New lovebird - biting

[Bokeh]

I'm new here and so grateful for this resource. Hoping I can find some help.
I adopted a little peach- faced lovebird about a month ago.
He was hand-raised and lived with another lovebird before. The previous owner said the two did not get along so she wanted them separated.
He was super sweet for the first 3 and a half weeks we had him. Very gentle and friendly, always happy to do anything for millet or safflower seeds.
But something has changed over the past few days. Suddenly when sitting on my shoulder he has started to jump at my face and bite really hard. Before he would only give little warning nips on my hand when he didn't want to step- up (and I respected that, never pushed him) but now he's biting hard and frequently. And he rarely wants to step up anymore. Doesn't want to come off my shoulder and doesn't want to step up off of other surfaces either.
I've made changes to his care from what the previous owner did and maybe it's got to do with one of those? Too many too fast? I was assuming all these were positive changes that would only serve to help with his already wonderful disposition. But maybe it's too many changes too soon?

- started using a sleeper cage, making sure he gets 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night
-removed all fabric toys from his cage and gave him loads of destructable ones.
-changing his diet over from all-seeds to pellets (I've been taking the food transition very slow, but he's doing well and gaining some weight)
- working on target training and recall - which he's also taken well to

Could it be that he's missing having another bird around? Just need more time to adjust to new surroundings? Hormones? Just not sure why the sudden and very drastic change in behavior. My kids have all been so good with him, but are now getting scared to hold him at all. So any insight, tips and/or suggestions are welcome!

 

[Zara]

Hello Bokeh,

How old is this bird?

He was super sweet for the first 3 and a half weeks we had him

It is sometimes referred to as the ¨honeymoon period¨. The window of time when a rehomed bird is brought into your home and acts ¨sweeter¨, more timid, and once they are comfortable then their behaviour can sometimes change.

I've made changes to his care from what the previous owner did and maybe it's got to do with one of those?

Perhaps.
Just taking him home is a big change all in itself.

-removed all fabric toys from his cage and gave him loads of destructable ones.

Is he enjoying the new toys? Does he know how to play with them? If not, be sure to show him how they all work, lovebirds can usually pick up how simple destructable toys work pretty quickly.
Is it possible one of the old toys was a fave? You could try figuring out if it was, and giving him that one item back while he settles in.

-changing his diet over from all-seeds to pellets (I've been taking the food transition very slow, but he's doing well and gaining some weight)

Be sure there are still some seeds available for him. Food is a big part of a birds stability. If he has taken to the pellets well, you can offer the seeds out of the cage, or on top of veggies. I wouldn´t remove them completely.

- working on target training and recall - which he's also taken well to

I can´t see this one being a problem. Keep the sessions short, and once you notice he´s losing interest, be sure to cut the next session shorter than that to avoid reaching the point of losing interest. For eg. You do 20 mins of recall and then he doesn´t want to do it any more, next time just do 10-15mins to avoid reaching the uninterested point.

Could it be that he's missing having another bird around?

Maybe but that is a difficult question given the circumstances.

Just need more time to adjust to new surroundings?

Very likely. As well as all the new changes implemented.

Hormones?

That depends on age. But if this bird is male, you would know if he´s hormonal as you would hear him clicking. I have not had any issues with my boys when they are hormonal, they remain super sweet to me. But my friend @TikiMyn did have some issues with her boys.
I think this is an unlikely source of the problem, though not impossible.

My kids have all been so good with him, but are now getting scared to hold him at all.

I have found that my lovebirds don´t respond well to people´s insecurities. To get my birds to be comfortable stepping up, the person asking has to be confident. Those who think the birds will bite and are not as confident putting their hand out, the birds do not feel comfortable going to them. I had this same experience earlier this year with my 5 year old nephew and my neighbours young Lory. The bird was very sociable and never bit me or my partner, and was happy trying to step up to the new person but my nephew was a little hesitant to hold him, which quickly turned into the bird not wanting to go to him and climbing back up my arm towards me. Had he have held his hand out iwthout fear, there waould have been no issues for this bird to step up to him and be friendly. It mirrors how my own lovebirds are with him. When he holds his hand out with confidence, they happily climb up.
I would suggest getting some millet spray for your kids, and cutting it up into smaller pieces (depending how long, either thirds or quarters), let the kids hold one end and feed the bird from the other end. This will build trust between them and also confidence in both the kids and your bird. This can be done through cage bars, be sure they keep the millet still at first while the bird gets used to this and comfortable eating it.
It is also an exercise you can do, offering some foods and treats through the cage bars, or from your hand while he´s out of his cage.

