Just a Couple Questions

[MrNubby]

So I've had my lovebird for about 10 months now and he's been amazing, super comfortable around me. However I just have a few questions.

1. He very rarely bites me, but he'll almost always try to bite different parts of my face when he's around it (ears, eyes, lips, etc.) Most of the time they're not really hard bites, more so nibbles. He really is nice for the most part, but is there a way that I can teach him that he shouldn't bite my face?

2. I feel as though he has some separation anxiety. Any time I leave the room without him, he'll screech almost nonstop until I either come back or he just gives up. Is there anything that I could do to help him with this?

 

[Flboy]

The nibbling is what they do! Distraction will help.

 

[noodles123]

I've never had a lovebird, but here is some general information/things that worked for me:

When my Cockatoo bit my face too hard, I put her down calmly and walked away every time it happened. She wants to be with me, so this worked. I didn't react in any way other than putting her down and sometimes, quietly saying, "no bite"...You just have to be careful with this because, in theory, it can be turned against you if your bird decides that it wants to go back to its cage...then you may be get bitten because your bird knows that when it bites, you put it on its cage lol...So you do have to feel it out a bit and know your bird well enough to know what its motivation is at the time. Nibbles are one thing, but bites are different and your reaction can deter biting if you know what your bird is after when it bites.

If your bird is screaming when you leave the room, you shouldn't return until your bird is quiet for a solid 5 seconds (consecutively--no screaming in between)--- once he/she gets that down, increase the time to 10 solid seconds and then 15 and so on (do this over time..not in the same day)...When the bird is quiet, return to the room and praise the bird for being quiet ("thanks for being quiet" etc). Make a point of praising your bird in general when you see that he/she is being quiet or playing independently. Everyone will need to commit to these rules if you share your home with other people. Simple proximity (even from an unknowing person) can be enough to reward screaming behavior when the goal is attention.

You can sometimes stop screaming behavior before it starts if you tell your bird what you are doing before you do it each time (I think it helps them develop better anticipatory skills). I always tell my bird when I am taking out the trash or going to the store. She knows that each one has different absences associated with it.
If you are out of sight---AS LONG AS YOUR BIRD IS NOT SCREAMING---you can talk to it from the other room and sometimes that will help...but if the bird is screaming, I wouldn't respond.
If you are out of the room and your bird is screaming---ignore it, but if it makes a cute sound that you like, like "Hello?"--then you can consider returning and praising that. My bird now says "I love you big bird" when she wants my attention (because I attend to talking, but I ignore screaming). She knows that screaming doesn't work so she uses what does work instead.

 

[MrNubby]

I've never had a lovebird, but here is some general information/things that worked for me:

When my Cockatoo bit my face too hard, I put her down calmly and walked away every time it happened. She wants to be with me, so this worked. I didn't react in any way other than putting her down and sometimes, quietly saying, "no bite"...You just have to be careful with this because, in theory, it can be turned against you if your bird decides that it wants to go back to its cage...then you may be get bitten because your bird knows that when it bites, you put it on its cage lol...So you do have to feel it out a bit and know your bird well enough to know what its motivation is at the time. Nibbles are one thing, but bites are different and your reaction can deter biting if you know what your bird is after when it bites.

If your bird is screaming when you leave the room, you shouldn't return until your bird is quiet for a solid 5 seconds (consecutively--no screaming in between)--- once he/she gets that down, increase the time to 10 solid seconds and then 15 and so on (do this over time..not in the same day)...When the bird is quiet, return to the room and praise the bird for being quiet ("thanks for being quiet" etc). Make a point of praising your bird in general when you see that he/she is being quiet or playing independently. Everyone will need to commit to these rules if you share your home with other people. Simple proximity (even from an unknowing person) can be enough to reward screaming behavior when the goal is attention.

You can sometimes stop screaming behavior before it starts if you tell your bird what you are doing before you do it each time (I think it helps them develop better anticipatory skills). I always tell my bird when I am taking out the trash or going to the store. She knows that each one has different absences associated with it.
If you are out of sight---AS LONG AS YOUR BIRD IS NOT SCREAMING---you can talk to it from the other room and sometimes that will help...but if the bird is screaming, I wouldn't respond.
If you are out of the room and your bird is screaming---ignore it, but if it makes a cute sound that you like, like "Hello?"--then you can consider returning and praising that. My bird now says "I love you big bird" when she wants my attention (because I attend to talking, but I ignore screaming). She knows that screaming doesn't work so she uses what does work instead.

Thnks for the advice! I'll give this all a try, I appreciate it.

 

[noodles123]

I've never had a lovebird, but here is some general information/things that worked for me:

When my Cockatoo bit my face too hard, I put her down calmly and walked away every time it happened. She wants to be with me, so this worked. I didn't react in any way other than putting her down and sometimes, quietly saying, "no bite"...You just have to be careful with this because, in theory, it can be turned against you if your bird decides that it wants to go back to its cage...then you may be get bitten because your bird knows that when it bites, you put it on its cage lol...So you do have to feel it out a bit and know your bird well enough to know what its motivation is at the time. Nibbles are one thing, but bites are different and your reaction can deter biting if you know what your bird is after when it bites.

If your bird is screaming when you leave the room, you shouldn't return until your bird is quiet for a solid 5 seconds (consecutively--no screaming in between)--- once he/she gets that down, increase the time to 10 solid seconds and then 15 and so on (do this over time..not in the same day)...When the bird is quiet, return to the room and praise the bird for being quiet ("thanks for being quiet" etc). Make a point of praising your bird in general when you see that he/she is being quiet or playing independently. Everyone will need to commit to these rules if you share your home with other people. Simple proximity (even from an unknowing person) can be enough to reward screaming behavior when the goal is attention.

You can sometimes stop screaming behavior before it starts if you tell your bird what you are doing before you do it each time (I think it helps them develop better anticipatory skills). I always tell my bird when I am taking out the trash or going to the store. She knows that each one has different absences associated with it.
If you are out of sight---AS LONG AS YOUR BIRD IS NOT SCREAMING---you can talk to it from the other room and sometimes that will help...but if the bird is screaming, I wouldn't respond.
If you are out of the room and your bird is screaming---ignore it, but if it makes a cute sound that you like, like "Hello?"--then you can consider returning and praising that. My bird now says "I love you big bird" when she wants my attention (because I attend to talking, but I ignore screaming). She knows that screaming doesn't work so she uses what does work instead.

Thnks for the advice! I'll give this all a try, I appreciate it.

The screaming one is a tough waiting game at times, so make sure you have what you need out of the room or that you avoid screaming matches when you have something important to do in that area lol!

This is a bit unorthodox and I never read about it anywhere, but I developed a method for desperate times with a screaming bird. You shouldn't rely on it---use only if you have no choice. Say you left something in the room and your bird has been screaming for an hour already---you cannot enter until it stops....so, instead of ruining your progress/intervention, you can hide (out of sight) and lightly toss a small object into the room (like a sock or a ball of paper) where the bird is bound to see it--not right by their cage or anything (the goal is not to scare them, but to distract them long enough for the screaming to stop for 5 seconds so that you can re-enter lol!). Know your birds before you do this---if you have super nervous birds who would fly into their cage in a panic, then it's a poor choice for you, but mine would just get startled and just stare at the object with her crest up long enough to meet the time requirement.

Also- a scream of pain or panic is going to have a different sound than a scream for attention, so keep that in mind as well. The planned ignoring should apply to screams aimed at getting your attention.