and steadily move your hand in a quick downward or sideways motion while they are on your hand. You do not want to do this extremely so as to throw them off of your hand, but rather just enough to make them start to loose their balance a bit. 

A budgie can not bite and regain their balance at the same time, and regaining balance is almost always more important thing in any budgies mind.  After they stop biting, again proceed with a series of step ups and then sit with them calmly 

for a few minutes. Remember that it is only when they are being good that they will get any treats, attention or be returned to their cage or play gym No exceptions, period.

After making sure our budgies needs are naturally met and that they are happy and content physically and mentally, the bottom line we are trying to help them realize is this: They will not get a reaction from us, or get anything they want from us by biting. 

To the contrariety, biting can actually make little "earthquakes" happen along with a number of "step ups" and quiet time with no fun. This is not what had he/she had in mind when they began the biting behavior, so what is the point in doing it? On the other hand, when he/she is good and steps up with no biting they should get lots of attention, praise, treats and fun from you. We don't know about you, but we personally would rather have the treats and fun, and more than likely your budgie will too with a few simple changes.

Thankfully budgies like all parrots mostly live in the moment, and they will usually react relatively quickly to new techniques. Try out what we have mentioned and be patient with them. Remember that they are not really trying to be bad, but are just reacting to what they see as acceptable ways to get what they wants since he can not tell you verbally. 

You can stop biting in general if not all together over a short period of time, and you and your little feathered buddy will be much happier for your efforts in helping them to find better ways to get what they want. We know for a fact that you can do it if you put forth enough effort to help them to learn that there are better ways to get what they want than biting!