Questions on Lovebird behavior and taming

[trish1172]

I have a 10 month old Lovebird named Tango. I've had him for 2 months now and I have worked with him as much as possible to get him adjusted to me. I started by hand feeding millet to him at the beginning. He lets me get near him now, but I still can't handle him yet or get him to accept my finger or hand. He either bites at me or moves away from me. He comes out of his cage freely and climbs around on it or the pvc play gym I built him next to the cage. When he is out, he chirps happily or climbs over to the side of the cage closest to me and just looks at me curiously. The minute I look at him, talk to him or move my hand towards him, he climbs away. It seems like he wants to be close to me, but is afraid of me still. A friend told me to use a towel to pick him up and handle him so he gets used to it. I've only done it twice since I am afraid I will scare him more. The biting, I am a little afraid of since I've heard they can draw blood. Any advice on getting him to come to me more readily would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!:)

[thebubbleking]

the one thing to remember is patience! some birds just dont like hands or fingers, try useing a wooden spoon or a dowel :) to get him near you use the two strongest things in a lovebird..curiosity and gluttony :) crumple a piece of plain printer paper or tap on an empty box he will come to investigate :) when he arrives use millet corn or brochilli as a treat near whatever you used to get him to you...next question you will be posting is "anyone know how to get this clingy velcro thing off me so i can have some me time?!?!?! " lol

[trish1172]

I will give it a try! He is very, very curious. He likes to try whatever I am eating...so the gluttony makes sense. However, I only let him have the things that I have read are safe for him. So I take it grabbing him with a towel was a bad idea?

His wings are clipped, but he sometimes flies down to the floor. I usually use a dowel and he hops up on that very willingly.

[shadnamber]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!
I have only had my lovebirds for a little while so I am far from an expert. :) In my family we have used clicker and target training with all of our animals with great success. Positive reinforcement really works.
Also, I found some great advice around on this forum about games and understanding my birds better.

I have to caution you against using the towel to tame your bird. OK. How to say this. Towels can be useful in an emergency situation. You may have to use one someday. But if your bird knows "The towel" is coming and what that means, it won't help your cause. Not a good habit to develop. It is far better that your bird learns to trust you and that " you mean no harm." Then you can always be the person that good things happen around. (treats, playtime, ect.) and then he will of course look forward to seeing you and spending time with you. I hope this helps.:)

[trish1172]

I understand what you are saying about the towel. Anytime he sees it now, he get as far away as possible and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. Thanks for the advice!

Trish