Ifkaluva
06-08-2016, 03:29 PM
Hello,
I currently have two lovebirds that were handfed, but when I first got them I made the mistake of grabbing them without taking the time to build a bond with them. Now, I have learned more about the topic, and I am slowly working to build a bond with them so that they can trust me. I have some questions and I was hoping that knowledgeable people on the forum could give me some advice.
1. I think that they are a male and a female; however, the female seems to be aggressive towards the male. She sometimes pecks him for no apparent reason, and starts fights more often than seems normal. She always seems to win these fights, the male just sort of walks away, even though he is slightly bigger than her. Does she dislike him? I also think that the female is younger than the male, since her colors are still changing a bit--some of the gray feathers around her head are giving way to reddish ones.
2. I have heard that it is easier to train and build a bond with birds that are alone. Is it ok for me to separate them? Will they be heartbroken and be unhappy if I separate them? If I separate them, can I later put them back together and hope that they will still make babies? I have seen a lot of videos of people who have hand-tamed birds that still breed.
3. The male has developed an unfortunate habit of biting. I can hand-feed him string millet, but if I try to put my finger near him to give him a "step up" command, he bites me. He will, however, perch on a stick. How can I work with this bird to get rid of his biting habit?
Their video is here on Youtube: https://youtu.be/gQzqVRy6oEU
I currently have two lovebirds that were handfed, but when I first got them I made the mistake of grabbing them without taking the time to build a bond with them. Now, I have learned more about the topic, and I am slowly working to build a bond with them so that they can trust me. I have some questions and I was hoping that knowledgeable people on the forum could give me some advice.
1. I think that they are a male and a female; however, the female seems to be aggressive towards the male. She sometimes pecks him for no apparent reason, and starts fights more often than seems normal. She always seems to win these fights, the male just sort of walks away, even though he is slightly bigger than her. Does she dislike him? I also think that the female is younger than the male, since her colors are still changing a bit--some of the gray feathers around her head are giving way to reddish ones.
2. I have heard that it is easier to train and build a bond with birds that are alone. Is it ok for me to separate them? Will they be heartbroken and be unhappy if I separate them? If I separate them, can I later put them back together and hope that they will still make babies? I have seen a lot of videos of people who have hand-tamed birds that still breed.
3. The male has developed an unfortunate habit of biting. I can hand-feed him string millet, but if I try to put my finger near him to give him a "step up" command, he bites me. He will, however, perch on a stick. How can I work with this bird to get rid of his biting habit?
Their video is here on Youtube: https://youtu.be/gQzqVRy6oEU