Is medication needed for biting parakeet?

Question: I have a ?bipolar? quaker parakeet and want him to stop biting. He?ll start off as sweet as pie, then, in a second flat, try to bite me. Are there any medications to level off his behavior? - Berdi

Answer: Biting is a very common bird behavior. It is right up there with excessive vocalizations (screaming, chirping).

Contributing factors to bird misbehavior include inadequate environment, unstructured interactions with the owner and poor diet. In addition to these factors, birds learn through trial and error that people respond to bites quickly. Then, the bird uses that tool to communicate with the owner, because that is what works for him.

For example, if he tried in other ways to communicate fear or discomfort and those signals weren?t heeded, but the bite was, he will use the bite more often because it works to convey his message.

Medications can be used to treat bird behavior problems, but we don?t have a lot of information on how these medications are metabolized in birds and what dosages are necessary to achieve a clinical effect. We use them with caution when other methods don?t work or when the problem is severe. This may be the case with your bird.

To find out, go to your primary care veterinarian?s office for a physical examination, labwork and an assessment of your bird?s diet. If all is well, your bird may be a candidate.

You can find a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist at www.dacvb.org. These are the experts in the use of psychotropic medications in animals, as well as the use of concurrent behavior modification. In the meantime, go to the articles page of my website www.flvetbehavior.com and download the bird enrichment article to get started improving your bird?s mood.

Dr. Radosta

Lisa Radosta DVM, Diplomate ACVB
Florida Veterinary Behavior Service
PO Box 210636
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421-0636
561-795-9398
www.flvetbehavior.com
Read more articles by Dr. Radosta | Ask her a question

Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2011/03/14/is-medication-needed-for-biting-parakeet/

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