I need some advice

[Ainokea]

i have a peach faced love bird, who was hand fed and very tame, but constantly needs attention, always needs to be surrounded by people.

To get people attention she will go in her food bowl, and start to kick it out. She also grabs the cage doors and lifts them up and down making some more noise. I can take her out for 20 minutes, but as soon as she goes back in her cage, a few minutes later she wants to come out already.

how can i make her stop kicking out her food?

ohh yeh and how can i stop her from bitting me, shes fine when i take her out and play with her. But once i try to put her back she immediately wants to bite me! Then for about 5 mins she grumpy, then shes happy and wants to come out and play again

[linda040899]

http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/showthread.php?t=3017

What your lovebird is doing when he/she kicks food out of the food dish is foraging. The link I'm leaving is one that talks about foraging and gives some suggestions on how to handle it. It's very normal for birds in the wild. Cage birds don't forage much because their food is always readily available. Lifting up the cage doors is something that many lovebirds do. Mine do it because they can and they like the noise. Many will also figure out how to let themselves out of their cages with this method.

Keep in mind that lovebirds are very social birds. They need as much attention as they can get. Since yours doesn't have a birdie companion, he/she looks to you to fill that void. I, personally, keep my lovebirds in pairs, although I have several that prefer to live by themselves.

[Ainokea]

thanks for the replies, yes my bird knows how to let her self out of the cage, but i've added pins to stop her. Plus she'll only open it and go outside if people are around, so theres no worry.

your link leads me to a topic of plucking

[linda040899]

If you read through the thread, you will find information on foraging and diet, even though the link is to a thread on plucking. You may find some of it helpful in your lovie's foraging behavior.

[bellarains]

Hi,

In addition to what Linda said, you can offer her a treat when you put her back into the cage. This may help her not view being put back in as a bad thing. You definitely want to stop the biting behavior, and if it takes a little bribery, so be it:wink:

The other thing you might try us contact calls. When you put her back in and she starts calling for you, make a call back, ie, when she tweets, you tweet back. Sometimes them just knowing you are there, and interacting in some way will help.

Good luck!!!!

[Ainokea]

ok thanks,

but if my bird is foraging, why does she only do it when she wants attention?

[bellarains]

The kicking food in the food dish I think is quiet normal for them. Both of mine do this, and I'm not so sure it's a foraging thing, as it is a territorial thing. It may be a little of both.

If you do want to stop it, there are food dishes with covers on them that she won't be able to get inside of. I also have gotten some Smart Crock food dishes that fit snuggly into a corner, and these they don't get into at all. Maybe cause it's in a corner? Anyway, they do make a little mess when they get in the food dishes, but it sure it cute. I love to see them peek over the side:)

[kimsbirds]

Your reaction to her scattering the food IS the reason why she does it....LOL She's attracting your attention in the best way she knows how right now...itmay have started off as a foraging thing, but once she got a loud reaction from you, that's attention to her !!! The covered dishes are fantastic, but make sure birdie knows there's food in them before you remove the other open style dishes. I always serve seed in a brand new dish of any style...sure way to get their attention quickly !!!
Kimmie

[Ainokea]

thanks but do they sell dishes that have covers that are one piece?

my dam smart bird takes em off in about 5 mins after i put them on...

[Myrindia]

I use a bird bath that actually attaches to the sliding doors, holding them open. The actual dish is enclosed and outside of the cage. Even though it is labelled as a bath, I use it as a seed dish, and it has greatly cut down on the amount of mess. Here is a link to a picture. (They come in nicer colours too. I have a purple one and a teal one.)

http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/birds/product.cfm?CAT=8&SUBCAT=802&PROD_ID=08818050010101

[Ainokea]

ohh i have one like that but its kind of big.

i just bought a seed fountain seems to fix the problem, except my seed mix has sunflowers, and its too big to fit.. grr i need to filter it out. I still got a lot left cause its a 5lb bag

ohh yeh i need some advice on how people play with their bird.. my brid stays with me for a few minutes, then flys off and sometimes visits me. Eventualy i just put her back because shes out of sight sometimes.