19 month old rainbow lori - face nipping/biting

[ferny]

Hi guys,
I have a 19 month old rainbow lorikeet (in short, I had him from 6 weeks of age hand raised, until he was 18 weeks old, when my hubby and I split, he took Ferny and I didn't get to see him until the other day when my hubby's now ex girlfriend bought him back for me to own again! Yes it's confusing!! I cried for months!!)
anyway, he is still tame, which is great. Hubby's ex played with him for an hour most days which is good!
Anyway, I got him back on Wednesday, and all that night he was great, only one bite!!
Today however, each time I have gotten him out, after a while of playing on the desk and trying to mate with my hands, he will go "squark squark" and bite my finger and let go, which isn't too much of a problem as I see it as he is all worked up and excited.
Tonight he was out again and everytime he is near my face, like on my shoulder, he will try and preen me and nip my ear, and eventually work his way around to the front of my face and he will bite at my chin and doesn't let go!
He trusts me, as I can pat him and tickle his belly and flip him on his back with no trouble at all!
How do I stop him biting my face? He always wants to be on my shoulder or near my face/under my chin and no matter how many times I try and lead him to my lap or the desk, he wants to me up near my face!
Any help would be MUCHLY appreciated!!

[ferny]

Some photos of him lol, couldn't not put them in!

Baby Ferny yawning


Baby Ferny sleeping (wouldn't hurt a fly!)


And Ferny tonight:

[madaussie]

First of welcome to our forum and glad you got him back.
My way is out there and most wont like it i just bite them back .

But you could try time out put him in his cage when he bites, or use a glove on one hand to stop him from bitting your face make him step up or bare handed would work just as good if he is not bitting your hand but this will take time for him to learn but lorries are smart birds and looks like a real show off sum one Else will have sum other ways so hang in there you have come to the right site for help.
j

[Robyn]

Hi & welcome to you both. Sounds to me like Ferny has picked up a few bad habits from your X.

First don't allow Ferny on your shoulder or near your face. You could very well end up with some very nasty wounds. Plus while he is up there you have no way of reading his body language. Like eye pinning, head feathers held tight against the skin. So this is the first area i would concentrate on. Each time he gets on your shoulder take him off. There is no way i will let any parrot on my shoulder unless i have complete trust in that bird.

OK for starters he has learned this behavior over time. To avoid being bitten, you have to start building a positive relationship with Ferny. I guess i would start by trying to work out how long after he is on you before he bites. To avoid the bite limit the length of time he is on you. Have you got a T stand you can place him on. When he bites say a stern "NO" & place him on the stand. If you let him stay on you, your reinforcing the biting so Ferny thinks is fun to bite you.

I very rarely get a bite from my birds & when i do i know i have done something they didn't like or have pushed to far. Like for instance i had Cocky the SC Too out in the garden yesterday he was having a ball up in the bottle brush tree. There was no way i could get him down until he was ready so i just kept on weeding until he had decided he'd had enough.

Another thought, get him some preening toys & when you have him out take his attention away from you by offering the toy.

[ferny]

Thanks for all the suggestions!
He doesn't have a T perch but there is a playgym/perch on top of his cage, would this work?
Also, he hasn't had his wing clipped since he was a baby so we haven't clipped it. Everytime I put him back near his cage and turn around he flies back and either lands on my head or shoulder!
As he always likes to go up to my shoulders and be around my face, the only way of getting him down takes quite a while (1-2 mins) and involves me going "wit wheel" and trying to pry him off me, as soon as one claw is free, he gets the other one dug in my shirt lol!
Will clipping his wing help? I'd imagine my partner will have to hold him with a glove so I could cut it, which I also imagine would upset ferny quite a bit!!!
We also have a 5 month old daughter who I want to make sure Ferny is in good habits before she is much older lol!
Thank you all kindly!

[vankarhi]

ok ............ I agree with the gloves as John (mad aussie) suggested..........as I use them when necessary but usually only with a bird that likes to bite even when stepping up. I don't normally use gloves with a tame bird unless they continually bite me and there is only so much bleeding and bruising a girl can take at times.

