keeping tame

[peteandtilly]

i was looking for some hints on keeping babies tame.... ernie is now 8 weeks and flying like crazy.... when i take him out of the cage to spend time with him he flies away and when i try to get him to step up he takes off again!!!! this morning after i caught him i held him lightly in one hand so he couldnt get away and just patted his head and talked to him... i think ernie wants to be wild lol

http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x463/peteandtilly/babies077.jpg

[Chickobee]

I would suggest a wing clip for Ernie. Then it will be much easier to work with him. Then you can take him to a quiet room for a while each day to teach him step ups and to play with him. If you are trying to work with Ernie in the same room with other birds he will want to return to the flock instead of interacting with you.

Babies need daily interaction to stay tame and can become completely wild in just two weeks if you don't continue to socialize them. I read that this is required for the first year. I don't know if that is true because we spend a little time every day with each of our birds so they don't forget their step ups. We also keep wings clipped so they are easier to manage and not always flying upstairs.

[peteandtilly]

you dont think he is to young to clip??? how many should i clip

[bookworm0550]

orion and apollo were like this when they learned how to fly and were weaned. they went from being cute little walking babies who would run up to me to very independent, flying away. some days they would act like they have never seen me before in their lives even though i had them since they were eggs. just continue to interact w/ them as much as you can. apollo still acts like that from time to time, but he's coming around again now that they are about 6 months old and he needs me to preen out his pin feathers (surprised he even let me!). he knows that he's a bird so he doesn't have the need to hang out w/ me, but there's been times when i can tell he rather just hang out w/ me.

i felt like i had to start all over w/ him as though he was a new bird in my home by offering him treats, practicing stepping up, etc... i mean, it was definitely a lot easier than working w/ a new bird who has never been in your home, but i had to work and act like he was. Orion on the other hand was a lot easier to handle. i don't know if it was because he followed joey around and got used to me real quick or what.

[bookworm0550]

that's not ernie at 8 weeks is it? he seems kinda bare if he is 8 weeks old.

[bookworm0550]

you dont think he is to young to clip??? how many should i clip

i would start w/ only doing a few feathers to see how he does. you don't want to clip too many (learned that the hard way). that way, you can always clip more if need to. i think it's safe to clip when they know how to fly and it sounds like he knows how to fly. you just shouldn't clip when they are still learning or any time before that. how is miss piggy doing as well?

[peteandtilly]

yes that was ernie... this picture is one of each of them this morning, i find they are behind other lovies their age but they did have a hard start in life.. consider my clumsy hand feeding for a few days i think they are perfect...i cliped 2 of ernies wings on each side i will probably do one more after work when i have time to be with him and see how it goes



http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x463/peteandtilly/babies109.jpg

http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x463/peteandtilly/babies108.jpg

[bookworm0550]

yes that was ernie... this picture is one of each of them this morning, i find they are behind other lovies their age but they did have a hard start in life.. consider my clumsy hand feeding for a few days i think they are perfect...i cliped 2 of ernies wings on each side i will probably do one more after work when i have time to be with him and see how it goes


that's alright! i know they did have a harder head start as i read your previous threads. i'm just very glad they are alive and doing well.

[linda040899]

you dont think he is to young to clip??? how many should i clip
How well he flies, not actual age, needs to the determining factor. If he's good at flying/landing, you can limit where he can go by clipping a few flight feathers. I think I would probably start with 4 on each wing and let him test that. If he still flies well, take off 1 more on each wing. 6 clipped flights on each wing should be enough to allow him a bit of flight but not allow him to gain height when he takes off. You want him to be able to glide to the landing surface, not fall like a lead balloon.

[Chickobee]

Bookworm; These babies were being plucked by the parents. The parents usually stop doing that when the babies are around five weeks old and then they get new feathers fairly soon. The new feathers will come in the colors of adult plumage after a first molt rather than the more muted baby feathering.

Parent birds usually don't pluck the wing and tail feathers but they sometimes even do that. Last spring I had a few who were nearly bald and even missing the wing and tail feathers. They weren't pretty then but they became gorgeous birds.

[kakazizou]

x x x x

[bookworm0550]

Bookworm; These babies were being plucked by the parents. The parents usually stop doing that when the babies are around five weeks old and then they get new feathers fairly soon. The new feathers will come in the colors of adult plumage after a first molt rather than the more muted baby feathering.

Parent birds usually don't pluck the wing and tail feathers but they sometimes even do that. Last spring I had a few who were nearly bald and even missing the wing and tail feathers. They weren't pretty then but they became gorgeous birds.

oh i see. do parents always pluck the feathers? i didn't notice anything w/ orion and apollo. or does it just vary depending on the bird?

[peteandtilly]

wow, what a difference between ernie at 8 weeks and trish at 8 weeks,,,,,
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x463/peteandtilly/DSC03127.jpg

[summoora]

Sheesh. I just looked at the picture of Ernie. Parents really did a number on him. Talk about bad haircut.

[peteandtilly]

ernie was the best looking one, you should have seen his brother pig.

[summoora]

Isn't pig that double dark factor, scruffy fellow in another thread?

[peteandtilly]

yes that's the pig, he started out as miss piggy, because when i fed "her" she was starving and ate like a pig, then i got her dna and she was the pig....... he is so sweet, ernie and the mom pick on him all the time and i just give him lots of love

[summoora]

He has a really sweet look about him. I love blue lovebirds (seagreen probably being my favorite now, followed by violets), and of course everyone loves a cuddly lovebird.

[Arabianhorselover]

My Lovebird, Sunny, loves people so much that I think it would take a long time before he would lose his tameness. We have gone on trips and left him with a caregiver for two weeks several times, and he always remembers us and goes right back into his normal routine.