My lovebird has been fine for about a year, but in the last month she's started biting my hand whenever I try to pet her or let her out. She doesn't draw blood or anything, but she's definitely more territorial. Is this a hormonal thing or am I doing something wrong?
Lovebirds can get hormonal and territorial, especially if she's getting more daylight or if you've accidentally been petting her in ways that feel like mating behavior (stroking her wings or back rather than just her head). Try limiting handling to her head/neck only, make sure she's getting 10-12 hours of dark/quiet time daily, and avoid anything that might signal breeding season to her - sometimes just rearranging the cage or removing nesting materials helps reset that aggression.
It might not be hormonal actually - sometimes a sudden shift like that comes down to something environmental you changed without realizing. I had a similar situation where a bird I knew went from cuddly to defensive, and it turned out the owner had switched to a different room with way more afternoon sun, which basically put the bird into breeding mode without them noticing.
The wing and back stroking thing that was mentioned is real, but also check if you've changed her cage setup, moved her perch, or even if her sleep schedule got disrupted (lovebirds need consistent 10-12 hours of dark, quiet time). Sometimes they get territorial if they're not sleeping enough or if there's new activity near the cage. Before assuming hormones, try resetting her routine for a couple weeks - same light schedule, no petting except maybe her head or feet, and see if that settles her down.
The shift from friendly to nippy usually means something in her environment or routine changed - did you alter her cage setup, move it to a different room, change her light schedule, or introduce anything new near her space? Both the hormonal angle and environmental triggers are real, but I'd start by looking at what's different in the last month before assuming it's purely behavioral. Also worth checking: are you petting only her head and neck, or have you been touching her back and wings more often? That kind of touch can actually trigger defensive or mating-related responses even in birds that seemed fine with it before.
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