I totally agree with Robyn and what she says..........but I would also clip his wings (both not one)........and yes your partner may need to towel him while you clip each wing. I clip my birds wings this way ........... actually I don't have a clipped bird at the moment but have done it this way in the past..........clipping is good way to bring attitudes down and it obviously stops them from flying to you whenever they want to to take a chunk out of you. In the past 6 months I have had at least 4 people ring me up to come and clip their birds because they like how I have clipped them in the past and wanted me to show them how to do it and I always towel them........sometimes it is just me toweling and clipping too........very hard to do at times.

I know that now a days many people DON'T agree with wing clipping........but honestly he knows how to fly so that isn't a problem and if a wing clip is done correctly he wont "plop" to the ground he should glide nicely for a distance without damaging himself and a wing clip need not be a permanent thing. It is only to help you get through this stage and his wings can grow back.

Like I said ............ not everyone will agree with "clipping" and my reasons for even suggesting it........but for me it has worked in the past...........and it is good to see many different ideas so you can do what sits right with you ;D

[vankarhi]

oh and welcome here ;D and I love the first pic........just an adorable little bubby birdie ;D

[madaussie]

Yes that is what i love about this forum you get loads of info and ways to do things from different people so you can try a few ways till you find one you like .
j

[avinet]

Apr 24, 2010 18:04:55 GMT 10 vankarhi said:

I totally agree with Robyn and what she says..........but I would also clip his wings (both not one).......

I agree with clipping as an initial step in gaining some control over the bird. Having a bird such as a Rainbow that wants to bite your face and is able to fly is a recipe for disaster. A potential emergency ward disaster! Clipping will help.

Also you might like to read a page on our website, at www.mooloolabapets.com.au/html/lorikeets.html - it contains some useful information about lorikeets and biting that may help understand what is happening with your bird.

cheers,

Mike

[Robyn]

I forgot to also mention that Ferny is maturing & his hormones are raging at the moment. I had another read of your thread so i think you need to address that problem as well because i think its all connected. You will have to take his attention away from your hand by offering a foot toy or something else to get his mind off he intention. Especially when he really gets fair dinkim.

I am not to sure how to control a hormonal Keet but with one of my eckies as soon as he got that look in his eye i put him straight back in the aviary. Now when i got to play with him he doesn't really want to have his wicked way with my hand.

I guess its personal choice whether you decide to clip or not & how you actually feel about clipping Ferny. I don't feel the need to clip any of my birds except my hubby clips our SC Too but that is because he is always outside with us & we would really hate for him to fly away.

I also came across this site on Biting Birds.

rationalparrot.com/biting.html

Hope all works out for you & Ferny.

[madaussie]

The link wont work for me working for others ?
j

[ferny]

Thanks guys!!
We clipped one of his wings yesterday, my partner held him with rigging gloves (pretty sure they're pig skin!) and he can glide safely! I remember when my ex had an indian ringneck, if only one of his wings were clipped he would go sideways and hurt himself, so he needed both! But if Ferny starts going that way we'll do his other one too!
He didn't draw blood on my face, but it hurt a LOT more than his usual play nips!!
I just don't know how to take him off my shoulder when he gets up there (he likes my partners shoulders too!) as his talons dig in to our clothes and if we grab at him he'll get scared and most likely bite more!! (when he is on the desk we can flip him upside down and pat him under his wings without any trouble and he loves this and fluffs up for it, but when he has his claws in our clothes he hates being grabbed at!)
He's just so so pretty and I wish my ex didn't take him from me when he was a baby
Thank you all kindly for all your help!!
Oh, and the only way we're able to get him down from our shoulders is by getting one of his toys and deterring him! Is this ok?

[madaussie]

OK you try a hand towel etc on your shoulder and pull down to get him off.
jjjj

[avinet]

Apr 25, 2010 9:58:02 GMT 10 madaussie said:

The link wont work for me working for others ?
j

Sorry about that - a full stop somehow got involved at the end of the link.

The correct link is www.mooloolabapets.com.au/html/lorikeets.html

I've also corrected the link in the original post.

cheers,

Mike

[madaussie]

Thanks that was a great read so much info out there helps when others have gone throught it for you and put the good stuff up.
j