How To Stop Lovebirds From Biting

My friend Asha has lovebirds as pets and I always felt that these small parrots that originated from Africa and Madagascar won over the hearts of everyone by their affectionate nature. I could never imagine that these lovable birds had a problem of biting. Lovebirds never nip without a reason and so it is best to know why they bite and address the issue.

Reasons and ways to stop lovebirds from biting:

Lovebirds may bite certain family members or guests out of jealousy: It is found that lovebirds in the wild mate for life with one bird, so it is quite common for the lovebird to be attached to one human who interacts with it the most. The bird may bite anyone that it sees as a threat to this relationship.

You can stop the lovebird from biting by making interaction with other people enjoyable; this could be done by allowing him to sit on the perch, while guests and family members feed him treats and fuss over him. He will soon start loving the interaction.

Lovebirds could bite out of fear: The lovebird could be afraid due to nervousness and rough handling. 

Build up trust in the bird by not stressing him out. It would help to slowly pick him in a small towel when you need to pick him from the cage. Ensure you handle him delicately and not very often. Do not allow children or those that have no experience in handling birds to handle him; if they do so ensure there is proper supervision. Patience would go a long way in building trust and stopping the lovebird biting anyone.

Lovebirds could turn territorial and bite: They could turn territorial over their cage and nesting box and bite.

If the lovebird is territorial, it would be best to remove it from his enclosure. This problem needs careful handling; it would help to offer your finger for the pet to step on. If he bites than gently remove him from his cage wrapped in a cloth; keep doing this whenever you want to get in his cage. He will eventually cooperate and step on your finger. It would also help to try moving his cage and toys, so he doesn’t feel he has to defend one area.

Some other reasons for a lovebird to bite:

a) Your lovebirds could bite during puberty due to changes in needs and hormones.

This phase will soon pass and it would help if you gave him some extra space and respected his boundaries.

b) Lack of sleep could be another important reason for biting.

Ensure that your bird goes to bed by 7 or 8 pm by darkening his cage by putting a cloth; he would then get enough sleep to function properly.

c) Some lovebirds bite to get their way.  

Do not encourage this practice in your lovebird; it would help to ignore him or react by not allowing him to get his way. He will soon realize that biting is undesirable and would get bored and give up.

I am sure you would have stopped your lovebird from biting.