OhhhhhNooooo' (long for Ono'!)

[kiwilovies]

Boy is he true to his name! :o
The little toad has taken to "Tasting" Fidma'ma! Whats the best advice to curb this habbit before it becomes one! He has not been out of his cage since I bought him indoors 4 days ago because I wanted him to get use to that space first, but I have him step-up onto my fingers in his cage as often as I can a day, he loves scritches, but everytime now he tries to eat me, never so hard It hurts bad, but hard enough!
I tell him "No bite" and move my finger away, but when I put my finger back he makes a mock attemp at biting again. :rolleyes:
I am clipping his wings tonight, so I can work with him easier out of the cage.

[bellarains]

Nicky,

Holding the beak firmly, but gently between my thumb and forefinger and saying "No Bite" works well for me. I know there are many things to try, but this works very well for both Bela and Lacey. Cappie???? Now that's another story :eek:

Lori

[kiwilovies]

LOL! If I can catch that pecker that is LOL!
He's pretty fast :D What he does let
me do is cradle his back with my hand, and scritch, if he wants scritches, he even scritches me back... Just soooooooooooooooooooooooo friggen cutsie!
He just doesnt like me going towards him like Im going to pet is head :rolleyes:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

He just doesnt like me going towards him like I'm going to pet his head

That's the key to not being bitten. If he doesn't like it, and you do it anyway, he's going to bite you! Also he is still very young so he may be trying to figure out what his boundaries are. You know, like toddlers. :)

[Joanie Noel]

My birds are generally not bitey, but they are when molting -- like right now. :rolleyes: If they nip and nibble at my fingers, I blow air at their faces. They don't like that, and it really works for me. :) You could try that and see if it works.

~ Joanie

[sdgilley]

Hi Nicky,
Jennifer makes a good point, if he bites when you approach him a certain way, he's telling you *not* to do it. Biting is a form of communication. It might mean many things, so you should study what situations cause him to bite.

When Peepo is upset because I am moving her away from something she wants, she'll bite. Or if she's hungry or tired. I always take note of the hard bites, so she doesn't have to "repeat" herself to be understood.

Good luck!

[LauraO]

Nicky: The first thing is that Ono is at that stage where lovies like to bite and nibble on everything, especially skin. I try to hold the beak firmly and say no in a gentle way or give something else for them to chew.

Also, if he likes skritches develop a key word he can associate with it and say that word as your coming towards him, which may help with the biting. I do this with my lovies and the up command. Some of my flock will freak out if I just move my hand toward them but will stop dead in their tracks if I say "up". I think it's the not knowing what's going to happen that scares them.

[kiwilovies]

Thanks heaps guys :D
I have had a great time with my "main squeeze" today... Within 24 hours, Ono' has turned into a loving baby who gives me "LOVE" bites instead of amputation attempts!
Things are going wonderfuly!
Rose on the other hand.... I bought her inside yesterday as we are going to Great-Fidma'ma's house next weekend...MAN .... That lovie must be a hen! Even with all the work over the past few weeks with these babies, this one bites even harder than Ono' did :eek:
Never mind, back to the old drawing board... I think last week was a crutial week for my babies, I had to work three, 13 hour days, so they didnt have any interaction with me then, may have been just enough to let mama & papa's influance take over!

[LauraO]

Nicky: It's not bitey related but it's funny you mentioned the long work days. I've been working a lot as my husband has. This along with our increased flock has resulted in less one on one time with our lovies. I've noticed that some of our older lovies like Birdy Boots, Katsu and a couple of others have started to get a little uncomfortable while being handled. I'm thinking today will be birdy lovin' dat, especially for my birdy boot.

[Ruthie]

i agree with most of these ppl jsut telling yur bird no (calmly)wen they bite..theyll get the message eventualy:)

[gyoung321]

Please note that lovebirds are very territorial. they don't like it when another bird or my hand go into their cage, they will certainly bite, hand raised or not. THe pair I have are not hand raised, but their babies were handfed by me, may be the babies remember the way their parents guard their home.

I usually wait till they come out of the cage and then pick them up. Usually the babies will fly out to my shoulders immediately when I open the cage. :)

[gyoung321]

I forgot to mention that whenever you approach birds, it's a good habit to talk to them or make some noise to announce that you're not trying to sneak up on them like a cat or a hawk. yes, birds are very fearful....

[Janie]

I have three and not a single one of them is territorial where I am concerned. They can be that way towards each other but never react when I reach into their cage or their space. One parent raised and two that were hand fed. Maybe their behavior is not the norm. :confused: