Is there a chance to turn it around?

[nuluvbird]

This will be my first post, other than my introduction, so be patient with me...lol

I have acquired an 8 month old Peachface Lovie from a family who could not take him where they were moving. They have two small, very un-ruley (spelling), children who I have been told by a grandparent, teased and poked at the bird for the last 4 months, the parents had to hang his cage up high in the room so the children could not get to him and unfortunately they smoked in the same room, now from what I have been told, that is very bad for the bird as the smoke rises and goes straight to them. I could be wrong, but its what I was told. Anyway, this was two days before Thanksgiving that they brought him to me. I have only had experience with my first bird, a Cockatiel named Billy, my sweet Billy, he is the greatest love ever, he is so sweet and gentle and just loves me to death. So my instincts told me to just sit their cages next to each other and let them get to know one another slowly, and they have, in fact, Jazzmo, the lovie, has actually bitten my Billy, and it hurt his feelings terribly. I accidently let them out at the same time and Billy was on my shoulder and Jazzmo flew to me screaching and attacked Billy and bit me over and over, even drew blood. I caught him with a towell, as gently as I could and put him in his cage. He whistles alot and hangs upside down and does funny things, he even mimicks me when I laugh, but when I try to feed him or get close to his cage, he makes an awful noise like he hates me and wants to peck my eyes out...lol. I have magnets on his doors because he constantly tries to open them, but when I feed him, he even bites me. He is mean mean mean...lol! Is there any chance to turn this behavior around after all he has been through with the previous family? They brought him to me in a small, very boring cage, no toys, no sling to sleep in or anything and I am going to go get him a bigger cage this weekend and some toys, will this make him happier?

[cprcheetah]

I know the feeling, I adopted 2 parakeets from Petco (they were there cage and all for free) in July and although I've made progress, when Suni (the yellow one) is out and about and I try to catch her to put her away she turns into the devil. Yesterday she got me pretty darn good, drew blood in several places. At least though she isn't 'dive bombing' me any more. It is time for her wings to be clipped again so I can have 'more' control to tame her, she was doing much better when they were clipped.

It's hard to turn things around when they are neglected but it is possible. I had a Mexican Redhead Amazon Parrot several years ago that had 16 years in a cage that was 10 times too small for him, and he was a BAD biter, and onery, and while I didn't keep him as I didn't have the time back then to dedicate to him, I did make progress with him, slowly and surely and was able to pet Sonny eventually and even have him like it. I rehomed him to someone with more 'naughty' bird experience and he is now a sweetheart and doing great. Just goes to show what a little love, patience, and TLC will do for a bird. Just try getting him used to your hands, this is what I've done with Suni, I put my hands by her cage each day and then offer her treats (millet) even though she doesn't take them, she is learning that hands aren't all that bad. Her friend Skye is doing good and does do 'fingers' now without trying to bite. Just be patient.

[linda040899]

My tag line is "There are no bad birds, just misunderstood ones." I truly believe this.

Put yourself in Jazzmo's place. She's (I think you have a hen.) been traumatized and abused for at least the last 4 months of her life so she's afraid. The biting is to scare you so that you are afraid to come near her. After all, you can't hurt her from a distance. As for biting when she's in her cage, females are well known for being cage territorial so this does not surprise me. That part of her personality may never change so you may have to just accept the fact that she needs to be allowed to come out of her cage on her own or you need to perch train her (teach her to step up onto a perch instead of your hand).

If her flight feathers have not been clipped, that's where you need to start. Her aggressive behavior is dangerous to you and to Billy. She can't dive bomb you if she can't fly that far. It's a great attitude adjuster, too!

If you have a hen, you don't want to give her anything to sleep in, as she will view it as a potential nest! That will cause her hormones to kick in and the aggressive behavior can get worse. Toys like swings are great, just not Happy Huts or the like!

I think with time, love and patience, you will win her over. She needs to learn to trust you and that could take a while. Be persistent and you will find it will be worth it.

As for Jazzmo being out when the Tiel is out or near the Tiel with no one around, don't even go there! Tiels are docile and the beak of a lovebird is strong enough to break a leg should Jazzmo get a hold of Billy's leg or foot. Same is true with lovebirds and parakeets/budgies.

[thebubbleking]

My sun conures were also in a small cage and not handled often or allowed to fly so when i first got them they would lunge and try to bite my hands (thier beaks crack wallnuts with ease!), what i did was when they were on the other side of thier new large cage i would only stick my hands in for a reason like feeding or treats or water etc and not even 2 months later they learned dads hands in the cage means treats food and goodies! now when i stick my hands in there to feed them etc they actually kiss my hands (to sweet!) and i can even get a quick tail or foot rub! so patience love and understanding thier body language and mood and youll have your lovie sleeping in your shirt pocket in no time! oh i would also get it a wing clip to stop the dive bombing a wing clip helps adjust thier attitude and it is safer till they learn thier new house and surroundings.

