Insecure lovebirds?

[_simon_]

Hi Guys,

I've had my lovebirds for almost 6 months now, I took them on as a pair. One is a pure peach faced and the other a sea green, I don't know sexes or ages. Neither are tame in any way shape or form. Both get on well with the occasional squabble. They're fed on a lovebird seed mix and get fresh veg every day. I keep them indoors in a 4' x 3' aviary. height is 6' but that's just so I can get in for cleaning with ease.

The aviary is not located in a busy room but in the hallway so we regularly walk past. There's a variety of toys they can chew / pull apart and a variety of surfaces to land on of different materials and sizes. They also have a little material tent with a perch inside and open bottom that they usually sleep in.

The reason for posting is that they seem very insecure. Almost every time anyone goes anywhere near the aviary they fly to the back where their material tent is and hide behind it peeking out. It's extremely rare that either of them will tolerate being closer to us.

I should add that we can put our heads around the doorway and this doesn't bother them, it's only as soon as the rest of our bodies appear that they fly away and hide.

Aside from hiding they have no problem with me putting my arms in every day to sort their food and water. They're not massively keen when I get in with them for cleaning or retying knots on their toys but they've never attacked me, they'll either hide or fly around squawking.

Is there anything I can do to try and get them out of this insecurity? No matter how long I spend in front of the cage either staying silent, talking to them or offering food, they never get curious enough to venture out of hiding.

[shadnamber]

Try moving the cage so that it is in some sort of corner. Your birds may feel too exposed with being in the hallway.
I am not an expert as I have only had my lovebirds for a few months, but I have been reading a lot and have found so much help from this website. The threads here cover just about every question you can think of. The experiences from other people have helped me tremendously with taming, training and especially breeding.

Our family has been very successful with clicker training our birds. If this is something you might be interested in there are several threads here available to get you started. I hope this helps, please keep us updated. And we always love to see pics of your lovies if you can.:)

[Lawrence]

based on my experience, it will take anywhere from 1 year plus for the lovebird to get used to your presence, that they dont feel you as threatening and yet they will still run away most of the time. But first you need to ask what do you want to get from your birds, do you want them to play with them? Land on your shoulder? Stay on your hand? If these are true, then I will suggest you get a hand-fed bird because to turn your current two into any of those will take a long time and a lot of time commitment from you. I have 40+ lovebirds and I can say that the ones that have minimum to zero human contact during their baby time will take the longest to tame (and by tame I mean hand-tame, they will tolerate being held by hand and not bite your hand). What you can do to get accepted is to establish a routine of fun things that they like, for example misting in the morning, knowing what their favorite food is and give that every day in a special dish, you will find that soon enough if you come over with that food in their view, they will wait nearby the dish. So you establish a Pavlov association that you = good things. The next step will be for the birds to actually pick the food from your hand. But like I said, you will need a loooooooong time and effort for it.

Cheers

[kimberly1985]

Is there a way you could move the cage into a busier area in the house? I've always heard that they would get more used to you that way. I keep my lovie right in the living room/den area. I did the same with my parakeet from Petsmart that tamed pretty well and he was older. With multiple, older birds, it will be much harder like Lawrence said. But if you have the time, love, and patience, it could happen.

I normally would say, separate them so you can train each one individually but I'm not sure since they're bonded.

Would it be okay to take their happy hut out so they couldn't "hide" all the time? I'm just wondering. Maybe that could help????

Do lovies have to have a happy hut/tent? I ordered one because I've heard so much buzz about them. I never needed one for my parakeet. Does anyone happen to know how to introduce one?

[linda040899]

Do lovies have to have a happy hut/tent?
Nope! In fact, give one to a hen and she will come to consider it a place to nest once she's sexually mature. Most of mine sleep on perches and they do just fine. I also have half coconut shell swings in many of my cages and the lovies love to sleep in them!

[_simon_]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I can't move their cage to another part of the house due to its size. I was aware before I got them that it would be unlikely they'd ever become tame, it's just the fact they shoot off when they see anyone coming that I was hoping I could change. Perhaps the next 6 months will see some progress :)

[_simon_]

Just thought I'd update. I took their little hut thing out to wash and the difference in their behaviour is really noticeable. They don't fly off and try to hide now. I can't believe it was that simple. Also when I got in and was removing their hut they were the most well behaved they've ever been. They simply sat on a perch and watched me, no fuss at all. I was expecting some commotion taking their beloved hut out but no.

[linda040899]

Lovebirds don't need huts to sleep in. Many times, those huts cause more problems than they solve.

As long as you don't appear threatening to them, they will sit and let you do whatever it is that you are doing. By just "being there," you are starting to build a trust relationship with them. You may find at some time in the future, they will fly over to check you out. Expect nothing and see where the relationship goes. You want them to accept you as a member of their flock. That can happen as long as they are not afraid that you will hurt them. It can take some time but it's well worth the effort. :)