Lovebird newbie in need of some advice!

[DanWilson82]

Hi, I recently recieved two Love Birds (one male, 1 female) as a birthday gift (early March) from my gilfriend. They were completely unexpected and my first thoughts were that they would have to be taken to a bird sanctuary as I had no idea what I was doing. However after thinking about it I decided to get stuck in and see if I could make it work!

Firstly I swapped the tiny cage that the guy at the shop had advised my girlfriend would be adequate for something much bigger (roughly 24" x 14" x18"). They have sand at the bottom, 2 feeders, 2 water troughs and a bath which is a shallow kitchen bowl. They also have 3 plastic perches - I have ordered real wood ones after being advised these were better. I also have some colourful hanging toys, perches and millet on the way.

I'm not stupid enough to think that these birds would be hopping onto my finger within a week of knowing me, but they seem overly anxious and literally climb into the very top corner of their cage and 'cackle' loudly when I go anywhere near them or put my hand inside. They will not be held and bite very hand if this is attempted.

They do not have clipped wings as I'm totally against the idea of this, and are allowed to fly around my lounge for a few hours every day, perching on my pictures and mirror and ontop of the tv. They won't come any where near me and will fly off if I come within a meter or so of them. To get them back inside I have to wait until they both feed together and then quickly drop the cage door. If they don't do this I find myself having to chase them round the room until they get tired at which point I grab them wearing a glove and put them inside. I don't like doing this as I hate seeing them getting so flustered and i'm afraid I will end up hurting them.

I have tried talking to them for sustained periods and holding my hand out so they get used to it but they seem completely against any sort of contact. They also refuse to eat anything other than the mixed seeds they came with (I have tried fresh apple, cabbage and even pomegranite seeds!) and they don't seem to know how to bathe?

Any advice would be appreciated as I am a complete amateur! I don't want to give up on them just yet, and ideally I would like to get to stage where they trust me and will 'step up' but right now i'm a bit worried that they so scared of human contact that i'm never going to get anywhere...

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! We are pleased to have you here with us! :)

First off, I want to say kudos to you for deciding to keep these unexpected little bundles of feathers and looking for help on how to care for them. Lovebirds can be wonderful companions but there's also a learning curve to get there. Check out our Resource Library, as there are many links to helpful information, especially Robin's New Owners Guide for first time lovebird owners. There's a printable copy so you can print it for easy access.

Also read through our Care and Behavior and Taming Forums. You are not alone in your first time experience and you will find lots of good information in those areas, too!

I respect your feelings regarding flight feather clipping but can I suggest, perhaps, a modified clip? It will make taming much easier and those feathers will grow back at the next moult. Flight feather clipping is never intended to eliminate flight ability (at least not if it's done correctly), just limit how far and where they can go. If you were to clip the first 4 primary flight feathers on each wing, they will still be able to fly but they may not be able to reach the top of curtain rods or other very high places where it's hard to get them to come down. Keep in mind that this is just a suggestion, not something written in granite. :)

In order to tame any parrot, you have to gain its trust. With some birds, it's easier than with others. Regardless of what you might read elsewhere, there are no shortcuts in this process and there are no tricks. Trust has to be earned and that comes with them gaining experience with you. When you put your hand in their cage, your hand is viewed as an invader into THEIR home and you would protest, too, if something strange/unexpected found its way into where you live! Many birds have a fear of human hands so you may want to try covering your hand when it's in their cage. Wear a long sleeved shirt and let it go down over your hand so that the invader looks less ominous. When your hand is in their cage, move slowly and talk to them.

The food issue is an issue because all they recognize as edible is seed. This is not uncommon and lovebirds are seed eaters in their natural habitat (Africa). Back off on the variety of food you offer and just give them one new one to try. Lovebirds are not normally fruit eaters, although some will eat fruit, so vegetables are your best bet. Fresh shredded carrot might be a good choice. Long thin strips can also be viewed as a toy, with being edible as a side benefit. Just give them a couple of thin pieces with their seed and see what they do with it. If they ignore it, do the same thing tomorrow. If they like millet, get some fresh carrots with tops (or grow your own) and clip a couple of the carrot greens right along with the millet in the cage. I use wooden clothes pins for clips and I hang the millet from the top of the cage. Your 2 were obviously weaned on to a seed diet but that doesn't mean you can't modify their choice in food. They just have to realize that things other than seed are edible.

