Aggresive or scaried lovebird

[jancijen]

Hello, Please i need help. My parrot is aggresive(i think). When i give hand into the cage he comes and he is opening beak. He is not hand-fed (i am not sure if i said this well) . I can feed him from hand when i feed him outside of cage, but from begin i was feeding him in the cage. Now i tried it and i can do it, but when i dont have nothing in hand he wants nip me. When i am near to the cage sometimes he normally looks on me but sometimes he is biting cage bars (i ll send video). Btw: i dont know if it can cause this problem but my parrot have broken finger on leg, he had broken it when he was young and maybe this is reason why he is more on the cage bars than on the roost, i am not sure. There is video how my parrot is biting cage bars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8nnY69PP3o . Please i need help. I am trying to spend time with him, i am feeding him (in cage, too) but when i try to give finger to him he wants nip me. Thanks in advance and i hope u ll help me

[Eric&Rebecca]

Hi,

Ok first things from the video. That is completely normal!

Lovebirds are climbing birds and this is good active behaviour. They use their beaks to test stablity and climb, just like an extra hand! This is normal. Also you need more perches in the cage, those two are good perches as they are natural wood from what I can see but the minimum is 4.

Especially if he's had a foot injury previously you need different perches, so some flat, some round, varying textures and diameters to exercise and support the feet. I would get the foot checked again by an avian vet to see if its healed well, birds adapt around foot injuries but its should be checked. I doubt this has anything to do with the behaviour but please get it at least looked at.

I would also at some point consider a larger cage than that although it will be OK for now providing you let your bird out of the cage to exercise often. Additonally, maybe some more toys would be useful for chewing, the cage is pretty sparse with very little in the way of entertaiment and enrichment. More perches, more toys, foraging items, etc would be good to add. That cage is a little on the small side for a lovebird.

As to biting in the cage. How would you feel if a giant hand came inside your house... pretty scared right? Well that's how your lovebird feels for the moment. There is a guide by Michael on this. In the meantime, use a wooden dowel or perch to take your bird out the cage if he's biting really hard. If he's just nibbling thats fine and normal he's jsut testing your fingers and beaking with you but if he's biting hard this is something you need to address be retraining him. Again see Michael's guides. If a bird bites its not the bird that's doing something wrong, its you. I don't mean that in a bad way like you're a terrible owner because that's NOT the case- we've all had our fair share of bites. Birds work very differently and you may unconsciously be doing something threatening and not realise.

HOWEVER, I don't think he's biting I think he's saying to you "hey where's my food?! when you have your hand here normally there's food! Where is it?!"- he's using his beak on your fingers to search for the food! I think this is the most likely explanation. My cockatiels do this when they are hungry they nibble my fingers for food! It's not hard justa little gentle pressure or sometimes a bit of a nip.

Also his diet? What's it like. I can just see seeds and water? That's ok for now but you need to introduce lots of fresh foods ASAP and preferably some pellets if you can or a lot more fresh stuff which should include pulses, brown rice (cooked) with grains as well as 'table foods' like perhaps a hard boiled egg sometimes or mashed sweet potatoe (no salt, butter but some chopped chilli is good!)

A happy bird is a healthy bird! and from what I can see your bird is normal and not aggressive and you have done a good job training him so far. Just some slight environemntal and dietarty adjustments and perhaps a little training he'll be great!

[jancijen]

Thx for ur reply I give him a lot of other food but he doesnt like walnut he doesnt like dried grapes ... He likes spray of millets, sunflower and apple. I ll buy him some toys and roosts (or make it). He never was out of cage. I am training him now to target. But i cant really tame because when i give hand into the cage he comes :/ then i give hand out of the cage :/ Do u have some advices how to improve this ? and how to improve bitting ? :/

[Eric&Rebecca]

Apple is good but sunflower and millet are very high in fats. They should only be given as treats really You need more vegetables, fruits, grains (not in seeds), seeds are still good but sunflower is high in fat so only 3 or 4 in the bowl. Walnuts are too hard and dried grapes... probably just doesn't like them but keep offering in case. It takes time and patience to introduce new foods don't give up with them on the first try

I may have read this wrong but he doesn't come out of the cage at all?! He needs to come out the cage at least once per day or he'll be bored and cagebound. That's why he's climbing around all the time, he wants to come see you!

As I've said don't put your hand in the cage to get him out... use a perch or roost to get him to step up and then take him out on that. If he also takes from from your hands why not offer him that to tempt him out the cage?

When I trained our cockatiel, he was raised by parent birds and completely wild! I used to offer the perch into the cage and remove him. He'd fly and perch on things and once I got him to take food from my hands it was easy. This is different to Michael's methods.

