handling

[mudmonkey]

I have a question about handling my new birds.

I've become confused by the different sources that i have read information...and because i can't find info that addresses my particular situation.

I have 2 8-10 week old peach faced lovebirds. They came from a firend of a friend who is not a breeder, but who on occasion finds themselves with babies. They allow the parents to feed the birds until they leave the nest and eat on their own. So, these are NOT handfed babies.

They have not been handled much...just wing clipping and whatnot. I'm not sure how to go about handling them. They are very afraid of hands in the cage. They don't try to bite at all, but some sources i've read say that i should be taking them out every day...and some sources say that i should let them come out on their own.

I guess i'm just looking for advice about whether it's better to reach in and take them out or if i'm supposed to wait for them to come out of the cage on their own. If i do take them out forcefully what do i do then?

We've taken them out but they don't tend to want to stay on a hand. They will "hide" in my hands if i cup them. Then i have the chance to scratch their heads gently (like preening?- i read it in a book we have). But as soon as they are sitting on a finger they try to fly.

[Janie]

Hi Simon and welcome!

Since your babies are very young, with a little time and patience they will likely be easier to tame than an older bird. If they are totally freaked out, you might try sitting by their cage and talking to them....often. If all members of your family do that, they'll become used to everyone. So they are wing clipped, right? That helps a lot and especially when trying to tame one. :) You might try opening the cage door and letting them come out on their own. You haven't had them long and I'm sure they are still adjusting to their new surroundings and I don't think reaching in and grabbing them is the right thing at this point. Building trust is one of the first things to work on so letting them come out on their terms would be best.

I do think that having two who are clutch mates might make it a little harder for them to decide to accept you into their existing flock. If you only had one, you and your family would be the only source of flock for one to accept but you can work on that in the next few weeks and after they are more comfortable. I did get two 10 week old brothers and while they had been hand fed and handled often by their breeder, they still didn't know or trust me. They were perfectly content to be with each other and have nothing to do with me unless I forced the issue. My case was different because they were not afraid of hands so I did reach in and get them from day one. I also took each one, separately, into a small dimly lit bathroom and worked with that one for about 15 minutes, 3 times a day. Then did the same with the other. I was attempting to gain their trust individually and it worked really well for me. Within about 2 weeks they were both all over me every chance they got. :D

I would advise you to take it slow, give them a few days to adjust, and then take both of them into a bathroom (cover mirrors and close the commode lid, :D) and see how they react. Hopefully you have a cage that is small enough to take into the bathroom. As soon as they make some progress together, then I'd try them one at a time. The first command (and only one, really) that I worked on was the "step up" command and they picked that up in about a week.

Having two together is so much fun and they can enjoy each other and still include your family in their flock. It just takes time! Good luck! :)

[mudmonkey]

Janie,
We've all been standing next to the cage one at a time a few times a day just talking to the birds. They are still pretty skittish. One more than the other. I've tried opening the door to see if they would come out on their own. They did come out once, but immediately tried to fly off the cage. They are clipped, but still can glide quite a ways. It turned into us trying to corral them and get them back on the cage.

We've noticed that they are singing a lot more now then they did at first and we're taking it as a good sign.

Our cage is not very small, but could be moved into a bathroom a couple of times a day. I'm unclear about what to do with the birds once i have them in that situation. Do i open the door and wait for them to come out? When you say that you "worked with them" what exactly do you mean? Sorry to be dense, but i have very little experience and i'm already regreting that i reached in and grabbed them out before. Hopefully i haven't made them afraid of my hands permenately.

Thanks so much for replying to my post. I know it doesn't seem like a big thing, but when you're starting out every little detail seems big. It's nice to have advice.
:)

[bellarains]

Yep, you open the door and let them venture out on their own if possible. Do make sure the bathroom is birdie safe when you let them out though.

You can work with them together, but you also want to work with them one on one also. You want to form a bond with each of them individually, and also be able to have a relationship with them together. As time progresses, you will be able to have them out together, but still interact with each of them separately. You are trying to become one of their flock, so a relationship with each of them, as well as together earns trust.

