A lovebird scared of everything

[Paco]

Hello, i'm new to your forum :) . I came across it while searching the net and i was thinking maybe someone can help me. So , i have a very nice lovebird peach faced boy, his name is Paco. He is so cute, i have him for almost 2 years, but he is totally freaked out. If i let him inside his cage he is going crazy destroying everything and searching among the grid some way to escape. I let him out of his cage and he was really happy, but when he is out he just goes up the curtain near the ceiling , and he just stays there only comes down when he is hungry. He is very afraid of me and all the family members . He doesn't play or like he's toys he just only wants to stay there on the curtain. He sleeps there and he doesn't care about me :( . I tried everything , he has a very nice cage with colors and toys, but he doesn't likes them. I never screamed at him or harm him in any way he just doesn't like nobody only wants to stay alone. What should i do? Is this normal? Should i just leave him like that? Because this is my second parrot , i had another one for 11 years, was a budgie named Coco and he was adorable he was searching all the corners in the house we ware playing together , and he was a really happy bird. What am i doing wrong? help please :confused:

[michael]

Hi Paco .. Welcome to Lovebirdsplus Community! .. First let me say, what your observing is pretty much normal behavior. And, you are certainly NOT at fault. Whenever frightened or unsure of their surroundings, it is by "instinct" parrots act the way they do, that is, head for the highest point where its much safer, or avoid people or objects that don't appear trustworthy let alone part of their flock. .. While it is possible to sort of modify these instincts, they are far from being removed, and can only be done so from the parrots perspective. .. A few things we need to know might help us better help you; What type of environment did your lovebird come from? Wild caught? Aviary communal or colony setting? Pet store or private breeder/owner? What have you exercized so far in regards to taming i.e, step-ups, bribery with various foods or treats, wing clip, etc? How about cage location?

[Paco]

He is from a pet store, and was in cage with another 4 parrots. The other ones ware couples he was standing alone in one corner. As about thing i have tried , well almost everything i knew from the other parrot that i had. He likes apples, but he will not eat it if it is in my hand, so i have to slice a piece of it and put it between the grids or in a food container espacially for fruits. Than and only than he will eat it, and he likes it very much. As for the step-up , i can not because i can't get to close to him, he starts to go crazy. I tried to aproach him very slowly, and talk to him very softly. One thing is nice :) is when i sit on a chair in front of his cage and i talk to him, and i say to him "Pretty bird, kiss kiss kiss" he is looking at me and falls asleep. :rotfl If i go after he falls asleep , he starts screaming. But this is as close i can get to him. Not to mention , when i put my hand in his cage he is acting like i'm going to kill him, and i only want to change the food/water. He's cage is in the living room (my room) on a desk near the sofa.He has natural light, and the sun is not shining directly in the cage, it is a soft natural light. I didn't clip his wings, because i want him to feel free, to fly and be happy. The other parrot i had he just loved to flay he was flying crazy all over the house and you had to mind your head sometimes :rotfl
Thank you for taking your time to help me.

[michael]

Please forgive me for asking more questions. But how did you determine Paco's gender, and do you know how old he really is? .. You mentioned in your OP that whenever he is in his cage he destroys everything. What type of objects is it exactly that he destroys? I can tell you its common some parrots just won't accept toys very well, and some may even become quite fearful of them. Have you tried removing them to see how he responds? .. When it comes to returning him to his cage, how do you manage this, or do you just wait until he returns on his own? .. Have you tried stick training for step ups as opposed to using your hands? Some lovebirds will simply not accept hands.

At any rate here, not all lovebirds learn to trust us humans to any specific degree. Each has their own personality shaped upon what their parents have passed down through genetics, observing their parents and/or other flock members, and flat out natural instinct. Best you can do, is keep up the patience and interaction, even if Paco doesn't seem to be responding. Many lovebirds, mine included, took well over two years before any noticable level of trust was attained. Much of which i'm certain came about by always allowing them all the space they ever needed. ......:)

[Paco]

About the gender, well when i bought him, the shopper took him out of the cage, and i told him that i would like a boy, and he told me that this is a boy by pushing somewhere below Paco's belly. I really don't know for sure, only what the shopper told me. As about the toys, well, he has 1 mirror, and another mirror with a ladder , some colorful ropes for him to chew, and a swing. Sometimes, he is looking in the mirror singing and giving food ( another sign that he is a male, as i know the male is the one feeding the flock ) .And after starts to go crazy and destroys the same ladder that a few seconds ago he was feeding. He destroys everything, taking down the ladder,mirror and the other toys, dropping them on the bottom of his cage. And yes i tried removing them, and he started to act even more crazy , going from left to right very quickly and looking at the toys outside his cage. I really don't know how old is he, only that when i bought him , the shopper( again) told me he is a baby, and he really looked like that, very scared, no strong colors,his peach face was most a pinkish color, a small small tail ( smaller than normal). And by the time, he started to have very strong colors, now he has a peach face, and a normal tail. The feathers also look more strong. Well , sometimes i wait for him to go willingly , but sometimes, when i see he wants to sleep and its almost night, i go and shake a little bit the curtain so he will go down, and he fly's from there and he goes to his cage, waits for me to not look at him and he goes inside, goes on his swing and sleeps. Sometimes i close the gate sometimes i leave it open so he can feel that he has freedom to do what he wants. I tried stick training also but he is afraid of it :rotfl Very complicated lovebird, that is.

[michael]

Thanks for sharing so many details. Sounds like Paco is a real character. Perhaps a little set in his ways, i'd give him an A+ just for being a lovebird! :lol .. As for that pelvic exam the pet shop owner performed, at best its about 50% accurate with much depending on the examiners previous experience. That Paco feeds his mirror (and hasn't laid any eggs yet) does add some credence to the pet shop owners opinion, i'd say there's a fair chance he's a he. Age in regards to the feather colouring you described sounds about right on too.

One thing that may help calm things down a little, is to remove the mirrors as they tend to create the false impression that another bird occupies the same space. Last thing Paco needs, is to unknowingly bond with his reflection rather than spend time interacting or socializing with you, let alone anyone else for that matter. As far as toys and such, its kind of a tough call. For one thing, its good for parrots to be destructive in that it helps keep them from developing anxiety issues. The flip side, is providing such objects could result in having to deal with a hormonal land shark. In this situation, I tend to only lean towards supplying toys that are the farthest removed from resembling anything warm and fuzzy. That is to say, ladders, non-mirrored swings, bird safe dingy bells, blocks of wood, and anything else that doesn't appear too amorous, is good to go around here. ..... :)

[linda040899]

Hi Paco,
Your lovebird is doing what lovebirds will do with their toys, given the chance.....remove them from where ever they are and dropping them. :) Believe it or not, that's fun! Mine do this with food/water dishes all the time, plus whatever else they can re-arrange.

I would remove the mirrors. Lovebirds form strong bonds with what they perceive to be mates and a reflection can be viewed as a mate. Yours tries to feed the reflection in the mirror......

All I can suggest is spending time around where he/she is and just letting him/her sensing your presence. Lovebirds are naturally curious so you will attract interest, especially is you have something that might be fun to play with or destroy.

[Paco]

Thank you ever so much for your help. I removed them and i will see how he reacts. In this particular moment is on the curtain, no sound, no nothing just observing me. And a very nice thing, when i call him " Paco!" he pops out from where ever he is and makes a loud noise :rotfl . He is so so cute, i will make him some photos and i will show to you. Thank you so much indeed for taking your time to help me.