Aggressive Bird, please help!

We recently got a Black-Masked lovebird from a breeder. For a day or two it was fine and we were able to pet it and do many things with the bird. (We had a Peach faced lovebird before this one so we have some lovebird experience) After that short period the bird became very aggressive. It would bite if you tried to touch it. It would bite the bars if you got close to the cage. It would even bite your fingers if you tried to give it food. We even had to remove all the toys from the cage because it would attack them and actually bite through 2 of the hanging toys we had in the cage at the time. We had a little triangle bed that it would swing violently and attack at random times as well as tearing out small chunks of the material it was made out of after about a month.

We have had the bird for about 3 months now and none of this behavior has stopped, though it has settled down somewhat. We think it is mostly due to the lack of things in the cage to attack, and that we have all backed off from doing things near the cage. We purchased some training videos on how to get the birst to stop biting us and those didnt work. We are pretty much on our last legs and are looking into finding someone who might be able to handle this crazy bird.

If anyone has some advice on what we might do to calm the bird and tame it somewhat that would be great. I dont like to give up on animals and i will try anything at this point with this bird.

First thing is to put toys back in his cage. They are SUPPOSED to attack and shred toys - that's the idea.

Hi there

AD is 100% correct, they are suppose to attack and shred toys.

My AG Mishka goes through toys like we eat peanuts. Keep toys in the cage.
When he breaks the toys, keep the good pieces and collect them. Make new toys with these.
Left is a pic of Mishka's Christmas present I made for her, from the collection.


Take things slowly, let the bird gain your trust. It takes a bird quite a while to settle down.
You mentioned that he has settled down somewhat, perhaps to many people were trying to get his attention, he then became scared and aggressive. Let each person spend time alone with the bird, sure you will get great results.
I would suggest sitting near the cage talking to the bird. Leave the cage door open. Let him come out in his own time.
Offer him a treat, through the bars at first. Perhaps a nut, or fresh fruit.
Spend quality time with the bird, talking to him.


Behavior:

The black-masked lovebirds are quite popular as companion birds. They are friendly and sociable - but need the companionship of a mate or partner. Couples can be seen grooming and feeding each other. It's very endearing and fun to watch.
Younger parrots are easier to tame, although given time and attention, the vast majority of older birds will eventually gain trust and overcome their fear of humans.
In a cage of medium size, the birds can be put together in pairs or on their own. Taming is easier if the birds are kept alone. There have to be enough rungs in a cage so the birds can move around freely and keep themselves amused. One may occasionally offer them willow twigs to amuse themselves while nibbling. In nature they live in habitats surrounded with water, so it is necessary to provide them with more bathing facilities than for other parrots.

If kept alone, they require a lot of attention from the owner to make up for the lack of a cage mate. Unless you have a lot of time to give, this is not recommended. If ignored, they are likely to turn aggressive and neurotic, as many parrots will. Lovebirds, in general, can be aggressive to birds outside their own family group. Care is to be taken when introducing new birds into the area.
Unlike some parrots, lovebirds don't imitate human speech.



Training and Behavioral Guidance:
Lovebirds are pretty easy to manage for most people. They are not as destructive and noisy as their larger cousins. If not properly socialized, however, they will discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us".






It really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established. There are few things to consider ...

• Biting:
• If not properly socialized, however, they will discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us". They can be very aggressive towards other animals (including birds), if they don't know them or are jealous of the attention they are getting from their favorite human.
  
• Noise:
• Lovebirds are very vocal birds, making loud, high-pitched noises that can be a nuisance. They make noise all day, but especially at certain times of day.
  
• Chewing:
• As stated above, lovebirds are also very active, and love to chew things. When they are let out of their cage, it would be wise to watch them carefully, and protect any furniture, electrical wiring or anything else that they could possibly chew on. They are not big chewers - as their preferred medium is "paper."
  
• Paper:
• They love to tear up paper -- especially when they are in the "mating" spirit -- which is all-year-round for birds kept indoors (not exposed to the seasons). I have learned not to keep important papers laying around - and even use it as a way to keep my lovebird busy.

Let us know how it goes
Good luck
Take care

I agree with Antoinette, he (or she) needs a mate but you will need to have it DNA'd first because two males might get along but not two females. If you put two female lovies in a cage, sooner or later you will end up with one severely hurt or even dead. They are VERY territorial.

Get a nice large cage (not round or with little turrets or nooks and crannies, just a large, square, plain cage) and set it up with all kinds of shredding toys (mine love rolled up magazines -I get the free car or real estate catalogs off the bins at the convenience stores). Have the bird DNA'd and get him a mate (your best bet is to adopt an older, calmer, more experienced black mask bird -you don't want to get a baby and end up with two aggressive birds in your hands- you also want to get a black mask because, sometimes, they are very particular and will not accept a different subspecies). Start by putting the two cages together during quarantine and you will be able to tell if they like each other (lovies are very hormonal little birds and usually have no problem accepting a new mate). After quarantine and vetting is done, let them come out of the cages to interact with each other and observe them. They will, most likely, end up in the same cage of their own initiative.

But, a word of caution, because lovies are intensely hormonal little birds, you need to keep them to a strict natural daylight schedule with full exposure to dawn and dusk because, if you don't, chances are you will end up, eventually, with a chronic layer and/or plucker and/or self-mutilator if you don't.

Finally, I just wanted to re-assure you that you haven't really done anything wrong, some birds just will not resign themselves to been human pets and lovies are well known for this.

I do not think our birds should be called pets and they do retain their wildness forever. That is the nice thing about them. The birds usually do pick out a toy to be agressive with - work out their frustrations. It does sound like your bird may have some harmonal frustrations that may be mended with a mate. The DNA test is a blood test and it usually does not cost too much. My hand feeder did it for $25.00. Keep us posted how things are going Logan. Bye for now