• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Bitting lovebird

Sonic

Meeting neighbors
Joined
4/25/19
Messages
26
Real Name
Ege
My relative needs me to take care of his lovebird and I’m up for it but the problem is the bird bites a lot I’ve tried everything I could feeding it treats,trying to show that I’m not a threat,bonding,trying to hand tame. Help would be very appreciated with this problem I have
 

DoubleTake

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Joined
5/31/17
Messages
1,744
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
Real Name
Brian
How long have you been working with him/her? Is it flighted? How old is it? Is it hostile with the owner? Have you taken it home or are you working with it at your relatives?

I hate saying it so I am just calling it a her because she bites lol. She may be cage aggressive so it may be best to try and work her away from the cage, preferably in a small area where there isnt a lot going on like a bathroom. Toilet lid down and any other holes she can crawl into blocked.
 

Fuzzy

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/30/10
Messages
4,331
Location
Jersey, Channel Islands
Real Name
Roz
Hi Ege, that's kind of you to look after your relative's lovebird.

Think about what you can do differently so that the bird doesn't feel the need to bite you. He should give plenty of body language to warn you he is not happy with what you are doing before he bites. It is up to you to read and heed it. It sounds like you are going too fast too soon. Watch his body language... does it remain relaxed when you approach him? If not, rethink your approach. You may have to approach slower or lower.

What does he go for in the food bowl first? These will be his favourite foods. If he likes apple, try wedging a whole slice through the cage bars. When he's ok with eating that, make the slice smaller and smaller so that eventually he is taking just a small piece from your fingers. Always start with a big treat so that he doesn't have to get too close to your fingers and then break it down smaller when he's taking the treat nicely from you. Feeding through the cage bars will offer you both protection. Once he is taking the treat, you can start training anything you want. Targeting is a good one to start with.

As Brian pointed out, lots of birds don't like hands inside their cages - it is their territory.
 
Top