Suddenly when sitting on my shoulder he has started to jump at my face and bite really hard.

but now he's biting hard and frequently.

For now, no more shoulder time. You can limit your interactions to cage top, table top etc If he does manage to get up there, remove him. It´s important to break the habit before it gets ingrained on him or he thinks this is acceptable. The best way is a no access method. In time when you allow him back, if he bites, remove him immediately. Don´t cage him or place him on a fun stand, just put him down on the nearest bird safe surface. And don´t let him do the running around the back of the neck thing. Stand with your back to a wall or something to block him off so you can get him quicker. Your action must come quickly after his so he makes the connection. I say ¨no¨ while removing. It always worked for us. Now my birds are older, been living here a long time and trust me a lot, if one dares to try nipping me, the get gently pushed off my shoulder - my birds are fully flighted and excellent fliers so they can easily fly off somewhere else.

Try your best to be patient. This really is still all new and scary. We don´t know how long each bird takes to truly settle in to our homes. I hope my tips help you.

I will tag my other friend @Momo & Mido who also has Peach-faced boys in case she has more to offer too

 

[Bokeh]

Hi @Zara thank you so much for your thorough response - I really appreciate it!
He just turned a year on August 26th.

Is he enjoying the new toys? Does he know how to play with them? If not, be sure to show him how they all work, lovebirds can usually pick up how simple destructable toys work pretty quickly.
Is it possible one of the old toys was a fave? You could try figuring out if it was, and giving him that one item back while he settles in.

He's definitely found a few favorites with his new toys, but he doesn't seem to have much to do with any of them while he's in his cage. He really enjoys them though if I take them out to the table top when he's out of his cage. I've been encouraging him to play with them and rewarding him with treats when he starts to tear them up. That being said, there are some that he hasn't touched at all.
I have left in a swing that he really enjoys and it's where he sleeps at night. There was only one toy that he really played with before in his previous cage, and I can put that one back in. I left it in with him for the first couple of weeks, but I'll put it back and see if that helps.

Be sure there are still some seeds available for him. Food is a big part of a birds stability. If he has taken to the pellets well, you can offer the seeds out of the cage, or on top of veggies. I wouldn´t remove them completely.

I use the seed mix he came with along with the pellets. I crush the pellets up and add a bit of water to them which makes it stick to his seeds. He eats both pretty well. There are days when he doesn't seem interested in eating breakfast or dinner though and I'll usually bump up the ratio of seeds in his dinner if he didn't have much to eat for breakfast. He has his favorite seeds as well as millet that I use when out of the cage when he's interacting with us. He does not like fresh veggies at all (I plan to try again in the future, but he seems to avoid even eating the seeds if they are mixed with fresh veggies, so I've stuck with the pellet/seed mix for now).

But if this bird is male, you would know if he´s hormonal as you would hear him clicking

He makes a rapid clicking noise with his tongue when he's out of his cage sometimes - almost like a helicopter. Is that what you're referring to? And I have seen him try to regurgitate while he's out playing. I move away from him when he's doing that, so I'm trying not to encourage it.

I have found that my lovebirds don´t respond well to people´s insecurities. To get my birds to be comfortable stepping up, the person asking has to be confident. Those who think the birds will bite and are not as confident putting their hand out, the birds do not feel comfortable going to them.

This is good to know - I will work on this with them and building that trust between them so they feel more confident when trying to handle him.

I would suggest getting some millet spray for your kids, and cutting it up into smaller pieces (depending how long, either thirds or quarters), let the kids hold one end and feed the bird from the other end. This will build trust between them and also confidence in both the kids and your bird. This can be done through cage bars, be sure they keep the millet still at first while the bird gets used to this and comfortable eating it.
It is also an exercise you can do, offering some foods and treats through the cage bars, or from your hand while he´s out of his cage.

