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What does this mean? (help)

saccharose

Moving in
Joined
7/20/21
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7
Real Name
gabriel
Hellooo it’s me again :laugh: thanks to everyone who helped me last thread! for those who didnt see my last post, i’ll quickly sum it up: i am temporarily looking after a 6yr old rosy faced (male) lovebird and i have no experiences with birds so i’m hoping i can get as much help as possible!

ANYWAYS

So I took the lovie out so he could get exercise and I’m still trying to figure out what some of these mean. So he sat really close to my face on my shoulder and kept fluffing his feathers and he wagged (?) his tail super fast. He nipped my face but it didnt hurt but he was making these grinding sounds with his beak. What does this mean? He’s also molting pretty bad so I watched him rub his face against the cage.

Any help especially for body language stuff is well appreciated! again, just want to make sure he’s okay :shy:
 

Oscarbird

Sprinting down the street
Joined
6/24/21
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559
So I took the lovie out so he could get exercise and I’m still trying to figure out what some of these mean. So he sat really close to my face on my shoulder and kept fluffing his feathers and he wagged (?) his tail super fast. He nipped my face but it didnt hurt but he was making these grinding sounds with his beak. What does this mean? He’s also molting pretty bad so I watched him rub his face against the cage.
My bird "wags" his tail when he's happy to see me. The grinding sounds could be that the lovie is content. Oscar makes those sounds when he's sleepy or tired. Nipping quickly could be a sign of overstimulation, meaning that the bird is getting too excited and overwhelmed. If they start to become nippy and wagging their tail a lot, set the bird down on a table or countertop and walk out of the room for a few seconds to help the bird calm down. If the lovie is molting maybe try offering a bath to him so that their pin feathers don't itch so bad. Also boost the calcium and vitamin intake by giving him things like leafy greens and broccoli. Thank you for being so concerned about someone else's pet! It means a lot to me that you care about this lovebird so much. :)
 

saccharose

Moving in
Joined
7/20/21
Messages
7
Real Name
gabriel
My bird "wags" his tail when he's happy to see me. The grinding sounds could be that the lovie is content. Oscar makes those sounds when he's sleepy or tired. Nipping quickly could be a sign of overstimulation, meaning that the bird is getting too excited and overwhelmed. If they start to become nippy and wagging their tail a lot, set the bird down on a table or countertop and walk out of the room for a few seconds to help the bird calm down. If the lovie is molting maybe try offering a bath to him so that their pin feathers don't itch so bad. Also boost the calcium and vitamin intake by giving him things like leafy greens and broccoli. Thank you for being so concerned about someone else's pet! It means a lot to me that you care about this lovebird so much. :)
This is so helpful! I’m taking notes of this :cool:I’m so glad, thank you so much! He actually did have a bath today and he seemed so happy about it :D

he’s honestly the cutest thing, i really do want him to have the best vacation here. i actually overheard that his owner doesnt really take good care of him which made me upset so he’s being extra spoiled here :D
 

Zara

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Wags side to side or up and down?
Side to side would be general bird movement. It will lay the feathers down nice again after one goes skew wiff. With moulting I notice more side to side tail movements. My birds also do if before and after flights more commonly.
Up and down, acompanied by a clicking sound is male hormonal behaviour, sometimes lots of ear scratching with foot. Remove him from your shoulder and put him on the nearest bird safe surface.

Beak grinding is a good sound. Content birds do that. Usually when perched relaxing or falling asleep. A nice way to know that our birds are comfortable and relaxed :)
 

saccharose

Moving in
Joined
7/20/21
Messages
7
Real Name
gabriel
Wags side to side or up and down?
Side to side would be general bird movement. It will lay the feathers down nice again after one goes skew wiff. With moulting I notice more side to side tail movements. My birds also do if before and after flights more commonly.
Up and down, acompanied by a clicking sound is male hormonal behaviour, sometimes lots of ear scratching with foot. Remove him from your shoulder and put him on the nearest bird safe surface.

Beak grinding is a good sound. Content birds do that. Usually when perched relaxing or falling asleep. A nice way to know that our birds are comfortable and relaxed :)
It was most certainly side to side! It was so fast, hearing it close to my ear felt funny honestly :laugh: it’s amazing how fast he’s adjusted to me, i only had him for a little over a week and he placed his trust in me so quickly. heck i wasnt even on the first floor where he usually is and the moment i stood by the stairs he instantly flew over to sit on my head

I’m grateful he’s showing positive behavior, I’m prone to worrying a lot especially over animals, so all this info is really reassuring :shy:
 
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