My new lovie

[Mel88]

Hello all!! Well, last Sunday my boyfriend decided to visit a pet shop and, to my surprise, bought me a lovebird for our anniversary. The age of my new little cutie, Calypso is approx. 6-7 months, but the gender is still to be determined. The first night she was home, she was a little, what I call velcro bird. She would not come off the side of her cage, she wouldn't even make a sound for the first 2-3 days. It's been a week and I have seen some difference in her. She's much more chatty and loves her new swing I brought home for her a few days ago. She seems to be pretty comfortable in her cage, but when I walk into my bedroom, she immediately stops what she is doing and attatches herself to the side of the cage farthest from me. She'll be stuck there until she has checked out what I'm doing and will go back to swinging or preening herself. I've been trying to give her as much space as possible, but I do talk and read to her. I've been wanting a lovebird for quite a number of months before my boyfriend brought her home and I've read on a few websites that a lovebird that came from a pet shop will not be able to be tamed or trained. Can anyone tell me how true this is? And also am I interacting with her enough? Anything anyone can recommend I do to help her feel more comfortable? Thanks much!!

Mel & Calypso

[michael]

Hi Mel and calypso. Welcome to Lovebirds plus community :) . Because of where you have obtained your bird/s is absolutely "not" an indication of whether it can be trained/tamed. Besides her young age alone, because Calypso is already somewhat comfortable in her cage and resumes going about her business shortly after you enter the same room tells me she's very likely to enjoy interacting with you or other family members. With the exception of "some" lovebirds that are used for breeding purposes only there's always a possibilty that training and taming "can" be achieved. Please read through the many forums available within this community. Including this one for "behavioral and taming". Should you have any questions feel free to ask :) ...............Michael and Goofy lovebird

[Kirby]

Howdy Mel and congrats on Calypso!!!

First off I will start with: You can tame Calypso with some patience!! So don't get discouraged on what the internet websites tell you :) It may take him/her a bit longer depending if she has ever had human contact before, than your average lovie, but it IS do-able.

The best thing to do right now is let her settle into her new environment and get used to her new routine with you (and your boyfriend if you two live together). When she stops what she's doing when you come into the room, she is probably shy and is not comfortable yet playing in front of you.

I would give her a week to settle in and feel comfortable. Use your judgement: If after a week she still runs away in her cage when you approach it, give her some more time.
Give it until she wants to stay where she is when you come up to the cage.
If her wings are clipped then the next step would be leaving her cage door open and have her explore out of her cage by herself.

It sounds like you are doing great so far by reading and interacting with her around her cage!
I would definitely look around the Forum and you will find LOTS (and I mean LOTS) of information on owning your first lovie!