New lovebird owner- have some questions

[ksmomof2]

Just got a dutch blue this morning. How long should I give him before I start trying to tame him? He's just sitting hanging on one side of the cage right now. I have him in the same room that I'm in and I'm just talking to him off and on while I'm in the room.

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community!

Congratulations on your new lovie companion! Those of us here have become slaves to 50 grams feathers so you will fit right in! :lol What were you told when you got your lovebird? Did you get him/her from a private breeder, pet shop or other source? The more information you can share with us, the more we can tell you.

Of course, photos would be great so that we can see what you are seeing.

[ksmomof2]

I need to get a new battery for my camera so pictures will have to wait. The lady is I got him from is a private breeder. She just does it for fun. She works full time so he was parent raised. He's 4 months old.
He is chirping off and on and has been eating and drinking. He's on a pellet diet.

How many days should I give him before I start trying to get him on my finger.

[momo]

Some people say you need to wait a week and others say you can wait a few days.. personally. I wish I waited til Elmo started to play with his toys (which is about a week).. but I took him out a few hours after I got him (on the poor advice of the breeder..)

I reckon you should start to finger tame him when you can sit right beside him in his cage with out freaking out..

Then I really discourage you to towel to try to tame him or get him out of his cage like that.. I would leave the door open and leave a bit of millet (if he knows what that is) outside the door.. and once your lovie comes out.. quickly take away his cage, and then proceeded to try to finger tame.

[ksmomof2]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried putting my hand in the cage today and he went nuts- so I stopped for awhile. I did take him into a small room and left the door open- boy was it fun trying to catch him and get him back into it. I think I'm just going to sit by the cage for the next couple of weeks and talk to him. I have him in the room that someone is in pretty much all day to get him used to us.
I did find out today from the lady I got him from that he has not been handled at all and has been in the cage with his parents since he was born. So now that I know that too- I understand why he is so scared.
Oh and we decided on a name- Monkey! kind of an odd name for a bird but after watching him the last 2 days and how he likes to hand upside down and climbs the rope - it seemed to fit.

[bookworm0550]

hi there. We're kinda in the same boat. I just got Joey this past Sunday after my boyfriend took his birds home and I had these same questions too. From what I've been researching, people say a few days, just to let the bird get used to its' new surroundings. I think in the end, you'll know when it's time. Just like Momo said, leave a little bit of millet outside the cage door. That's how I lure Joey out. I feel too bad grabbing him to come out. Most of the time though, I just leave the cage door open and he comes out when he's ready. Sorry, I'm not a lot of help since I'm new to this too. I'm just learning as I go. Oh yeah, and I take Joey to the bathroom and hang out there for awhile (less distractions for him). I didn't think that advice would work, but it sure does. I pet him so he'll get used to my fingers and hand. I also give him bites of millet. He almost fell asleep on my arm today. Good luck.

[bookworm0550]

oh dang, your bird is totally different from Joey then since my bird was handfed and handraised. yeah, I would just start out even slower then. Sorry. I thought you had a tame bird. I like the name Monkey though :)

[lemonypickett]

Congrats on the new baby! I am sure some other members will chim in with the all pelletted diet though.

I believe it should only make up 40% of the diet. The rest is seed and fresh veggies.

I am sure the experts will weigh in.

Can't wait to see pics!

[michael]

Just got a dutch blue this morning. How long should I give him before I start trying to tame him? He's just sitting hanging on one side of the cage right now. I have him in the same room that I'm in and I'm just talking to him off and on while I'm in the room.

Talking to your new lovebird is a good start towards eventually taming him. Really, its part of the whole process. Letting him become used to his new surroundings while at the same time learning your not a threat may help everything go a lot easier. A week or two of this would not at all be unusual. For "step up" maneuvers, many suggest starting out by utilizing a stick, then as your bird becomes more comfortable slowly shorten the sticks length until they accept your finger or hand. Some birds may accept your finger, hand, or even your arm right from the start whereas others may permanently decide only to come out of their cage via stick. Best you can do is try to read your birds body lanquage, respect "their" wishes, then continue to spend a reasonable time working with them.

