ALBS Biting article

[Eliza]

http://www.africanlovebirdsociety.com/pets/questions/biting.html


The link above is to an article on lovies and biting. It can be found on the ALBS website.

Beetle's breeder wrote the article, so I just HAD to share :D

Hope that you find it helpful,

-e-

[mjm8321]

It's well written and very true. Only problem ( I haven't been to the ALBS site in a long time) is the obnoxious blue beads following my cursor! :wink:

[LauraO]

I liked the article too. It's a good one to have all, new and old, lovebird owners to read. Lovie bites are often confusing, well and painful too.

[sdgilley]

I read the article and agreed with it mostly. I'm of the mind that these birds are quite individual in personality and therefore in need. I don't know that you can catorgorize their biting into 4 areas and address them so. But each of us has our experiences and the advice here in this article adds to what we have.

For example, Peter used to bite me for pure sport. I'm sure of this. After other attempts my correction for this behavior? was to AVOID the bite rather than anything else. I don't think this falls into the 'let them bite you and ignore it' realm because it's really hard to ignore a deep bleeding wound. This was, as Barb has advised me well, an area where you simply watch and AVOID the situation until the behavior changes. Thankfully, that has been wonderful with Peter and after 3 years he's a treasure - not a bad boy.

I'm not an expert. I like the article and think it has much to give. I'd probably soften the advice on the "time out" part to be something that fit the crime. And I'd never leave a pet without food and water, that is just me. I've never been bitten by anything larger than a german shepherd...:)

Thanks for sharing the article!

[linda040899]

The article has merit but I also have to question a few things. One of the suggestions is that lovebirds that are not handfed/socialized are almost impossible to tame as pets. I really have to disagree with that statement. Parent raised babies know they are birds. We have to socialize them to teach them to be pets. I, personally, think that handfed birds are more prone to biting since they have been raised around human hands and are not afraid of them.

The word "punishment" should not even be used when referring to modifying parrot behavior. Parrots have no concept of punishment. Put them in their cage, away from everyone/everything and it's just a change of venue to them. They don't associate the action with the reaction.

You can actually teach your lovebird to bite by using cage time outs. The thought process goes like this. Lovie bites person. Person puts lovie back in cage. After a bit of repetition, biting becomes a way of getting back to the cage whenever the lovebird wants to go there........

[sdgilley]

:) biting becomes a way of getting back to the cage whenever the lovebird wants to go there.

When Peepo gets tired of being out she nips me. That's my signal to return her to her cage. hmmm, who's training whom?

Maybe this sounds a little wacky, but biting is a very important form of communication (my opinion). We don't like being on the receiving end of the bite, for sure. Toddler birds bite as they learn. Many times birds are trying to get something across to us, and maybe we aren't paying attention to other signals... or maybe we react the way they want so quickly they don't try anything else.

[BarbieH]

When Peepo gets tired of being out she nips me. That's my signal to return her to her cage. hmmm, who's training whom? You have to ask? :D

Biting is a very important form of communication. Some birds use it to signal that they want to be fed; others use it to signal that they are afraid, or as it is in your household, tired. That beak is a vital tool for our birds, and we need to remember that biting isn't always an aggressive thing.

It's when biting becomes the primary form of communication that it can get in the way of the human-bird bond. It's hard to trust an animal that bites you a lot.

Suzanne, Linda was the one who taught me well: Don't put yourself in a situation where you will get bit, and you won't be bit. Gracie taught me the rest. ;) The first time she flapped her wings as a sign that she wanted to go back to the cage, I didn't ask questions, but praised her and took her back to the cage post haste!