Jitterbug is in a stage...

[JudiNh]

Well, Jitterbug seems to be in a not so pleasant stage, of biting...even his bestest buddy, my son Ben! Its so sad because Ben doesnt understand why his friend is suddenly biting him, and being so nippy and hard to handle. Jitterbug is two years and five months old, and we have had him since he was just seven weeks old. He is a dna'd male. Not sure why, at this point, he has started this behavior. His wings are trimmed, he is still being handled and played with as much as always, and nothing that I can think of has changed. Just that now, he bites. Not terribly hard, but hard enough to be uncomfortable, and it really hurts Ben's feelings (Ben is my 8 year old son who adores Jitterbug and holds and plays with him all the time.). Any ideas why this is happening, and what we can do to discourage it? Any and all insights are welcome. :confused:

[linda040899]

What's going on around Ben and Jitterbug when Jitterbug nips Ben? When Jitterbug bites/nips, is the target hands, fingers, cheek, ears?

There's something called displaced aggression where a bird feels uncomfortable/jealous but can't reach the "problem" or the problem would get nipped. The end result is the person/object nearest the bird takes the nip instead. Harley (TAG) is like this when he's with me. He wants me all to himself and don't come near me! If he can't reach you to bite you, guess who's next in line.........

Has there every been any question in your mind as to whether or not Jitterbug is really a male? DNA sexing does have a drawback. If done via blood test and the sample submitted is contaminated, the test will incorrectly return male instead of female if the bird is actually a hen. Even vets offices have been known to send in contaminated tests.

[Pips mom]

Well.....I know when you have a bird who normally is gentle and never bites, that when a bit happens, it can hurt your feelings. With Pip though, his nipping and biting have always been present, so we are pretty used to a good nip here and there......even so, he got me good the other day on the lip and it's the first time he's done that in quite some time, so I kind know how Ben feels. I have come to expect this though with Pip, so it's really not so much of a shocker when it happens! I think Pip is rougher than he thinks he is at times.....Ivy even had a spot on the back of her neck where he preens her that was missing some feathers! Whatever is up with Jitterbug, maybe try to explain to Ben that lovebirds tend to be this way and it's just their bold lil lovie way!

[JudiNh]

Thanks for the reply Linda. There doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason that I can see to Jitterbug's biting....when Ben offers him a finger to step up on (as he has always done) he will bite before stepping up. When he is sitting on the couch with him, cuddling, Jitterbug will just bite away at his fingers and hands. Not super hard, but pinching. If Ben lifts Jitter up near his face for a kiss, Jitter will nip Ben's cheek or lip. It seems he just bites at whatever is in front of him. This happens both when Ben is alone with Jitterbug, and when others are around. It happens in all rooms of the house, both near the cage and away from it. It happens with me also, when I am handling him...just nip, bite, nip, the whole time. Bleck...its so annoying! :( Im pretty sure Jitterbug is a male. He humps things sometimes and regurgitates to our fingers and toes...bleck....and he just seems "male" to me. He isnt cage aggressive at all, and doesnt tuck papers in his rump. I am inclined to believe the dna test. I think it is accurate.

Does any of this help you to understand what might be going on? Im sure at a loss.....

[linda040899]

I'm pretty sure Jitterbug is a male.
I had to ask the obvious question.......

It's possible that this is just a stage and modifying the way you handle Jitterbug might help. If Ben offers a finger, tell him to close his fingers into a fist and offer that instead. A closed hand is much harder to nip than an open one. For kisses, tell Ben to kiss from above, not straight ahead, if you understand what I'm saying. Cage time outs generally are not effective as deterrents, as for a parrot, it's simply a change of scenery. If there's toys in the cage, time out can be viewed as playtime. It can also have another bad effect. You put the bird back in his cage for biting and he could decide that biting is the way to go back to his cage when he wants to but can't get there by himself.

If Jitterbug nips and it hurts, let him know that he's pinching too hard. He may think it's a new game but you don't like the way he's playing it! Another possibility might be having something with you that Jitterbug likes to play with that could be a distraction.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[bookworm0550]

There's something called displaced aggression where a bird feels uncomfortable/jealous but can't reach the "problem" or the problem would get nipped. The end result is the person/object nearest the bird takes the nip instead.
.

oh yes, i am often a victim along w/ my fingers, especially if i catch a birdie fight right before it occurs. one time, jada got my jugular cuz joey flew over to us and landed on my head. cuz she couldn't get to him, she went for my throat. not fun.