Thank you - we'll definitely do this. We offer treats frequently when he's behaving in ways we want to encourage. But I'll have my kids (and myself) practice this with him regularly to help build that trust.

Don´t cage him or place him on a fun stand, just put him down on the nearest bird safe surface. And don´t let him do the running around the back of the neck thing. Stand with your back to a wall or something to block him off so you can get him quicker. Your action must come quickly after his so he makes the connection.

I'll be careful not to cage him afterwards, I have done that sometimes. He rushes my shoulder when he gets out, so keeping him off has been a struggle. He does run around the back of my neck when I try to get him off, or he bites when I try to get him to step-up. Backing against the wall is a great tip, thank you! When you do back up against the wall, do you just sweep your hand over your shoulder to scoot him off? He had his wings clipped just before I got him (plan to let those grow back and not clip him in the future), but it doesn't seem to have limited how far he can fly in the house. He's able to fly from room to room, so he would be able to get to another surface on his own if he won't step up.

Try your best to be patient. This really is still all new and scary. We don´t know how long each bird takes to truly settle in to our homes. I hope my tips help you.

Thank you - I'm sure it's a very stressful/scary situation for him and I'm just trying to understand how to best manage these situations so as to not encourage this kind of behavior further. Thank you again for your detailed response - it's been very helpful!

 

[Zara]

That being said, there are some that he hasn't touched at all.

I wouldn´t worry too much about that. Sometimes it can take a while to ¨discover¨ that toy after 6 months of seeing it and being offered it Sometimes my birds won´t play with certain things. Luckily I have multiple birds so I can pass it around until someone plays with it.
You could either keep offering those toys, or box them away for in the future, birds are weird like that.

There was only one toy that he really played with before in his previous cage, and I can put that one back in. I left it in with him for the first couple of weeks, but I'll put it back and see if that helps.

It´s all trial and error. Won´t hurt to put it back in as long as it´s not very dangerous. If there´s an unsafe quality to it (unsafe metal, or something like that) post a pic and we´ll see if there´s a way to ¨fix¨ the toy.

He does not like fresh veggies at all (I plan to try again in the future, but he seems to avoid even eating the seeds if they are mixed with fresh veggies, so I've stuck with the pellet/seed mix for now).

Given his playing habits, perhaps offering veggies on a plate out of the cage could work. Let him ¨steal¨ the veggies off your plate lovebirds love stealing stuff they think isn´t theirs. And also, eating is a flock activity, so if he sees you eating, it will naturally give him instinct to join in and participate eating with you.

I move away from him when he's doing that, so I'm trying not to encourage it.

That´s good. I don´t let my birds regurgitate for me either. Set him down on a play area if he has one when he´s doing that. My youngest is my only single bird, he feeds his toys... and the other stuff. He originally had a small soft toy that was a clutch buddy for one of my other birds, but the upkeep to clean it was ridiculous! Constantly washing it and hanging it to dry. On my AA friend @faislaq ´s suggestion, I invested in a Kong (dog toy, I got the smallest size) and I chose the blue colour like his stuffed whale was, and he has that as his girlfriend now. He´s not protective over it, no aggression or anything like that so he can keep it for now. I wash it under the tap every night with an old toothbrush and Fairy.
I think you are hearing the clicking I am thinking of. It goes hand in hand with regurgitation.

Some people think they should eliminate the hormonal behaviour and try to discourage it by removing all things to mate, but then the bird won´t get the release and could lead to stress, which can really cause serious problems for birds like lovebirds.

But I'll have my kids (and myself) practice this with him regularly to help build that trust.

