Who has a "sweet" hen? I want reassurance...

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

I've never had a hen before, but i'm fairly certain that the fid i brought home is girl. My husband is not happy bc my mother has a hen & she does not like to be handled and is a biter.

He came to love my boy Maka in the short time we had with him. Maka loved being with us & being kissed & head skritched. My husband has stated his preference for a boy.

If I want to keep Sunny, he needs to know it's possible to have a girl that likes being handled. Maka would get nippy & we'd return him to his cage, but still bring him out later`... can a girl be like that?

Otherwise, I may need to rehome Sunny. :(

[lemonypickett]

What makes you think Sunny is a hen?

Eddie would spread his wings when petted, which was a female behavior.

Jeni with Flapjack thought he was a boy all along until "he" laid an egg.

I would rearrange the cage alot to prevent cage aggression. Remove a sleep hut during the day, and give lots of attention to her. Lots of out of cage time with you may help her stay tame too.

And, I think a wing clip is a good way to work on training.

[linda040899]

I have several hens, mature ones at that, who love to be handled! Even when they have eggs/babies in the nest, my fingers do not come away damaged if/when I do nest box/baby checks. It's my own personal opinion that parents also pass personality traits to their offspring, as I've seen the same gentleness in the babies as I have in the parents. Slater, the lovebird that Lori (bellarains) got from me a while back, comes from a very gentle bloodline.

[LauraO]

First I want to say that it sounds like your love and attachement to your new lovie is very conditional and concerns me. It is never okay to just buy and bird and then put constraints on it. If you only wanted a male, you should have spoken with a breeder and gotten a DNA test prior to purchasing it cause rehoming a bird cause it's not what you want is not okay.

Saying that, I have SEVERAL females that are very sweet, and like Linda's, will even let me handle them without bites while they are on eggs. I also have some very bitey males. I have females that are tame and bitey and I have males that are untame and don't bite. I have males who are tame and don't bite and females who are not tame and don't bite. It's important to remember that each bird is an individual and will go through a lot of stages it's first year of life, including nibbling and biting. Your bird is young and it's WAY to young to tell what kind of adult bird it will be. However, I do suggest if there is a possibility of rehoming the bird cause it doesn't fit your mold of what you want your bird to be, it's best to rehome it before it gets attached to you and your home.

Good Luck. Your birdy does look sweet:)

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

Yes, perhaps I should have found a breeder and gotten DNA testing prior to purchasing, but that is now neither here nore there, as I have Sunny now & I'm thinking ahead so as to do right by her. I want my husband to be a part of her life and not resent/ignore her because he's scared of her.

I know it's possible to have hens that can be handled, that's why I'm here asking for specific examples to bring back to my husband, who only knows the scariness of my Mom's hen, who I like, btw, even for all her evil, bossy ways. I bought my mom's hen a nice big cage, encouraged my mom to move her stuff around & get lots of toys bc she doens't get a lot of "out of cage time" bc she's bitey...and I'll let give her out of cage time when I visit my parents.

I'm encouraged right now bc Sunny is not currently a bitey bird, though I know that may change. I don't want to have to rehome her.

[bbslovie]

Hi, I too wanted to get a male and when we found Bea at 5 weeks old we had her DNA tested. We visited her at least twice a week until we brought her home and when we did get the test results back it just didn't matter to us anymore because we already were smitten with her! She'll be 6 months soon and she's not a bitey bird. She loves being with us, shoulder rides are her favorite. She tolerates being petted and isn't fond of skritches outside the cage but loves her head rubbed when she's in the cage. Ok, like most lb's she likes what she likes when she likes it! We love her dearly and although our previous lb was a boy we love our girlie! It seems to me that no matter what the sex is that you need to work with them every day and build that trust/relationship and over time you develop both. That's my :2cents:

Barb

[ittyandrita]

my little Rita is a sweetheart. She actually initiated contact when I had itty-bitty who was a velcro bird. She followed him around, did what he did and ended up sitting on my head and shoulders. After he passed I didn't push the hand taming thing with her or the other lovies I have, so she's definitely hands off, but is not bitey at all. She's very gentle and has never bitten me. She mouths me a tad, when my hands go near her coconut boat, but never with any pressure. I think hens get a bad rap!

