Experiences with parent raised lovebirds

[Kumashe]

If anyone has any experiences to share it would mean alot to me. I'd like to know how long you waited before trying to take the bird out, how long it took to adjust, what you did to help it adjust, etc. Any details are helpful.


Thank you :)

[Mummieeva]

I have had one bird I know was parent raised and that is Whisper. Whisper was born in my home and I took her out of cage from time she was 2wks old for a few minutes a day. But since yours was a pet store buy it will take a bit of time. My suggestion is give her time to settle in and give her a name. Talk to her as often as you can and get her use to your voice.Tameing is not an over night process but it can happen. Just remember with lovebirds you do it on their terms not yours. Just go slowly and take cues from your bird.


Steph

[bellarains]

Kumashe,

My Lacey was two years old and parent raised when I got her. I will tell you that by nature, she is just a sweet bird, but we did have a two week period of of "getting to know each other" by basically just talking. I will tell you what I did, and you can see how it works for you.


I spent time in my bedroom with Lacey for two days just sitting by her cage and talking to her. I would offer her some millet spray at the end of each talk through the bars. She was a little skeptical about taking it, but of course, millet is "da bomb" and she gave in . The third day, I birdie proofed the room. You need to close all doors,drawers and cover any mirrors. If there is anyway they can get stuck behind a dresser which mine could, take a blanket and block that off. I then opened Lacey's door and just sat back. It took a little while, but she did eventually make her way to the door(the millet spray I had placed just outside the door might have helped;) ). Her first time out she really didn't do much but fly to the top of the curtain rod and sit there. I used an extra perch to get her back inside after about 30 minutes, and again gave her some millet spray(not a whole spray, just a piece). The next time out, I did the same, but before I put her in, I did hold her cupped in my hands next to my chest, just for a minute, and then put her back in the cage. I did all of this for about 2 weeks, but you will have to see how long it takes your bird to warm up, Lacey warmed up rather quickly I will admit.

Your goal is to earn your lovies trust, and giving him the time to do so on his terms will pay off in the end. You don't want to do anything that will cause him to mistrust hands, so patience is key when offering him a hand to step up on, or to pick him up. If he freaks out over hands, try an extra perch, or offer an arm instead to step up on. Some birds just do not like hands, but an arm might be acceptable.

Taming is a slow process. Be prepared to give him lots of time, love and have patience, and you will see results. I will look forward to that first post when you say, "He did it", whatever it may be:D

[Rubygem]

Lori has the right way of doing this; another suggestion is to get his wings clipped. The bird needs to rely on you to get around. With any parent raised birds that we bring home, my daughter has a magic touch, and we normally set the bird up in her room after quarantine. I clip the wings before we do this, and my daughter and her bird are great at making new birds feel welcomed. My daughter lets the new birds fly around the room, and she talks to them often. Sometimes her bird will even be out while they are still in their cage, and will talk to them… But with my daughter having a hand fed baby, he trusts her 100%, so the other bird gets to see how they interact. I know not everyone has the birdie buddy to help tame down other birds, but just take your time, and let the bird see that you mean it no harm.

Good Luck
Rubygem

[graushill]

Hi Kumashe,

I think you've received very good advice already. I will share with you a bit of my experience with my first mask, my little Houdini. I got him from a pet store when he was about three months old and he was absolutely terrified of me and my husband. We couldn't even pass his cage without him freaking seriously out. Things like changing dishes and cleaning the cage were heartbreaking to me because he would get so scared. I did a lot of the things Lori did with Lacey; I couldn't really say now the amount of time I spent sitting quietly with a book beside his cage reading aloud, and singing to him. He was a tough little one to soften, let me tell you. It took about two months for him to calm down, another two for me to be able to put a dowel anywhere near him to teach him to step up, and I would say 1 month more before he would accept millet from my hand. So that's almost half a year to get to the point that Lori reached with Lacey in a couple of weeks :). So I repeat what I said in my last post to you, patience is the key with a mask. But they're sooo worth it, I promise :).

Good luck,
Gloria