A few newbie questions

[Dante]

Hey, I'm new here.
Can anyone tell me how do I teach a lovebird to sit on my finger? I've had her for only one day and she's still quite frightened. When can I start letting her out of her cage? Any input would be great.

[Elle]

Hi Dante,

I would give him a few days to let him aclimatise to it's new home. Moving into a new environment is quite stessful for them.

Is your lovebird clipped? If not, I would consider getting a wing clip as it will make easier to spend time with him. If he is clipped, you can try opening the cage and putting some treats on top so he can come out if he wishes.

I trained my lovebirds and budgies to step up my locking ourselves in the bathroom with a perch. I started by gently talking to them for the first day. The next day, I started asking them to step up. Every time they did, I would praise them. Then put them back on the perch, ask to step up, praise, put back on the perch. Our session were no more than 10 minutes.

[Dante]

Sounds good. I'll definitely try that excluding the clipping part. I enjoy seeing her flying :) Thanks for the advice.

[jimpierce]

it took me quite awhile, lots of patience and perseverance, to get Benji to sit on my finger. Peaches only does if I am taking her to her cage for food. lol

[Chickobee]

:2cents:
Even though it is really beautiful watching birds fly, it can be very dangerous for a fully flighted bird inside a house. Everything will be new to your bird and it will be terrified when you are trying to catch it to return it to it's cage, and could be injured in the process.

We choose to clip our birds for their safety and because a wing clip helps keep a sassy lovebird tame and easier to manage.

Here are some of the dangers of flight in a house:

- They can get going very fast and hurt themselves if they hit a window.

- They can fly outside very quickly if someone opens a door or window when they are out of their cage.

- They are more difficult to tame when they are fully flighted.

- There are many other dangers such as pots on the stove, sinks full of water, toilets, ceiling fans, dangerous plants, and all sorts of things to get into and nibble on that they shouldn't.

- It is much harder to catch a fully flighted bird, but especially one who has not learned flighted recall, step-ups, or some other method of returning to you safely.

If you choose to have a fully flighted bird I would suggest that you clip your bird now while you are training it and then later you may be able to let the feathers grow back in at the next molt and leave the bird flighted.

[linda040899]

Flight feather clipping is a very personal decision and the choice is strictly yours. It does help during the taming process and those feathers will molt out to full feathers in about 6 months or so. However, trust can be earned even with a fully flighted bird.

The only caution I offer is to make sure you know where your bird is any time a door is about to be opened. Lovebirds are small and quick. Should he escape through an door leading to the outside, getting him back might not be so easy. If you are going to keep him fully flighted, work on having him fly to you on command. You can do this as you are taming him.

[jen]

I recommend clipping too.. trying to catch an untamed lovie is no fun, and dangerous for them too.
You can adjust your clipping as well... giving them more or less ability to fly.. I do a moderate trim on my birds so they can fly a few feet, like from my shoulder to their cage, or a chair to the floor, but cant take off on me :)

I chased one of my new unclipped lovies around a small bedroom for over 45min yesterday. yep. that was fun. LOL