What is up with Kirby?

[Kirby]

So... well... I was in a bird store a few weeks ago looking at lovebirds.

And they had 2 males and 3 females. Both the males were: "OH MY GOD CUDDLE ME.. APPRECIATE ME.. LOVE ME" When you put your finger up to the cage. The females were "YOU TOUCH MY CAGE AND I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS *rrrrrrrr* JUST FOR THAT IM ATTACKING MY HAPPY HUT >: "

SOOOOOO I compared those incidents to my Kirby...

He basically wants to rip your face off if you enter his cage, but outside is most of the time a doll. . . . like the females

As of lately though too he's been VERY moody. We go to take him off our heads he tries to bite. He has also been very picky on his food, ie: wanting to eat our food over his (and when we dont give him our food, he fluffs up and has a tempertantrum) he will also dish out his entire food to the floor of his cage and not eat it.

I have a feeling it's more evident.... FEMALE :x

WHAT IS UP WITH MR.MISS KIRBY?

[linda040899]

SOOOOOO I compared those incidents to my Kirby...

He basically wants to rip your face off if you enter his cage, but outside is most of the time a doll.
Sounds like Kirby is very protective about HIS home and your hand it not welcome where he lives! This is usually very typical for lovebird hens. The best way to avoid the bite is to wait for Kirby to come out rather than you go in or use a dowel to take him out. As for food/water dishes, that could get interesting. Your best bet would be to use the kind that slide in through the bars or you may have to wait until Kirby is out of the cage before you service it.


As of lately though he's been VERY moody. We go to take him off our heads he tries to bite.
Sounds like you and Kirby are having a slight difference of desires here! Birds will bite when asked to do something they don't want to do! Heads are dominant places (above eye level) so it might be in everyone's best interest not to let Kirby perch on heads.


He has also been very picky on his food, ie: wanting to eat our food over his (and when we dont give him our food, he fluffs up and has a tempertantrum) he will also dish out his entire food to the floor of his tank and not eat.
Stubborn little character, isn't he! :) You obviously have food that he likes better than his own so he prefers yours. I have several birds that think my dinner belongs to them. What I have to do is prepare a little bit extra and give them theirs on a separate plate while you eat yours. The food on the floor of the cage is foraging. You may want to try making it a bit harder for him to eat food other than seed. Try wrapping treats in small pieces of paper towel so that he has to work for what's in it.

These are just a few of my own ideas. Others may have more suggestions.

[Kirby]

Chris and I haven't been bit in over a month until recently. So we can avoid it! Now that you mention it he hasn't sat on our heads for AGES, always on our shoulder or pockets. So that might have just been a fluke for the head biting.





Stubborn little character, isn't he! :) You obviously have food that he likes better than his own so he prefers yours. I have several birds that think my dinner belongs to them. What I have to do is prepare a little bit extra and give them theirs on a separate plate while you eat yours. .


Well... I dont think members would approve of feeding Kirby some of the things I eat! :rofl:
It sometimes consists of chicken wings, steak (which he wants more I think because of the smell) Sometimes I drink gatorade or lemonaid on a h ot day and he LOVES it... he's only gotten into it ONCE because I left him unattended, and he fell into the glass while drinking. But he never gets juice due to the sugar content.

He doesnt really touch my veggies, he thinks they're toys and shreds them then shakes his head thus creating art on the wall with food :x

[ittyandrita]

it sounds like he is just being a bit hormonal right now. is he on a daylight schedule? he sounds a lot like my past itty-bitty, he was a total cuddle but, except when he was in his happy hut, or in his cage- but that changed when he was moved into a much bigger one, i think he thought the first cage was just one big happy hut. he would also bite unpredictably, when i would have him out, and i can only think he meant 'no i dont feel like being pet right now' or 'can you just let me be for a minute?'
oh, and ALL my birds want whatever i'm eating. some puff up, one even gives me little nips out of frustration if all his begging tactics dont work. since they are SUCH GOOD BEGGARS i am rarely able to resist them, unless its something really bad/toxic for them. i talked to my vet about this and he said that as long as it was in tiny proportions it actually just mixed things up for them and made life more interesting. here are two pics of my bigger guys eating pasta their total favorite- http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2090660757
kind of off topic. but you can see how intense they get about it.
one more thing i thought of, my lovebirds LOVE foraging for food. as soon as i let them out of their cages they run around into the bigger ones cages looking for food leftovers- even when they have food in their own cages they didn't finish. i think they just like having other peoples/birds food!