Sticky's new thing.....anybody know why?

[Gill]

When Sticky is out of the cage, he spends a lot of time flying around and mostly sitting on top of the cabinet in my room (no idea what he does up there!) and occassionally comes to see me.

Monday night I had both the birds out but Bobble got put back in the cage as she was being naughty (going behond biting and attacking) I laid down on the bed and Sticky came to join me, he can relax when Bobble is away as she hassles him. I had my work shirt on and he sat on my chest (bare skin) and started nibbling my skin, very quick nibbles as if he was preening me. He didnt stop this until i put him back in his cage.

Then last night I let them out and he spent the entire time nibbling my arms, but with some sort of desperation, when Bobble bugged him he was desperate to get back to me, its like hes grazing me, or getting all my little hairs but he wont stop! It doesnt hurt, only a little in some places but its weird that even Bobble cant stop him, he usually keeps out of her way. He went back in his cage after 30 mins and when i got him back out later he proceeded to do it again, all over my arms and hands, even standing on my head and doing it to my forehead!

What do you think this is? He has never done this before, I have a video of it but I cant find the cable for my phone. I know when I get him out in a minute he'll be doing it!

[Gill]

Well, theyve both been out and Sticky was straight to my skin, I videoed a longer video of it this time. I covered up my hands and arms but he just kept flying onto my head and nibbling at my forehead, everytime i took him off he went running up my whole body (i was lying down) and straight back onto my head, he was getting my neck and face too if he couldnt get my arms or hands.

He wasnt out of the cage for long as i couldnt handle it any longer, he used to step up and sit on my hand, now hes straight on it and nibbling it constantly and this all started 2 days ago. I dont want out of cage time to be 10 mins a day because of what he is doing :(

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

maybe you taste good? are you any saltier than usual?

[carrier]

It sure sounds like Sticky's preening you. :)

Perhaps you have become the object of his affections? :omg:

[LovelySydney]

I think Sticky is in love with you!! Sounds like preening to me!!

[Gill]

I thought it may be because I tasted different but I havent used any different creams or soap or anything! Hes never been like this though, now its constant! He had a bath earlier with me and he seemed to forget about it until he got back into my bedroom! :O

[Gill]

maybe you taste good? are you any saltier than usual?

Could this be because its summer and being hot? Do you think hes tasted salt on me and loves it?!

[Enko_chan]

Odinn does this sometimes, he is licking me!

Its different from when they preen me, and not to be gross, but they tend to do it when I'm sweatier.

[bookworm0550]

he's preening you. he loves you :) i know how you feel though. i got joey and evolet, my main preeners. my coworkers are always teasing me that my birds are eating me alive. it sure hurts doesn't it? sometimes they do it softly, but there are times where it's painful. as soon as i get joey off me, he chirps at me as though he's scolding me and goes right back to it. darn lovies. they are so determined :)

[Gill]

As long as its normal, just weird hes just discovered it! :)

Thanks for the replies! :)

[Gill]

Well he is still doing it, continuously, he wont fly around, hang out on top of the cabinet or just sit on me like he used to, he is ripping me to shreds and I want to cry everytime I get him out of the cage as he is hardly out for long anymore :( I dont know what to do or know why after over a year this has just started :(

[thebubbleking]

Its and age thing , be patient and when ever he starts it give a firm no and either distract him with a toy or something (paper) and if he does it again put him in the cage for 5 minutes witha firm no bite. After a few times of this they usualy get the picture they are smart birds.
Lovebirds dont have hands so they feel and taste everything with thier beak some like the reaction you make when they nibble, just be patient and consistant it will be ok :)

[FuzzyAga]

Stay calm, dear. There's no need to cry, although I do understand that this obsessiveness can be frightening to witness.