[nuluvbird]

Thank you all so much for your responses. I am going to just keep taking it one day at a time with him/her...lol I almost view it as a challenge to make this lovie understand what it is to be loved and love back, no matter how long it takes!

[thebubbleking]

There ya go! and belive me youll be suprised on how much of your heart a 40 gram fluff ball will take over!

[bookworm0550]

aw, poor baby. I'd hate to be a bird that was poked and prodded at. Pretty scary. Well at least he's in better hands now. like everyone says, it will take time and loads of patience. I'm glad to hear you're gonna get him a bigger cage :) and toys. he deserves lots of love and understanding.

[nuluvbird]

Good morning everyone! Last night, when I got home from work, I spent some time with him and there for a minute, thought I made a major breakthrough....lol only for a minute though. I let him out, I just opened his door and let him come out on his own and he flew around making all kinds of racket, I talked really sweet to him and kept an even tone in my voice. I took the oppurtunity to clean his cage and give fresh water and food....food being key word here....when he seen the food container which is clear so he knew what was in it, he divebombed me and the container..lol! I got him out some grapes and some other fruits and veggies and put them on the table where he landed and played with them a little, but not too interested. I used a towell over my hand and urged him to step up onto it and I carried him around a bit, all the while he was trying to bite through the towel, then next thing I know, he was on my shoulder and in my hair, he bit my earlobe and hung on for dear life, I screamed and then there was blood...lol! I was chased by him down the hall until finally he quit, he went back to his cage. I put some toys in his cage, which my Cockatiel had many so I just stole one of his to put in there and I think that was a mistake because my poor Billy don't like it. He watched Jazzmo play with the toy and would whistle so low and look at me like he was heart broken...it made me feel terrible. Do you think birds have that type of understanding? That Billy knew it was HIS toy and did not want to share?

[bookworm0550]

i'm pretty sure he knew what was going on. aww, poor billy will just have to learn to share. wow, you were chased down the hall by a lovebird? ah, yes, they can be pretty scary for little things huh?

[nuluvbird]

Wow! Last night was a major break through with Jazzy bird! I have been reading a lot of different sections on this site and learning more and more every day as to what will make my birds happy, cheerful birdies! I have been taking turns with them at the same time every night on letting them out of their cages one at a time for an hour or so. I have noticed that this week so far, they are anticipating my arrival into the bird room, it is like they are sitting at their doors waiting for me...it is so cute. Jazzmo is "clicking" a lot the past two days though...what does that mean? it is a different sound than I have heard out of him since I received him the week before Thanksgiving. I have taken them out of the living room, I am not sure if this is a mistake or not but I fixed up the spare room for them, put nice live plants, toys and such. Billy, my tiel, is used to being near a television, as this is where he learned to sing the Andy Griffith tune as well as the "little house on the Prairie" tune, and he is used to seeing my face as soon as I walk in from work and hearing me tell him good bye every morning. I have put a radio in the "bird room" and turn it on for them in the mornings, but I thought that maybe they would like it, for their safety and mine (from the lovie who has not learned manners yet), that I could let him out to play, in the room and be able to work with him direct without the distractions of the rest of the house and door opening and closing. Was this a good idea or will this do him further damage as far as anxiety?

Anyway, back to my break through with the lovie, and the things I found on here that helped....He LOVES raisin bran! and he loves grapes, he actually ate bran flakes out of my hand without biting me. I placed a towell over my hand and urged him to step up on to it, after he bit at it for a minute he submitted and stepped up, I did this a few times with the towell and then slowly pulled the towell back and showed him my fingers....boy those lovie bites can hurt. but when he seen me pick up a bran flake from the bowl, he ate it from my fingers without hesitation, he kept his eyes locked on mine for the most part....he is very cautious. I still won't let him sit on my shoulder, he tried several times to climb up my arm, but I really don't want my ear lobe bleeding again from him chomping down on it....again. We are getting closer though, slowly but surely. My poor Billy sure is jealous though, he acts so hurt to see me try to love Jazzmo. I try to give them equal attention, but Jazzy bird requires so much more right now.

Any suggestions from anyone on better ways or is what I am doing going to work?

