Lovebird hates hands

[Kirsty]

Hi my lovebird wont come near my hands and runs away when I put my hands in the cage. How can I get him to trust my hands? He loves sitting on my shoulder though. Oh and just another question, when my lovebirds sleep on the perch they chirp very loudly but they look like they're fast asleep! Why is this?

[wilkiecoco]

to quote all the wise members here on this board, the answer is patience, patience, and then when you run out of patience, be more patience. it takes time to build up trust, and even then some lovies never get to like hands. the fact that he is sitting on your shoulder is a good sign, so for now, talk quietly to him, praise him all the time, give him lots of love and kisses - it is soooooooooo worth the effort.

as for the chirping, my lovie does that all the time, fast asleep, singing to himself. it used to freak me out, but now i find it the cutest!!!!!!!!!!

[bellarains]

Kirsty,

Robyn has the right word: Patience:)

I know, patience is a hard thing to have when you just want to snuggle up with your little lovie, but you have to earn your lovies trust, and the only way to do that is to have patience, give him/her the time s/he needs to learn to trust you, and slowly introduce your hand.

One thing to try is to put your hand towards him/her closed. Meaning, don't extend your fingers, at least to start with. The hand seems to be a little less intimidating if the fingers are not poking at them.

Until you lovie stops freaking out over your hands, try using an extra perch to get him/her out of the cage. What you want to do it teach him/her not to fear hands, so try not to force them on him/her.

I know you have to change food and water dishes, so when you do this, do it slowly, talking softly to your lovie as you do this. Something to the effect of, "I'm just changing your water", or "I'm going to give you fresh food", etc..... Use a soft, soothing voice, to keep him/her calm as you are doing this. When you enter their cage, you have just entered their "territory", which they perceive as their safe spot. You want to teach him/her that you mean no harm, just taking care of him/her:)

As Robyn said, the fact that your lovie will sit on your shoulder is a very good start, so just keep doing what you are doing, and the rest will come:D

Let us know how it's going. I will look forward to the first sign that your lovie trust you, as it is very exciting. You will be shocked at how overcome with joy you will be when your lovie gives you that trust, and then you'll say like we all have "It was worth every second":)

[Kirsty]

Thanks for the help! Ill let you know how it goes :)