LauraO
07-25-2008, 09:47 AM
Well it looks like we finally have our youngest lovebird, Turtle, stick trained (step up command). We had no intention of having any babies, but Shy and Katsu not only laid a clutch of eggs earlier this year but they managed to incubate and hatch out two of them on the plain grate in their cage:omg: :omg: . One baby didn't make it but Turtle is a happy blue series pied aussie cinnamon who is starting to get her adult colors:D ......Anyway, she's parent raised of course. My husband spent a lot of time with her but I was busy with school and work so she doesn't trust me much. Unfortunately, once she was weaned we kind of let her be and she got really wild being in the bird room flying around with the other birdies. We didn't really have to stick train her because she lived with her parents a long while and would go to bed on her own. We finally moved her out, gave her a five feather wing clip and took her downstairs. She remained wild and wanted nothing to do with stepping up or even seeing a stick.....Well one night I closed a window and didn't realize she was sleeping in it. She flew out sleepy and dazed, but fine. I thought AHA! and grabbed a stick. I worked with her a good 45 minutes on stepping up. At first, she was scared and upset and kept flying away and thumping onto the ground. I stayed very calm and talked to her sweet and soft until she tired out. Finally, after gently nudging the stick against her chest a few times once she got a little pooped, she would step up for a second and fly off. I kept this up until she stayed on the stick. I then got another stick and when she got back on I took her to the darkened bathroom and did a series of step-ups until she seemed like she was getting it; all the while I spoke with her and verbally voiced the step up command and commended her for stepping up. Then I took her to her cage and cozy.....Over the next few days, I started doing step ups to get her to her cage and now she is really getting it. Originally, I had to do them once it was dark, but now she gets on the stick when it's light out and will let me put her in her cage. Now she's back up in the bird room looking for a mate. Unfortunately, we only have one unattached male and he is not interested in her and prefers to be a third wheel to my lovies Babiest Bubber and Beeper:rolleyes: .
So it really doesn't take long to stick train even a wild birdy. It just takes patience and consistency. Turtle was not stick trained earlier because we had not committed to doing it. Though, a wing clip, a darkened room, some sweet talking, and a pooped birdy was all I needed:rolleyes: . Of course, I say this having close to 10 years of lovie experience. If someone else does this, I would make sure your birdy doesn't get too panicked. If a lovie starts panting you should leave him/her be because it could be going into shock, or if he/she is really flying into things hard you want to usher them to a safer place. The key is not getting exacted and overreacting, which all us new bird owners have done at one time or another8o .
I'm a big proponent of stick training untame lovies because it allows wild birdies to be out and managed without having to be touched, grabbed, or near a hand. Once a bird is stick trained and you stop touching it, a really good trust relationship can develop because the lovie begins to realize it won't get grabbed. Our first lovie Zimber was this way. He was wild but once he was stick trained things really changed. We had a great time over the years even though he didn't like being touched. Finally, once he was about 7 or 8 I could get him on my finger and fully cover his back with my hand and kiss his chest.
Oh, and we now have 21 lovies:omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: . Insane I know, but of those birdies only two are not stick trained. Eva, who is a rescue will step up on your hand and Olive, our slate masked, who just refuses to step up at all despite being tame. A good portion of our lovies will step up on fingers, but a stick is much easier for putting them to bed or getting them where you need them to be cause we have a bird room where they are free during the day but sleep in their cages.......:) .
So it really doesn't take long to stick train even a wild birdy. It just takes patience and consistency. Turtle was not stick trained earlier because we had not committed to doing it. Though, a wing clip, a darkened room, some sweet talking, and a pooped birdy was all I needed:rolleyes: . Of course, I say this having close to 10 years of lovie experience. If someone else does this, I would make sure your birdy doesn't get too panicked. If a lovie starts panting you should leave him/her be because it could be going into shock, or if he/she is really flying into things hard you want to usher them to a safer place. The key is not getting exacted and overreacting, which all us new bird owners have done at one time or another8o .
I'm a big proponent of stick training untame lovies because it allows wild birdies to be out and managed without having to be touched, grabbed, or near a hand. Once a bird is stick trained and you stop touching it, a really good trust relationship can develop because the lovie begins to realize it won't get grabbed. Our first lovie Zimber was this way. He was wild but once he was stick trained things really changed. We had a great time over the years even though he didn't like being touched. Finally, once he was about 7 or 8 I could get him on my finger and fully cover his back with my hand and kiss his chest.
Oh, and we now have 21 lovies:omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: . Insane I know, but of those birdies only two are not stick trained. Eva, who is a rescue will step up on your hand and Olive, our slate masked, who just refuses to step up at all despite being tame. A good portion of our lovies will step up on fingers, but a stick is much easier for putting them to bed or getting them where you need them to be cause we have a bird room where they are free during the day but sleep in their cages.......:) .