My solution to an overactive beak.

[Cooper]

I bought a pair of leather gardening gloves, ones that fit somewhat snug as opposed to looser workgloves. At first it was working, I could pick Cooper up and ignore her bites - not give her a reward for biting. Then she began to see the gloves as a toy....an attack chew toy. Although she doesn't break skin through the leather, it still pinches :omg: Now we are at the point where as soon as she sees me put on a glove Cooper gets all excited for her out of cage time and likes to rub her beak on the leather. She still nips them, but doesn't attack them.

I don't know if I've created a worse situation or helped solved a problem, but now I can pick her up (she really hates fingers and mine where starting to develop a layer of scar tissue).

[Janie]

Brownyn, I've always read that gloves aren't supposed to be used but I'll tell you what, I certainly would consider using them if I had a lovie trying to take my finger off! :D Since Cooper is now rubbing the gloves and not really biting them, maybe the next step will be to see how she reacts to skin again? I've seen the gloves you're talking about and they do fit more like skin so maybe this will get her over her biting that hand/finger phase. Wouldn't that be nice!? :D

[LauraO]

I just take the bites like any good lovie mom should:rofl: :rofl: !! I'm only half joking. My lovies would not react well to gloves at all. I would think it would be better to teach Cooper to step on a stick rather than use gloves. I would also think this could have an even more negative reaction to your fingers. If Cooper is biting them like a game, I'm sure she's smart enough to know the gloves are still your fingers and may get to biting your fingers more.

By the way, how is Cooper's foot doing?

[Paulette]

Bronwyn, I can certainly relate. I try not to use gloves, but if I have a biter...I won't pick them up any other way especially if I'm going to be working on them (wing clips-toe nails-or emergencies). Precious my 6 mo has been biting ever so lightly, but I think she is testing out her surroundings. Of course her mother Tweety was a breeder and didn't know any different, always defending her cage. Hope also a breeder bird only bites when she feels there is no other solution to being trapped in my hand. Interestingly enough I have found that the babies that I played with in the nest box early on seem to bite less than the adult birds that I received as adult birds. Wish I had some good advice. I think it would be interesting if you wore a different pair of gloves every other time, then the third time no gloves and see if she's still biting. Sorry about your scars, not much fun.

[Phoebe]

Yep, Phoebe is a Jeckyl and Hyde, if she won't come out of her cage voluntarily after awhile, have to use gloves but then she is the SWEETEST being on earth after she gets out of her cage!:confused:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Melody tends to get extremely bitey when she's wound up. When it's time to put her back in her cage, she goes into crazy attack bird mode. I've trained her to step up onto a stick now, even though she attacks the stick more times than not, at least it's the stick and not my finger.

It's funny how when she WANTS to be picked up, she'll politely hop right up on my finger or my arm, and stand tall with a look of satisfaction when I tell her she's a good girl. :roll:

[Cooper]

I'll work on weaning her off the gloves, I knew it wasn't the ideal thing to and may creat bad habits. Now that she knows being picked up means coming out to play, maybe she'll cooperate.

[LauraO]

You people are WEAK !!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:. Let's see...I have Cuddlebunny who is absolutely crazy and her favorite fun time activity is to hurt people and birds. Funny thing, she's tame. Shy has babies in the nestbox and likes to attack me over and over and over again each time I get in her box to socialize her babies. She's all attitude with her chest puffed out, sitting on the perch outside the box daring me to come closer. Then there's Babiest Bubber. She's never really been a biter but I've taken babies from her twice and now she's protecting that last baby like her life depends on it. Let's not forget Spike. She's been especially bitey lately. Of course, there's Olive who likes to come over and bite my face and fly away quick. I don't think she knows how to do anything else but bite...HMMMM. That's only five birds. I have plenty more and plenty of those bite.....The best way to deal with biting is to get used to it. The skin toughens up the more you get bit:rolleyes: :rofl: :rofl: :rolleyes: .

[Phoebe]

Nope, skin doesn't toughen for me unfortunately. This is why Phoebe ended up in rescue so she will always have this behaviour to some degree. She was hiding under her cage paper the other day and my friend knocked on the paper to see if she was okay, he claims the blood came spurting out of his finger... pays to be careful with gloves............:roll:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I'm not weak, I'm out of band-aids! Mel got me again today. I was trying to get her to step up off the couch. She took a quarter inch chunk out of my cuticle; I suppose that's her way of saying, "why, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness but I'd rather stay right here."

[graushill]

Pidget bites, and the hardest bites are always to defend his cage. He's quite territorial about it, but since I was used to pretty much doing whatever I wanted inside my birds' cage, I decided I would try to continue as usual despite the biting. I started by offering him food and treats and it did help for him to see that my hands were not always up to no good like he suspected. The one out of bounds place still in the cage is his cozy hut. That one merits what I call "the beak stab" which can draw blood. I've never used gloves though, but I would agree with what people have said, maybe you could try phasing out the gloves since she's not attacking them lately and see how Cooper reacts.

One thing I've done with Pidget, since he doesn't like hands, but is otherwise quite comfortable with perching on people, is to cover my hand with the sleeves of my sweater so he can't see my fingers, like in this picture:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4333/sittingonhand3xz.jpg

In that one, he's actually quite happily sitting on my hand, although he doesn't know it. I guess that's a variation on the glove thing, but I do commiserate with you on keeping your fingers protected :).

Gloria

[Mandolin]

:rofl: My boyfriend makes fun of me when i get Kameko to step up on me with my hand in my sleeve. I guess i am not the only one who uses that technique... great minds think alike i guess :cool: . Works really well.

[Janie]

Gloria, sneaky, sneaky, sneaky! I like "sneaky!" :D

[Mummieeva]

I use the covered hand with Baggy sometimes. There are some days I have to get her from the cage and I know she will get me. I am jsut waiting for her to climb into the sleeve one day.



Steph