[NickyBeth]

I also believe that I have a hen, she is a re-homed bird that a previous older lady owned that died.

My vet (who helped to re-home her into MY home) believed that she was older than we think she now is. She is probably 1-2 versus the 3-4 they thought she was....but that is another story.

It took 2 months for Cherry to fully trust us. I can't blame her, as her owner died and now this bird is in a new home with 2 kids! She was very wary of coming out of her cage at first -- but now she looks forwards to when I come down in the morning, say hello and open the door so she can climb on out and play on her ladder and such.

Are there downsides? Sure, there are to any bird. My first one, Zee -- was pretty much a cage bird. Never wanted out, or to be petted, or such. My second one was with us for too little a time -- but he loved to be handled & hugged and such. This one loves to be handled -- but she doesn't appreciate people "going in" her cage and grabbing her. She wants to come out on her own.

Cherry "nips", but it is a playful nipping. Would I give her back? Nah. Would I have even given my first one back? Nah. So what if your bird is "nippy?" Can't they really just be a pet? That's the way I see it.

[momo]

I think you should tell your husband to grow some balls and accept you may have a girl lovebird.. ;) and that he should be thanking what ever high powers there are that he is allowed to lay his eyes on such a beautiful bird.

[michael]

In light of deciding to keep any pet, I think poeple who are afraid of them (especially companion birds) should really either commit to a change in attitude towards them, or simply resolve themselves to not owning one long before any final choices are made. Add to this whats often an individual choice affected by others sharing the same quarters (yet not the same attitude) and you may have a recipe for disaster thats ultimately imposed upon what was once the object of affection. The pet :(.

Really, if you were to gain no reassurance as to the outcome of sunny's disposition after any amount of time, would having to rehome her then outweigh all the initial choices and commitments you made in the beginning? I understand this can be a very difficult question to answer especially when its presented after the fact, but then it may provide a much clearer one than that which cannot be answered at all.

I think if your husband is going to share in deciding whether "he's" going to accept the "commitment" of having a bird around, he should then take a good long look himself at the facts surrounding the pro's and con's of their behavior and care. If after doing so he cannot accept a more responsible approach to keeping a companion bird, then perhaps its both in his and Sunny's best interest to not invest the time in it.

[LauraO]

I have nine confirmed females and two suspected females. Frankly, not one of them is the normal hateful hen that gets the bad rap. I will get nipped from time to time during nesting season, but it's still not all that bad. Of course, my lovebirds have cages they sleep in but spend their days outside in their bird room, which I think helps keep them from getting so nesty. However, the hens often fight with each other over territory and getting in between any hen fight is never good on the fingers:x :x .

Babygirl is our first hen and we've had her about four years. She was rescued from a cemetary so we don't know her age. She is so sweet! She doesn't really like to be handled but isn't scared of skittish, and only rarely nips while you are playing with her eggs or babies in the nestbox. She has had several clutches over the years and tolerates me handling her babies and socializing them really well. Most of my hens are offspring or grandbabies of Babygirl's which is why I think most of my hens are so wonderful!

Cuddlebunny is the wildest female I have. She is our evil creamino but not in the way you think. She is absolutely tame and doesn't mind being handled, tipped upside down for belly kisses, or hanging out on shoulders, and every night she loves getting on my fingers, being kissed and tucked into her houser at night. She will bite hard if you try and grab her out of a hidey place or a houser/nestbox so we just know how to manage her in these situations. Once removed from the hidey place she's instantly fine. However, Cuddlebunny will attack and try and kill other lovebirds who try and fight her for territory. She spends her days reestablishing her place atop the hen pecking order and it can get ugly. I have to admit I've removed her beak from a many a lovebirdy's neck:x .

