Lovebirds biting - Help!

[Raikou]

Hi all, first post here. I got a pair of peach faced lovebirds yesterday from someone who was rehoming them due to time constraints.

They're 18 and 14 months old and I was told they were hand raised originally - They are definitely very confident with me already and curious with no fear about their new home or cage so I don't doubt this. BUT that confidence also includes biting me a fair bit so far - the male far more than the female, she seems to be curious about the new hand and wanting to just explore, but he bites quite hard. I've kept handling to a minimum as even as confident as they seem they have been through a big move and I'm a new person for them but I'm still wanting to start discouraging this behaviour as soon as possible and make sure I don't accidentally teach any bad behaviours.

So does anyone have any advice or tips that worked for them to discourage biting and bond with their lovebirds? They're very keen on millet spray so this morning I have fed them a few of the smaller bunches held in my fingers and each time they tried to bite/bit me I took it away for several minutes. I figure the idea is that they will learn they won't get nice things if they bite me? And that my hand will bring them tasty things. But I also know me moving my hand away at the same time reinforces them biting if they're doing it with the intention of getting me to not touch them and is potentially reinforcing it so I feel a bit stuck.

I've had lovebirds before but didn't have a biting problem so this is new ground for me, any help appreciated! :44:

 

[Raikou]

One thing to add! When they do bite me I make sure not to pull away fast/harshly or to startle them. The bites hurt a bit but they aren't breaking the skin and I've had rats before whose bites are much worse so I can cope.

 

[Laurasea]

Hello,
Welcome to the forum, congratulations on your love birds.
Bites are an issue fir a lot of people, yiu can check out the Conure or green cheek forum, I think we have biting posts there every week or so.

Explore the forum, and sticky thread in blue at the top of most forums. The general parrot forum might have tips on bonding st the top. It’s important to pay attention to body language and not push them into bites in the first place. Spend lots of time with them and go slow.

This link is to a great article, talks about normal bird behavior, then towards the bottom talks about bites, screaming, ect
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-behavior/