6 month old won't come out of his cage

[Denver]

Hi -

I have a 6 month old lovebird that I got as a hand fed baby at about 6 weeks old.

This lovebird will NOT come out of his cage easily. I don't know what do to. I've tried grabbing him & taking him out (I know, that's bad) and also letting him come out on his own. He does come out on his own when I leave the door open, but rushes right back in when the threat of a hand arises. We've tried feeding him snacks and treats as he sits on his cage door - which he takes, but runs for the hills as soon as we bring a hand up for him to hop on.

We are not bonding with this bird. He won't come near us unless we grab him.

He's getting older & more set in his ways. BTW - I had a lovebird for 10 years that I got as a hand fed baby. It only took a few weeks for him to warm up to me & want to jump on my finger when I went to his cage. He was the exact opposite of this bird.

What do we do? ?? I am seriously at a loss.

Thanks for any suggestions :)

[Gill]

Oh dear, my lovebirds dont like going in their cage! I have read a few times that sitting by their cage an hour at a time quietly, getting closer each time to get your bird to become used to you, as for being scared of your hands im not too sure, maybe hands in the door for a while and see if he eventually jumps on them or one? :( I hope you get this solved soon.

[linda040899]

Attention, attention and more attention! That's the key to a social lovebird.

Instead of grabbing him with your hands (which most birds don't like), try offering either your arm or a perch. Once he's out of his cage and with you, find a place to be with him that's away from the cage (cage out of sight!). Have small toys with you, treats he likes and just let him be with you and on you. Lovebirds love to explore so this should not take too long! You have to make wanting to be with you interesting, as well as appealing.

Not all birds are alike but I think this one will come around if you just give him some time! :)

[Denver]

Thanks for your suggestions! I will try to be more patient. I just thought after 6 months it would be different. But it hasn't changed at all. It's true, although we take him out almost every day, we have a cat & so don't take him out as much as we should (only when the cat's outside). So maybe he just needs some more socialization. But seriously - he WILL NOT come out & sit with us unless we grab him. I guess we just let him sit there on his cage door for a few weeks?

[Pips mom]

Well my lovebird must have gotten TONS of attention then before he came here......he shoved his way right out the minute his previous owner left, I can't even imagine a lovie wanting to stay in a cage over being out.....Pip is demanding of his time out and will let ya know.....HEY, I want out! Maybe try hanging some good toys on the outside of the cage....lovies are curious and he might want to go check it out.......put a nice little playgym outside the cage, do stuff around his cage.....put perches and things, and he will be able to watch you doing all of this.....eventually I think he will come out to investigate!

[michael]

Consider first that your lovebird is only six months old. At this age he is quite far from becoming set in his ways anytime soon. Second, comparing him (or her?) to any other lovebird hand tamed or not places him in a position of behavioral expectations that are not really typical to all parrots. Although there's plenty we can share in common about our birds, each bird has a personality all its own. Relating to him in a positive way without such expectations will help build upon an individual who over time may learn to trust in those who care for him. Whether its 6 months or two years or more, this really should make no difference.

Most often after grabbing a bird it creates an atmosphere of discomfort whenever your nearby. This can keep him at bay for a long time if not permanently. Using alternative ways to offer yourself as Linda suggested along with giving him plenty of time may just get him comfortable enough to eventually explore his surroundings, and maybe even you :).

I must add. Its good to hear your taking the necessary precautions regarding your cat. They are by far one of the most unpredictable predators we could have anywhere near our companion birds. Understanding cats WILL attack regardless of any outward complacency is reason enough to keep them and our birds separated at all times. Very good decision!

Hope you keep us posted on how things are going with your new friend as time goes by...................:)

[Buy A Paper Doll]

It took me MONTHS to convince Melody to come out of her cage. MONTHS.

Every day I would open the cage door, and then sit next to it. Watch TV, eat, read, I spent as much time sitting next to the cage as I could.

Over time, nosiness gradually won out over fear, and she came out to get a closer look at me.

Now she is 3 and I can't be in the same room as her without her needing to be ON me at all times.

