What to do?

[yellowbird]

Yellow, my four month old creamino, acts like she rules the roost. I read Wheeliegirls post in the biting issue and it's exactly what I am going through. Yellow, when she's not being petted will bite everything in sight. I don't have her with me when I am doing other things because she will bite everything including me. And as Wheeliegirl was saying how that her lovebird goes underneath her wheelchair to get out of distance from her to pick her up, Yellow will do the same. Actually she'll just run away from me. She does what she wants to when she wants to. I have read that she is like a two year old. So thinking of how my son was when he was two years old, he was taught what he can't do and what he could do. But how do you teach a bird? I've tried distracting her, encouraging her with loving words (when she does good), etc.. At times I feel that she is running all over us. When she doesn't want to do something and you need her to, she'll bite or lunge at you and then bite if you get your hand close enough to her. She is molting. I can see tons of pin feathers coming out. And I have been told that the 4-6 month range is all about hormones. I guess my question is, does this change after 6 months or will she always be biting, run away and do her own thing or does it get better? I just want to do the right thing and right now I feel at a loss as to how to change things to make them better. I keep thinking I need to get things right before things set in and she becomes a bratty two year old for the rest of her life. You know what I mean? She still does not like either my husband or my son. I'm not sure how to change that since my son doesn't want to deal with her and my husband tries, but she bites him like crazy. Please don't read this and think that I'm frustrated and have no patience...I love her and want to make it more pleasant for all of us to be together and around her. THANKS!

[bellarains]

Hey,

First, I want you to know that is will get better. The molt, plus the hormonal stage Yellow is going through is very hard on her, and the best thing for all parties is most likely a little time out when she gets overly nippy. Try not to do it as a punishment though, and always put her back in her cage with love and sweet talk, that way she will not associate biting with going back to her cage.

At this stage you also want to make sure Yellow is getting her 10-12 hours of dark, quiet sleep time. You also can offer her a bath dish everyday, twice a day time permitting. If she is not real good at bathing just yet, a little light misting will help with the molt. If you add a few drops of pure aloe to the water, that will help even more.

That one word you mentioned, "patience" is a word that we use most often around here. When earning a lovies trust, you will need tons of it ;)

[kimsbirds]

Little Yellow doesn't bite to be mean...she's biting to tell you something. It's up to you as Mamma to figure it out:) Most likely, as Lori says, its mainly due to her molting now, but keep in mind that babies in their teenage stage (3-6months) can be very nippy, flappy, excitable, nippy, and a bit nippy:P LOL
You'll need to be very strong and persistent, and extremely patient ! This stage is the most testing and it will pass!! Trust me, I've been there many times. Don't allow her access to your neck, ears, fingertips etc. Rather, offer her raw leather strips, dried natural organic cereals, sunflower, untreated toothpicks, popsicle sticks(we buy at the craft store) for her to chew/beak/nibble. Keep your social sessions short (10-15 mins MAX) so she doesnt' get unruly. If she is persistent with the biting of the fingers, switch to a short wooden dowel temporarily.
Please don't give up on her! :) She's just a baby in a big wide world, learning everything for the first time. The impression you leave on her as she learns now, will be the traits she carries with her throughout her life.

GOOD LUCK !!!

[yellowbird]

Trust me, I'm not giving up on her...otherwise she would have found a new home by now :wink: . I just want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to make her a good bird as she grows older. Like I said, it was like my son when he was two years old, he was taught right and wrong and got in trouble if he did wrong. Not because I liked to discipline him, but because I wanted him to be a nice, good boy when he was growing up and as he grows. I want the same for Yellow. I just think it's harder with a bird, because you can't communicate to them...at least not verbally. I have sat down and thought about what we are doing to make her bite. First of all, she doesn't like either my husband or my son. It's possible she doesn't like men and thinking back the breeder that dealt with her was a woman as well. When she bites, it's usually one thing...she doesn't want to do what you want her to do (i.e. to stop doing something, be picked up, going on hubby's shoulder and yelling at him, etc.). She also bites everything in site. If there is a crease in my pants it's bit. She doesn't like our toes for some reason either and if you are trying to do something like type on the computer, she will bite your fingers and she gets upset if you try to stop her...same things with the toes. She doesn't like my slippers either that I put on trying to protect them. She also isn't happy with me if we are gone for a long time. She usually is quite nippy then too. I have been trying to limit her play sessions to 10-15 minutes as well. I have stick trained her, but she does it when she wants to do it, otherwise she runs away from me. I guess my concern is that if I am letting her "get away" with stuff now (though I don't think I am, I'm just not sure how to modify her behavior), am I setting myself up for trouble after the 6 month hormonal period? I guess I just want to make sure that I am doing the right thing so that after the 6 month period we are off to the right start with her. Thanks for the advice, I'll keep working at it and making sure that she gets her bath, short play sessions, a good night sleep (she gets a good 12 hours plus actually), etc.. She's such a sweet bird when she wants to be :)

