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My cockateils are not tame, infact if I need to hold them for any reason i have to wear leather padded gloves as they will bite through my skin and just keep on biting!!

If you want to get a teil I would recommend you spend a little more money and get one from a breeder, not a pet shop, and make sure the breeder has hand reared them.

They will then be used to being handled by people.

If you get one from a pet shop you have no idea what you are taking on, it might be tame and you might be lucky, but more than likely it will be an aviary bird like mine.

It depends on the bird. I used to have a cockatiel who (like all birds) hated having her wings and tail feathers clipped and used to bite everyone who tried to do it apart from myself. She used to just nip my fingers which stings for less than a second. My point is that if the 9 year old is trusted by the bird then I doubt it will bit them hard enough to hurt so as long as there is a good relationship I'm sure the kid will be fine if he gets bitten sometimes. Good luck : )

First bites are different depending on the birds age,but cockatiel when they are 1 year or older can bite really hard and they hold on to it for very long.When my aggressive cockatiel bit through my glove I was bleeding because the beak was very sharp/pointy.So be careful when a cockatiel bites.

They bite hard. Not only that, they gnaw on your skin. That's why they have a hook like beak is to break seeds. And who ever said their mother said it hurts way more then birth, they are completely wrong.

YEAH a nine year old should be find...put a sock on your hand and you will be fine...really its just like a tickling...

OMG!!!! My mom got my sis a Cockatil before i was around and she went to clip his wings and bit her and wouldnt let go! She said it was more painfull than natural child birth!

yes i was bitten but not too bad

nahh. only a little tho