AboutChrys Meatyard Expertise I`ve been raising/breeding/handfeeding/selling parrots for over 18 years (parakeets/budgies, cockatiels, 6 subspecies of conures, parrotlets, amazons, lovebirds, etc.). I've been published in "Budgies" and "Cockatiels" offered by Bow Tie Productions, and have written avian articles for publication in England. I can provide advice in raising healthy birds, handfeeding/weaning babies, some health problems, nail/beak/wing clipping, general husbandry, etc. I also have experience with racing/showing homing pigeons. I cannot diagnose specific illness over this website. If you suspect your bird is ill or if you have an emergency, contact a certified avian veterinarian or emergency pet clinic ASAP.
Experience Experience: Over 18 years raising parrots and over 11 years raising pigeons. Organizations: Currently, American Racing Pigeon Union. Prior member Miami Valley Bird Club, Southern Ohio Pigeon Association, National Cockatiel Society, Miami Valley Sportsman's Club, others. Publications: Monthly newsletters of bird clubs.
Question My lovebird is 4-years-old already and it bites quite a bit and sometimes VERY hard. How do I tame it?
Answer Hi, Eunice. Thanks for posting your question.
You may not be able to tame it...there are no guarantees. However, I'll try to help you through the process if you are willing to devote much time and patience. I'll explain to you first what has happened over the past 4 years, and then I'll recommend some things you can do to start the taming/retraining process.
Over the past 4 years, your lovebird has learned that biting gets it what it wants. You have "rewarded" this negative behavior by allowing the biting to continue. You have most likely done this by pulling your finger back when s/he bites, then perhaps stopping your interaction with the lovebird for a while afterward (or some form of allowing the biting to continue). And I don't blame you...lovebird bites do hurt! Your lovebird has learned that if/when s/he doesn't want to be bothered, that all s/he has to do is bite or become aggressive and you leave s/he alone. For example, it doesn't take a human baby long to learn that crying gets it what it wants. Same principle...the lovebird learned that biting gets it what it wants (or doesn't want). Your lovebird has control over you and you need to reverse the process and be in control over the bird.
Do not make the mistake of buying another lovebird as a companion for this lovebird. If you do, you will have 2 untame lovebirds on your hands and won't be able to tame either one. Birds prefer other birds to humans. First thing you should do is clip the lovebird's wings if they are not clipped. A clipped bird cannot get away from you and is at your mercy to get from place to place, etc. If you don't know how to do this yourself, some pet shops clip bird's wings or can refer you to a parrot breeder (might find these in the classified ads or phone book) or someone else who can clip them for you (perhaps a $5 fee). Or you can call a local veterinarian for a referral or you can take your bird to an avian vet who can show you how to clip them yourself. I'll give you my website that has instructions on how to do this yourself, but for the first time, especially with an untame bird, you probably should have someone show you how to restrain the bird properly and then clip the wings. If you don't know how to do this correctly, you can break the bird's neck or wings.
Buy yourself a pair of gloves that can withstand a bird bite. I have a pair of welding gloves that work great! Cloth/fabric gloves don't work very well because the beak can usually penetrate the fabric. You should be able to find something at a hardware store that has a good selection. If you're brave, you can do without gloves! These will be used when retraining so you don't get too many bites. Your bird will be afraid of them at first (birds are afraid of anything they don't recognize). When you find a good pair, place them in a spot close to your bird where s/he can see them 24/7. After 3-5 days, start wearing them to feed/service the cage. This process will get the bird used to the gloves (so when you wear them during the taming process, the bird won't be afraid of them).
With wings clipped and a good set of gloves, your goal will be to REVERSE what the bird has learned. At the same time, you must build a trust relationship with your bird because a bird that trusts you, will allow you to do most anything with it. You need to retrain your bird that biting is unacceptable behavior. In order to do this, it's essential that you reward positive behavior and ignore negative behavior. From this point on, EVERY TIME your lovebird behaves positively, you should give s/he it's favorite treat. Like you would if you were training a dog. When the dog sits like you ask, you give it a treat. EVERY TIME your lovebird bites or becomes aggressive, you have to stand your ground and INSIST that s/he does what is asked. For example, if your bird tries to bite when you want s/he to step up on your hand/finger, you should say "bad bird" or "no" (or whatever word you choose to use, but you MUST be consistent), and make your lovebird step up on your hand/finger by pushing your finger up against it's lower chest and say "up." This is where the gloves come in handy! Sometimes, I find that while pressing my finger up against the lower chest, it helps to place my other hand behind the bird, not actually touching the bird, but just having it there, it helps the bird to step forward onto my hand. If the lovebird steps up on your hand, you should praise the bird and give it it's treat IMMEDIATELY. Then try the whole thing again. If you can't get the bird on your hand at all, then this isn't going to work (see below).
Another thing that works well is to get the lovebird on the floor (wings clipped) and put yourself on the floor between the bird's cage and the lovebird. The lovebird will want to get back to it's cage (it's "safety zone"), so s/he should fairly easily step up onto your hand as soon as it realizes the only way to get there is via your hand! Don't forget to reward your lovebird. Do this several times, then stop for awhile and resume later.
Another way to start the taming process is to take the bird into a neutral room, away from it's cage (because s/he will want to get to it's cage), let the bird out in the room (on the floor, bed, bird playstand, etc.), and just start interacting with the bird. Talk to your bird, just stare at each other/spend time together, make s/he get up and down from your hand, feed s/he treats by hand, etc....get "used" to each other. However, you should terminate the taming process as soon as you lose your bird's attention. You'll only have your bird's attention for a short period of time, so you would need to interact like this with your lovebird as often as possible. Once you get to the point where your lovebird is comfortable with you and on your hand, you can move into other rooms, but always remember that your bird will want to get to it's cage when it feels threatened/scared because it's cage is it's safety zone.
Not rewarding negative behavior is not reacting in ANY way to the negative behavior. This isn't easy because even eye-to-eye contact with a bird can be a reward. A good example of this would be when a parrot screams. The first thing you want to do is say "shut up." However, this is exactly what the parrot wants....your attention! And he got it when you told it to shut up. Even a nasty look is what the screaming parrot wants!
This can be a long process, depending on the individual bird and the amount of time you can/are willing to devote to this process. Be patient and just remember that you are dealing with an intelligent parrot, and s/he will be confused and stressed out during this process because s/he won't understand what is going on. For 4 years, biting was OK and now you are going to be telling this parrot that biting is not OK. Be patient with your lovebird and try to see things from it's perspective when you get frustrated. S/he will be just as frustrated!
