Was my Lovie Abused?

[Susan27]

A while back a bought an older (approx 2yrs) pair of lovebirds. A breeder was downsizing her flock, and these were one of the pairs that weren't breeding.

The male is human shy, but he will come out of the cage. The female will not leave the cage. She is afraid to go into the cozies I have tried in their cage. She will stick a head inside, but refuses to go into it. I did see her in the newest one, but she was bracing her self and came out very fast.

I was thinking that maybe the breeder forced her into a nesting box in hopes of breeding. They have both been introduced into the flock (via popcorn party). She seems comfortable enough with the other birds, but will not come out on her own. I was told that the breeder didn't really like this bird. I can also see why she would want (force) to have her breed, as she is a lutino, and at least here you can get more $$ for them.

I am not pushing her, I will only get her out of the cage for popcorn parties. I just feel deep down, that she was somehow mistreated, and I feel so bad for her.:cry:

Am I just over thinking this?

[shylevon]

Some birds are just afraid of humans, but that does not mean they have been abused. If this bird was not socialized, she will be wild, and afraid of most things. I have four birds that are wild and for the most part they are terrified of me. I give them their space and we have a mutual respect.

[bellarains]

Susan,

My Lacey was a parent raised bird. She was not actually a breeder, but she was in an aviary(Linda's) for two years. When I got her, she was very shy, but on the upside, she really didn't know how to bite, or should I say, she had no reason to bite. I did take her out the first day, held her close to my chest, but after that, I let her come to me on her terms.

I do think her seeing Bela interact with me helped her to see that I meant her no harm. It's been two years since she came home to me, and she is the sweetest little baby ever. She's not as snuggly as Bela, but she does love to sit with me. She absolutely loves to be talked to, and she even gives kisses.

I guess what I'm saying is, give her time, show her the love, and in time, she'll come around:)

[Susan27]

The human shyness is fine with me. I can put my face up to their (Sam and Del's) cage, and she seems ok with that. I talk to her, and she seems to like me at a distance.

It's her reaction to cozies that made me think she was 'forced' into a closed space (like a nest box). Maybe I am just interpreting her skittish behaviour wrong.

I only ever make her come out for popcorn parties....otherwise, she seems happy to watch all the other lovies through the cage ceiling. I think she is happy. She sure likes to talk to the other birds. I just wish she would sleep in a nice warm cozy with Sam.

I also found their poops to be very dark green when I got them. My first thought was, 'oh no, they were malnourished or even starved'. After the first 2 days their poops looked normal. I don't think they were fed that great....who knows. I feel better now that they are with me....they have warmed up quite a bit since they came here....and they get LOTS of foods now (and toys and treats and love and cozies and and and .....you all know what I mean)!:happy:

[LauraO]

Susan: My guess is as breeders these lovies were not given any out of the cage time nor did they have much, if any experience with toys, cozies, etc. The fear may just be a result of not knowing what a cozy is and what it's meant for. This may also be the reason the lovie doesn't come out of the cage on her own. Birds can get cage bound and not feel safe enough to leave the cage. If you continue to work with her and she gets used to the new things you're introducing, you should notice change as time goes by.

[bellarains]

I agree with Laura, she probably never had a cozy, but I bet once she's over the fear of it, she'll "cozy" right up inside it:)

[Janie]

I agree with Laura, she probably never had a cozy, but I bet once she's over the fear of it, she'll "cozy" right up inside it:)

Me, too.....I agree with Laura! :) My adopted bird, Oliver, was scared to death of toys or anything that moved. It's three years later and he's flying from boing to boing (hanging from the ceiling in the bird room) and is also climbing the plastic links and leather strips that I hung for them. Something he never would have done till the last year. He still won't venture into a cozy/happy hut but a least he will land on one occasionally. :D