Instructions
Bonded Biting
Decide if your lovebird is biting because it's jealous. Because a lovebird mates for life, it can become very hostile when it feels its relationship is threatened.
Show the lovebird that other people aren't a threat. Allow friends to interact with, pet and feed your lovebird.
Introduce your lovebird to social situations slowly if its aggression is intolerable. When friends are over, place the lovebird on a stand and have them talk to the bird and offer it treats.
Fearful Biting
Distract your lovebird with toys or treats when you need to pick it up. This will keep its beak busy and inhibit it from biting.
Use a towel to gently and calmly pick up a lovebird. Move slowly to pick up the lovebird. Fast movements are perceived as a threat and will cause your lovebird to bite.
Move the bird's beak gently away from you if you're bitten. Never make fast movements.
Territorial Biting
Determine if your lovebird is becoming territorial. This is most common in a breeding female. A territorial lovebird is determined to guard its cage and can make it difficult for its owner to perform even simple cleaning duties.
Handle your lovebird with confidence. Distract the bird with one hand and have it step up with the other. If that doesn't work, gently pick it up with a small cloth and reward the bird with praise.
Remove a nesting box if it's present. You can also move the cage and the toys around. Your bird will find it too difficult to guard the same place or object and will eventually minimize territorial biting.
Hormonal Biting
Ascertain if your lovebird is maturing into adulthood. When this happens, it's natural for your lovebird to change its mood.
Provide your lovebird with some extra space and a little less attention as it reestablishes its boundaries. This does not mean to stop spending time with your lovebird, just to back away a little.
Reinforce positive and acceptable behaviors consistently.
Biting Due to Lack of Sleep
Determine whether your lovebird is getting enough sleep. Just like people, birds become cranky if they haven't had enough sleep. For lovebirds, this crankiness can lead to biting.
Put your lovebird to bed no later than 8:00 p.m. In the wild, birds typically go to sleep when the sun goes down and wake up when the sun rises. Mimicking this in your home will help your bird get enough sleep.
Use a cover for your bird's cage to simulate nighttime in a bright room. A thin sheet or bird cage cover is ideal. Never use plastic because it can smother the bird.
How to Stop Biting in Love Birds
Lovebirds can make wonderful pets, but there can be some behavioral problems. These highly intelligent parrots seem to find ways of challenging their owners. Training your lovebird not to bite takes patience and persistence. Before you can work on modifying your lovebird's behavior, you need to determine the reason it's biting. Trying to understand the problem from the bird's perspective will help you conclude why it's biting.