The most used words here when bonding/taming your birds are, patience, time, care&love, and all of these will earn you trust. I know it can be a little discouraging, but the trust will come, and then you will get the bond. It can take some time, but hey, ya'll have time:)

As they start to trust you, you can then start working on "step up". This you do by placing your forefinger just below the breast and press in and up gently, and say, "Step Up". You want to get them slightly off balance so that they do step up to your finger. If hands are an issue, try using an extra perch to start this training first, and them progress to the finger.

Birds do understand positive action, so after each session out, offer them a treat such as millet spray, and praise them for being such good birdies.

Good luck, and keep up updated. I will look forward to that first progress report:D

[Janie]

I'm unclear about what to do with the birds once i have them in that situation. Do i open the door and wait for them to come out? When you say that you "worked with them" what exactly do you mean? Sorry to be dense, but i have very little experience and i'm already regreting that i reached in and grabbed them out before.

You most certainly are not being dense! :D All of our birds have different personalities and it is hard to know the right way to go about it for each individual bird.

So, what to do when you get them into the bathroom? I sat on the floor and let mine walk around. They loved climbing on me, my legs, arms and head. That is when I started working with them on the "step up" command and what I did was to hold my finger up to them, gently pushing it up to their chest which often makes them automatically step onto your finger. If they did it, I praised them and if they didn't, I kept trying. :D I did not have them in a cage to get them into the bathroom because they were already hand tame, just a little wild and not trusting of me yet.

I hope other members here who share your situation will chime in and tell you how they started taming a lovie that had been parent raised and not socialized. Their advice would be so much more helpful than mine since all three of my lovies were tame for the most part and not afraid of hands from day one. In other words, I didn't have to work too hard at it but I promise you, those that have had great results and while it took longer, it can be done! :) My favorite lovebird book, "The Lovebird Handbook," says that taming a lovie might take up to 6 months. Yours are young and I think you'll do it in much less time than that.

So.....members out there who have tamed their younger wild lovebirds, please add your :2cents: :D

While I was typing, Lori was typing and I wanted to add this before posting my reply.....YES, do work with them separately as Lori suggested! My biggest issue with Big Boi and Shy was teaching them to allow me into their flock and when I worked with them together, they were far more interested in each other than in me. I did take them in together but I also took each one in separately. Shy took the longest time to accept me and I considered moving him into a separate cage but it didn't come to that. I think Big Boi decided he loved me after about 2 weeks but it took Shy two or three times longer. After a year in our home, Shy has just started being friendly to my hubby. He still flies away from my sons. Different bird, different personality. I can't keep him off me! :lol

[mudmonkey]

I thought i would update this thread. Our two babies are coming along great. After weeks we finally named them (it took a while to get a feel for their personalities...esp. because they were pretty afraid of us).
We ended up naming them Bella and Fleck (like the musician Bella Fleck).
They are great. We're not sure of the sexes, but the one we think is male is Fleck (and Bella the female). She is super smart but still wary of us. She'll step up on a stick but doesn't like our hands...He is not as smart but very brave. He'll approach our hands for food (popcorn), however he will not step up on the stick . They are pretty much opposites...he will come up to your face and touch your nose with his. It appears to us to be friendly...is that true?
In any case i will post some pictures very soon. Their black beaks are almost entirely yellow now. They grow up so fast:)

The help on this post has been great. We started in the bathroom, but found it was much less stressful for them if we just worked with them in the room that the cage is in... the trek across the house seemed to really upset them. It still appears that we have a ways to go, but things are going very well.
thanks again,
-simon and sarah

[Bella]

Glad things are going well.

All I would add is that some birdies always remain wary of hands and some birdies never become keen on cuddles. You just need to see how their personalities develop.

[Janie]

They are pretty much opposites...he will come up to your face and touch your nose with his. It appears to us to be friendly...is that true?
I would take this as a friendly sign! :D I don't think he'd get near your face if he was afraid. Glad to hear that you're making progress and I'm not a bit surprised! It does take time and patience but the pay off is worth it! :happy:

[LauraO]

Thanks for the update on Bella and Fleck. It does sound as if you're making great progress. I also appreciate the fact that you are sharing what is and is not working for you and your fids :) .

I would take the nose thing as friendly. Several of my lovebirds, including some of the more untame, will nibble on my nose or let me kiss their beak:D . In fact, you can start using a simple word like kiss when your lovie does this and he will begin to understand the word and associate it with affection so you can give them kisses.