MIEventer
12-30-2012, 09:52 PM
Hello! I am new to the forum, my name is Kimberly and I need some advice :)
I owned a Lovebird many years ago, a male named Trillo. He bonded with me quite quickly and was my little buddy for many years until he passed away. For many years, I spoke about wanting to get another Lovie, and this xmas, my Husband got me one for a gift.
He drove me out to a lady who breeds them, and I got to pick which one I wanted. I chose a little female, and we brought her home. Named her Khaleesi.
Have been having lots of issues - to be honest, I do not remember it taking this long, nor being this difficult with Trillo....this little Hen, is quite a challenge.
She is a pain in the patookie! ARGH! But I adore her. She is too cute, to look at........
It has been 2 weeks now since we brought Khaleesi home. She is a little chick, I believe to be 4 - 6 months old (no older than 6 months). She has been a lot of work. Trying to get her to bond with me, and trying to get her to even understand that she can trust me....which is quite the process. Or.....maybe she knows, because she is a very smart girl, that I wont hurt her, but she can do what she wants, and therefore doesn't have to be with me...
She has an absolute favorite spot to be. In the Dining Room, ontop of her favorite lamp, looking out the very large windows we have. She does her best to get to that spot. Or any spot.....where I am not . I can have her step up on my finger, if she chooses to....or we play "chase me around the house". She is very smart, because she knows that if she gets herself into the dining room, underneath the dining room table, I have a difficult time getting to her.
I'll go to the side she is on, underneath a chair, and when I get to that spot, she'll waddle to the other side, underneath a chair...and we'll repeat the process until I figure out that I need to become smarter than the dining room furniture. Yet, she still wont let get my finger to her, she'll flutter or waddle into the front room.
If I leave her alone, she'll figure out her own way to get on the perch she wants to be, or she'll waddle around the floor calling, chirping and climbing up onto furniture she wants to be on, until she gets to her desired destination I have allowed her to sit on that lamp, in her room, for hours. Just chilling and being herself - I thought, by leaving her alone, she would get to know her environment and know that we aren't going to hurt her.
A friend told me, that she took her little Lovebird Hen, into the bathroom and sat in the bathtub with her. Whenever she tried to flutter away,she couldn't get any good solid footing, and discovered that her Human was the best place to be on.......which then started the bonding process...tried that. Yes, Khaleesi figured out very quickly that I was the best footing and solidity for her little feet. I got her to the point where she sat quietly on me - yet, when we left the bathroom...she fluttered off.
In the bathroom, I can handle her from hand to hand. I can pet her, I can stroke her. I can hold her in my hand, have her perch on my finger, sit on my shoulder. But the moment we leave that small confined space......games a foot. She knows that I cannot do all those things, in a much bigger space, because she can get away from me quite quickly and with ease
She also told me that she had her little Lovie sit on her knees while she played video games. For hours they would do this. Tried it......the moment she decided she didn't want to be with me, but where she wanted to be, she would flutter off. I would have to put my controller down and chase her around the house again, until I got her convinced to get up on my finger, and I would repeat the process - put her on my knees or my shoulders, and within minutes, once I got my controller back and comfortable and settled into my game...she would flutter off.....
Last night, I thought a breakthrough had occurred. I had her in the bedroom with me last night while I read. While she was on her lamp, she decided to get to her cage and she was chirping and calling out. She got onto the bed where I was, thinking that she was wanting to visit with me. This made me excited! No...turned out, she realized we have a ceiling fan, which is the HIGHEST point in the room. She was looking up at it while waddling from one side of the bed to the other, chirping and calling. She figured out how to get from the bed, onto the top of my large antique mirror (covered with a towel), onto the TV, and attempted, quite a few times, to get onto that ceiling fan, unsuccessfully at all attempts. She failed the first time, ending up back on the bed...she repeated the process. Back onto the mirror, the tv..and attempted again....failure.
I was very disappointed to discover she wanted nothing to do with me at all........lol, it was about getting as high up as she could.
She has now gotten to the point, that if she is left in her cage for any amount of time, she will have temper tantrums. She does this odd head swing thing and head bang thing while screeching and calling. Today, Hubby and I were gone for most of the day. We were at the car dealer getting new breaks put on, for quite a few hours, then I had to work and Hubby was out with his Friend. Hubby got home just a short time before me, and Khaleesi was having a fit in her cage when he got home, saying "let me out" - so he put his hand in her cage to see if she would step up on him, and instead she bit him very hard, drawing blood.
I think I have created a monster.