Babiest Bubber is an offspring of Babygirl's who is as sweet as sweet could be but is not tame. From the first day she was born, she wanted nothing to do with humans and would run into the nestbox the minute you moved a finger from accross the room. Despite her not being tame, Babiest Bubber is stick trained so she can be moved around and put to bed. She is also a great mamma who allows me to handle her eggs and babies without so much as a threat of a bite. She trusts me with her babies and trusts me to not grab her unless I have to knowing she doesn't like it.

I could go on and on, but just wanted to let you know hen personality runs the gamut of behavior as do all creatures'. I've had experiences with the hen you fear and know how difficult they can be. The key is not putting any expectations on your birdy no matter what the gender and allow them to grow into the best bird they can. This forum, as you know, is great and will help you deal with whatever kind of lovebirdy personality you encounter.

:) :)

[Flapjack]

I do! I do!
I LOVE my sweet girl. She rubs against our hands like a cat, lets me rub under her wings, kiss her belly, kiss her head, rub her beak, etc.
We had a short time when she was about 4 months old where she bit a little, and was protective of her eggs when she had them, but other than that is a total doll!

[Mummieeva]

It depends on what you mean by a sweet hen. I had two hens I considered sweet but they would bite me sometimes. I would not of traded my Whisper or Baggy for all the non biting male birds in the world. I did once almost re-home Baggy. But this site and the people here helped me see that she belonged with me. Baggy and Whisper did not like my husband. They would fly by and nip/bite him..then fly back to me. My husband never once asked me to get rid of them. No more then i would ask him to get rid of his cat who hates me 90% of the time.

Steph

[thebubbleking]

Well pohaku my tiel is super sweet but as for my lovebird hen.......

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I prefer to use 'sweet and sour' to describe my little hen. :) She has her moments, but for the most part she wants to be on my person at all times.

She does bite fingers, yes. But that is because she doesn't like hands. Not because she's female. I've learned to work around this; she will gladly step up onto my towel-covered hand, I'd say 90% of the time.

She is definitely moody but she does not generally lunge at me unless she has a legitimate reason. My male is actually more moody than the female; on Sunday Milo was in a snit over something and he bit me on the face repeatedly before being 'grounded' (sent back to his cage to think about how he hurt his momma's feelings).

[bellarains]

Yep,

My Slater(ummm, I am 99% sure is a hen at this time) is a sweetie pie. While she is not overly crazy about hands petting her, she does like to held, kissed all over, and does give kisses. Oh, and she has the most awesome little "Henny attitude" ever:rofl:

As always, each bird will differ, but I totally think that all birds will respond to care, love and constant attention in time. You can teach them "NO BITE", and it does work, well, most of the time;)

If you do indeed have a hen, the one thing you want to educate yourself on is egg laying. Hens are awesome IMHO, but with them comes egg laying, and you want to be prepared for when that time comes.

[Bubblelady]

My Buddy is a hen but got her name before I knew it. She has been a sweetie since day 1, with 2 exceptions. I began suspecting she was a hen because she was much more "bossy" than my previous lovie & she chewed/nibbled (not nipped & not at all painful) my fingertip repeatedly & rapidly whenever she wanted something--kept it up till I figured out precisely what she wanted. I came to think of it as her way to say "Hey! Hey!" I finally mentioned to the vet tech that I thought she was a she, & the tech said, "No way! He's much too sweet to be a female!" Three weeks later she started builing nests. (Proof came later when she laid an egg.) She loves being cuddled & scratched, will lay on her back in my hand while I rub her face & beak with my thumb, & will go to anyone we meet without hesitations. BUT, your hand must approacher her VERY SLOWLY & she prefers that a stranger offer her an arm rather than a finger. She still, after 14 years, will nip me if I move too quickly. And she wants you to stop your hand/arm moving and wait for her to step up rather than actually try to pick her up. The other thing that will get me bitten is to hold a small, round container near her. I almost re-homed her early on when she really attacked--drew blood--whenever I started to get treat out of a small cans w/ plastic lid. I finally realized that she was trying to get into the can, which apparently looked like a good nest site to her. Now a toilet paper tube is her favoiite toy but I'm careful to keep my hand out of the when we play. Once in a while I wiggle my finger to tempt her to charge through the tube--she's a bit tubbly & can just barely make it through. When my mom sees me she says, " Don't expect me to feel sorry for you when you get bit!" But I can't resist because she is soooooo ferocious when she plays ATTACK! While nature is surely a factor, nurture is a huge factor. Pay attention to her/his preferences & handle her/him as much as you can. I'm so glad I figured out Buddy's triggers before I rehomed her because she is now the joy of my life!
Moe