[Chickobee]

Your note reminded me of how timid and afraid some of our birds were when we first got them home. It took time for them to learn to trust us. Now when I get home from work there is a loud chorus of greetings and contact calls and they all want a personal visit.

I am wondering where your bird's cage is located? Is it in a high traffic area where it is able to get used to the activities in your house?

Ours are all in our living room and they can also see us when we are in the kitchen. We purposely selected the highest traffic areas in our house. Whenever we go by we say something to the birds even if we don't have time to take them out to play at that time. And, very often, we will let them come out for just a few minutes to say Hello and let them go back inside again. This is done multiple times each evening or each day when we are home on the weekends because we can only have certain pairs or individual birds out at the same time to avoid fighting. (We now have ten adult birds.)

Eight of our adult birds were not tame when we bought them and they would go to the farthest corner of their cages when we would change their food and water dishes. (They were not babies, and four of them had never been taken out of their cages or had interaction with people other than during feeding & watering. The other four had been allowed free flight and could come and go as they pleased. They did not step up and they were the ones we had trouble catching when they got loose in the house--until wing clipping.)

Our first step at taming them was to give all of them a wing clip so they couldn't fly up to the beams near the ceiling or up onto the second floor landing.

Instead of grabbing at them with my hands to get them out of the cage I used a small bird net if it was absolutely necessary to take them out. (for cage cleans, or when I clipped their wings) I didn't force them to come out at other times.

For the taming process I talked to them a lot and at first I offered them millet through the cage bars. It even took a while before they would come to the front of the cage to do this. (A while was measured in Days or, in a couple of cases, Weeks.)

The point I am trying to make is that you cannot rush this process. You must let your bird set the pace and become comfortable with you. He must understand that you mean him no harm and that good things will come to him from you. The experience must be a positive one for him, and at first the interactions will be brief, but should be positive for him, not negative.

After the birds started coming eagerly to the front of the cage for treats I then started offering them at the door of the cage, holding it in my hand. (millet worked best, and oat groats were a close second) Initially they would only take one bite and then retreat again. Then after a while they would stay there and eat more. (This was definitely not a one day process.)

As they became more comfortable with this I started moving the millet spray so that they had to put one foot onto my hand in order to reach it. At first they would do this and then suddenly realize they had actually touched me and they would retreat.

As time went by they got more comfortable with the presence of my hands. Then I moved the millet farther so they had to perch on my hand to get it.

A couple of the birds we so afraid of my hands that I used a bird ladder for them to step onto instead of my hand.

When they had become accustomed to stepping onto my hand or on the ladder I eventually began moving my hand very slowly out the cage door. At first they would jump or fly off immediately and then I would go back to the previous step for a while.

(Have you heard the song with the line "two steps forward, and one step back"?)

Eventually the birds got so they would come right to the perch in front of the cage door to wait for me to open it so they could step up onto my hand. Now some of them pace back and forth begging to be let out.

After a while of moving forward in baby steps your bird will learn that you are not a threat and it will look forward to spending time with you.

Our first two birds were babies when we got them and when they were still young (4-5 months?) we made a playgym for them. They would be out for long periods of time each evening when we got home from work. They would either be on us or on their playgym.

I know this reply got really long but I wanted you to know that with patience you can have a really tame and sweet bird.

I have read that young birds quickly revert to being wild again if you do not consistently pay attention to them and interact with them. For instance, if you do not pay attention to your young bird for a week or more you may need to repeat a lot of the taming process. What the book said was that older birds who have been very tame are easier to get tame again--like if you are gone on vacation, etc.

And--watch that cat!!! My sister has lost several lovies to their cats--which they thought were ignoring the birds and would never hurt them. One bird was snatched right off of her daughter's shoulder from behind when she was sitting on their couch watching TV. As you can well imagine, this was a very traumatizing event for her daughter, and fatal for the bird. So, never trust your cat with your bird! You are doing the right thing to make sure it is outside when your bird is out. Lovies are so curious that they will even go to check out the cat! Not good!!!

I wish you success with your bird and look forward to hearing how things are progressing.

Linda