trying to build trust --- the wrong way

[peppero1]

hi Lovebird buddies,
I have a single male lovebird that is about a year old. Anyway, my issue is that when I first got him (when he was three months old) I thought that to make him a good and happy pet all I needed to do was spend lots of time handling and touching him out of his cage,,,, well here is my concern:
-I think I have been too agressive in handling him and not respecting his boundaries, because now he never wants to come out of his cage anymore. I open the cage door when I get home from work and he rarely ever ventures out and doesn't come to me. I have to resort to tricking him out of his happy hut with treats and then grab him. Once he is out, he is relatively passive. I have been able to train him out of biting and nipping and am working on potty training... but again all he really wants to do is go back to his cage.
Any advice on how I can remedy the situation,,, and build trust as I think he currently sees me as a birdy-bully that forces him into uncomfortable situations.

[linda040899]

Sounds like the Happy Hut is the attraction in the cage and it may have to be removed if he spends most of his time in it. He like the hut over everything else. Perhaps you can remove it during the day and just put it back when he goes to bed.

Your lovebird has to want to come out of the cage. Outside of the cage has to be more attractive to him than being inside. Lovebirds are normally very curious so, without the distraction of the Happy Hut, he may find other things more interesting. One thing I would try is sitting near his cage with several of his favorite treats near you. Food is always a stimulator and t may be just what he needs to venture over to you. I, personally, don't think you handled him too much. I think the Happy Hut is just more inviting to him. Are you sure you have a male lovebird? Could there be anything that's changed that might make him feel insecure?

These ae just a few of my thoughts.

[peppero1]

thanks for the suggestion,,,, I will see if i can find a way to remove the happy hut daily, though the cage design doesn't really allow for easy removal,, but I'll give it a try,,,
now that you mentioned it, there has been a somewhat unusual experience that may have contributed to his insecurity,, i took him to a local bird shop for a toe nail and wing clipping. It was his first... and the store is basically one room with a 100 screaming parrots and birds.
At first i was concerned that this might be traumatic for him but he seemed so excited to hear all the other birds chirping, I assumed it reinvigorated him.... Do you think this could have contributed to his insecurity?
And one last question, I have recently put a few new toys in the cage, do you think this is more interesting to him than outside the cage? He spends most of the day in the cage alone, so I am still surprised if he prefers being in there when he has the opportunity to be out of the cage.
Thanks again for any suggestions.

[bellarains]

Hey,

I agree, that happy hut is a good thing, but if they become too agreessive about it, limited time in the cage is best.

I attach my cozies with little plastic birdie rings, or you can find crazy links that would work as well. This allows me to get the cozy out by just pressing on the links from the top outside of the cage, therefore saving your fingers when trying to remove it. I place it in place where when I release the hut, it can fall to the bottom of the cage, and I can retrieve it quickly, then give them a minute or two to get over the removal of it, as they do get a tad upset when I first take it away. Just thought I'd share how I keep my fingers intact ;)

[BarbieH]

It's interesting about the wing and nail clipping. I don't think the other birds created the insecurity, but perhaps the wing clipping itself did. It took away your bird's prime defense, flight, so your bird is trying to be as safe as possible.

It can be okay to handle a bird against its will; they need to know that when you do this, they will not be harmed. It's also important to know how to do this in case you need to get your bird out of a potentially dangerous situation.

However, I think doing this repeatedly has taught your bird that this is how he is taken out of the cage. To take it a step further, put your hand in while holding a piece of millet. See if you can get your bird to take the millet from the hand; don't force the bird out. Let your bird know that hands have other purposes.

When he seems more comfortable with the hand in his cage, hold it next to his favorite perch. It may take time, but I believe he will make the connection. Have the hand hold the millet just outside the cage too, to tempt him out.

You can also continue bringing him out on your terms, but give him a good chance to make the decision on his own.

Best wishes,

[peppero1]

he also does another interesting thing:
-he comes to the cage door and peaks his head out, then when i put my hand infront of him and say "up" he quickly turns back and heads for the happy hut.
Sometimes I attempt to catch him, when he is at his food or water dish and when he sees me coming for him he jumps back into the hut.
At times I think he might think this is a game... since he comes right out again as if to entice me to make another attempt...

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Lovies can be very territorial about their cages. It took me literally MONTHS to get my Melody to want to come to me. She was perfectly happy to sit in her cage and play with her toys and eat her treats.

So I started sitting next to the cage a lot. I'd eat by the cage, read by the cage, watch TV from next to the cage ... you get the idea. Eventually my nosy little girl decided to come out and investigate. If I tried to pick her up, she'd bolt back in and then we'd be back to square one all over again with the trust issue. So I had to let her come out and investigate on her own, until she understood that I wasn't going to try to grab her every time she came out.

[LauraO]

If Peppero runs to the happy hut everytime he runs away from you in his cage, removing it during the day will do wonders for your ability to get him out of his cage. I have several huts I remove during the day as several of my birds get territorial with them and would stay in them all day long. Of coure, they are females but if Peppero's wing clip is still really new this may also be part of the problem.

[Janie]

I have two new lovies, DNA'd male siblings, so I'm trying to figure out how to make them want to leave each other for ME! :D I do give them a Cozy (happy hut) at night and they love it but if I left it in all the time, I might never catch a glimpse of them again. At this point, neither one will step up so I do reach in for them but I'm hoping to change that will a little (or a LOT, :lol) more time. I agree, taking the h.hut out during the day might help and as Jennifer mentioned with Melody, spending lots of time around and near the cage and communicating with him should also help. When I adopted an older lovie, 2 years ago, I sat by his cage and read, out loud, the LoveBird Hand Guide, :lol. I needed to read it and I figured he could get used to my voice while I read. I read it with such animation....like you would to a toddler! :D Good luck!

[shylevon]

My birds go through phases where they don't really want to come out of the cage often. I open the door and go sit on the couch. If any birdies want out, they will come, if not, that is OK too.

I think eventually your birdie will decide to come out on his own, and I think you should give him the opportunity to make that decision himself. If he knows he can come out and go back in whenever the cage door is open, and that you won't bother him when he is out, he will begin to await the time the door opens and he will eventually come to you instead of you always being the aggressor (bad word, I know).

I would also remove the hut during the day if he spends too much time in there. Sometimes birdies use it as a crutch to delay learning to become braver in their surroundings.

[RicosPoppy]

I also have a singel male lovebird at home who is around the same age as yours. I have found the biggest factor in his behavior has to due with the happy hut. To make a long story short, we found that taking the happy hut out of his cage, and only giving him access to it for short periods of time, out of his cage, made him much friendlier and affectionate. Now, the biggest and only problem we have is trying to get him back in his cage.

[peppero1]

I agree,, I took the happy hut out of his regular cage and put it in a small cage and just let him use it for sleeping. In the morning he comes out and i put him back in his regular cage. Now that i have done this he is much better, his mood is mellow and he is quite pleasant....
Thanks for the excellent suggestions!