Expert: Roger Lederer - 10/11/2011

Question
we have had our lovebird for about 6-7 months now and (s)he keeps going through these "mean" stages where he doesn't let you handle him doesn't like for you to even come close to his cage or he sinks his beak into the closest thing he can on you... after a few days to a week he goes back to "normal" is this a normal behavior of a lovebird? just worried that he is not happy, or if he is lonely and needs a companion. Last time he went through this stage we bought him a bigger cage its huge for him and filled it with as many different type of toys we could for him and it seemed to help... so maybe hes bored? any information on this subject would be very helpful thanks !

Answer
Hi. You need to work with him/her but slowly and patiently. Maybe five minutes every hour or two at first. By handle him, do you mean hold him or just put him on your finger? Just work on getting the bird to sit on your finger by slowly pushing your finger against his lower abdomen until he hops on the finger. If he is aggravated or mean, back off and try later. Patience will solve the problem, I think,