Hi,
This does sound like hormonal behavior and it sounds like a female lovebird. Get rid of the hut – these are one of the worst products that are sold for pet birds. They trigger hormones and cause behavior problems, often resulting in the bird getting dropped off at a rescue. Birds do not need a bed, hut, tent, nest, box or anything they can get inside of. They do not sleep in a nest in the wild, unless it is breeding season and they are actively nesting. The rest of the year, they roost in trees or whatever their environment provides. Don’t let her get under or inside of things. All of this behavior mimics looking for a nest. A female lovebird can be sweet one second, and bite the next just because she got behind or under something. Avoid letting her have anything to shred. It’s actually OK if she won’t eat fresh foods, because this can trigger hormones. The pellets will provide the nutrition she needs. Stop allowing her to be on your shoulder. I’m not a fan of birds on shoulders because it puts them in control, and you are vulnerable to being bitten. All of this is going to require some retraining. You need to be firm and consistent when it comes to keeping her out of cozy places. If you don’t make some changes now, you can end up with a chronic egg layer instead of a pet. With my female lovebirds, I’ve always found they do best when out of sight of their cage. It’s OK for her to be territorial. I had a female and I used to use a towel to get her out of the cage, but once in another room, she was a sweetheart. If you can’t stick train her, it’s fine to use a light towel. She might attack it and you can use her focus on that to carry her to another room. I’m going to give you a list of changes that can be made with a hormonal bird – and this can apply to males, too, but her behavior sounds very female to me.
Keep in mind that in the wild for breeding, they need longer daylight, warmer weather, abundant food, and a quiet, private environment. The goal is to reverse these conditions.
Limit their light to 8-10 hours by covering the cage early each evening
Do not give them anything to use as a nest – no bird huts or tents, no box, bowl, etc. If she decides to sit in a food bowl, remove it and replace with smaller cups.
Do not give them anything to shred such as paper or cardboard.
Rearrange the toys in the cage frequently.
Move the cage to a different place in the room. Move the cage about once a week, or whenever they show signs of nesting – settling on the cage floor for example. This disrupts her idea of having a stable place to lay eggs and raise chicks.
If you feed a lot of fresh foods, stop offering any for a couple of weeks, and then only offer them in small amounts about 2 or 3 times a week. You can resume normal feeding later when the birds aren’t being hormonal.
When they are let out of the cage, do not let them get in any dark cozy places and don’t give them free roam. When you let them roam around, this mimics searching for a nesting site.
When you handle them, limit any petting to only the head and neck – do not pet a bird on the body. Only a bonded mate is allowed to groom the body. We can’t be a mate, so touching the body is off limits.
If there is no metal floor grate, then do not use any bedding or paper in the cage tray – leave it bare and clean it daily.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
