Need suggestion

Hello i am 18 yrs old and i am from indonesia, lately around 3 weeks ago me and my father bought 1 lovely lovebird, its a male. And i saw some articles saying to keep talking to it until it gets comfortable and whenever you got bite dont scream

My lovebird name is Micky and he is not self raising, we bought him like maybe he is around 6 month - 1 year, and he likes to bite which i want to prevent it.

What i want to know is how to tame an aggresive bird like this? Which when u just place your hands near the cage, he will come to try bite you? And if it gets used to me... how do i know ? Like what are the signs to know.

So far he is not as aggresive as it was before (at the s1st time i buy it) and don't worry about the patience.. i always have time for him tho.

Oh ya btw in here stores dont sell spray millets.

I hope anyone who can read this may help me, many thanks

Hi, and welcome!
I am bumping this back into daylight on our side of the world!

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

Okay, a lot depends on this bird's background. If he was not hand-raised, it will be a lot tougher to earn his trust than it might be otherwise. 3 weeks is early yet. Just remember that him coming to trust you is a much bigger feat than the other way around. The size difference is probably greater than that of a human to an elephant, for example. So that's a lot of trust.

Best thing is to start off with a lot of bribery. Find out his favorite foods. The stuff he will absolutely lose his mind over. For my birds, cashews and almonds do the trick. Then separate his favorite one or two foods from his general diet. In other words, make it so he can only get these foods from you. And then sit by the side of his cage, between meals when he's feeling a bit hungry, and offer the treat through the bars. Be patient and let him come to you. Might take him a little while to build up the necessary nerve, but eventually he will. And once he does, he will come to associate you with his favorite treat.

Birds learn strongly by association. So you want to take the time to build that link in his mind. Make sure, btw, that you're always talking to him in a mellow voice while bribing him. You want to put him at ease.

As he begins to get more comfortable, you can move on to target training. To start, you can do this through the bars of his cage, basically indicating with a pointer of some kind somewhere you'd like him to go in the cage, and then rewarding him for moving in that direction with his favorite treat. Eventually he'll make the connection and find himself very eager to go where that stick directs him. Here is a link to a video on target training: [ame="https://youtu.be/HaOicTtwIZo"]Beginners guide to target training parrots - YouTube[/ame]

Eventually, once he's at ease with this level interaction, you can open the front of his caged start targeting him somewhere on the outside of his cage. Baby steps. Don't get too eager and try having him fly across the room on your first go. Just a place right beyond the door, like the outside wall of the cage. And then reward with treats and lots of praise.

Now, on to the biting issue. Hopefully much of the biting will subside with the increased interaction and level of trust. For what biting remains, take a good read of this link: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html What I love about that thread is its focus on bite avoidance in general. Many bites are easily avoided if you know what to watch out for.

As for handling any bite that winds up happening anyway, a few tips:

Be proactive. Begin carrying a small, bird-safe piece of wood or hard plastic around with you. (Small enough to carry comfortably in your pocket or even the palm of your hand, and hard enough to withstand a good gnawing.) And then learn the warning signs for when he's about to attack. When he does, interpose the bird-safe item between your flesh and his beak. This will serve the dual purpose of shielding your hand/arm, and also diverting his attention from you as the object of his ire. Most birds will be distracted enough by this that they will momentarily forget their desire to eat you.

Again, once you become more adept at reading his moods, you'll be able to prevent many bites simply by not putting yourself in the position to be bitten in the first place.

Also, when telling him "No", always do so in a calm and even, yet firm, tone of voice. I don't say this to spare Micky's feelings, but rather to make sure that you are not training him to bite you. You see, when you react animatedly to a nip or bite, he really has no point of reference for your decidedly human body language. So if you yell or jump about cursing and such, it is entirely possible that he might find the display AMUSING. And then he'll of course prove his hypothesis of cause and effect by doing it again. And again. So try your best not to react excitedly. Keep your movements controlled and precise. Keep your voice calm. And use your hand to gently remove his beak from your flesh. (No, don't follow the advice of people who tell you to accept the bite and not react at all. That is just a good way to bleed for absolutely no reason.)

At this point, you would put Micky on timeout for 5 - 15 minutes, making sure to either leave the room completely (if his timeout is in a cage) or turn your back and give no eye contact. Of course, this works best after establishing something of a relationship with the bird as laid out in the steps above. A timeout for a parrot that does not yet have any kind of rapport with you and still actively flees from you is actually a reward. So do everything in its proper order. 1) Build trust and a connection by sharing treats, speaking in a calming voice and keeping your movements deliberate and gentle. 2)Deepen that connection through interactive sessions of target training, first through the bars of the cage and then outside the cage once he's ready. 3) Try targeting him onto your hand. If he's apprehensive, you can use a lure of food that requires him to step onto your finger to reach it. But always remember to let him come to you. It's a good idea if it's HIS idea. Lol!

