Wow, shes definately a female!

[StormyMom]

Honeymoon is definately over here. Lizzy has become nippy and extremely territorial! Ive been showing Eric how to read her body language and hes starting to get the hang of it. But now hes also scared to touch her when im not around LOL.

Starting today i cant stick my hand in the cage. Eric put his finger at the door and said come here baby! She ran over alright, but i had to move his hand just missing a very quick lunge! If i put my hands anywhere in the cage, shes right there to attack it. And yes..the bites hurt! Shes already drawn blood from me.

When out of the cage shes not as bad. She might clamp but wont really bite to draw blood.

So is there any way to stop the territorial-ness or am i just gona have to watch my fingers while changing her cage? Ive never dealt with a bird who was like this so im all up for advice! She definately does not fear hands like Stormy and shes fast to show it!

Stormy is still my sweet and skittish man :blush:

[linda040899]

Time for some perch training!

It's very normal for hens to be protective of their cages. It's just a female lovie thing. You simply have to live with it and work around it. If she's in the cage, you will have to be careful when doing cage maintenance. Letting her come out will usually work as a diversion.

[StormyMom]

Yeah i figured the letting her out part was my best bet. Being that she loves coming out. Just now i was adjusting her favorite ladder on their playstand (on top of their cage) and i seen her creeping towards me...then wham! She got me from under the ladder LOL. Eric found it funny of course (thanks Eric). Fearless little thing for sure! And of course i have Eric going "i TOLD you not to get a female". Im glad i did tho..i think females are completely misunderstood. The breeder was actually a bit excited that i wanted a female. He said he usually has trouble selling them.

[linda040899]

Female lovebirds make wonderful pets, just like males. They just require a bit more understanding and you have to know how to deal with the aggressive behavior.

To be honest with you, not all hens are aggressive and some don't bite! A lot depends on the temperament of the individual bird. Freyja is not much of a biter. She loves to preen almost anything and she will sometimes apply too much pressure but you have to teach them what's uncomfortable for you.

[bookworm0550]

yeah, my evolet doesn't bite me at all. she doesn't even fake bite or lunge like the other two. she's feisty, dominating, and bossy, but not to me. she never went through a nippy phase either. and i sure hope she doesn't start becoming territorial and bitey. momma will be sad :(

[nacho135]

Sounds like your doing the right thing by just letting her be. This just makes me really hope my little nacho is a boy..

[Enko_chan]

Sounds like your doing the right thing by just letting her be. This just makes me really hope my little nacho is a boy..


I've had friendly hens and unfriendly hens, friendly males and unfriendly males- it really does depend more on individual birds' personalities. I think a lot of people don't want to deal with egg laying and nesty behavior, and thus prefer males, but there are many good hens out there! They just get a bad rap!

I have also had male birds, no only lovies, whose personalities change for the worst when they hit sexual maturity. Its just something we have to be ready for when we take on a bird.

-And Linda- I am happy to hear that Freyja is a preener but not a biter, but I'd love her either way!

[momo]

Elmo is a hen...

The territorial thing isnt so bad.. if I want her to go back to her cage all I need to do is shake one of her toys..and BAM she is back to defend it..

Also getting her off my shoulder when she's being cranky as well is good.. I just shake her toys and she's off. It's the best type of recall training without trying ;)

I have to do things to her cage when she is in another room.. I can't change water, food, or what not in front of her unless I wish to bleed.

I personally think females are more entertaining to watch ;).. more fight and spirit..

[StormyMom]

Yeah she definately has her moments. Im still determining her body language..whether shes out to bite or be with me lol. Since i took her sleepy cage out im able to stick my hands in the cage without losing a finger. Eric on the other hand isnt so lucky. I really think she has it out for him

[linda040899]

As feisty as lovie hens can be, ya gotta luv 'em! Servicing the cage can be extremely challenging and creativity can be fun. Make no mistake about it, I've had my share of lovie hen bites ( a la Cookie/Cookie Monster and Syrena/Syrena Witch) but I wouldn't trade them for the world!! :)

[BarbieH]

The territorial thing isnt so bad.. if I want her to go back to her cage all I need to do is shake one of her toys..and BAM she is back to defend it..

Oh yes, hens can be super easy to manipulate! I never had trouble getting Gracie back into her cage. :lol

I love my feisty hen. She reminds me of me, on certain days. When she's got eggies, watch out! When she doesn't, she's fine. For whatever reason, she will never accept hands, but that's OK. We understand each other and I wouldn't have her any other way.

[LovelySydney]

We still don't know if Gus is a boy or a girl but he isn't cage territorial at all. He will move away from my hands if they are in the cage (unless I am placing his happy hut back in, and then he is walking all over them trying to get in it!). He did have that one incident where he freaked out on me but he hasn't had another episode since than, and I think that was only because he hadn't seen me in some time.

if he is a little girl, we will deal with it accordingly! he's been such a fun bird (obviously there has been hiccups, but who doesn't have those) - I don't think he's a girl BUT we will love him either way, nesty or not!

Good luck with Lizzy, it sounds like you are doing a great job already!

[FuzzyAga]

By now, I've grown comfortablly numb (or calloused) on the hands because her biting doesn't bother me. I keep my fingers tucked in because Juanita can aim for that crevass, that area of the finger where the nail ends and the flesh begins, y'know, where hangnails annoy, with amazing accuracy. Now, that HURTS, I will say. But she gnaws on my knuckles of one hand, and the other hand does what it needs to do.

I could wait until she flies into the another room, but then, I must be super quiet because she's got super keen hearing and she'll come screaming onto my shoulder. It's hard to keep quiet when giving her clean water and food, or clean paper towels in her bin, so I don't try.

I think part of her knows the routine and she's comfortable, up to a point, with my daily invasion of her property. She still feels, however, that transgressions must be punished. As the months have gone by she has lighted up a little on the pressure she exerts per bite. Maybe she'll stop biting all-together, someday. Ha! Ha!

Now, here's the odd part. Juanita rapidly bites the web of my hand between the thumb and the index finger and it feels good, like accupressure. They're firm bites, but there's no blood. Call me odd! :omg: