dustyexner
08-04-2015, 11:10 AM
Hi there
I am a first time owner of two lovebirds who came together. They were given to me and I was told that they were young (only a few months old) and came from a pet store together.
I have 2 issues/concerns:
#1 They have been in the same cage since I got them, which was at the beginning of June (so I haven't had them very long). A few weeks ago one of them (Dukat) started beating up the other one (Garak), and also keeping Garak away from his food (I don't actually know the sex of either bird but I think they're both males, because I was told that females will tear up strips of paper and put it in their tails and neither of them will do this with paper).
As a result Garak started getting pretty skinny so I took him to a bird vet. The vet suggested that I separate the birds into 2 cages but that I could still keep the cages next to each other. I have done this, but every time I take the birds out of the cage and let them chill on top of the cage, they immediately groom each other and cuddle up like they missed each other. I don't know if I should put them back together or not. I also want them to bond with me and my husband and I think it might be better to keep them separate in order to tame them? not really sure how to move forward.
#2. Since I got them I did as much online research as I could into proper care and training. They're not interested in food or treats at all and haven't seemed to get much tamer although I try to put my hand in their cage every day, talk to them, and most days I will take them out of the cage. I found it a little easier to work with them outside of the cage as I figure they don't like my hand invading their space. Now what I'm doing is grabbing them safely (they're getting a bit more used to being picked up this way and although they don't like it they're not AS skittish about it) and putting them outside the cage. Then I let them play around a bit, flutter about, and then i try to approach them.
I can grab them around back of their wings in order to get them in/out of the cage, and like I said, they seem to be getting a little more used to that. But I can't get them to step on a perch (they'll just jump over it or try to flutter away), and they aren't interested in treats (Although I got Dukat to once eat some seeds out of my cupped hand, although he seemed equally as interested in trying to bite my hand). The only thing that seems to work is if I try to pick up Dukat while he is outside the cage he'll fly up in the air (he can fly a few feet) and I can kind of force him to land on my hand/arm. Once he does, he's pretty chill and he will just sit there for a bit but Garak (whose wings seemed to be more clipped because he can only flutter and not fly at all) will not.
What's the best way to continue taming them and also how will having them together/separate affect the taming/training process? Are there any treats that work best? On the rare occasion I can get one of them to grab something from me they just seem to drop it, it's like they don't have a lot of dexterity with their beaks or something.
Any help would be appreciated
I am a first time owner of two lovebirds who came together. They were given to me and I was told that they were young (only a few months old) and came from a pet store together.
I have 2 issues/concerns:
#1 They have been in the same cage since I got them, which was at the beginning of June (so I haven't had them very long). A few weeks ago one of them (Dukat) started beating up the other one (Garak), and also keeping Garak away from his food (I don't actually know the sex of either bird but I think they're both males, because I was told that females will tear up strips of paper and put it in their tails and neither of them will do this with paper).
As a result Garak started getting pretty skinny so I took him to a bird vet. The vet suggested that I separate the birds into 2 cages but that I could still keep the cages next to each other. I have done this, but every time I take the birds out of the cage and let them chill on top of the cage, they immediately groom each other and cuddle up like they missed each other. I don't know if I should put them back together or not. I also want them to bond with me and my husband and I think it might be better to keep them separate in order to tame them? not really sure how to move forward.
#2. Since I got them I did as much online research as I could into proper care and training. They're not interested in food or treats at all and haven't seemed to get much tamer although I try to put my hand in their cage every day, talk to them, and most days I will take them out of the cage. I found it a little easier to work with them outside of the cage as I figure they don't like my hand invading their space. Now what I'm doing is grabbing them safely (they're getting a bit more used to being picked up this way and although they don't like it they're not AS skittish about it) and putting them outside the cage. Then I let them play around a bit, flutter about, and then i try to approach them.
I can grab them around back of their wings in order to get them in/out of the cage, and like I said, they seem to be getting a little more used to that. But I can't get them to step on a perch (they'll just jump over it or try to flutter away), and they aren't interested in treats (Although I got Dukat to once eat some seeds out of my cupped hand, although he seemed equally as interested in trying to bite my hand). The only thing that seems to work is if I try to pick up Dukat while he is outside the cage he'll fly up in the air (he can fly a few feet) and I can kind of force him to land on my hand/arm. Once he does, he's pretty chill and he will just sit there for a bit but Garak (whose wings seemed to be more clipped because he can only flutter and not fly at all) will not.
What's the best way to continue taming them and also how will having them together/separate affect the taming/training process? Are there any treats that work best? On the rare occasion I can get one of them to grab something from me they just seem to drop it, it's like they don't have a lot of dexterity with their beaks or something.
Any help would be appreciated