Joann

[Buy A Paper Doll]

She also bites everything in site. If there is a crease in my pants it's bit. She doesn't like our toes for some reason either and if you are trying to do something like type on the computer, she will bite your fingers and she gets upset if you try to stop her...same things with the toes.

You have a perfectly normal baby lovebird! ;) I used to get sooo frustrated with Milo because, just like Yellow, he would bite EVERYthing. My sister would say, "He's just a BABY. He's exploring his world." She's right.

My lovebird is very possessive of the computer keyboard as well. :roll:

And toes? Oh, I'm afraid that 99% of the lovebird parents on this forum will probably tell you that they have had their toes bitten. :lol

[bellarains]

Oh Yeah,

Toes are evil don't ya know. We must kill the toes!!!!!

Bela and Lacey

[yellowbird]

Too funny. I guess I had no idea. So the biting thing she will out grow, because she's exploring everything. Hmmm, that's great to know. So toes are bad, eh? I just thought it was mine because they have bright pink toe nail polish on them and I thought she just associated everyone else's toes with that. :rofl: I am glad that I found this website with people who know stuff. Reading a book is one thing, but there are a ton of other questions that books just don't address. This is quite helpful to have people who have been there, done that (or are going through the same thing). I can see if you didn't have a link like this to ask others who have lovebirds like you do, why so many are bought as babies and then have to be adopted by someone else...because if you didn't find out all about the baby stuff they go through, you'd think you have a crazy bird. :roll:

I think her feathers are just irritating her. I did spray her off with the kitchen sprayer. Not sure she likes it all that well. When I was holding her today and petting her, she bit and bit herself, right where a lot of the pin feathers are at. Those things look painful.

I will be glad when she turns 6 months, because underneath it all, she's a sweetheart. :p

Joann

[Elle]

About the nail polish... my lovie used to attack my fingers whenever I wore nail polish. It was invading to her, not normal and I guess it scared her. I stopped wearing it because it was too unsettling for her. You might have to do the sameif it becomes an issue.

Elle

[yellowbird]

Today I really need some reassurance that things will get better after six months. My son told me the other day he didn't like her and when I told my husband he said he didn't like her either. Neither of them like her because she attacks both of them. So I have a bird that can live from 8 to 20 years that only I like and she only likes me. I just need someone to tell me that in the next month and a few weeks (she'll be six months Aug. 28th) that things will get better. That I won't have a bird that constantly bites and attacks us. That does her own thing and if you try to make her do something she's not supposed to be doing that she won't attack you for it. And who will easily go on to your hand or stick when you need her to without biting the heck out of either. I want my sweet Yellow bird back, the loving little girl I bought a couple months ago. I just need someone to tell me that in truly will indeed get better. I am thinking as well that if this stage passes and she calms down more that things might be better with her and the rest of my family?

Also, one other question : do you guys have problems with your birds when you aren't home as often? Yellow seems to be extremely wild (meaning she runs around, bites constantly, and seems to be on speed or something) when I haven't been home for a large portion of the day and I take her out. She seems to kind of go crazy and she is very bitey.

[Mummieeva]

I am wondering if she is biting because she is lonely? Some here can give better insight. I can tell you I understand 100% what your going through. Sending a :grouphug1 to you.


Steph

[yellowbird]

Thanks Steph! I appreciate it.

It's highly possible. Though she literally attacks my husband and son, I think that when she is pretty wirey is when she hasn't been out for a long time. It's usually when we are gone for a big portion of the day. This week so far has been bad for that. She is a lot calmer if I can take her out several times during the day. I think she gets mad at me when I can't take her out all the time >o . Maybe that is what I'm dealing with the last few days.

I guess I am worried that her biting and stuff isn't going to pass after six months and then I have an attack bird. If after this stage passes and she's calmer then maybe the boys won't dislike her so much? Will she be more trainable and workable?

