new owner of a pied lovebird my 1st bird need some help!!

[jon333]

hey guys im having alot of trouble with my lovebird i got him from a pet store and he is so scared of me i had him for 3 days now and when i first got him i would take him out of the cage by force and now i know not to do that i can put my hand in the cage and touch him but if i try to get him to come out he goes off his head. he only chirped like 2 or 3 times since i had him. can any1 give me some help on how to get him use to being out of his cage cuz when i takes him out he just jumps off me and runs to hide. :cry:

[Tango's_Mom]

ok...first rule of lovebird ownership (or any bird for that matter)....PATIENCE and lots of it, that's probably the best pieces of advice I got when I came here with almost the same question at the end of May 06. Your bird is still settling in, 3 days is a very, very short amount of time. Birds are not like cats and dogs, they still retain most of their wild instincts and therefore it takes alot of time and work to build a loving, TRUSTING relationship.

What I would recommend is 1) spending as much time around the birds cage as you can, talking to him/her watching TV, I read to Tango. Let your bird get used to your presence, your voice, the way you move etc.
2) to help with out of cage time, try taking the whole cage to a small dimly lit room, with no distractions (a bathroom works well, cover any mirrors and close the toilet seat). Open the cage door and just let the bird come out on it's own, it may take several days, but eventually the bird will get brave enough to come out to explore, if it wants to climb on you right away, great, but if it just wants to look around and doesn't come to you right away, let it come to you in it's own time, once it's more comfortable with you you can work on teaching it to step up, being a petstore bird it may very well be afraid of hands in which case you could use a dowel to teach stepping up.

This is the abbreviated version, I could tell you alot more about my experience with Tango, but if I don't go now I'll be late for class, If you have any questions about how exactly I worked with Tango, either post here and I'll check back after class, or send me a PM

[mangotiki]

Hi there! How old is your bird and was he/she handfed or parent raised?
If you have only had him for 3 days, he may need more time. You are right to stop forcing him. As mentioned, continue talking to him as much as possible. Avoid anything that might scare him. Try offering millet or any other treat he cannot resist, by hand, through the bars first, until he takes it, then in the cage, then bribe him to the door, then onto a perch, etc...step by step. He will eventually be yelling for you to come and give him his treat! This could go quickly or take a long time, depending on his history with people and their hands. You need to be where the bird is, as opposed to trying to convince the bird to be where you want him to be!

You will eventually establish a trusting relationship. He may always dislike being touched or may turn into a velcro birdy!!!

[Janie]

Hi and welcome! :)

I'd suggest that you check out the Lovebird Resource Library on the home page of the forum and also read through the "behavior and taming" section of the forum. You can read back through pages and pages of threads containing some very good tips on taming a new bird. PATIENCE is key! :)

[mewant1]

I have a quaker that is/was stressed and was plucking. He is still scared and bites sometimes. I am the only one he will allow to hold him....he screams at everyone else who even comes near him. His cage is left open but sometimes he just feels better being in there. I covered it so he can hide if he wants to. But I did put his cage on my dresser which is right next to my bed. I can sit in bed and he'll *talk* to me from inside the cage. We do kissy noises and stuff back and forth. Even if you aren't able to take your bird out right now you can still build a relationship with him just by sweet talking with him. Eventually he will see you're not going to hurt him. Plus it helps if you bring him treats....every night I bring Heraticio something warm to eat. Having a routine so he knows what to expect will help. and like everyone else said patience patience patience. :D