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Lovebird angry most of the time

idk

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Hey everyone, I'm new here.
My lovebird's name is Wasabi, she's a roseicollis and she's one year old.
She was handfed, not by me, but I got her a month after she was born.
Since the start, she's always wanted to stay outside of the cage, to the point it's impossible to get her back in unless I lure her in with some seeds or grab her. And she bites with either method because she gets annoyed. Don't know why but she gets irritated very easily and uses biting as a punishment. Other times she's kind of affectionate.
She gets irritated inside the cage too, at times fighting with toys and aggressively knocking with her beak.
Anyone knows why this might be?
 

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April

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Peachfaced

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You're going to have to work on target training. Your bird probably has more fun doing activities outside of the cage, which makes sense. Would you like it, if someone scooped you up and locked you up against your will?

I would also work on putting some of her favorite toys and foraging opportunities in her cage. You want her to be engaged and entertained, not bored while caged - as much as possible.

It's not uncommon for a Lovebird to have a spicy attitude, though. My hens (one former, one current) have been very feisty and opinionated, and they are not afraid to tell you about it.
 

idk

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You're going to have to work on target training. Your bird probably has more fun doing activities outside of the cage, which makes sense. Would you like it, if someone scooped you up and locked you up against your will?

I would also work on putting some of her favorite toys and foraging opportunities in her cage. You want her to be engaged and entertained, not bored while caged - as much as possible.

It's not uncommon for a Lovebird to have a spicy attitude, though. My hens (one former, one current) have been very feisty and opinionated, and they are not afraid to tell you about it.
Thank you for your reply.
She's definitely very active outside of the cage, even after hours, going from one thing to the other, but it doesn't seem like she hates being inside the cage either, she plays with toys and also likes to give herself neck scratches with some of them.
I've tried target training but she gets irritated when I interrupt her from doing what she wants, I'll definitely try it again though!
 

Zara

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She was handfed, not by me, but I got her a month after she was born.
That doesn´t make sense.
You must have fed her if you got her at 4 weeks old. Lovebirds only wean at 6-8 weeks (approx).

grab her. And she bites
Don´t grab her. Moreso if she bites you when you do that to her.

Set up an empty bowl inside the cage. It will be the treat deposit bowl. When she goes in her cage of her own accord, drop a treat in her bowl through the cage bars. Mix up the treats so it is different things she likes. Let her out when you have lots of time to dedicate, and don´t leave food outside of the cage. When she gets hungry she will have to return.
I used to sometimes coax my birds back in with small cuttings of millet sprig, pieces of paper to shred, plastic balls to play with, etc They rarely do that any more. I found it was worse wen they were 1-3years old, but every so often they will give me the run around and not want to be caged.

Peachfaced left good advice about adding fun foraging activities and toys inside the cage for her.

It's not uncommon for a Lovebird to have a spicy attitude, though. My hens (one former, one current) have been very feisty and opinionated, and they are not afraid to tell you about it.
My girls are the same.
 

Destiny

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I've tried target training but she gets irritated when I interrupt her from doing what she wants, I'll definitely try it again though!
Training with a parrot requires the right approach. They are independent-minded, intelligent animals and need to be interested in the training process if you want it to be successful. This means you should keep training sessions short, fun, and rewarding.

If you are doing it right, your parrot will WANT to learn, because training is fun and a positive experience. Avoid trying to train if your parrot is obviously in a bad mood or too tired/cranky/whatever. Highly prized food rewards work with most parrots - you just need to find your bird's favorite treats. Training in the early morning, before the first feeding of the day can also work well, since treats taste extra yummy when you are a little hungry. Obviously, you should not withhold food or starve your bird to force them to train harder, but you can time your training schedule with consideration for your feeding schedule or adjust how you feed so your bird only gets certain high-value items (like seeds) during training or foraging times.

Just don't overdo the training - short fun training sessions are better than long exhausting sessions. You should stop training BEFORE your bird runs out of patience and shows signs of frustration, anger, or biting.

A big part of living in harmony with parrots is learning how to get your bird to WANT to do what you need them to do when you need them to do it. Consistency and communication are key.
 

idk

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That doesn´t make sense.
You must have fed her if you got her at 4 weeks old. Lovebirds only wean at 6-8 weeks (approx).


Don´t grab her. Moreso if she bites you when you do that to her.

Set up an empty bowl inside the cage. It will be the treat deposit bowl. When she goes in her cage of her own accord, drop a treat in her bowl through the cage bars. Mix up the treats so it is different things she likes. Let her out when you have lots of time to dedicate, and don´t leave food outside of the cage. When she gets hungry she will have to return.
I used to sometimes coax my birds back in with small cuttings of millet sprig, pieces of paper to shred, plastic balls to play with, etc They rarely do that any more. I found it was worse wen they were 1-3years old, but every so often they will give me the run around and not want to be caged.

Peachfaced left good advice about adding fun foraging activities and toys inside the cage for her.


My girls are the same.
My mistake, she was born the 1st of September and I got her at the end of October, she was completely weaned.
I think she'd rather starve than go back in, hahah, but what works is luring her in with some seeds. Anyway, thank you for the advice, I'll try it too and won't grab her anymore.
 

idk

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
12/4/21
Messages
18
Training with a parrot requires the right approach. They are independent-minded, intelligent animals and need to be interested in the training process if you want it to be successful. This means you should keep training sessions short, fun, and rewarding.

If you are doing it right, your parrot will WANT to learn, because training is fun and a positive experience. Avoid trying to train if your parrot is obviously in a bad mood or too tired/cranky/whatever. Highly prized food rewards work with most parrots - you just need to find your bird's favorite treats. Training in the early morning, before the first feeding of the day can also work well, since treats taste extra yummy when you are a little hungry. Obviously, you should not withhold food or starve your bird to force them to train harder, but you can time your training schedule with consideration for your feeding schedule or adjust how you feed so your bird only gets certain high-value items (like seeds) during training or foraging times.

Just don't overdo the training - short fun training sessions are better than long exhausting sessions. You should stop training BEFORE your bird runs out of patience and shows signs of frustration, anger, or biting.

A big part of living in harmony with parrots is learning how to get your bird to WANT to do what you need them to do when you need them to do it. Consistency and communication are key.
Thank you, I'll follow your advice and inform myself on how to train her properly!
 
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