Here's another link for bite pressure training: http://www.parrotforums.com/training/63988-bite-pressure-training.html

Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to post with further questions.

Wow first of all thankyou so much, i really like ir text which makes my mind clear and cam start from which the selecting his fav foods first

Let's say his fav food is millet and it is seeds not spray millet which we can just place it without our hand be near the cage. When i want to give the threat outside the cage what if he will eagerly it?

And how do you tell if a bird is scared or annoyed at you?

Oh and lets say if i managed to make him do the target training and target him outside the cage in my room, and lets say id he fly how to make him go inside the cage again? Because when i buy him his wing is not clipped.

And dont worry about the how long it will take, everyday i have time for him and i am a patience boy luckily ^_^ and even if he bites i dont hate him because it may be his instinct,

And btw can i send my bird pics in here? Idk how tho XD

You're welcome!

You can coax him outside of the cage with a treat in a cup. Sure. As long as this is happening at his pace, it's all good.

Watch for his body language to know if he's scared or annoyed. The Brainstorming thread I linked in my prior post has a good amount of info on what to look for.

Ah, getting him back inside the cage need not be too difficult. And my birds have never been clipped. Eventually he will learn to do as you ask. But initially he may be a bit stubborn about returning. So first thing, make sure not to "free feed". In other words, give him 2 or 3 defined, large meals per day rather than constant access to food. And always feed him in his cage (except for treats, of course.) That way, he'll come to associate meal time with his cage. After implementing these practices, it all comes down to strategic timing of your training sessions. End your session a little before his next mealtime, when he's good and hungry, and then put his regular serving of food into his cage dish. He'll head inside of his own volition. *Only exception is if he's really scared, so you should try to wait until he's more comfortable with you.

As for sending pics, here's a link: http://www.parrotforums.com/technical-support/6287-how-post-pictures-6.html Pay special attention to post #51 on page 6.

Thank you for gathering all that for our young friend, Anansi!

Hi, its me again..
Sorry i couldnt post yesterday , suddenly i needed to help my friends with his shop.

And let me tell you what i try and what micky is doing, if there are any mistakes you may tell me to correct it.

1. I tried to use 8 different seeds to him since you said try to find his fav food, which before i just used millets. And it turns out he ate all 8 different seeds lol (i don't know if this is a good news or bad news).

2. I don't use cup or coax him outside the cage, instead i try to become braver and just put seeds in my finger at the ceiling of his cage. And he go towards me and eat it. It makes me happy to see he walk and approach me first altrough only just to eat hahaha XD

3. He ate all from my finger but, later since i saw he always drop the sunflower seed after he cracked it, i tried to hold it in my hands while he eat, but after that he walks to me and use his beak quickly to me, and it turns out i got bitten and bleed a little. And before i want to remove his beak he already back off. And i just remain silent lol

Thats all for what i saw today, i don't know if he is annyoned/angry to which he bite me or he miss take his food.
Oh ya i forgot to tell you that his cage is a round one but it is quite tall and have 2 perch for him to hang.
And i don't for how long to try feed him using treat, like how many minutes before i put his meals inside the cage, and sorry i still don't understand about the brainstorming thread , the words make me confuse hahaha since i dont really know english well.

And when u tell me if i get bite i should not make eye contact for about 5-15 min thats what u mean right?

So far its so good and i hope you can explain more a little bout the biting issue sorry for troubling you and thankyou so much

Hi! No problem at all. I'll answer each one according to the numbers you've put down. Let's see...

1) Okay, a few things here. First, you might be better off finding his favorite nut. Unless you have seeds that have already been hulled. I say this because during training you want a treat that your bird will be able to eat relatively quickly. They can take a while breaking through the seed hull to get to the actual seed within... which will tend to slow the training experience to a crawl.

And second, what you are trying to discover is his favorite food, not what foods he will eat. So offer maybe 5 or so different types of food at the same time. All should be easily and equally accessible. Then watch for which type he consistently goes for first. If he goes for that one first most times, you know which is his favorite. And that will be the one that he can only get during training time.

