Lovebirds locked up for a year...

[Jally]

I recently got a pair of lovie girls that were a little over a year old. From the owner's conversations I had with her, it would seem that they haven't had any flight time for as long as she has had them. To make matters worse, they were housed in teeny tiny cages that were sold at Walmart as parakeet cages. Now that the girls are with me, I let them out in the evenings for some exercise, they act like fledglings. They are getting better, but they are also as wild as wild could be. So, getting them back in their cages at night is a chaotic frightful time.

My question is, should I trim their wings even though they just found them or continue trying to stick train them to go back into their cages at night? They want to roost on top of my curtains, and that can't happen in this house. Plus, I fear that they won't have any discipline at all if I allow them to roost where ever they want to.

[linda040899]

Poor babies!!! Thankfully, they are now with you and their lives will improve dramatically!

Even though their flight strength isn't great, it will improve, as you are seeing. What I would probably do is clip their flights, at least for now, but only do 4 primaries on each wing for starters. Flying horizontally will make it easier to control them. What they won't be able to do, at least right now, is gain altitude.

The other option is to keep them in a larger cage and work with them on taming/forming a trust relationship, to whatever degree is possible. The larger cage will allow them to at least exercise their wings and you will be able to interact with them so they can get to know you. Once they aren't quite as flighty, then start the out of cage again.

Good luck with these two. They sure are lucky to have found a home with you!

[Jally]

Thank you Linda! I could do some rearranging of cages and have them share a half of a double flight cage, but I'm not so sure about keeping them together in one cage all the time. They fight sometimes since they are both girls. But, they also preen each other and cuddle when they are out together.

When I saw their picture of them in that tiny cage with 1 little toy, I knew I had to bring them home. I only had to convince my husband first, cause he considers lovebirds to be little monsters. ;) Now that we have 7 of them, well he isn't all that thrilled with them as I am. :D

Sophie, the Amazon, is in heaven with her "babies" and lets me know of her displeasure when I let her "babies" loose out of their cages. :roll:

[Jally]

A little update: I clipped their wings, but since they are so wild and scared, I had to do it fast and clipped more than I wanted to. But, perch training is going well! They don't sink like a rock when they try to fly, they coast to the floor and then look for a way back up. No more bedtime battles either. They get to choose which cage they want to go in to sleep and usually it is the bigger cage of the 2. But, last night they each went into a separate cage to sleep. I guess too much togetherness can be a bad thing for them. ;) I know it is for me! Sometimes I need my space!!

Snowball is doing a lot better than Lady, but hopefully Lady will soon catch on that we are not monsters. :D

[linda040899]

Time and patience..... They learn trust through experience by interacting with humans. Fear with birds is instinctual, as many are prey rather than predators. They also learn from each other by watching. Just keep working with them and you will achieve the goal. It took Monty, my DHA, 6 years to feel safe but he's quite the character now and it's good to see that he's finally unpacked all the baggage that came with him. :)

Thanks for sharing this good update! :)

[Jally]

That's why I wanted them in the main area of the house rather than the bird room. They can better see me interacting with the other lovies and the other birds all the time. And, they watch very carefully! :)

Our Amazon took to my husband pretty quickly. With me, it is taking a lot longer, but it was a woman that treated her badly. She interacts with me OK, talking and such, but I can't hand her food or transport her much because she gets aggressive. She's only been here for 3 years, tho and she has 19 years of abuse and neglect to overcome...it's OK, we are patient!

[linda040899]

Our Amazon took to my husband pretty quickly. With me, it is taking a lot longer, but it was a woman that treated her badly. She interacts with me OK, talking and such, but I can't hand her food or transport her much because she gets aggressive. She's only been here for 3 years, tho and she has 19 years of abuse and neglect to overcome...it's OK, we are patient!
OMG! Poor thing. :( Aggression is a defense against abuse and it may take some time to completely realize that the current situation is different and safe. When Monty first came to live with me, all men were evil, until he met my husband. Jim is soft spoken and laid back, which seemed to put Monty at ease, although the full trust took a while.

Keeping the new ones in a place where they can see other interaction is a great idea! :)

[Jally]

I don't so much mind the aggression, because it is only directed towards me. But, good golly, she can stop with the screaming at any time! :omg: 9 out of 10 times when I walk into the bird room she will start screaming. And then I walk out and shut the door LOL

What's funny though, is that she really enjoys it when I talk to her. She makes all kinds of whoops and whistles when I talk to her or sing to her, but I can't do anything else with her. At least not without a high reward like a cheeto! I'm wondering if she knows that I am a little scared of her. I am a very petite person and she could easily do some damage to me if she even half tried. My husband isn't scared of her at all.

[merlingagle]

That's really very sweet, birds love such kind of chemistry. I learn quite a lot for them, eg: how to talk, how to sing for them, and my birds really enjoyed my company.