Is it possibly to tame 2?

[Emmzie]

Hi all, Really need some help.

Around 6 months ago I bought two beautiful love birds from a pet shop (I was unable to find a breeder round my location) I have ben having problems taming them and recently read up that its near enough impossible to tame two? The pet store couldn't tell me how old they are, he guessed at young adults - but god knows how many years old. I work full time so I can;'t give them attention throughout the day time but when I get home I sit next to them and whisper to them, I have been putting my hand in the cage with some treat for around 15minutes, (I also ready you an push them too much) They don't bite, they just look at me and cling to the other end of the cage :( I whisper and softly speak to them, one of them looks like they are about to go for it but with them being in a pair they stick together. Can anyone suggest what else I can do?? :( I love them so muchI want them to love me not be scared of me!

[marc]

YES, it is possible.
You can tame 1,2 3, 4 ......endless birds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYIRJKHPJ2o&feature=channel_video_title




Your trouble is in the fact that you got 2 adult birds so it is very difficult,for you, to earn their trust.
Anyway, nothing is impossible, so I can advise you of continuing to try! to try! and still to try!
You are doing everything very well but you should love your birds even if you will are NOT able to tame them.
It's not the main thing the fact they are tamed or no but the thing most important is that that they are healthy

[kimberly1985]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing! Have you been doing this long? Usually it takes a few weeks before they actually come to the food depending on how scared they were to start with.

Patience! My little parakeet took about a month to start stepping up. (I didn't use treats, only verbal praise)

[Emmzie]

Thanks both, I love my little birds, just wish they loved me :(

I've had them for around 6/7 months, I did at first do it everyday then I got really disheartened :( But I've been really good recently sitting with them puting my hand in, they just go mad and cling to the bars! :(

[Emmzie]

Clicker training? I've heard this a couple of times on the website, where can I find the topics? I've tried searching on the forum with no luck? :)

[shadnamber]

Hi, I have successfully tamed and trained my 2 lovebirds. I have only had them 3 months.
If your interested in clicker training there is an online Yahoo group called "Bird Click". It's free to join and the administrators are professional animal trainers. They recommend a book called "Clicker train your bird" by Melinda Johnson. You can borrow it for free from your local library. (My library bought it at my request and they will even do inter-library loans for you)
Also, there are several youtube videos that show and explain how this is done.

To get you started with clicker training:

clicker (can get at petco-same thing they use for training dogs, $2.00)
treats (usually millet)
Target stick ( a chop stick that is clean and has no human saliva on it)

First step is to "Charge" your clicker. You click and then immediately give the treat. do this for about 5 minutes. then try again later. The first few days this is all you do. Not very exciting, I know, but it's a start. what you are actually accomplishing here is a conditioned response, similar to pavlov's dogs. Your birds will quickly realize that every time they here the click, they get a treat. If you want to introduce the target stick in the beginning or wait, it's up to you.
The idea with the target stick is that you want the birds to touch the end with their beaks. then you click and immediately give a treat. It starts out slow and then progresses faster.
I am now able to get both of my birds to step up on a dowel for me, fly to their cage when I tell them "go home" and spin on cue.
We started with them both together in their cage. During this time they had babies and the daddy is currently feeding them. The mama is on vacation at a friends house for some R&R.

You can train as often as you like and depending on your birds they should "get it" in a few days.
I hope this helps.:)

[Emmzie]

Wow that sounds really interesting! 1 thing, if I click the clicker and they don't take the treat? What happens then?

I noticed today, I put my hand in the catch for 15minutes and they were hanging on the cage, they sat on their perch alot calmer, they still didn't come to me but atleast they are closer and calmer to my hand, maybe this is a sign!! :):)

[marc]

maybe this is a sign!! :):)

yes, it is a good sign! ;)

the clicker?
I always used my lips for hissing and after I gave them the reward (millet) so I think the clicker can really work very well if you will use it in the correct way..
good luck :)

[shadnamber]

To start with just be next to them and when they do something you like, you can click. If they will eat when you are near, click when they take a bite of food. If they look at you, click. You may be able to use a spray of millet or even a spoon with sunflower seeds.Baby steps, always baby steps. then they will get used to the sound of the clicker. for some birds the click noise is scary at first and then they get used to it. you can hold the clicker behind your back or have it muffled in your pocket at first.