2) This is fine. And it's good that he feels like he can approach you to take the food from your fingers. And don't worry about the fact that he is only coming to you for the food. That's how it starts. The key is when he gets to the point of associating the sight of you with the tasty treats he loves. Association is a powerful thing. Are you familiar with the famous experiment involving Pavlov's dogs? Check it out if you're not. Same principle applies here. Through association, he will come to be excited to see you.

3) For the reasons I mentioned earlier, I wouldn't bother with the sunflower seeds. But in this instance, what likely happened is that you "ignored" his body language telling you that he didn't want anymore. So since you didn't listen, he tagged you with a bite. Always pay attention to his body language, and never push farther than he's willing to go in one session. Remember that you are playing the long game, here. Be patient. Don't go for the quickest results. Go for the best results.

And another thing. All of this is taking place within his cage, correct? Just remember that some birds are very territorial. And if this is the case with yours, just having your hand in his cage at all might be putting him on edge. So be especially careful when putting your hand inside his cage rather than luring him out.

The cage is a round one? If it's like what I'm picturing, you should try to upgrade his cage as soon as you can. And the perches should be tree branch types.

Yes, if you are bitten, turn away and don't look his way for 5 -15 minutes. But that works better once you are actually bonded with your bird. Right now it m might not b other him so much. But later, it will.

As for the Brainstorming thread, are you saying you went there and didn't understand what everyone was saying? If so, ask any particular questions about it you may have. You can either ask here or on that thread. Just ask specifically what you would like to know.

And no need to apologize. We have members from all over the world, here. You're not the only one who speaks English as a second (or even third) language. So if anything I say confuses you, don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need. It's no trouble at all.

Honestly, from what I've seen, this is normal for a new bird, especially a parent-raised one. Here's my advice:
1. Your bird is NOT aggressive, he is fearful. This is very normal, and you can overcome it. Make sure the cage is in an active part of the house. Your parrot should be able to see people for most of the day. For about a week, place your hands on the sides of the cage while just talking. You can say anything you want, but make it in a calm tone. Do This for 5 minutes each day. After about a week, start offering treats through the bars of the cage. Once he is fine with that and is eating them, you can start giving him treats with your hands inside the cage.

2. PLEASE save up for a square cage. It will help IMMENSELY.

3. Leave his cage open while you are in the room. DO NOT try to force him to come out. He will come in his own time. When he does, Don't try to touch him or make any sudden moves. Just continue with what you are doing. He will go back into the cage when he is hungry. Don't worry about the poop. It is odorless and comes off pretty much everything easily.

Hope I helped!

P.S, the bird store is rather wrong. A bird in a round cage has no safe corner to go to, so they feel trapped and stressed. a square cage will help your bird feel safer.

Answers to your questions:
Are you right handed? Birds can sense what hand is less steady, so the trust your dominant hand more.
Birds dislike fast movements. Try moving more slowly, and Don't try to force anything.
Most parrots wipe their beaks after eating to clean them of food. It's like you wiping your mouth after a messy meal.

Hi. My lovie and I started out the same way. I'd regularly get bit for feeding her lol.

Sometimes I still get bit for feeding her.

She had been abused in the past so it has been a very slow process. I got her just over a year ago and she is just starting to trust me.

She has one kinda amusing habit. She's scared of hands but insists on bathing in my hands. Last bath she only bit me once. No blood.

If your bird is scared and biting your finger: use a small (metal) spoon to give the seed.
(sendok teh /?/ sorry, used a translating site, could not think of the english word)


You can still feed him by hand without the bites.


(I do the same with Sunny when she is scared of new foods. No more holes in fingers.)

Hi crowcall, sorry i dint mean to be rude, but i think u are mistaken about what you read. My bird is bought whenche is around 6-1 year old, sorry if i mistook what parent raising is if i am also wrong.

And about the active part, yeah i place him near the family room which we always watch tv and chat all the time so dont worry, and for the place hands on the sides of the cage, do u mean next to him i put my hands? If yes then he will come and bite me immediately.
I already told ny dad to consider buy a square one, and lets hope my dad will agree

For the leve his cage open, i think micky is not ready for that process yet because its just still maybe 3 weeks? And its almost an adult bird so it might be taking longer time in my opinion

But thankyou so much for the steps u told me , i already feed him outside the cage through cage cell, maybe around 1 week later i will feed him inside his cage

Wooo yeah i am right hand, ahh so thats why.... i was curious bout the wiping one, just afraid he damaged his beak. Well you said it right, sendok teh is a teaspoon in indonesia ^_^, and i use fingers to feed him and he eat it... i know i will get bite sometimes but i prefer using my finger so he will know about the appearance of my finger ? Maybe ahhaa

And yeah i think i used my left hands too fast because i need to open the door earlier this morning, and thankyou so much.. i will save up money for my lovely lovebird!

