Update on peanut

[Sasha M]

Peanut is now almost fully feathered, I would say he's around 7-8 weeks old. He scared the crap out me the other day by climbing up onto my shoulder and flying back to his cage :omg:
I had no idea they could fly so soon since my other two have their wings clipped I figured it would take ahwhile :rolleyes:, Guess I'll be taking him once hes a little older for a checkup and wing clipping :rofl:

He has also started perching with mom and dad and testing out different foods though he still whines at mommy and daddy every once and awhile for a snack :rotfl
Is it normal for him to want no part of me? he seems scared of me even though i have been holding him everyday for weeks :( , he's certainly not afraid of my hands he just does not want to be taken out of his cage, maybe because hes still getting used to it? He's nibbled a bit at my fingers but a stern No usually gets him to stop.

Should I get him his own cage? His mom and dad won't let me near him now that hes perching with them and I am scared he is going to learn to be scared of hands from them....

Pictures soon! :clap

[ittyandrita]

glad to hear everything is going well. i have no answers to your questions, but i am EAGERLY awaiting the new pictures!

[mjm8321]

Yep, sounds like a typical juvenile. Why be with the human that cares for you when you can fly away? Really, it's an independent stage and sometimes it can take months to get over, but it happens. My suggestion: take Peanut in a room away from mom & dad for some one on one time and snuggling. The nibbling is all part of growing up and exploring. If it's not really hard, I'd let him nibble, but that's my opinion as I like nibbling birdies.

[butterfly1061]

Also, since Peanut is flying, let him do this for a bit so he can strenghten the muscles in his wings. I didn't clip my young ones until they were flying really good. It won't take long :whistle:

My babies whined to be fed for quite a while - about 9-10 weeks of age. Mom & Dad will let them know when they won't feed them and Peanut will learn "no".

My two babies (not really babies as they are 7months old :rolleyes: ) still nibble on my fingers. I won't let them bite too hard so they don't get into a bad habit.

[Flapjack]

I'm glad you guys are talking about the nibbling- leads me to a question...

I keep hearing from so many people that ANY nibbling leads to biting later on. I'd hate to think this is true, because I like it when Jack and Chino beak my hands (in a tasting/exploring way). I have been letting them, but is this a mistake? Obviously I stop them when it's hard, or when they do it out of anger, but can they learn the difference between licks and nibbles and true biting?

Thanks,
Jeni

[mjm8321]

I'm glad you guys are talking about the nibbling- leads me to a question...

I keep hearing from so many people that ANY nibbling leads to biting later on. I'd hate to think this is true, because I like it when Jack and Chino beak my hands (in a tasting/exploring way). I have been letting them, but is this a mistake? Obviously I stop them when it's hard, or when they do it out of anger, but can they learn the difference between licks and nibbles and true biting?

Thanks,
Jeni

Jeni,
In my case, nibbling in my flock has not lead to biting. Personally, I believe it builds trust. I've got some breeders that were not handfed, never handled (not birds I raised) and they have learned that I will not hurt them and climb on my arm an nibble. With that said, a nesting hen that is sweet, tame and very handleable, can turn into a pit bull. :rofl:

[Kirby]

hehehe

Skittles is more of a nibbler... she will nibble your fingers if theyre in front of her... or if she is grooming Kirby she will work her way up your face, which tickles so much when she gets to your lips :p

[michael]

You know Jeni, more often than not I don't mind at all if my lovie nibbles or bites gently. He's letting me know how he feels. The only time he bites hard is if I accidently squeeze a toe while he's in my hand or he trips over is own two big feets and blames it on me. And of course there's times I reinforce the "No bite" agreement we have to keep things in check. I believe there's at least two good ways to view this. Nipping/beaking is normal behavior, and is generally either a warning or their way of communicating with you. Biting is different and can cause much pain and/or injury. This is usually a sign of aggression or being frightened for some reason. The latter being the very behavior we all need to watch out for, especially when our lovies are young, don't know them yet, or we lack the experience needed to recognize the signs. This is where time and patience absolutely pays off. I think its best to establish a non biting relationship first, if thats possible, then once you really know them better a little leway probably wouldn't hurt. Really, I think this should be an individual preference depending on how comfortable we feel about letting them do this. Certainly, and most important, we wouldn't want to reinforce biting issues if we spent a year or more trying to get them to stop. So far most poeple I know ( most of which don't own lovebirds) seem to be split as to allowing a little biting/nibbling every now and then. Some don't mind, and others say don't, period. You can guess which side I'm on, but that might not be the case if I kept a different species other than Goofy lovebird :) .............Michael and Goofy