[LauraO]

Wow! It sounds like you are making great headway with Jazzmo. It's also great to see how dedicated you are to working with Jazzmo. It can be difficult working with a bird like Jazzmo and it definately takes committment and a tough skin:x. My only suggestion is that you think about stick training Jazzmo so she can step up on a stick instead of your finger, which will make it easier to work with her and move her around when you need to.

I totally understand you not wanting Jazzmo on your shoulder when she's so bitey. I have a meyer's parrot who bites freakin' hard and always wants to be on my shoulder when my tamer meyer's parrot is on my shoulder. I get mad cause Cookie, the bitey bird, will ignore me until Koa gets on my shoulder. Cookie gets jealous!

Please keep us update on your work with Jazzmo and don't worry about Billy. He will adjust to the new addition in time. Birds are pretty adaptable.
:):)

[bookworm0550]

congrats on the breakthrough. now that you know what he loves, you can use it on him. muahahaha, jk.

I think you are doing great w/ jazzy. I don't have a ton of experience working w/ birds that aren't tame, so I don't know what to tell you. I've been around untamed birds and I don't know who was more scared of whom. I think the fact that he'll even take food from your hand means a lot. I would just keep doing that as much as possible and gain his trust that way.

And I've never been dived bombed before.

[nuluvbird]

Well, as much as I hate to admit this, I think he has chosen my husband as his "person", the bird just don't like me. But that is fine, I have my Billy, my hubby can have Jazzmo...lol! for the past few nights, when we let them out, Jazzie bird goes straight for Jerry, sits on his shoulder and just barely nibbles on his ear...he bites me HARD! He even sits in Jerry's hand and lets him pet him on the head and makes the cutest little squeeks. As long as he is in Jerry's hand, then I can pet him too, but if I try to take him, he gets irate and crazy acting. Several people told me when I was researching these lovies, that they choose on their own and it is not usually the person who chose them. I have a pic of him now on my signature, I am not sure what he is, is he the "peach face" or what?

I am kinda jealous of the relationship that he and Jerry are building, I really wanted to be close with him, but above all that, I am just happy that he is adjusting and found at least someone in the house hold that he can trust.

Have a wonderful day all!

[bookworm0550]

awesome that he has someone in the house that he likes. haha, yeah, i've read about them picking other people in the house over the person who wants to bond w/ them...hehe, but glad to hear he's doing great :) I can't really tell what kind of lovie he is. see, now bill will be happy right? he doesn't have to share you!!!!!!! jk.

[lemonypickett]

If her wings are not clipped, that would be the first thing I would do to make taming easier. I have had great luck with my new lovie by being kind and patient. Clipping the wings is a must. (IMO)

[nuluvbird]

awesome that he has someone in the house that he likes. haha, yeah, i've read about them picking other people in the house over the person who wants to bond w/ them...hehe, but glad to hear he's doing great :) I can't really tell what kind of lovie he is. see, now bill will be happy right? he doesn't have to share you!!!!!!! jk.

Yes...Billy is happier I think, but,he has really done some changing also since I acquired Jazzmo, he does not sing as much, and is a little reluctant to come out of the cage. He is such a timid sweetie though when he does come out, he loves to be near me.

[LauraO]

It's great to hear that Jazzmo has found a friend:). At first, it can be very difficult to deal with a birdy's choice of people especially when it's not us. This has happened to me several times over the years but I've gotten used to it. I still wouldn't give up on Jazzmo.

Our older rescue alexandrine Bumpy is notorious for HATING WOMEN. Her last owner was having a hard time finding Bumpy a home cause he was moving out of state and his girlfriend didn't like Bumpy cause of her woman hating:x. The owner's daughter would have taken Bumpy but she was terrified of Bumpy's woman hating:x. And oh, does Bumoy hate women:whistle:. Her eyes pin and she bites and bites and bites whenever a woman is around. She will even attack my husband if he's holding her when a woman is around. It's funny to see her so evil when she is so sweet with my husband. She will spend hours on his chest cooing and purring. Anyway......

I've spent the last three years slowly building a relationship with Bumpy. I feed her, talk sweet to her, give her treats, move her wherever she wants to go (she's stick trained), and generally accept her woman hating. While she will never coo and purr with me and I will likely never be able to touch her, Bumpy loves and accepts me in her own way. She hardly ever pins her eyes anymore when I am near. She also loves to sit on my chest and if I'm laying on my back she will climb up and sit with me, she will give me kisses, and try and bite my textbooks. All this progress is very fun and satisfying but not easy:x.

[lemonypickett]

Eddie goes through stages where he prefers my boyfriend, but he always ends up coming around. I am sure that Jazzy will warm up to you.