Parakeet Biting - Ouch!

Question
Our family have a parakeet named Mike.  We purchased him as a gift for our son, under the best intentions, when he was a young bird about three years ago.  Fearing he would be lonely we purchased another bird, after we had Mike tamed, to keep him company while we were away at work and school.  They bonded immediately and didn't want anything to do with us, and I'm embarrassed to say, didn't get as much interaction as they did when it was just Mike alone.  Well Ike died about three months ago so we brought Mike into the family room so that he could have some interaction.  Initially he sat quietly in his cage, then we got him back on our fingers and allowed him to fly around the room.  He learned "shoulder" and started sitting on our shoulder etc. and seemed to be really happy with the situation.

However, in the last few days he has started biting at our fingers and faces.  With me it's more biting at my fingers but more mouthing at my lips/mouth and talking softly to me.  With the rest of the family it's more of a full attack.  I don't want to make Mike go back to sitting in his cage so how can I fix this behavior?  He has always been such a sweet gentle little bird that puts me at a complete loss, but wanted you to also be aware, as much as I hate to admit it, that he hasn't always received the best level of human interaction.  

Answer
Hi, Tami.  Thanks for posting.

Your keet is bonded to you.  This is why he attacks others in your family.  I suspect he bites your fingers when you are trying to get him off your shoulder or when you put your fingers up to him wanting him to do something?  He bites at you because he doesn't want to do whatever it is you want him to do.  Mike's behavior is the direct result of what he has learned from you and your family.  Also, without keeping his wing flight feathers clipped, he can get away from you whenever he wants, therefore, he basically can do whatever he wants I suspect???

You'll need to keep both of his flight feathers clipped so he will be at your mercy to get from point A to point B.  Then you need to retrain him to what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior.  Be mindful, however, that most parrots bond to one person in the home...this is normal parrot behavior.  

If you want a tame keet, you should not keep 2 birds in your home.  The best pet parrot is a single parrot in the home.  Otherwise, they will likely bond to each other and not want much to do with their human companions.  However, if you/your family find it difficult to interact with your pet bird on a daily basis, I recommend you think twice about owning one and/or buy a companion for the single bird.  Depends on what you want!

My website has lots of useful information on birds if you want to visit:

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Come back if you need to.

Chrys