Baby bird refuses to wean and starts to bite

[Elkuz]

Hi! So my baby lovebird Kiwi is 7 weeks now, he is still refusing to wean, I’ve introduced different types of food to him, he is not interested in millet or any other seeds at all (which is strange to me) but he’s been eating a small amount of pellets every day for the past 1,5 weeks. He also tried and actually ate some cabbage (yay!), nibbled on dill and parsley and that’s it. He completely refuses to even try other vegetables or fruits. But what worries me is that recently he’s started to bite my fingers when he’s hungry. He acts impatiently when it’s his feeding time, yells like crazy and if I try to offer him pellets instead of the formula,he gets angry,throws them away and bites my fingers! He’ll continue biting me while I mix the formula and won’t stop acting crazy and desperate until I feed him. After this he relaxes instantly and only after he’s fed formula he accepts to eat a small number of pellets.
what do I do to actually wean him off the formula? How do I encourage to try veggies and fruits?(I constantly eat them in front of him,make sounds etc)
And how should I act when he bites?
Please help!
Btw, he bites me only when he’s begging for formula,otherwise he’s sweet and very attached to me, but with the rest of the family he’s not friendly at all, when my kids approach him,he lashes out at them as if he’s ready to bite.

 

[sunnysmom]

@Zara ?

 

[Elkuz]

He also tried and actually ate some cabbage (yay!), nibbled on dill and parsley and that’s it. He completely refuses to even try other vegetables or fruits.

He also tried and ate a bit of cooked buckwheat That’s it!
I’m glad he likes pellets (I read it’s a healthier option than seeds) but for me to later be able to train him I need to find some treat that he enjoys (eg millet) but he is not interested in usual bird treats at all.

 

[Zara]

if I try to offer him pellets instead of the formula,he gets angry,throws them away and bites my fingers! He’ll continue biting me while I mix the formula

Don't offer any adult foods before the formula feeding.
If he was going to eat them, he would have done of his own accord (I assume he has dried foods avail at all times now).
Also, leave him caged while you prepare the formula, or go into the kitchen to prepare the formula, and then take it ready made to him.

If you carrry on like this you will teach him that biting is the way to voice his frustrations. It is important to cut out all of the biting now before it gets ingrained.

The time to offer new foods is always after the formula.

what do I do to actually wean him off the formula?

Keep feeding the formula.
Have water available at all times.
Have dried foods available at all times; seed and pellets in different bowls.
Offer fresh veggies throughout the day. After feeds and between feeds.
Always offer foods to him right after the formula feed, try everyhting, seed, pellets and some veg.
He will wean eventually, in his own time. Don't rush the process. Even if it takes a couple of weeks longer than the average, it is ok.

when my kids approach him,he lashes out at them as if he’s ready to bite.

If your kids are old enough to understand, tell them to stay back from the birds cage or area. Monitor and watch closely in case your bird flies to your kids to bite - you would have to work out a routine if that happens where the bird gets some child free flight time, and the children can also be in the room when your bird is caged.
It is important that everyone can live together safely.
This could be a result of the feeding ritual, he has been biting to show his frustrations and "it has worked" for him, in his mind he bit and he got formula. So now when he wants something or is frustrated, he goes to what he knows, biting.