Hi, thats really reassuring to have experts around the world help me ^_^

Well, lets see... i will tell u what i have done today

1. I followed ur opinion and place 8 diff seeds in a can lid and try to have him pick which one he'll choose. Too bad i didnt crack open the sunflower seeds, but it turns out he chose this one seeds( i dont now the names, it looks white and like a fat seeds) it takes a little time for him to open, but its not as hard as the sunflower seeds, it looks simple to micky to crack it open ^_^

2. And for the training session, i feel bad if i remove all his meals from his cage, and give him his fav food and then place his mixed meals(without his fav) in the cage.
May i put the millets seeds in there all the time? But the fav one will only be given by me and ofc with my hands.

3. OHHH SO THATS WHY.. i juat realized after seeing your post. When i fed him, at one point when i palce sunflower seeds near the cage, he turn to his back to me like 2 or 3 times, maybe that is how mocky tells me that he had enouh training session? Well, i will be careful and make sure to read his body language more careful

Actually today i got bad bite which bleeds again . Well maybe he is being territorial because sometimes if i just place near him, he will quickly try to bite. And i dont know about this but i have a little question, when i use can lid to offer him try know his fav one, he turn his head down and look for my finger which i become scared to get bite lol , and he seems more eager to bite me when i approach with left hand than right hand. Why is that? Or maybe just my feeling?

4. Sorry this might be a bad news , it turns out i can't afford to buy a square one cage, because my dad recently just bought that one, but all the stores that i have visited have the same cage as me (round one) and the height and width is the same too, and inside the cage only have 1 bird, they say that the square one is for breeding. At the other point, the good news is my dad bought and changed the perch from plastic to wooden one, and i wonder why he always look like moping his beak at the woodern perch after he eats? Is it to sharpen his beak? Or what? I am curious

Well thats all for now, i feel happy to have experts help me, thankyou so much, u r an amazing person haha ^_^ and btw u need to make the go for the best result a quotes, thats really a cool line hahaha, as always thabkyou so much PS : this is for Anansi, i would like to report to him ahaha

1. Parent-raised means that the bird was raised and fed by it's own parents until it was ready to be sold. It has nothing to do with the age of a bird.

2. Place your hands on the outside of the cage. Sorry if I was unclear. If he still tries to bite, hover them about an inch away from the cage.

3. By leaving the cage open, you are allowing him to explore things at his own pace. By knowing his environment, he will feel safer. PLEASE MAKE SURE there are no dangers in your house first, I.E, running fan, open toilet, turned on ovens or stoves, and the like.

Hope I clarified things a bit! Good luck! And don't get discouraged! These things take time, especially with lovebirds. They can be a bit touchy.

Nix277 said:

Hi, thats really reassuring to have experts around the world help me ^_^

Well, lets see... i will tell u what i have done today

1. I followed ur opinion and place 8 diff seeds in a can lid and try to have him pick which one he'll choose. Too bad i didnt crack open the sunflower seeds, but it turns out he chose this one seeds( i dont now the names, it looks white and like a fat seeds) it takes a little time for him to open, but its not as hard as the sunflower seeds, it looks simple to micky to crack it open ^_^

2. And for the training session, i feel bad if i remove all his meals from his cage, and give him his fav food and then place his mixed meals(without his fav) in the cage.
May i put the millets seeds in there all the time? But the fav one will only be given by me and ofc with my hands.

3. OHHH SO THATS WHY.. i juat realized after seeing your post. When i fed him, at one point when i palce sunflower seeds near the cage, he turn to his back to me like 2 or 3 times, maybe that is how mocky tells me that he had enouh training session? Well, i will be careful and make sure to read his body language more careful

Actually today i got bad bite which bleeds again . Well maybe he is being territorial because sometimes if i just place near him, he will quickly try to bite. And i dont know about this but i have a little question, when i use can lid to offer him try know his fav one, he turn his head down and look for my finger which i become scared to get bite lol , and he seems more eager to bite me when i approach with left hand than right hand. Why is that? Or maybe just my feeling?