[DanWilson82]

Thankyou linda040899, I will read through the things you suggested and keep trying to gain their trust slowly. I am a little worried that when I have to put them back in the cage that it's back to step 1 because that probably wipes out the good work i've put in :confused: I've read a net is traumatising, but I can't believe it's as traumatising as grabbing them in the dark... any tips on making them 'go home', I would use the advice i've seen elsewhere of offering them their favourite treats to entice them back in, but as explained they only eat seed right now so anything 'special' wont work >:

Many thanks!

[linda040899]

Teach them to step up onto a perch instead of your hand. They are familiar with perches so this might be a workable option. Are they familiar with millet?

One thing I've trained several of my larger parrots to do is return to their cages on command. The voice command is "in your cage" (You can also use "Go home") and they've learned what I mean when I use it. Each time you put them back in their cage, use the voice command. They will soon associate what you are saying with what's expected. Make no mistake about it. Your 2 lovebirds are very intelligent. You just have to learn how to communicate with them and you want to become part of their flock.

[DanWilson82]

Each time you put them back in their cage, use the voice command. They will soon associate what you are saying with what's expected

Nice advise, I'll try doing that from now on, thanks.

[linda040899]

Be patient with using commands. This kind of training can take a while, although once I got one of my larger parrots trained, my others followed suit just by watching one parrot respond to the command.

I always vocalize to my birds what I want from them. Praise is the reward for doing what I want. Parrots don't understand the concept of punishment so time outs for biting or bad behavior will be ineffective. In fact, parrots can be trained to bite, believe it or not. If you put your bird back in its cage for time out each time you get bitten, it will learn that going home is the result of the bite. Each time the bird wants you to put it back in its cage, I don't have to tell you what will happen.............. Who trained who???? :)

[personatus]

My tame birds used to go in the cage no problen, until they started to figure out what was going on and evade all attempts to get them back in the cage! They really never wanted to go back in.

I do alot of emergency based work and often have to leave the house in a rush, so having to chase birds around was NOT ideal! I eventually got myself a bird net and it was very easy to catch them after a bit of practice. Quick, swift and calm, it won't stress the birds half as much as chasing them about for ages then chucking a towel over them or grabbing them.

After 2-3 weeks of using the net, I reach an unexpected, but very nice goal! The second I waved the net around, they all flew straight back into their cages. Since that day I never had to catch a single bird in the net, the presence of the net alone was enough.

Same with my far-from-tamed birds (don't like to call them "breeders"). Sometimes I forget to close the door to the flight when feeding them and they all pile out. They all know the drill now aswell....the second the nets out (bright green net) they all rush straight back into the flight!

[Rotkehlchen]

....the second the nets out (bright green net) they all rush straight back into the flight!
My lovies are doing that too and they're all "wild", not a single one of my 12
is tame (but the most aren't afraid of me , only if I'm coming very close to them) . I tought my first 6 lovebirds the command "Rein!" ( german for "go inside " ) , after a week of catching them every evening with a net and saying the command they knew what I wanted when I was saying "Rein" and now I just need
to show them the net and say the command :) The birds whom I got later learned
the command from my first lovies so I didn't need to teach them :)
@DanWilson82 : Welcome :)

[Pips mom]

I've done a similar thing with Pip.....only I use a basball hat....it was something soft that I could kind of nudge him out from behind a cage when he would hide back there to avoid going back into his cage! I used that hat every time and now all I have to do is show it to him and he knows what it means. He even lets me pick him up now once he gets in reach of my hands....yeah, he bites at them a bit, but not too bad....just enough to let me know he's not happy about the whole thing! Then I hold him and kiss his cute little head and he forgives me!
Your lovebirds are still fairly new to you and your home....they need time to realize that you are their friend and part of their flock. They're smart little birds and they will learn that you are someone good after watching you so many times giving them good food and good treats and just being gentle with them. I know alot of people are against wing clipping, but when it comes to lovebirds.....these little guys tend to go wild and are very strong willed and determined. Having them clipped is a good idea for the first days and weeks of getting to know them. The feathers grow out in no time and then if you decide against clipping when they grow out then you can keep them fully flighted. It is the way easier route to go...just make sure they aren't clipped too much and still have some flight.....just not enough to get to the curtain rods over the windows. I've always kept Pip clipped. Right now he's close to having full flight back and he's not to bad, but once he starts taking off on me and I have to chase him around....it's clip time! Lovies are also very upbeat and happy birds who just love to have fun.....a wing clip may upset them for a short time, but they quickly get over it and forget about it....within a day or two most times. They are strong little birds!
I know it may seem as if you'll never have that closeness with them or that bond or friendship....but you will. It just takes time and patience. I remember people telling me this when got my first bird and it seems like it takes forever, but that same bird is now the tamest, sweetest little guy.