Here are some videos that I have taken of myself working with Khaleesi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hA3JarGqI7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cn7l1MYsXkY
Am I on the right track? Am I doing things right? What should I be doing? Not be doing? Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you
I owned a Lovebird many years ago, a male named Trillo. He bonded with me quite quickly and was my little buddy for many years until he passed away. For many years, I spoke about wanting to get another Lovie, and this xmas, my Husband got me one for a gift.
He drove me out to a lady who breeds them, and I got to pick which one I wanted. I chose a little female, and we brought her home. Named her Khaleesi.
Have been having lots of issues - to be honest, I do not remember it taking this long, nor being this difficult with Trillo....this little Hen, is quite a challenge.
She is a pain in the patookie! ARGH! But I adore her. She is too cute, to look at........
It has been 2 weeks now since we brought Khaleesi home. She is a little chick, I believe to be 4 - 6 months old (no older than 6 months). She has been a lot of work. Trying to get her to bond with me, and trying to get her to even understand that she can trust me....which is quite the process. Or.....maybe she knows, because she is a very smart girl, that I wont hurt her, but she can do what she wants, and therefore doesn't have to be with me...
She has an absolute favorite spot to be. In the Dining Room, ontop of her favorite lamp, looking out the very large windows we have. She does her best to get to that spot. Or any spot.....where I am not . I can have her step up on my finger, if she chooses to....or we play "chase me around the house". She is very smart, because she knows that if she gets herself into the dining room, underneath the dining room table, I have a difficult time getting to her.
I'll go to the side she is on, underneath a chair, and when I get to that spot, she'll waddle to the other side, underneath a chair...and we'll repeat the process until I figure out that I need to become smarter than the dining room furniture. Yet, she still wont let get my finger to her, she'll flutter or waddle into the front room.
If I leave her alone, she'll figure out her own way to get on the perch she wants to be, or she'll waddle around the floor calling, chirping and climbing up onto furniture she wants to be on, until she gets to her desired destination I have allowed her to sit on that lamp, in her room, for hours. Just chilling and being herself - I thought, by leaving her alone, she would get to know her environment and know that we aren't going to hurt her.
A friend told me, that she took her little Lovebird Hen, into the bathroom and sat in the bathtub with her. Whenever she tried to flutter away,she couldn't get any good solid footing, and discovered that her Human was the best place to be on.......which then started the bonding process...tried that. Yes, Khaleesi figured out very quickly that I was the best footing and solidity for her little feet. I got her to the point where she sat quietly on me - yet, when we left the bathroom...she fluttered off.
In the bathroom, I can handle her from hand to hand. I can pet her, I can stroke her. I can hold her in my hand, have her perch on my finger, sit on my shoulder. But the moment we leave that small confined space......games a foot. She knows that I cannot do all those things, in a much bigger space, because she can get away from me quite quickly and with ease
She also told me that she had her little Lovie sit on her knees while she played video games. For hours they would do this. Tried it......the moment she decided she didn't want to be with me, but where she wanted to be, she would flutter off. I would have to put my controller down and chase her around the house again, until I got her convinced to get up on my finger, and I would repeat the process - put her on my knees or my shoulders, and within minutes, once I got my controller back and comfortable and settled into my game...she would flutter off.....
Last night, I thought a breakthrough had occurred. I had her in the bedroom with me last night while I read. While she was on her lamp, she decided to get to her cage and she was chirping and calling out. She got onto the bed where I was, thinking that she was wanting to visit with me. This made me excited! No...turned out, she realized we have a ceiling fan, which is the HIGHEST point in the room. She was looking up at it while waddling from one side of the bed to the other, chirping and calling. She figured out how to get from the bed, onto the top of my large antique mirror (covered with a towel), onto the TV, and attempted, quite a few times, to get onto that ceiling fan, unsuccessfully at all attempts. She failed the first time, ending up back on the bed...she repeated the process. Back onto the mirror, the tv..and attempted again....failure.
I was very disappointed to discover she wanted nothing to do with me at all........lol, it was about getting as high up as she could.
She has now gotten to the point, that if she is left in her cage for any amount of time, she will have temper tantrums. She does this odd head swing thing and head bang thing while screeching and calling. Today, Hubby and I were gone for most of the day. We were at the car dealer getting new breaks put on, for quite a few hours, then I had to work and Hubby was out with his Friend. Hubby got home just a short time before me, and Khaleesi was having a fit in her cage when he got home, saying "let me out" - so he put his hand in her cage to see if she would step up on him, and instead she bit him very hard, drawing blood.
I think I have created a monster.
Here are some videos that I have taken of myself working with Khaleesi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hA3JarGqI7U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cn7l1MYsXkY
Am I on the right track? Am I doing things right? What should I be doing? Not be doing? Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you