What's the Next Step?

[ProudBirdDad]

Hey everyone. I'm a first time lovebird owner and have owned my lovebird Hibiki for about 2 months now. We've definitely made some progress. At first he was absolutely terrified of me and now he'll perch on my shoulder and explore my room on his own (wings trimmed).

However, he still doesn't like my hands. If I hold out food for a while he will stand on and eat from my hands. If he's too low on the ground and needs to get up higher, he will hop on my outstretched hand and then quickly move to my shoulder. Ultimately though, I think he prefers my shoulders because he's away from my hands.

I'm home from university now, so I have even more time to devote to taming/training Hibiki. Without stressing him out and undoing the progress I've made, what are some methods y'all have used to get your bird comfortable with being handled?

[linda040899]

Glad to hear that you are making progress with Hibiki! Patience and attention are what will help him learn to trust you. It's a slow process but it's worth it in the end. :)

Many parrots just don't like human hands no matter how long they have lived with you. Our best advice is to accept his preferences. They may be our pets but they have to accept us as members of their flock. We become their "slaves" and they train us.

You can slowly try to rub his upper beak with your finger and see how he reacts. This feels very pleasant and most parrots love it. From the beak, you can try seeing what happens if you try gently scratching his feathers around the chin area. If the reaction is negative, stop and respect his wishes.

Keep up the good work!

[ProudBirdDad]

That sounds reasonable! I've noticed that he doesn't mind me touching his beak as much as touching his body/feathers. I'll see how that works out. Thanks!