If interacting with your new friend becomes interrupted by having to chase him down you may want to clip his wings in order to avoid risk of injury or escape. The prefered wing clip is one that only "limits" their flight, this in turn being performed by someone experienced enough who understands that totally grounding a young parrot is not in its best interest. While clipping does provide a fair margin of safety, it can also help facilitate some taming efforts. Regardless though, as caretakers we tend to weigh in on issues of safety more so than any other reason when making this important decision.

With specific regards to a lovebirds diet. Providing an "all pelleted" diet can cause liver damage. As laura mentioned, pellets should comprise no more than 40% of their total dietary intake. The rest seeds, veggies, and a limited amount of fruits. Matter of fact, its now felt the safest margine of pellets should not excede 30% or even as little as 20%. Certainly, we will be keeping an eye out for any news that this may very well be the case. As a note, information about foods suitable for lovebirds is offered in the "Lovebird Resource Library" as well as a few methods which can be used towards offering them in the Lovebird care forum. Check out the "sticky's".

Whether hand fed or hand raised, I believe most birds given plenty of love, good care, and patience will eventually arrive exhibiting the same characteristics as those who were not. Although it may take a little bit longer..................:)

[david0007]

Hi, I gave my lovebird about 24 hours without anyone touching or trying to touch him. If he doesn't step on your finger you're going to have too grab him. After you get him out of the cage hold him in 1 of your hands with his head sticking out. Talk very softly to him and pet him very softly and very slowly. I did this with my 3 1/2 month old lovebird and now he only wants to come out of the cage and be on me.:):)

I have 2 lovebirds, 1 male and 1 female. They are not in the same cage and they have 1 month age difference. I got my lovebird to love me before I let him see my other lovebird.

The loving lovebird is a boy. The other lovebird I'm still working on I believe it's a girl.

If after 1-2 months if he doesn't come out and he keeps trying to escape you need to try to find out the sex of him.

To find the sex of your lovebird. Take him and hold him in 1 hand so his feet are holding on to your finger, like you are gripping a coffee cup with no handle.

Feel about 1/4 inch above his butt hole. If it feels a seperated it's a female. If it feels pretty close it's a male.

To be 100% positive you need to get them dna tested.

If you don't want to feeel him and after 1-2 months or so you can you by the old saying that I've heard.

"If you stick your arm in the cage and it jumps on your arm it's a boy, if it takes a bite out of your arm it's a girl."

Female lovebirds are a lot more work then Males. Females are harder to tame and harder for them to get attatched to you.

I hope this helps

[linda040899]

If he doesn't step on your finger you're going to have too grab him.
Absolutely not! You want to build a trust relationship with your bird and grabbing him when he's still fearful will simply teach more distrust! Love, kindness and patience will pay off in the long run, even if it takes a couple of months. Ask momo. Elmo was anything but tame in the beginning and now the relationship is getting better and better!

As for a pelleted diet, per my avian vet, pellets should not make up more than 40% of the diet of any small bird. They are actually too much nutrition and can cause death by kidney failure. Seed, fresh foods and pellets are the ideal combination.

[momo]

Do NOT grab your lovebird.. unless you want to be bitten over.. and over.. and over.. and over again.. Its taken me three months for elmo not to charge over and bite my fingers..

He still bites them if he's in the mood for blood.. or if I tap my fingers on the table.. (I know in cockatiels that staying.. wanna fight?)

You are better of waiting for your lovebird to come out of the cage himself.. The one thing I have learnt from having elmo is patience!!!!!!!!!!!!!.. you need LOTS of it.. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS.

As much as you want to play and touch your lovie now.. DONT.. you will be rewarded in the future when he doesnt bite you everywhere..

