New lovebird taming

[deeudeeuts]

Hello everyone!

I got a lovebird personata last week. She is 4-5 months old, has the blue mutation and was quite gentle at the store. They clipped her wings and told me she wasn't hand tamed/fed. The first 2 days I let her get used to our apartment and me and my boyfriend. I talked with her softly, sang, whistled etc. After, I tried to feed her food in my hand after I removed her own food bowl. She almost did it but she got too shy/scared and didn't eat. She has a branch in her cage that she loves and I thought I can get her to come out during the day by putting the branch on the outside of the cage and with millet on it (I noticed she loves millet) and it worked. Most of the time she is outside she climbs the top of her cage and kind of hides there. She seems pretty scared of us and I wanted advice on how to tame her best based on her so far learned behaviour.

- if I take her out, she tries to hide all the time: in a blanket, in our armpits, in my hair etc. If I grab her gently she rarely bites but she doesn't fight me more than that. Today I got her to sit on my finger while I tried to pet her and after a while she started biting me quite hard. Before that she seemed pretty calm.
- I watch if she seems scared like if she draws her feathers close to her body (she doesn't do it very often), if her poop is watery (rarely it is).
- I played music for her and videos of lovebirds audios to see if it has an effect on her. She starts chirping with the birds most of the time and she seems quite happy.
- Whenever she's at her cage (in or out) she doesn't let me touch her. I also tried to teach her to step up but that failed. She's very shy/scared and jumps and runs away. She lets out a squeak when she jumps but it sounds quite playful (I do not know if you can tell how a bird feels from the way they chirp/squeak etc).
She has a big cage with some stuff like a swing, the branch I mentioned, a hollow tree trunk where she can sleep and leaves and stuff for the floor.
I love her dearly because I get easily attached and I wanted advice on how to get her to trust me and my boyfriend. If you have any questions about her just let me know. If I am doing something wrong please also let me know.

[linda040899]

Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! If you want to become the perfect lovebird slave, you found the right place!!!

The behavior you are seeing is fear. You have taken her/him from a familiar situation to something completely strange. Birds are prey animals so he/she has no idea that you don't intend to make her/him your next meal!! Parrots learn trust by experience. The fact that your lovebird is not biting and drawing blood is really a good theing because that beak is strong enough to do just that.

Many parrots are afraid of human hands so respect that. I know you would love to cuddle her/him but not all parrots will let you. I have a wild caught African Grey parrot who has lived with me since 1991 and she's the original touch me not! She will take food from my hand, interact with me, but just don't touch! Clipping flight feathers can be a good thing for training and you may or may not choose to keep them that way. At least your lovebird has limited flight.....for now.

Chirping with other birds is contact calls. Quite normal for birds. You may find, once your lovebird becomes more comfortable with you, she/he will call for you when you are out of sight. Simply call back and it will be reassuring.

Hope this helps.

[deeudeeuts]

Thank you for your reply! It does help! I would like to add one extra question and if you could help that would be great. How much time do I need to give her with each level? Should I let her be a while longer with no physical interaction? Then how do I start introducing my hands to her? And training as well? I am a bit of a dummy so I basically need a step by step plan also because I want her to be okay and not afraid and stressed. I apologise if it is a lot that I am asking for. I never had a lovebird before, only parakeets. I want the best for her.

[deeudeeuts]

Hi everyone!

I know I haven't said anything on this post in a while. I come with a sad update.

Sadly, Tilly (my lovebird) passed away after one month. I was devastated. We had just started to make progress and bond. She even flew out of her cage to me for the first time on her own. She sat on my chest for a few good minutes and I spoke to her and gave her kisses on her beak. This moment made me so happy words can't even begin to describe it. I instantly fell in love with her on a very deep level and when I found her dead after a few days I was absolutely devastated.

Because of her sudden passing and of no previous symptoms of illness or something being wrong, my boyfriend and I decided to take her to get an autopsy done. I apologise if this disturbs some readers as this means her little body was not left alone after her death but I HAD TO know what happened. She was eating, playful, chatty and active so I was completely knocked down. After a month of waiting for the results, here they are.

She died of acute pneumonia with a mutation most likely caused by fumes released from cooking in a pan that is not non-stick. I live in a one room studio so I couldn't have protected her. The doctor told me it's something that happens rarely and it's not something anyone can warn you about. I feel terribly guilty and cry regularly because I miss her so much and I hate to know that she could still be alive if I had known. I never kept her close to the kitchen part of my studio but the fumes don't need to be in large quantities since love birds are small and fragile.

I just wanted to raise a bit of awareness in case you ever keep your birdie close to you while cooking or in a cage in the kitchen. Keep the bird as far away while cooking. Close the door, turn on the hood at max and even open a window. You can never be too safe.

These fumes are not toxic to humans which is why I never knew. The only positive thing that happened is that Tilly died quickly, it was sudden, she didn't suffer (which is why she didn't show any symptoms either). This gives me a bit of relief to know that my baby wasn't in pain, but if I could I would do anything to bring her back.

I apologise for the length of this post and I hope you will help me raise awareness about this. I don't think it is very known so I would like to warn as many bird owners as possible (ANY bird can be vulnerable to these fumes).

Take care of yourselves and your birdies and cherish them while they are with you.

[linda040899]

I'm so very sorry to hear that Tilly left for Rainbow Bridge. I've heard many people say that non-stick is not toxic until it reaches a certain temperature. The problem with that is no one is sure what that temperature is! I refuse to use non-stick, although there's a copper infused cookware by Gotham that actually IS safe to use when you live with parrots. I've been using it for about a year, at all temperature levels and not had any problems with any of my flock.

I'm glad you had a necropsy done to determine cause of death. I also want to know, as it could affect the lives of my other parrots. Should you ever decide to get another parrot of any kind, here are a few things I've found out over the years that have helped me:

1. Cookware: I always use either cast iron, stainless steel, and, recently, Gotham copper infused cookware.
2. I have a self cleaning oven but NEVER use it, as it emits toxic fumes that are hazardous to parrots, as well as HUMANS!
3. I love candles but scented ones and parrots do not mix. I use strictly unscented and I make sure that wicks are just plain wick material, no wire inside to keep the wick standing in an upright position. Those wicks are toxic to birds and humans.
4. Essential Oils: I love essential oils but many are toxic to parrots. Always research before using. One of my favorites, lavender, is safe to use and diffuse.
5. Air Fryers: There is only one manufacturer that makes an all stainless steel air fryer.......Cuisinart. All other brands that I've researched contain non-stick somewhere.
6. Ceramic heaters: Many heaters contain non-stick in them somewhere. Brands I use and have found safe are DeLonghi and Holmes. I only use Ceramic heaters!

Hope this is helpful for others.