clinking their beaks back and forth

[Sage-N-Mystic]

Sage and Mystic are starting to run their beaks back and forth on the bars of the cage and on the nesting box. Sage, my male, seems to be doing it more than Mystic. Is it a form of cleaning up after eating berries and salad greens? Or, are they just messing around? Why are my little lovies doing this with their beaks??? It is almost becoming constant. They just started it today. I hear them doing it in the nesting box, too. . .am I just paranoid?

Thanks,
Leslye

PS - Sage is making his way out into the open area of his cage more and more. Mystic follows his lead, but it is cute, because he is always 'checking out the situation', makes a call, then she'll come out. Very rarely will she wonder out on her own, unless I open the top of the nesting box. I think they are warming up to us all. We just can not move suddenly and have to keep one of our Dalmations from catching their eye, or in the box they go. :( Only this one Dal they seem to still have BIG issues with.

[Janie]

All three of mine do it daily, several times a day. Yes, I think it is a cleaning up issue. I've watched my outside wild birds do it, too! :D Sometimes mine rub their beaks on a concrete perch or their lava rock and I'm sure that is to condition/trim their beaks.

[mjm8321]

Yep, I notice it especially after eating something really yummy!:lol Of course, hens will do this (sort of like a jailbird dragging their tin cup along the bars) as a territorial thing as well.

[Cathy]

Be thankful that they do it on their cage. My birds do it on me. They especially like my shoulder for a wash rag. When my p'let is eating dried fruit with is sticky, she likes me to take my fingernail and clean her beak.

[mandy]

Hey! Biscuit also likes tapping (actually more like banging) his beak against the cage... she seems to be ok with it so i do not worry about it either.

[Sage-N-Mystic]

Thank you all! As I fed them their salad/fruit blend this morning, I watched and watched. Boy, they sure like the raspberrys! ALL OVER their little faces! :rofl: Anyway, seems to be when they can not get it a peice into their mouths, they 'clink' it off and enjoy it. They are becoming more and more enjoyable as the days go by. AND, they are both tolerating Dottie more today, than ever. I think they are finally realizing that they are safe in their cage, and she can not get them. However, we do move them into our locked bedroom when we leave. I just don't trust the dogs yet to leave them be. Don't know if I ever will!:(

Thanks again,
Leslye

[Janie]

There is never a way to be 100% positive that a dog will not decide to go after your birds. Even if the dog is very laid back, gentle and shows no interest. One of your birds could startle your dog, even land on him, and he could snap w/o even realizing what he's snapping at. I do trust my dog with my birds but she never leaves my side so if I'm with the birds, I know where she is and when I'm in another part of the house, she is always right there with me. But, if something happened, it would definitely be my fault, not hers. I never took my eyes off her for the first year after I got my first lovebird. After that it was just obvious that she had zero interest in him and maybe that is because she has been my back yard bird watching companion for 10 years so she has been exposed to birds for years. Still, I do want you to know that many lovies have been killed by the family dog or cat. It can and does happen.