Behavior/Taming Advice

[Mary]

Hi Everyone,
My 16 year old son Ben is attempting to tame Houdini our one and only Lovebird.
He first nursed him back to health-- and about a week ago the vet clipped his/her wings.

He will now come out of the cage and onto Ben's shoulder , but he bites on Ben's clothing and skin. Is this normal ? And I am not sure if he is just exploring with his beak or not. Should we tell him no and return him to the cage whenever he does this, or just ignore it?

I have raised 2 kids not to bite, but have zero experience with birds!
Thanks for any help!
Mary :)

[Lovebirds1578]

When he climbs to the back of my neck, he really starts to bite hard and is very close to breaking the skin...I am not sure if i should tell him no, or if it is just normal behavior...and i still don't have him finger trained becuase he growls and trys to bite if i get near him with a finger or try to pet him..:confused: :(

-Ben

[butterfly1061]

Ben & Mary,

How old is Houdini? When you try and get him out of the cage, use a perch instead of your finger. Some birds just don't like hands and/or fingers. Since you recently had to give him medication by hand, he may be very skitish. When he bites you on your neck, do you react? If so, this tells him it's a fun game and he will do it over and over. I know it's hard not to react, but try if you can not to. I wore turtlenecks a lot when Molly did this :rolleyes: You can tell him "No bite Houdini". Do it in a firm but not a loud voice. If you can prevent him from sitting at the back of your neck, see if you can. I tried to do this and evenutally it worked. Mine don't sit there anymore. :2cents:

[Janie]

Ben, I always tell my biter, Big Boi, NO BITE. I hold him, rub his head and beak and say "No bite, Big Boi!" I have not had a real bite from him in a couple of months so I'm not sure if that worked or if he just grew out of that bitey stage. He did bite the heck out of my hubby yesterday but he was going after a mole and that was just too hard to resist! :D In his case, he does use his beak to explore everything and freckles and moles are his favorite. He isn't the least bit afraid of hands, fingers, toes or any other body part, just likes to use that beak and sometimes that means a bite.

I don't really know what to tell you about returning him to his cage because I've read that some birds want to go back to their cages and if biting gets them there, they'll do it with that purpose in mind. Big Boi does not like to go back into his cage so I did put him in a few times but always felt so sorry for him (since I didn't think his biting was on purpose) that I stopped doing that.

I agree with Jackie....if he's biting the back of your neck, don't let him go there. I find it impossible not to react when I get a bite that breaks the skin. Another of my lovies, Shy, actually bit a prong off my wedding ring! :eek: Those cute little beaks are powerful! :D

[BarbieH]

Hi Ben and Mary;

Lovebirds in general love to chew and shred, but especially the hens. Do you know Houdini's gender? (Sorry if I missed/forgot it.) If Houdini is really a boy, giving him something else to chew, like a toy or paper, wouldn't be a problem. For a hen, however, it could make her nesty. If there is a chance Houdini is a young hen, she might be too young to safely lay eggs, and you would not want to encourage the chewing and shredding.

In short, if Houdini is a male, give him something to chew other than your clothes. Or, relegate some shirts as bird shirts; old shirts that you won't mind a few holes in, 100% cotton, no decals. I have two I keep for wearing with birds who are really into chewing up stuff.

Keep your neck covered. Wear a turtleneck sweater or a bandana, but cover whatever it is that is attracting Houdini.

If you use a dowel (like Janie, I also recommend that) to move Houdini around, move him away from your neck when he starts going there. When you move him to where you want him, praise him loudly! He will appreciate that, and over time it will make him want to go back to that location.

Good luck. :)

[Lovebirds1578]

We don't know the age or the sex. (Parents refuse to find out and pay.) So we will just "wing" it and i'll try what you guys are suggesting. Thanks so much!

-Ben