Read the article:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=227&p=1074&hilit=taking+your+bird+out+of+the+cage#p1074

You need to read from the part where he talks about taking treats from the hand. The first bit is for birds where you can't even be in the same room.

My way is different to Michael's because I've used it for many years but I would try Michael's method he's very knowledgeable.

You can tame him, its just a long process. Not all taming relies on being able to get the bird on your hand, there's a lot to do before you get to that stage You can you a perch in the meantime to remove the bird from from the cage but do keep doors shut and make sure there's no dangers in the room. Keeping blinds down will keep a barrier between him and the windows and make sure all loose cords are tucked away so he doesn't get tangled. Don't worry about a few minor bumps here and there- there are a few crashing landings at firsts. Don't panic and run around after him just let him settle somewhere, when you want to put him back calmly pop him bag on the stick and into the cage. This worked when training our cockatiel but if it isn't working for you then keeping using Michael's methods.


Biting- The small nibbling will never disappear because its natural and a part of their behaviour. Biting hard and making you bleed, no you've definitely upset the bird, but slightly nibbling is fine. You are going to get bitten in this the process but don't react, that's very important because then the bird will start doing it aghain and again for the reaction. Just calmly move away from the bird and try again a few minutes later. its just part of the process I'm afraid.

[jancijen]

Ok thx i ll try to put him out of the cage. and why i shouldnt give him sunflower ? i give him sunflower as daily food with parrot mix. i just buy parrot mix for small parrots and mix it with sunflower. and i give him spray of millets only sometimes or only as treat i ll try it thx again

[Eric&Rebecca]

You can give him sunflowers but not all the time because they are very high in fat. Over time this causes fatty liver, blood and kidney problems, if you ate chips all day- think of it like that

Just use the parrot mix and fresh foods with treats of sunflower and millet. Can you get hold of pellets?

Here are some foods to try-

Spinach (sometimes)
Brocolli
Chillis (no seeds)- they love spicy!
Rosemary (a good herb)- just fresh it fresh or sprinkle on foods
Apple (make sure theres no seeds)
Pear
Mango
Mashed sweet potatoes
Cooked brown rice
Dried fruits like papaya, apricots,
Cooked pulses- beans (fresh not from a tin or in sauce)
Bell Peppers (no seeds)
Asparagus
Watercress
Kale
Blueberries
Kiwi
Strawberry
Hard Boiled egg (only sometimes)
And many many more!

Do NOT feed

Chocolate
Avocado
Garlic
Onion
Tomatoe plant leavfes or seeds (or the actual thing as it very watery)
Apple seeds (toxic)
Peach pits, cherry stones (generally no fruit pips or stones unless they are very small like in a kiwi or strawberry)

Before you feed it check with us on the forum if you're not sure

Where in the world do you live we could help you find good pellets or places to find things. Have you located your vet yet?

[jancijen]

I ll try adjust his food i live in Slovakia and i wont locate vet now (i think it is not necessary) he have broken finger long time and he behave normally (as u said) today i ll try to get him out

[Eric&Rebecca]

I would locate an avian vet as your bird should have regular check ups at 30 days of ownership, 6 months and 1 year and 6month-1year thereafter. Its very important. I'm sure the foot is fine but these check ups should be performed.

Pellets might be a problem to get hold of, in which case you will need to balance the diet with fresh foods... look online for TOPS, Roudybush or Harrison's pellets. I would get the smallest size for your little lovie if you can get them. These require a conversion process onto them and should only be fed as part of a wider diet. Come back on the forum if you can get them or search in the threads for help.


Or perhaps ask where you bought the bird if they stock it. Lovies really really leafy green veggies and they really good for them. Also don't panic if his poops changes to the colour of the food, that's normal! The poop red sometimes with red foods, etc... All food needs to be well washed beforehand.

If you need any more help come back and definitely look into a bigger cage for the future. I hope I helped you a bit.


Also cleaning your cage is important too. Don't use normal human disinfectant. Use f10 or cider vinegar or failing that boiling water and washing up liquid (rinse well afterwards) I do mine in the bath or shower, makes it easier for the poops to comes off!

[Eric&Rebecca]

This is another useful thread on how to make your room safe for your bird to fly and be in

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10471

[jancijen]

Pelets are for burning or not ? i know how to clean cage maybe my mom had 2 parrost = cockatiels when she was young and we have one hand-fed psitacula krameri but he is now really strange he is biting when mom wanna get him out from cage ( he is 6 years old i think ) because she had not free time to spent with him and now he is strange he eats food from hand but when mom wanna get him out he is bitting or running away :/