[JudiNh]

Ouch! That IS not fun.
Well, it sounds like this is not terribly uncommon among lovies, although we havent experienced it up until now with Jitterbug. He really is such a sweet, inquisitive, social and loving little guy....just dont want this biting to get out of hand and damage the amazing relationship he has with Ben. Thanks for the ideas...we will work with him and see what we can do to deter this new behavior. Hopefully, it is just a stage....

[Enko_chan]

It isn't terribly uncommon among lovies... nor among some other species I could speak of. And you seemed to hit the age on the head. I've got two words for you "Terrible Two's" and parrots have them also.

I would most definitely dig for an underlying cause of this, because there may very well be one, but if in the end you are at a loss- it may be what you called it in the beginning, a stage. Kokoro went through one (among the quaker parrot community it seems to be believed that the terrible two stage can be hit anywhere between ages 1 and 3), as did Frey (a male lovebird), and Benny bird parrotlet hit his right square in age 2 and has been sweetening right up these past few months. I have seen this happen.

[JudiNh]

Well, thats good to know about the age. Funny, I thought we were past that age, and that it usually came at about one year old, and that we just got lucky and missed it. LOL Oh well....guess it was inevitable. He is still sweet, but just SO bitey...not in an aggressive way, more like in a pesty, annoyed sort of way. Maybe he doesnt want as much handling as we think he does. I dont know. We will watch closely, and try different things, and see how he responds. thanks so much.

[Pips mom]

He is still sweet, but just SO bitey...not in an aggressive way, more like in a pesty, annoyed sort of way.

Haaa, this is Pip alright! it almost seems as if he has to be doing something with his beak every minute sometimes. He'll be on me and he'll be preening my hair, or chewing holes in my shirt. It's like he can't sit still without doing something!

[Jally]

Peanut does this to me quite often. He does this when he is upset and wants something but doesn't know how to tell me. Last night he wasn't happy because he wanted to go to bed (he starts the night out in my shirt with me), but there were too many lights on and the tv was too loud. So I got it.

He will nip me if we are in a different room and he wants to go somewhere else. If he wants something to eat or drink.

Peanut is 3 years old and DNA'd male :) There is always a reason for the nip, we just have to figure out why they are doing it.

Make sure you and Ben check to see what Jitterbug is doing before you ask for a step up. It could simply be that he doesn't want to go at that moment.

[JudiNh]

Good thoughts...thank you. Im sure there are reasons for his nipping, and that we are just missing some signals or something. We need to figure that out so he can be happy, and we can stop getting bit! LOL

[bookworm0550]

Well, thats good to know about the age. Funny, I thought we were past that age, and that it usually came at about one year old, and that we just got lucky and missed it. LOL Oh well....guess it was inevitable. He is still sweet, but just SO bitey...not in an aggressive way, more like in a pesty, annoyed sort of way. Maybe he doesnt want as much handling as we think he does. I dont know. We will watch closely, and try different things, and see how he responds. thanks so much.

joey is very much like this. he loves people and loves being scritched and all, but he has his moments where he's annoyed and whatnot. he actually bites me a lot. him and jada. who would have thought the two that love mom the most bites her the most as well? i hope ben won't take it too personal.

[bookworm0550]

joey bites me a lot too when something is scaring him. i think he's telling to fly away w/ him. and he bites when he's excited. not a mean, holding on bite, but more like a quick bite on the lip (usual spot for joey to bite)

[michael]

Hang in there Ben! ..... Whether Jitterbugs going through a stage, or just decided biting/nipping is a great way to get attention, there's a good chance his behavior can be modified. ... At two-three years old, he's still got plenty time try out new things. ... Especially if he's healthy and active! ..... There could also be something he likes very much, and to him, biting is a way to get more of it. .. Lovebirds also tend to be very active, and it could be Jitterbug needs to learn how to play on his own in order to help expend his energy. .. Coddle (spoil) your parrot too much, and he may depend on you for every single activity. .. Ever try to keep up with a human two year old? .. Lovebirds have far more energy! ....Although ya gotta admit it can be quite difficult to ignore a parrots bite, its either that, or take preventative actions, or his biting may become more frequent. ... Keep us posted!.........:)

[Skittles]

I have tried having a nutriberry in hand for catching them before they nip. It gives them something appropriate to chew on. Kind of like a bone for pups. It did wonders for a parrotlet I raised that wanted nothing more than to eat my hand after she weaned. After we displaced that to the nutriberry she was super sweet. Good luck.