New mom to a 4 month baby Lovebird

[mariesonia]

It's been a week now that I adopted coco. On the second day that we was home, he wasn't shy to come out his cage to walk freely in the living room. He's been going out of his cage for 1 week now. I was able to pick him up without him bitting me. He seems to enjoy me petting him and me giving him little kisses.

However, there's one small problem. Everytime I put my hand in his cage, he absolutely goes nuts! he flies away and screams in terror like I'm about to kill him.

Its not the first time that he saw my hand. In fact, I was able to stroke his beak, his belly without him bitting my finger off. He's always gentle. But as soon that my hand is near his cage, it's like he doesn't know who I am anymore.

Why is he acting this way? I was just trying to pick him up so that he could have a little bit of exercise but tonight, he wouldn't have none of it. He stayed in his cage all day.

Should I leave him alone and let him come out at his own turf?

My main question is this? How were you able to gain your lovebird's trust? and how long did it take?

Thanks for the advice.

[summoora]

It's not uncommon for birds to totally turn on you after the first week. They find themselves in a new place, so the best thing to do in their opinion is to be subordinate and hope you don't eat them. After that first week, they move into fighting tooth and nail. :whistle:

If he only acts like that in his cage, it could be a territorial thing.
Try eating near his cage, talking to him as much as possible, over time he will see your hands change his food, clean his cage, and offer him millet, so he might stop hating them. some just dont like hands.

[linda040899]

Trust with parrots is an earned thing and they learn by experience. Coco is very new to you and your home so he has to build his database so he can trust that you will not hurt him. How long that takes can/will vary from bird to bird, especially if you happened to be dealing with an abused bird. Coco hasn't been abused but he's young and in a completely new environment. His cage is his home and your hand is viewed as an intruder. He knows he likes the stroking that your hand does but he's not so sure about it entering his living space. You might try leaving the cage door open and having a favorite treat (millet is great for this) in your hand so the association is a positive one.