Relatively new, very clingly lovebird that hates skin?

[fishkeeper101]

Hi there!

Bout 3-4 months ago, I was given a 6 year old female peach-faced lovebird that had developed some behavioral issues and was about to be "released" into the park by her previous owner.

She's a sweetie, but she was abused by the previous owner (a situation of not knowing how to react to a hormonal female lovebird which resulted in hitting and chasing with sticks) and has some interesting issues.

She LOVES hanging out with me and my partner, and tolerates our two boy keets that love watching her and looking out the window with her (surpervised always). The problem is that she is VERY aggressive towards people's bodies, especially hands, feet and clothing, so it makes having her hang out outside of the cage with you a bit unnerving, as she will often be fine hanging out on your lap or next to you on the seat of the couch and all of a sudden will start attacking your hands or feet or clothes (and heaven forbid she finds a good cave to hang out in, it's a challenge to get her out of her "nest sites"). She is clipped for our safety, as she always draws blood/leaves bruises when she bites (she has never given a warning tap or anything, always grabs on and grinds and won't let go).

This being said, she's gotten so much better over the past few months! She loves following us around the house and watching us go about our day and loves whistiling/cat calling at all the neighbors and people as they walk by the apartment (which gets a laugh out of all the people walking to work). I work with her often, and i've been clicker training her to not respond agressively to shoes (another aggressive trigger) when she's out and a bout and it seems to be working really well. I've also kicked her out of nesting mode by getting her exposed to a lot of natural light and she pretty much follows a natural lighting sleep schedule, which cut aggression out of the cage immensely.

I guess what I'm wondering is how I can start training her to stop attacking hands and feet without sacrificing my fingernails/blood? I know that a glove is an option, but she's really nervous around them and is good at knowing where the skin is so she can really do damage even with gloves on (and a good leather glove that can stop her is a big investment currently).

Any ideas/suggestions ? And a thousand appologies if this is in the wrong spot, wasn't sure whether to leave it in the behavior or question section of the forum. :09:

 

[cdnbirdlover]

My lovie Basil (about 18 months old, hopefully male) hated hands when we got him six months ago. He wouldn't step up or even take treats from me. Slowly he learned to trust us enough to take treats (through the cage) and he has recently learned how to step up. We have to read his body language carefully so we don't put him (and us) into situations where he will bite. He's so comfortable on my hands now that he will sit in my palm and nibble at my fingernails. He also likes to cuddle at my neck under my chin. He will not let me hold him or scritch his pin feathers though. But we are making progress.

I used Barbara Heidenreich's methods with the help of a super birdie lady where I live. Here's Barbara's link. I'm sure others will chime in with more advice. Lovies are very very smart and can learn quickly. But they can also learn bad habits quickly too.

Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books

 

[fishkeeper101]

Thanks for the response!

I guess my problem is that Sola (my lovebird) isn't really scared of hands or worried about them (as she takes treats freely, then bites you if you give her the chance), but more has a violent gusto and love of attacking them, chasing them, basically destroying them whenever they are near her (she does the same with shoes and feet as well).

Anyway, thanks for the link, I'll have to check up on her videos and see if they are a good fit for me.

Any other advice appreciated!

Thanks!

Aaron