4. Sorry this might be a bad news , it turns out i can't afford to buy a square one cage, because my dad recently just bought that one, but all the stores that i have visited have the same cage as me (round one) and the height and width is the same too, and inside the cage only have 1 bird, they say that the square one is for breeding. At the other point, the good news is my dad bought and changed the perch from plastic to wooden one, and i wonder why he always look like moping his beak at the woodern perch after he eats? Is it to sharpen his beak? Or what? I am curious

Well thats all for now, i feel happy to have experts help me, thankyou so much, u r an amazing person haha ^_^ and btw u need to make the go for the best result a quotes, thats really a cool line hahaha, as always thabkyou so much PS : this is for Anansi, i would like to report to him ahaha

Click to expand...

You're welcome! I'm glad you're finding this all helpful. The more that you watch your bird and come to learn his body language, the less you will be bitten. You'll see.

Okay, again by the numbers.
1) If you can try finding his favorite nuts for this it would be better than seeds, but only for the speed of transition from one training attempt to the next. With a nut, they don't have to take the time to go through a hull. They just chew and swallow, and then they're ready for the next. But working with that seed you've found is okay also.

2) To answer this, let me first explain the 2 different ways of feeding. Some people prefer free feeding. With this method, food is left in the cage all of the time and the bird is free to pick away at his leisure. Then there is what I call the defined meals method, where they are given 2 or 3 full meals per day (not counting any training or nighttime treats).

I go with the defined meals method for a few reasons. A) Less chance of your bird getting overweight, B) I have Eclectus parrots who need mostly fresh foods as they tend not to do well on pellets. And fresh food will spoil after a few hours, and C) it makes them more motivated for training with treats and for foraging activities you may want to give them.

My birds work with a 2 meal per day schedule. So 2 hearty meals, breakfast and dinner. For my flock, this would include fresh chop, sprouts, some legumes, oats and grains. For your bird, you'll also want to include some fresh fruits and vegetables (chop) along with pellets and such, as well as a small serving of seeds. (Not including his favorite, of course) And remember, millet should be more of a treat food than a main part of his diet. Seeds and nuts in general should make up a significantly smaller percentage of his diet than chop, legumes, sprouts, and pellets. So no, millet should not be available all of the time. Maybe as a small nighttime snack... after dinner.

3) Yes, if he turns his back on you he's definitely indicating that he's done. Chances are, he'd probably already given you less dramatic signs earlier. Pay attention to those signs. Eventually, when you get good enough at reading those signs you will be able to anticipate when he is nearly at his limit and stop beforehand. (Most birds' training sessions should only go as long as 10 - 15 minutes. Some are even good for up to 30, like mine. But each bird is different and has a different limit. Any longer than their limit, and birds start to get bored.)

As for him looking down at your finger and getting more eager to bite, this makes perfect sense. See, birds are much better at reading body language than we are. But they are not always that great at figuring out exactly what the body language means. Remember, you are the one who seems like a predator to him. Not the other way around. So when you get scared, he's just reading an increase in your excitement. Which, to a prey animal, means that you might be getting ready to attack. In the wild, a fellow bird would know if he intended to bite or not. So a fellow bird would not get apprehensive as he got closer to him. Know what I mean? So yes, the more nervous you get, the more likely you are to get bitten. Because your nervousness makes him nervous.

And I agree with CrowCall25's point about your left hand versus your right hand. Your dominant hand is the one that will tend to be the steadier of the two.

4) Again, CrowCall25 covered this question rather well. The store people are definitely wrong about round versus square cages. If you can't get one now, make sure to start saving up for one so you can get one as soon as possible. I'd suggest asking in another thread specifically about the recommended cage size for a love bird. There are many in this sub-forum who can give you a good answer to that. But the general answer to that is: the larger the better.

And yes, when he wipes his beak after eating it serves to clean his beak and to sharpen it. This is a good, normal and healthy activity for him.

BTW, have you gotten him lots of toys and such for his cage? Mental stimulation is very important for a parrot. Cool wooden toys that he can gnaw on will entertain him for hours at a time. Just make sure that it is bird-safe wood.

Post back with any further questions. We're happy to help.

hooo i see i see, as always i really appreciate all ur answers


lets go again with numbers haha


1. i actually only have different kinds of seeds to feed him, but around every 2 until 3 days usually my dad gives fresh corn, or some greens, or banana. seeing you reply to me, then it makes me want to follow ur defined meals method (because so many positive point there).


so what i would want to do is remove all his food except water and a bowl of water for him to take a bath in there, and at 7am i will feed him his fav food around 15 mins before i give him breakfast and i will do the same at 6pm, but at 12pm and 3/4pm i will have feed him his fav food, is that a great idea?



and yeah about the fresh veges or fruit, i read that if u give to lovebird, it can stimulate them to increase their desire to mate, is it true? or should i just give fresh fruit or veges everyday?



