New lovebird, need tips!

[juhson]

I just got a lovebird this past Saturday, so I've had him for 2 days now. He is yellow with a red face, and his name is Mango. :) I was just so excited about buying a lovebird that it didn't occur to me that he repeatedly said they were kept in aviaries and that they were "last year's" birds until I got home with him. So basically I got a mature, parent raised lovebird. I am DETERMINED to make it love me though, so I was wondering, how difficult do you think it will be considering the facts mentioned above?

Also, today I left the cage door open while I was talking to him quietly and he flew out, so I let him chill on top of the cage for about 30 minutes, and he got very comfortable, however I decided it was time for him to go back inside, and naturally he flew away and started banging into things, so I was forced to grab him. Do you think this will scar him?

Other than that he has been curious about me, occasionally "winking" at me, and a couple times moved closer to me inside his cage. Any taming tips are DEFINITELY welcome!

[linda040899]

Congratulations on your new lovebird! sounds like you have a Lutino Peachfaced.

Absolutely nothing wrong with having a parent raised lovie! Many times those will make the best pets because they know they are birds and can learn to interact with humans. For now, I would not let him out of the cage until he gets to know you a bit better. It sounds like you have his attention so just keep being with him and talking to him. Lovebirds are very social, as well as curious. Let the combination work for you. Try eating near his cage and you will find he will probably go to his dish and eat, too. You can try offering treats through the cage bars and seeing if he will take them. Millet is a good starter, as most birds LOVE millet!

Once he's more relaxed with you, try putting your hand slowly in his cage. At first, just let it stay in one place. Many parrots don't like hands and yours could be one of them. In that case, use a small perch and teach him to step up on it.

Hope this is helpful. :)

[juhson]

Congratulations on your new lovebird! sounds like you have a Lutino Peachfaced.

Absolutely nothing wrong with having a parent raised lovie! Many times those will make the best pets because they know they are birds and can learn to interact with humans. For now, I would not let him out of the cage until he gets to know you a bit better. It sounds like you have his attention so just keep being with him and talking to him. Lovebirds are very social, as well as curious. Let the combination work for you. Try eating near his cage and you will find he will probably go to his dish and eat, too. You can try offering treats through the cage bars and seeing if he will take them. Millet is a good starter, as most birds LOVE millet!

Once he's more relaxed with you, try putting your hand slowly in his cage. At first, just let it stay in one place. Many parrots don't like hands and yours could be one of them. In that case, use a small perch and teach him to step up on it.

Hope this is helpful. :)
Yes this is very helpful thank you!!! :) When you say he might not like hands, does that mean I can never hold him? (I have a feeling he might not like hands because of the breeder grabbing him and the incident where I had to grab him.) I was really hoping my lovebird would be super cuddly like the ones I see in videos where they are being smothered with kisses and hands. (Which is totally ok if not, that was just my hopes)

[linda040899]

What you are looking to do is develop a trust relationship with your lovebird. With parrots, they learn by experience so he will need time to get to know you. There are no shortcuts but the result is worth the effort! It's simply a matter of wait and see what happens. The main thing is to love him/her for who he/she is, not what you may expect.

I have a female African Grey Parrot that I love dearly but she's the original touch me not. She will interact with me, even follow me around the house, but it's strictly hands off! You know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

[juhson]

What you are looking to do is develop a trust relationship with your lovebird. With parrots, they learn by experience so he will need time to get to know you. There are no shortcuts but the result is worth the effort! It's simply a matter of wait and see what happens. The main thing is to love him/her for who he/she is, not what you may expect.

I have a female African Grey Parrot that I love dearly but she's the original touch me not. She will interact with me, even follow me around the house, but it's strictly hands off! You know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

I will love him no matter what! I'm just aiming a little high haha

[juhson]

Congratulations on your new lovebird! sounds like you have a Lutino Peachfaced.

\ Lovebirds are very social, as well as curious. Let the combination work for you. Try eating near his cage and you will find he will probably go to his dish and eat, too. You can try offering treats through the cage bars and seeing if he will take them. Millet is a good starter, as most birds LOVE millet!

Once he's more relaxed with you, try putting your hand slowly in his cage. At first, just let it stay in one place. Many parrots don't like hands and yours could be one of them. In that case, use a small perch and teach him to step up on it.

Hope this is helpful. :)

Your advice is actually already working. What a brave little bird! He keeps on hopping up to the perch near me to see what I'm up to, and even ate out of his food dish which was centimeters away from my face. I've never had a bird so curious and brave, and I've only had him for two days! You wouldn't even think he is parent-raised, and I thought my cockatiel was good. Mango is progressing much quicker than my tiel did! I'm excited for my new buddy.

[Maxie]

Congrats on your new little buddie :)

Looks like you're on the right track. I've had Max for a little over a year now and when I first got him, he was terrified of hands. When I put my hand in the cage to change his food and water, he'd freak out! In no time, he would eat out of my hand. Now, he won't get off my hands...lol. He cuddles and loves his head rubs and even falls asleep in my hand. Of course, only when he wants to...lol. He's got a very stubborn streak too...you can't make him do something he doesn't want to do!

So, don't worry! Be patient, kind and show him a lot of love and you will earn his trust. He's going to love you as much as you love him :)

Keep us posted on his progress :)

[juhson]

Congrats on your new little buddie :)

Looks like you're on the right track. I've had Max for a little over a year now and when I first got him, he was terrified of hands. When I put my hand in the cage to change his food and water, he'd freak out! In no time, he would eat out of my hand. Now, he won't get off my hands...lol. He cuddles and loves his head rubs and even falls asleep in my hand. Of course, only when he wants to...lol. He's got a very stubborn streak too...you can't make him do something he doesn't want to do!

So, don't worry! Be patient, kind and show him a lot of love and you will earn his trust. He's going to love you as much as you love him :)

Keep us posted on his progress :)
Thank you, and I will! It's encouraging to see that you had a similar experience to me. I always psych myself out even though I know that any bird can be tamed. I was like this with my tiel too, who was purchased from the pet store parent raised, and my tiel doesn't want to leave my side now. I'm just nervous because I don't have any experience with this species and then I saw a bunch of people saying they might never like hands or might never let me touch it, but either way he's cute enough to entertain me just by looking at him. I'll just be patient!