The benefit of the clicker is that it is always the same sound and it marks the behavior (like taking a picture) right when the action happens. If you were to say "good bird" every time they did something you liked, it would be the same, but not as consistent. With the clicker there are no variations.
Soon your birds will start to realize that good things happen when you are around and they will be happy to see you and play with you. It's a game to them. Just remember, short sessions (5 min. or less) I am sure I am leaving a lot out, this is just stuff off the top of my head. I have done a ton of research on this but hopefully this will get you started.:)

[Emmzie]

Thank you so much :) I ordered my clicker on eBay yesterday should get it in a couple of days.

I put my hand in the cage today with some food, took a bit of a back step they didn't seem to come near me at all so I was a tad disappointed :( But it takes time, I have to learn that! Thanks all, I will keep updating! :)

[shadnamber]

Something else you can do is eat by them. If they will also eat from their food dish while you are near them, this is a sign that they trust you enough to eat in front of you. Birds won't eat in front of a predator.
You mentioned that you have other birds, yes? Try using one of your already tame pets to "teach" your new Lovies that you give treats and other fun things happen when you are around.
Also try games like mimicking them. stretch if you see one of them stretch or blink slowly up close to them. Birds are big on body language and little things get noticed by them. Remember trust works both ways (you have to give trust to receive it) and if they see you trying to communicate with them they will be curious.

I am a big believer in knowledge being power so I always try to learn more. (my husband says I get obsessed) So I apologize if I am going to far. I always get excited and like to share what I have learned with others.:blush:

[bird-brain]

I am glad to see that so many people are having great success training/taming their birds! I adopted all but one of my birds when they were older (3 blue crowns and 6 lovebirds) and none of them had ever been handled. The one exception was our gcc and the difference in getting the bird young was AMAZING!

Clicker training did not work for my first three so I gave up on it. My mature males would start doing the clicky dance everytime they heard it and the hen that I got from a very neglectful home was PETRIFIED of the clicker.

I tried it with one of my conures who was already very tame by then and she would look at it, turn her head, look at me and mimic the click noise. :rotfl Later she would just ask "really, is that really necessary?" That is her standard response to anything that annoys her. *sigh* That's my Skye Bird.

In the end, what worked for us was to do a wing clip and turn the table into a play gym basically and just sit and watch them explore and play. Eventually the millet in my hand won out and from there we went to safflower seed or some other smaller seed. From there we worked with step up on a dowel and then to the finger. It took about 4 months. Now each of them will hop to my shoulder as soon as I open the cage except the one who was in the really bad home. She is my only flighted bird. She comes out about 5 minutes after everyone else and joins us. she will fly to my shoulder after she has been out a while it just takes her a while in the mornings to muster her courage.

The point of this is NOT to say negative things about clicker training, it is to say don't be discouraged if it's not for your birds. There are other methods. Just experiment until you find what your birds need. Best of luck to you!

[Emmzie]

Thanks everyone :)

I always eat next to them and they eat in front of me too :) Also when I notice they are getting tired I close my eyes slowly and they do the same, it seems to settle them, but still they don't eat out of my hand. I just have to keep at it

[shadnamber]

My lovies adore millet, but the only time they get it is from my hand.
Their favorite treats I only use for training purposes, it's part of doing a "training diet", but really they have food and water all the time so they aren't hungry.
Lovebirds eat constantly so you can't really apply the same "training diet" techniques to them as you would use for a larger bird.:)
I read in my lovebird handbook that you can reasonably expect to have your bird with you and happy for about 30 minutes and then they will start to get cranky and need to eat again, so don't take it personal. They just have REALLY fast metabolisms.