Hand Taming Lovebirds

Question
Good Morning Chrys,

I have a young lovebird and all she wants to do when I take her out of her cage is get on my shoulder and then my head.  I have a heck of a time getting her down (she is fast).  She would rather be there than in her cage.  She is still bitting...especially when I am trying to get her off my head. I am finding it difficult to hand train her when she is constantly running up my arm.  She will take a treat but then it is a mad dash for my head.  I don't know how to stop this behavior.  She must feel safe up there.  What should I do?  

Answer
Hi, Brenda.  Thanks for posting your questions.

She bites you when you try to remove her from your head because she has learned (from you) that biting results in her getting her own way with you!  You need to reverse this trend and teach her that biting gets her no where with you.  You might get biten a few times during this process, but this is how this negative behavior is resolved.  You may be compounding this problem by giving her a treat (depending on when you give her the treat...you may actually be rewarding her for behaving badly).  

Birds like to perch on the highest point within the particular area they are in.  When in their cage, it will be their highest perch.  When on you, it's your head!  

I recommend you prevent her from scurring up your arm when you first realize this is what she is going to do.  In other words, when she is on your hand/finger, don't allow her to go past your wrist by putting your other hand up to stop her as soon as she heads in that direction.  You could also try putting your other hand out for her to go to as soon as she tries running up your arm.  EACH and EVERY time she does what you ask her to do, i.e., not running up your arm, this is when you should give her the treat.  ALWAYS reward positive behavior, NEVER reward negative behavior.  You'll have to "retrain" her to keep her from running up your arm.  I don't like birds sitting on my head, but I don't mind them on my shoulders, as long as they won't bite me in the face.  You need to decide what is acceptable to you and make her do as you ask.  You must maintain the upper hand/control when dealing with birds.  Birds use biting as a technique to get their way because they learn from their owners that it works for them.  As an owner, you have to show here that it doesn't work with you!  Like I stated, you can expect to get biten a few times, but you also have to let your lovebird know that biting, too, is unacceptable behavior.  Pay particular attention to when you provide those treats...you don't want your lovebird to become confused about what she is being rewarded for.  

A reward to a parrot can also be your attention (even a look from you is considered attention).  So, you might want to also try (if suggestions above aren't successful) ignoring her when she misbehaves.  In other words, when she runs up your arm/climbs on your head, put her back in her cage and leave the room for about 15 minutes (even if you have to grasp her around her body to catch her).  After a few times of this, she should put 2 and 2 together and realize that running up your arm/sitting on your head gets her cage-time/lack of your attention.  But again, decide what is/is not acceptable to you and stick with it.  Training a parrot is very similar to teaching a 1 or 2-year old human child what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable behavior.  

If you have additional questions, please come back.  Good luck!  Thanks.

Chrys