I miss how my bird used to be! PLEASE HELP ME!

[TayTaylor15]

I have a cute little love bird named smoochie. She's about 5-6 years old now. I've had her since she was a baby. When she was young she was the sweetest thing ever. She used to cuddle with me and let me scratch her head and would just go to sleep on my stomach whenever I was sitting on the couch. Now she's OBSESSED with egg laying and is very aggressive. She won't let me scratch her head anymore and won't sit still for 2 seconds. She's always looking for something to make a nest with. She charges and attacks my hand whenever it gets too close to her. She will step up on my finger sometimes, but only when she feels like it. Please help me! I don't know what to do, I just want my nice bird back :very_sad:

[Pips mom]

I wish I had some advice for you.....but I have a male lovie....hopefully someone with a hen will come along soon help ya outt!

[chromasnake]

I think some of the experienced people here suggest that:

if she has a Happy hut or nestbox: take it away!
don't give her paper to shred or any other nesting material!
Rotate the arrangement of stuff in her cage a lot, and some people even have a "day" cage and a "sleeping" cage to help deter that territoriality.I have to keep anything shreddable out of the reach of my hen. Also, when she is in the same room as her nest and cage, she is in defensive mode. If I take her to the other end of the house, in a different room, she is a totally different bird. But I still have to realize her "henness" is just the way she is, too, just like me with hot flashes and mood swings. :)

I'm sure someone else will come along with even better advice.

[TayTaylor15]

Thank you guys so much! Yeah we try to keep anything she can shred away from her. Sometimes she's so determined that she'll bend the bars on the floor of her cage just to reach the paper towel at the bottom. She's nuts! Today I took her out and brought her into one of our empty guest rooms and tried to get her familiar with my hand again. Hopefully after a bit she'll get used to me. I have read though that the hens are alotttt more aggressive then the males. I'm guessing that's 100% true! She's a hormonal little birdie! Any more advice would be great. Again, thanks so much!

[Chickobee]

Your little hen may never be the little sweetie, snuggle bug she once was as a baby.

We have one hen who doesn't have a mate and she loves to be out with us perching on our hands or shoulders but she will not tolerate petting or snuggling of any kind. She is so entertaining and happy all the time and she doesn't bite so we still really enjoy her company. She just doesn't want cuddling. (Our other hens are all paired up so, of course, they prefer their mates to us!!!)

We have followed the advice above in that she is never allowed shreddables, a happy hut, or to snuggle in a blanket or towel. Those things just get her acting nesty and territorial.

None of our birds are real cuddlers but they have so many other endearing qualities that we love them anyway. I have decided that birds are not snuggly, but they sure are pretty and funny!

Linda