When he's on your arm, licking, insert your hand between his beak and your arm, say "Don't," then say, "Step-up" and seat him comfortably on your finger. If his refuses, insist firmly. Then do a ladder of 3-4 step-ups. This is where you ask him to step-up from the left hand to the right hand--one hand comes from below and up to his leg, withdraw the old hand, and bring it from below up to his leg, so he's moving from one hand to the other. Have you done this practice with him? Highly recommended. You want to bring his mind to a disciplined, focused place.

Then maybe give him a little bite of millet. Say "Good boy!" Then return him to his cage for about 5-minutes or less. Open the cage and let him come out. Repeat the "Don't" as many times as necessary. You can do the "Step-ups" intermittently, and the millet reward intermittently.

Try this for a week and let us know. Gill is smart, so he should catch on to the "Don't" command without a problem. :)

[michael]

Well he is still doing it, continuously, he wont fly around, hang out on top of the cabinet or just sit on me like he used to, he is ripping me to shreds and I want to cry everytime I get him out of the cage as he is hardly out for long anymore :( I dont know what to do or know why after over a year this has just started :(

B.B's been doing the same thing for about a month now. .... I think whats been mentioned already about redirecting Sticky's behavior with "step ups", and other positives like the millet, is definitely worth a try. .... What i've found out with beebs is that some of this was for attention. Telling him "no bite" really didn't seem to make much difference. Sometimes he'd listen...then lick me to death. Other times I could sense it was a little deeper than that, no pun intended. Be careful about placing him back in his cage, as often this can make a parrot even more determined. .... Having another lovebird around, especially an aggressive one, could also be prompting this behavior. It could be that his excessive preening not only gets your attention, but helps keep him pacified just as well.

[Enko_chan]

Odinn did this for about six weeks in the spring. He has stopped, thank goodness. It was OK when Freyja did it, she is so gentle when licking and preening, but Odinn has a sharp beak and he left bloody scratches. I showed what he was doing to my local bird-raising mentor and to my mother and they both said he was licking the salt off my skin. He was obsessed with it, but he DID stop. Hang in there. You've got good advice from Fuzzy and Michael, so I'll leave it at that.

[Gill]

Thanks for all the advice, youre all so nice! Im glad it is just a phase :)

He is brilliant with stepping up, never had a problem with him, never had to teach him as he just always did it from when he was small :) He does the "ladder" step ups too with no problems. I try to distract him, he now knows that when i put my hand near him he runs up my arm now, usually though when i make him step up he just starts nibbling the small hairs on my fingers!

I dont want to get him scared of hands again as he is a lot better than he used to be so i am doing my best to distract him, i kiss him on the head lots when he is nibbling and he looks at me like "what are you doing?" hes just got so bitey lately its upsetting :(

I will persist and hopefully he will learn but over the year of "no biting" they both are still so naughty and dont listen!

Thanks again for all your advice :)

[FuzzyAga]

When he starts to nibble on the small hairs on your hand, pull out something distracting from your pocket. For example, I usually carry a pocketful of spongy earplugs (sometimes I need them!) and I will give one to Juanita to keep her occupied when she gets nesty and bitey. She gets the new ones (in one pocket) and I use the older-already-been-chewed ones (in the other pocket). I wear shirts with pockets when I'm around them. She doesn't eat them, just squishes and bites them.

As for the biting, depending on his personality, (like Juanita) it may never stop. My expectation from her is that she will always bite. We start from there, and I'm happy when I tell her "Don't" and she stops/eases up for that second, or minute. BTW, "Don't" with the hard consonant seems to be more readily obeyed than the softer "No..." sound. There are plenty of times when she doesn't bite, but then there are those packets of time when she's got to bite, and she will.

I have lived three-years with her and oddly enough, I can accept her biting, now. It may not seem like it at the moment, but you will make peace with his biting and learn to cope with it, if you stick with him.

Anyway, my cousin-in-law's Amazon bite me, and I want to tell you, ain't no comparison to a lovie bite! His bite didn't break the skin, but it was a discipline bite with enough hint of force behind it to get the meaning across. Since then, we've come to an understanding and he will now step-up for me.