Its hard not to react when they bite and everytime elmo gets grumpy with me I get bitten. Today I got bitten on my neck and my ear because he wanted to go back to his play pen.. You will just teach them that biting gets them what they want.. and it is beyond difficult to overturn this.

[david0007]

Maybe it's just my lovebird. I don't know. What I know for a fact is the person who I got my lovebird told me to wait 24hours for him to get settled in, then after 24 hours if he doesn't step up that I had to grab him. After grabbing him and petting him for 4 Days he loves coming out of the cage. He doesn't bite either.

[Dancelady]

There are many good ways of telling a boy from a girl if you don't want to do it by DNA, although that is the best way to do it. DNA is nearly absolute, if they don't mess up the actual sample. But, you can tell also by the pelvic test (sort of mentioned above), where you feel the vent hole very gently and check to see if the bones are close together (male) or more opened up to pass the egg. This can be done when the bird reaches puberty, but if done earlier might not be so accurate. You can tell that a female is usually larger, heavier, sits lower on the perch, has a tail that is flared and rounder most of the time (male is wedge-shaped), is crankier as she gets older (hormonal), bites a lot more, and in general is more aggressive and more cage protective. :evil: She is the dominant one of a pair, and the male is much more friendly and easier to relate to. All of this taken together will probably tell you, and if it lays an egg -- why, that makes it a whole lot easier!:whistle:
P.S. another way is to use a magnet to tell male from female -- ask about this later

[momo]

david, maybe you just got lucky.. sometimes some birds just have fantastic temperament. but im sure other lovebird owners will know.. they are biters!!!! (lol)

I get bitten and nipped all the time from elmo when hes doing or somethings happening he doesn't like.

[ksmomof2]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I'm still just talking to Monkey while I'm in the room and sitting next to his cage 2-3 times a day. I have started putting my hand in and just not moving and he's making a little progress with that- he doesn't go as crazy flying in the cage- mostly just "yells" at me at first.
Also this morning I've noticed that he starts "talking" when I leave the room. So he is at least starting to get used to me.
I've tried to give him a few things like broccoli, bread , a grape- he just ignores them so far.

How often should I let him have millet in his cage? I went to a new pet store yesterday and they told me the pellet was fine and to only give him seed as a treat 1x a week or so I think I'm going to go by more what most of you are saying and give him some seed each day also.
I'm getting his wings clipped on Thursday too.

[linda040899]

Also this morning I've noticed that he starts "talking" when I leave the room.
These are contact calls and need to be answered by you. He's getting used to you and notices when you are out of sight. Birds keep in touch with each other via contact calls so they know where the other is. When I leave the room where a lot of my larger parrots live, I can have anywhere from 5-6 "conversations" going on at the same time!

[ksmomof2]

Thanks Linda- I've been either talking back or whistling to him when he talks to me.
He is so much more talkative today. I know they say that they can't learn to talk or whistle but I swear when I wolf whistle him- he does it back. I might be hearing what I want to hear but it sure sounds like the same thing.

[linda040899]

Most parrots have speech ability, but not all will talk. Some talk more clearly than others. While lovebirds are not the best talkers, some of our members have lovies that have a small vocabulary. I wouldn't necessarily write of what you are hearing as what you want to hear. :)

[Dancelady]

It is not good to give a lovie just pellets, no matter the brand name. They are seed-eaters and need plenty of seed to keep their diet normal. Give them seed, pellets, veggies and fruits. They also like pasta, rice (brown is better), and some even like a tiny bit of meats (chicken or turkey). They love popcorn (no oil), and lots of shoots that are grown from the seed -- just raise these yourself. A varied diet is best, and hard boiled eggs or scrambled are very good if they are of mating age. Look for seeds that have a wide variety in there. The better the diet, the better they look, as it gives them good nutrition for their feathers.

[Triock]

P.S. another way is to use a magnet to tell male from female -- ask about this later

:confused:

[momo]

Yeah, Im down with triocks confused..

a magnet to tell a lovie's sex.. now that is one i have NEVER heard of before haha.