Stop lovebird from biting? (special case)

I found the lovebird in my backyard, two weeks ago. I could not find the owner, so I kept the bird. This is my first lovebird, or bird of any kind.

She will not get on my hand, and she bites.

She is a special case for these reasons:

1) I don't know anything about her history. Maybe she was abused, or something?

2) She has a lame right foot. Only one talon works. The vet said it will never get better, and there is nothing he can do. Because of her foot, she uses her beak a lot for balance. I do not think she can just step up on my finger. I think she will have to use her beak to pull herself onto my hand. I am okay with her using her beak, but I never know when she will apply pressure.

3) I am afraid that if I take her out of her cage, she will not come to me, and will not go back in. I first caught her and put her in a box. When she got out, she went crazy fluttering everywhere. I finally had to catch her, again, by throwing a bed sheet over her.

4) When I took her to the vet, I think I scared her badly. I put a towel over my hand and herded her into a box. It was much more difficult than it sounds. She does not mind being in a box, in fact she does not want to come out, but she hates going into a box. She was screaming and fluttering all over her cage. I think that cost me a lot of trust.

She loves sunflower seeds. If I put a sunflower seed in my hand, and put my hand in her cage, she will take the sunflower seed from my hand. But she does it by stretching over my hand, she will not step on my hand.

Any ideas?

take your time let her watch you eat and sleep from the safety of her cage. If her wings arent clipped I would deffinately do that so she cant get away so easily. just go slow with her and she will come around. as far as letting her out of the cage and not getting her back in take her in a bathroom or somewhere small. open her cage and see what she does. dont try to touch her or anything just talk to her and let her do what she wants, when time to put her away it will be alot easier and less traumatic to catch her in a small room. but I reccomend getting bit instead of throwing anything over her. she will never stop being afraid of you if she can tell you are afraid also. when the birds freaking out and it can tell your freaking out , that just tells her obviously there is a reason to be upset. stay calm and do it her way.

What do you consider patient? I have had her over two weeks. I spend time with her, I feed her out my hand. But she will only lean over and take food from my hand. If I hold my hand where she can not reach the food, she will bite. If I put my hand near her without any food, she will bite.

I am about to give up. Maybe I should take her to the human society, and get another bird? I have never come across a less social, less tamable bird.

Two weeks is a drop in the ocean; is there a rush? If the bird was kept in an aviary, poorly cared for, or even abused, it could take years*. Whoever gets her will have the same problem, and it's another bunch of faces for the bird to get used to. Whether you want to take one for the team, or let her be someone else's problem, that's up to you.

*From what I have read, not from experience.

walterbyrd said:

What do you consider patient? I have had her over two weeks. I spend time with her, I feed her out my hand. But she will only lean over and take food from my hand. If I hold my hand where she can not reach the food, she will bite. If I put my hand near her without any food, she will bite.

I am about to give up. Maybe I should take her to the human society, and get another bird? I have never come across a less social, less tamable bird.

Click to expand...

It took me 9 months to get my alex to trust me enough to step up without biting
Two weeks really is nothing. If you arent prepared to spend more time than that, i would maybe consider a different kind of pet? They do take a lot of time and patience
If you stick with it and are patient, she will eventually come round. I think thoughm if you are not prepared to make the committment (and it can be a massive one!) it may be better to rehome her, than her being in a situation where she may be neglected (not saying you would neccessarily neglect her, you are obviously a kind person for taking her in!, but she may need a lot of work).
Clipping her wings will absolutely speed up the process - but I would only clip if she can still walk properly on her lame leg, or just do a very light clip.

Good luck and let us know what you decide - if you do decide to make the committment, it is an extremely rewarding experience and the bond you develop is like no other kind of pet.

> Two weeks is a drop in the ocean; is there a rush?

As it is, I am afraid of taking her out of cage. How can I put her back in, if she will not get on my hand?

Last time she got free, she went crazy fluttering everywhere. My wife, and I, had to corner her with two bed sheets to catch her - it was not a pleasent experience.

Without being able to take her out of the cage, I cannot transport her anywhere. Not to the vet, not to the groomer, not somewhere else if I want to take a vacation from home.

So, yes, there is a bit of a rush.

unfortunately the bird doesnt care about your time frame. I know its frustrating, but rushing things will probably just cause problems between you and the bird. there really is no quick way to gain a birds trust.

FWIW: I started letting her out of her cage, and she does not go so crazy anymore. Much of the time, she will not even leave her cage if open the door for her. When she does go out, she wants to go back in after a time. Maybe the first day I caught her she was just too freaked out.

I got her to jump on my forearm, but she started tearing at the skin above my wrist.

consider trying some training techniques from dvds. You've had this bird a short time, and without knowing it's history or what it's been through, it may not be tame at all, or it's just very scared and usure. the ultimate decision is yours wether you are going to commit to this bird, or find it a new home.
give it some time, birds are not easy, and can be quite the challenge, but very rewarding.
you could try hanging millet about a foot outside the cage, once he's comfortable coming out to eat it, repetitively,day after day, then move it a little further away. he'll learn that he gets a treat outside of his comfort zone, and nothing bad happened.
Try not to stress over this, birds pick up on our energy just like cats and dogs do.

Basil was one when he came to us and it took 4 months before he would come to my forearm. We started with treats (millet or broken up sunflower seeds) through the cage bars. He will come to my hand now but it's still a little challenging to get him back in the cage. His wing clips are growing out too so he has a little more freedom to get away from us now. Not sure whether I will clip him again. He wants to fly to our piano because he likes to talk to the "piano bird" (his reflection in the shiny black surface). You need to have a lot of patience and practice reading your birdie's body language. They tell us so much if we just pay attention. Good luck!