It´s a great way to have positive interactions. Nutriberries can be good treats, but kids will find the millet easier as the beak is farther away so they´ll have more confidence with that as you can cut the millet down to a length they feel comfortable with. Let the kids know that the bird won´t eat all of it, don´t wanna go overboard Though if they are young, perhaps get the millet, cut it down, and then on the end where the stick is, pull off some of the clusters so the length will remain the same, but the food avail is less. You can use those clusters yourself to offer. I can post a picture if that doesn´t make sense.

do you just sweep your hand over your shoulder to scoot him off? He had his wings clipped just before I got him

No, use two hands, try to get him to step up on one, and when he thinks he´sclever running away, he´ll run right onto your other hand. You´ll figure that out I´m sure.
I have never handled any clipped lovebirds. My family, friends and neighbours lovebirds that I have babysat and cared for have all been fully flighted so I can´t answer that. I would worry over pushing him off just incase he can´t manage to take flight.

He rushes my shoulder when he gets out

If I have just removed a bird for being naughty, and they try coming back, I will lean away to not allow landing. I wait a while before allowing them back.

You´re very welcome. Glad it has been helpful for you. I look forward to reading updates on how things go

 

[Bokeh]

Thank you!
His toy wasn't very dangerous - it's just plastic interlocking rings - he would climb up them before. Now he climbs up some of the other toys in his cage. But I can put those back in and give it a try.

Given his playing habits, perhaps offering veggies on a plate out of the cage could work. Let him ¨steal¨ the veggies off your plate lovebirds love stealing stuff they think isn´t theirs. And also, eating is a flock activity, so if he sees you eating, it will naturally give him instinct to join in and participate eating with you.

Great idea! I will definitely try this! He's tried taking things off my plate anyway - I'll have to try some chop on my plate and see if he'll take the bait!

I invested in a Kong (dog toy, I got the smallest size) and I chose the blue colour like his stuffed whale was

Love this idea as well - do you just string it up in the cage?

No, use two hands, try to get him to step up on one, and when he thinks he´sclever running away, he´ll run right onto your other hand. You´ll figure that out I´m sure.

Thank you for the explanation as well - this does make sense. And same with the explanation about the millet. He loves nutriberries as well - so I can use those too!

Really, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help me with this! I really appreciate it and will definitely update how we're progressing!

 

[Zara]

do you just string it up in the cage?

No, it´s on the cage floor. Makes for easier cleaning, and he does his thing to it there too (safer so he doesn´t get tangled or fall off a shelf of something)

You should consider posting a thread over on Welcome Lane to say ¨hi¨ to the other forum members, there´s loads of wonderful people here to converse with and read their threads. I have learned a lot even from people who have very different species of birds to mine (like the Kong tip I got from a member with a macaw)

Here is my youngest with his "special friend" ,

 

[Bokeh]

Oh, he's beautiful! Thank you so much - I'll definitely go and introduce myself.

 

[faislaq]

Here is my youngest with his "special friend" ,
View attachment 412611

I love it!

 

[Bokeh]

Little update!

No, use two hands, try to get him to step up on one, and when he thinks he´sclever running away, he´ll run right onto your other hand. You´ll figure that out I´m sure.
I have never handled any clipped lovebirds. My family, friends and neighbours lovebirds that I have babysat and cared for have all been fully flighted so I can´t answer that. I would worry over pushing him off just incase he can´t manage to take flight.

This tip has been so incredibly helpful - He rushes my shoulder still (every chance he gets). But with this I have been able to reliably get him down each time and since I've been using it consistently, he is regularly getting off my shoulder when I ask! Because we've been able to keep him off or get him off our shoulders quickly, we've been able to work more on training and biting is becoming less frequent. Thank you so much for your help - it has made a huge difference in a short amount of time.

 

[Emma&pico]

Got some brilliant help here and so glad you are making process

indie bites especially my ears hard when she on my shoulder I brush her off with my hand and say no bite which is helping she does it less she still scared of hands but comes to my arm and is still learning how hard to check things out with her beak

I totally agree with @Zara my daughter isn’t confident when wanting to hold pico as he goes to land she jumps and he won’t step up to her millet in her hand makes her more confident letting her help do tricks with them as helped her loads too

 

[Zara]

and biting is becoming less frequent.

Great to hear!

Eventually the biting will be a rare thing. As time goes on, you will know how to avoid the bites happening and (almost) never be bitten again