She's quite a stubborn bird...though maybe they are all like this :confused: ? She will only step up on to the stick if there is millet present. Otherwise, she attacks the heck out of it.

Thank you for being understanding. I wrote a post awhile back ago on another website and someone ripped me to shreds. The person obviously didn't read my other posts about trying to work with Yellow and took one of my frustrated days and decided to chew me out.

[bellarains]

Hey Joann,

I think we all understand the frustration of the nippy stages. I truly believe if everyone spends enough time with her, and earns her trust, things will get better. Unfortunately everyone may take their fair share of bites before that happens. Bonding with a lovie can be painful, but in the end, all the bites are usually worth it.

I did want to ask how big is Yellow's cage? Lovies of course are very active and the recommended cage size for a lovie is at least 18X18, preferrably larger if possible. I was just wondering if the reason Yellow gets so exciteable after she has been alone for a large part of the day is due to being too confined? Just a thought. Also with a larger cage, you have more room for perches and toys,which give them more activity. Again, just thinking out loud with you, and trying to find a way to help Yellow be a bit sweeter :)

[Sparkette65]

out of my 10 birds, I have only 3 that will let me hold them...two of them are 3 months old and the other one is about 9 months....the rest of them....dont even think about it unless you want to be pulling back a NUB!! Some lovebirds just dont like hands, arms...faces etc....they dont want to be bothered by anyone but other birds. They watch me with great interest when I am handling another bird, but they wont come anywhere close enough for me to hold them.
I let them do their thing, I talk to them and feed them things through the bars, and I once in a while try to pet them through the bars...I usually fail on that note, but they do eat things that I am holding, and will take palm frond and shred it while im holding it....matter of fact, I have one lovie who will not shred if I am not holding it for her,,,,the minute I let it go she drops it and will not go get it at all....it stays on the floor of her cage, and she is one that is a constant biter,,,and there is NO way she will let me hold her at this point!
Good luck with your birdy...maybe hubby and son could hold some greens from a carrot through the bars, keeping fingers far enough away that there is no way she can bite them,,,,,I have a good bet after awhile she will eat what their holding up for her...even if she never lets them accually hold her.
take care,
Lori

[yellowbird]

I believe her cage is adequate. It's one shaped like a house, with two peaks on top. She seems to sleep almost upside down on one of the peeks at night. Since it's odd shaped, it looks like it's almost 18x18. I have given her toys in there and put raffia in there, which she loves. I also intertwine newspaper in between the cage bars to keep her busy. Though today she decided to just pull the whole strip of newspaper off and dip it in her water! I think that she is lonely. If it were up to her, I think she would be out most of the day. Only thing is she's only content to play out of the cage for a few minutes and then she's on top of me. She's either wanting to be petted or running all over me biting every crease in my pants or shirt. Our morning times are great. She loves to be petted, but afternoons is when she gets more wirey and wants to run all over me. I don't mind it, but then she doesn't seem to calm down and if you come close that's when she bites. Plus, it's hard to have a bird with you at times like that or trying to do things with her always wanting to be right there with me. My other problem is when she gets down on the floor. Since she usually is bitey by then, I try with the stick. Actually I try both my finger and the stick, but I wind up just chasing her around the house. I try and stop and get her attention, but it seems that she isn't looking (or seems like it) or paying attention and when I come close to get her again she runs off again. Any suggestions how to handle this? And if the stick gets too close (and my finger too) she is in full attack mode and even chirps like she's angry. I just need to figure out what will work here. I was able to get her attention awhile back ago and that really worked by saying "be a good girl", but that's not working any more. I think this bird is laughing her head off at me. Here is this grown lady on the floor chasing a bird around all over the place. Maybe I am doing something wrong or going about it wrong? Someone please give advice. THANKS!

[Buy A Paper Doll]

My birds would very much love to stay out all day long but if I don't send them back to their "rooms" for a drink and a snack and a little rest every 30 - 45 minutes, they get VERY nippy. Bratty is a better word for it. :roll:

[LauraO]

I've noticed with most of the young females I've had they've gotten EXTREMELY bitey and it has lasted until they were like 1 year old. The worst is our creamino Cuddlebunny. I've wrote time and again on this board and the last board about her maniacal crazy ways. She loved to bite HARD and climb up our faces and just be downright CRAZY. She just turned one and I swear she's suddenly like a new bird. She hasn't even been attacking the other birds as much as she used to. I had a very similiar experience with our female lovie, Shy and the same thing happened when she turned one as well.

Just be patient, she will come around.