2. well, seeing you said that makes me remember that around the 2nd week after i bought him, i place my hands in there confidently and he wants to bite but hold back, like thinking for a while, ( but i still got bite because i place my hand in his cage too early ><) so, what u want to say is i need to have confident and just feed him act normally right? not showing my fear i mean


3. and yes i understand, i will tell my dad to buy one, and my dad ask me to go to pet centre this saturday, hopefully we get a nice cage to change



4. and you know, around 2 days ago i just realized i dont have a toys for him, and yesterday i forgot to bring money to buy one, how silly i am. but tomorrow i will buy one, it looks like a block of smooth wood, and there is a saying there for lovebirds toy and to decrease the desire to mate, is that the one u were referring?


and for crowcall25, what is the effect when i hold my hand an inch away from my bird inside the cage while he is trying to bite me? i am curious about the biting issue to be honest, and yeah i did it today around 5 minutes while talking to him and after that i feed him his fav food with my fingers like 15 min

Nix277 said:

hooo i see i see, as always i really appreciate all ur answers


lets go again with numbers haha


1. i actually only have different kinds of seeds to feed him, but around every 2 until 3 days usually my dad gives fresh corn, or some greens, or banana. seeing you reply to me, then it makes me want to follow ur defined meals method (because so many positive point there).


so what i would want to do is remove all his food except water and a bowl of water for him to take a bath in there, and at 7am i will feed him his fav food around 15 mins before i give him breakfast and i will do the same at 6pm, but at 12pm and 3/4pm i will have feed him his fav food, is that a great idea?



and yeah about the fresh veges or fruit, i read that if u give to lovebird, it can stimulate them to increase their desire to mate, is it true? or should i just give fresh fruit or veges everyday?



2. well, seeing you said that makes me remember that around the 2nd week after i bought him, i place my hands in there confidently and he wants to bite but hold back, like thinking for a while, ( but i still got bite because i place my hand in his cage too early ><) so, what u want to say is i need to have confident and just feed him act normally right? not showing my fear i mean


3. and yes i understand, i will tell my dad to buy one, and my dad ask me to go to pet centre this saturday, hopefully we get a nice cage to change



4. and you know, around 2 days ago i just realized i dont have a toys for him, and yesterday i forgot to bring money to buy one, how silly i am. but tomorrow i will buy one, it looks like a block of smooth wood, and there is a saying there for lovebirds toy and to decrease the desire to mate, is that the one u were referring?


and for crowcall25, what is the effect when i hold my hand an inch away from my bird inside the cage while he is trying to bite me? i am curious about the biting issue to be honest, and yeah i did it today around 5 minutes while talking to him and after that i feed him his fav food with my fingers like 15 min

Click to expand...

Sorry I missed this, before. Okay, by the numbers...

1) You definitely need to feed him more than just seeds. A seed only diet will eventually lead to health problems and conceivably take years off his life.

The favorite treat should only be used when you are either training him or just bribing him. It should be fed to him by your hand. And also, if you are shifting from free feeding to defined meals, it would be a good idea to get a weight scale for him if you can to make sure he isn't losing any weight. (There are weight scales with perches designed specifically for birds, but in a pinch any kitchen scale that measures in grams should be fine.)

The idea is not to remove the food from his cage, but rather to give him enough food to fill him. For instance, each of my ekkies gets a bowl of breakfast in the morning. That bowl is left there until I get home, but I know they'll finish most everything in there within around 1 or 2 hours. So they're completely full, but hungry by the time I get home.

Also, make sure you are gradual with the transition. You don't want a situation where you leave him with too small an amount of food and he's starving by the time you get around to the next meal. (Not really an issue if you're home most of the day.)

2) Yes... but having confidence won't be a cure all for biting. Approaching nervously is one reason for getting bitten. By approaching with more confidence you are eliminating that one reason. Sticking your hand into what he sees as his territory might be another cause entirely. Know what I mean?

3) Excellent! Remember to make a thread asking other members with lovebirds about the best cage size.

4) There are lots of different toys. Experiment with different types to see what he most enjoys. A toy with a mix of soft and hard woods might be a good place to start.

Here's a link to one of my threads showing toys I put together with my children. I'm not a good toy maker or anything. This is just to give you an idea of what kind of things can be put together: http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/74225-toy-making-family-bonding-time.html

Okay, back to work I go. Let me know how it goes.