Love Biting !

[csml]

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ll64pgT6Hs1qanshdo1_r1_500.jpg

Hi there,
I have an adorable lovebird that I bought from a seller . . She is handfed & was very friendly . . I've had her for 2 months, but recently, she's started this extremely nasty habit of biting my hand. I don't know what I've done wrong, at first I tried to teach her not to bite by pushing away her beak gently, saying BAD, & if she persists, putting her back in the cage. Now she is biting more vicious than ever . . & drawing blood. I even got an infection. Can someone please tell me what I've done wrong, what I can do to make her stop biting, & to have her love me again like she used to ?

[linda040899]

How old is she right now? Is it just your hands/fingers that are being bitten?

[csml]

The selller told me my lovebird was only around 7 weeks old. I assume she is around 4 months old at the moment . .
She bites my hands & fingers viciously, until she punctures skin & draws blood. She nibbles on my ears too when she is on my shoulder, but not very hard.

[linda040899]

If she's about 4 months old, she's beginning her first molt and she's at that "testy" stage. Let's see what we can get away with and what reaction I will get! It's not uncommon for birds, not only lovebirds, to dislike human hands/fingers. Through experience, many come to associate things they don't like happening to them with those evil hands that are attached to the human body. :) The best thing you can do is avoid the bite. Time outs in her cage will not work because parrots don't understand the concept of punishment. For them, it's simply a change of venue. In fact, returning your bird to its cage each time it bites can actually teach the bird to bite. When they want to go back to their cage, all they have to do is bite your hand and it's a one way trip......... :omg:

Instead of pushing the beak away, try taking the upper beak between your thumb and index finger and gently rub the upper beak. Most birds LOVE beak rubs so this teaches something pleasurable. You can also hide your hands in a long sleeved shirt or sweater. The other thing you can do is offer a perch instead of your hand.

[csml]

Wow ! I never thought about that until now. She is losing quite an amount of feathers, we have to vacuum around her cage daily. Her wing feathers are also quite long, do you think that plays a factor in her easy irritation ? (They're almost reaching her tail, but I haven't cut them before . . & I'm worried I'll hurt her)

I will try the beak-rubbing tomorrow, I'm just worried she'll nip my hand off before I can even touch her !

Thank-you for all your information btw ! Really helpful. :)

[linda040899]

Here is a link to an article on biting by well known animal trainer Steve Martin:
http://www.naturalencounters.com/images/Publications&Presentations/Biting_Its_Not_For_The_Birds-Steve_Martin.pdf

This can also be found in our Resource Library.

[shadnamber]

Thank you, Linda! I learned a lot from this article.:)