[Gill]

When i first picked up my girl, my breeder said she was the most popular when people came round to see her birds because she was so sweet and sociable! When i got her home the first thing she did was go for my face!! She is ever so bitey and can get a little stressed when you try to pick her up and will bite bite bite like im trying to attack her, but on the other hand she can be very calm and sit on my hand all quiet. She loves to bite my knuckles and fingernails and toes and ears and eyelashes and arms etc! She is only very young so she may grow out of it but she is cute, i love her :D

[prettybird1212]

I prefer to use 'sweet and sour' to describe my little hen. :) She has her moments, but for the most part she wants to be on my person at all times.

She does bite fingers, yes. But that is because she doesn't like hands. Not because she's female. I've learned to work around this; she will gladly step up onto my towel-covered hand, I'd say 90% of the time.

She is definitely moody but she does not generally lunge at me unless she has a legitimate reason. My male is actually more moody than the female; on Sunday Milo was in a snit over something and he bit me on the face repeatedly before being 'grounded' (sent back to his cage to think about how he hurt his momma's feelings).


I agree. My hen is super sweet but also doesn't like hands. (except fot when she's in breeding condition :P then she doesn't like to be messed with) she's not a big petting fan either, but loves kisses all over and gives kisses as well

[graushill]

*jumping and waving with arms* I have one, I have one, pick me, pick me!!

I'm just kidding, about the jumping and waving and the picking, but I do have a sweet hen :). When she lays a clutch of eggs, she'll protect it fiercely against other lovies but she lets me open the nest box, scoop her out, give her a kiss and set her back in, while she vibrates in contentment. I know it's unusual and I appreciate her trust and sweet nature. I have another hen who's every bit as sweet, but when she's nesty, then I'm a target too. She's bitten me hard several times, but I've never begrudged her one bite, as I know she's just doing what her insticts dictate her to do. Then again, I've had larger parrots, so I don't really think lovies do that much damage in comparison :whistle:.

[Keltoth]

Yup, I'll chime in also for my hens. I have some wonderful hens who were sweet and gentle to me all the time, even when they are on eggs/chicks; Scooter, and especially Aeyu and now, with this latest season of chicks, Echo (daughter of Paco and Nalo). Any of these hens will let me reach into their nestboxes and take out their chicks anytime I want without me being fearful of ever being bitten - and Echo even jumps up on my shoulder while I am doing it to ride along and check out what I am doing, something that the other hens are not inclined to do.

I also have one hen who is the absolute sweetest hen alive when she is NOT on a nest, who turns into the most bloodthirsty, vicious feathered piranha imaginable when she has eggs or chicks in the nest (Roxie). If she is not in nesting mode, she would never think to bite me - but if she's in nesting mode, she will paint the wall behind her cage with your blood if you are silly enough to place your hand anywhere near her nestbox. She is an absolute Jekyll and Hyde bird, depending on what she has planned family-wise.

- Eric

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

Thank you all so much for your examples and reminders and suggestions! I'm really looking forward to Sunny becoming more and more a member of the family. I've shared all your stories and reminders with my husband, and Sunny's own (current) gentle nature have made him feel better about having a hen.

She's been sick, and the vet has her on antibiotics, but even with feeling ill and having to take medicine, she's been a sweetheart. I hope she feels better soon.

[Pips mom]

When I went to go get Ivy, my blueheaded pionus, she came from a home with lots of other birds......two of them were lovebird hens. They rode around on me on my shoulders and back and were sweet as can be! I remember I told her.......why can't Pip be so good and sweet as this??? and my Pip is a boy (not DNA'd, but I'm quite sure)