New lovebird, and Nippy!!! Help!!!

[majicgrl]

Hi, im new here and desperatly need advice!! I purchased a new lovebird last week, she/he is 9 weeks old. She was apparently hand raised and very friendly, however since we brought her home its a battle to stop the biting! Even putting fresh water and food is a chore, THe breeder told me to hold down her beat and say NO BITE, but that seems to agrivate her more... Any advise please??!! I already have a fear of birds, that is why i purchased one so young and "hand raised" But her nipping is not helping my fear...>o If anyone can offer some help I would greatly appreciate it!!!:confused: :confused:

[bellarains]

Hi,

To start, you are going to have to give your lovie some time to settle in. She is in a new environment, taken away from all she knows, and her only defense against against the strange hands, and her safe spot, which is her cage, is to bite.

Spend the next few days just sitting by her cage, talking to her softly, and when you do change out her food and water dishes, try to do so as slowly as possible, so not to frighten her with sudden, fast movements. If you can distract her to one side of the cage while you do this, it will help to avoid a bite.

You have to earn her trust before she will accept your hands, and as she seems to not trust them now, it may take some time. If you force her, it will never work, so give her time, care, love, and have patience. She will come to you in her own time, and when she is ready.

Offering her a treat such as millet spray by hand may help her see your hands as a good thing. Again, don't force it, just offer it to her. After a few days, offer her your hand again, but with the fingers in, not out, kind of like a fist. You can also offer her an arm in a long sleeved shirt to step up onto. Hands do take some time with some, so you will have to be patient.

Good luck, and let us know how it's going.

[majicgrl]

Thank you, Ill try that...This is my first time owning a bird, I have a love for the bigger birds, but my other half wants to see how well we do with this little darlin first, to be sure I can handle a bigger one (with a bigger beak :lol ) Thank you, and ill let you know how it progresses

[Janie]

Sounds like your bird was hand raised but not socialized. From what I've read here, socialization is more important than hand feeding a baby. Anyway, your baby is young and with time, patience and love, you can do it!

Very good advice from Lori! :D

[majicgrl]

Ive tried letting her come out on her own, but doesnt seem to want to yet.. I just leave it open, talk to her... She likes being on my shoulders but with the ears so close, and her little nibbles... not quite ready for that yet..lol

[Janie]

Earmuffs are great for that! :lol

[LauraO]

Welcome to you and your new lovie:) . You are lucky to have found this board as it's one of the most informative and up to date I've ever found.

A lot of what is going on can only be solved by you getting over your fear of birds. Just because a lovie is young and handraised doesn't mean it won't nibble, bite, attack, etc. In fact, younger lovies mean more biting and personality changes than older lovies. If you peruse the board, you will find countless stories to attest to the trials and tribulations involved in developing a relationship with a young lovie. I suggest you read through the threads in this section along with the link to the biting article, which gives a good beginning outline of lovies and how they use their beaks. It's important to realize that lovies use their beaks for a lot of things and not all of it is biting.

Young lovies LOVE EARS and nibbling them along with fingers, faces and anything else they can get a hold of:happy: . It is part of being a young lovie and part of their growth experience. If you squeal, make noises, or flinch it invites the little lovie to do it more as your reaction is part of the fun:omg: . A good way to deal with this behavior is to have something close to hand them such as vegeteable tanned leather, beads, big buttons, etc. I personally have never had any luck holding a beak and telling a bird no bite. It's best just to not react and to get used to it.

It's great that your open about your fear of birds. My husband has always had birds, but when we got our black masked lovie Zimber six years ago that was my first bird. I was pretty terrified of him, which seems funny now cause he's the sweetest thing ever, but not handtame. It was only with time, patience, and letting my lovies nibble on me that helped me get over my fear. It can be done, and over the years I've graduated up in size and now have two meyer's parrots, an indian ringneck and an african grey. They've all bitten the H**l out of me on more than one occasion, and I have to say if you can't handle a lovie nibble, you don't even want to get near a bitey vindictive parrot whom you've pi**ed off:cool: . I got sarcastic with my african grey one day and didn't think anything of it, but when I went to kiss his beak he almost bit a chunk of my lip off and my face was all bloodied up:x . That was the last GOOD bite he got in because I've been working hard to be patient and get to know him so I know when I can give kisses and when it's best to keep my distance.

Anyway, good luck and let us know how it going:)

[Janie]

In fact, younger lovies mean more biting and personality changes than older lovies

Laura, AMEN to that! I never had a single bite from Oliver and was shocked at the difference in adopting an older lovie and then getting two babies! Babies are curious and into everything! Just their nature and worth it all! I have had a BLAST with Big Boi and Shy this past year, including each and every bite from Big Boi. :) Totally different than my Oliver experience which has also been wonderful but not nearly as much fun as young, curious lovebirds. Oliver and I have both learned what lovebirds are all about with those two. :D

[majicgrl]

THank you all, Ill try very hard to keep the reactions away:omg: Shes so sweet, and you can see the difference when my room mate has her, she offers no reaction and Baby seems to just get board of it...lol This weekend i will be attempting lots of interaction ***fingers crossed***
I had her out last night and it was nice at first, till she decided that she wanted to be on my head :roll: B4 she stepped up to my hand she flapped her little wings at me like crazy, is she trying to tell me to back off? or is she just going nuts?lol:D