Help keeping a hand reared lovebird tame please

[malibu200786]

hello i have jus got a 8 week old hand reared fischers lovie . we finished weaning him so he should be around 9 weeks old now . although he is hand reared he doesnt step up all the time and jumps around his cage a bit or away if hes out of the cage. rest of the time he will step up . i can hold him and stroke him but sometimes he flys away after a minute or sometimes five minutes , is this normal for them just to fly away? how do i keep him tame or get him tamer and step up etc ? thank you

[Pips mom]

It is my experience that forming a bond or relationship with you bird is the key to having a tame bird........hand reared or not. This takes time and happens naturally......you don't have to work at it, or do all the right things........all you have to do is respect their space and time it takes, and love them, talk to them, interact, and in time, you'll have a lovie who's willing to give that back. Kinda the same with humans, right?? I love it when I see things in my birds that remind me of how us humans are......like in the morning when I uncover their cages and they all stretch their wings like they're just waking up. It's crazy that they are SO different from us, but yet, still do some things the same! Give your new lovie time, understanding and love, and in no time you'll have a new best feathered friend!

[malibu200786]

ive read many articles about taming and bonding etc , my lovie lets me pick him up and stroke him and hold in any way . i have a indian ringneck parrot in a different cage but in the same room will this effect the lovebird?

[linda040899]

If nothing else, I've found that parrots seem to like having other parrots around them. They may or may not interact with each other but that will be their choice. You just have to ensure that your IRN can't seriously injure or kill your lovie. Lovebirds have HUGE attitudes and they think they are the size of Hyacinth Macaws when they are actually a bit smaller than Cockatiels.

I agree with Kim regarding respect. Sometimes I would like to play with one of my parrots but he/she is resting and isn't interested. Well, hey. That's OK, as I've been in that position myelf. I just simply wait and try again later. :)

[Pips mom]

If nothing else, I've found that parrots seem to like having other parrots around them.

I agree with this too.......it's always nice to have one of your own kind around or at least something in common.......birds are the same like this and like other feathered company around..........unless of course, it's a hand fed bird who's only known people and was never around other birds.......there are some cases if they are around only people for so long, that they prefer people to other birds. It's been that way a little with my cockatiel Grace. She was 3-4 yrs. old, hand fed, around people, but not birds. She does fine, but I could always tell that she has a preference for people over birds. She still gets along great with her cagemate Woody though and seems to enjoy having his company for the most part. I've seen WAY too many different species parrots become best buddies! birds definitely discriminate less than people do!!! Your lovie and ringneck in time, if they are always around each other, will come to accept each other as part of their flock, even they don't get along well. Just be very careful about other bird's feet on a lovie's cage! Alot of lovies LOVE nipping at feet! so if you have the ringneck out, just place something over the top of the lovie's cage if he's in it and you should be good!

[malibu200786]

thanks for the replys . we had a rosella what died and were sure our IRN bullied it because we thought it was molting then couple of days later it was dead we loved that guy it must of been stress . because the IRN would always go to it and try to bite the rosella. the lovie wants go near our IRN but the IRNs beak is nearly bigger than the lovie and if the IRN bites it would be RIP sid the lovie :( . Pips mom what birds have you got? are they all tame were do u keep em?

[Pips mom]

My birds are all tame and all get along. The tiels of course want nothing to do with the other two and just stay away from them! I have a blueheaded pionus, Ivy and her and my lovie Pip are best buddies! I also have two cockatiels, Woody & Grace. I can actually put Pip and Ivy into the cockatiel's cage with them (it's quite big) and they all get along fine. I only do this for a few minutes because Ivy and Pip know they don't belong in there and usually want out!.......Ivy and Pip just want to steal their food! haha! Ivy gets upset when she feels the tiels are in her space sometimes, she's a little territorial! so I usually put Ivy and Pip in when I give tiels out of cage time. Ivy also gets mad when Woody sings!