Young lovebird biting

[FlaffyRaptors]

Hi! I have a handfed lovebird hen that was hatched on 30/3/2017. I brought her home around a month ago and had no problems at the start, but 2 weeks ago she started biting me inside and outside the cage, she can be calm at one moment and be a bloodthirsty devil the next.
Is it just a phase for 2 month old birds? And how can I prevent this behaviour?

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community!

Young lovebirds go through this phase and what you need to do is gently let him/her know that this is not proper behavior and it hurts you. Yelling at your lovebird will only create a sense of excitement and it will bite more/harder. Under no circumstances is it acceptable to flick the beak to let your lovebird no that this is a no-no. Time outs can teach it to bite when it wants to go back to the cage.

You can cover your hands to prevent biting. Another thing a number of our members do is keep a spray water bottle handy. Set it on "stream." If your lovebird bites you, use the water bottle and spray it. It has to be done immediately so that an association is made. It will get to the point where all you have to do is pick up the water bottle. Only use this for behavior you do not want.

[FlaffyRaptors]

Thanks for the reply!
I would also like to know how to deal with in-cage biting behaviour, don't know if this is due to it being territorial of just the bird being overprotective of something in her cage.

[linda040899]

Many parrots are protective of their cages. Hey. That's THEIR home and your hand is an intruder! We would do the same thing if someone or something came into our homes.

The best you can do in her cage is protect your hands/arms. If you want her to step up to come out, try offering a perch or dowel instead of your hand.