How does a lovebird react to his new owner?

[nanakai233]

I got a lovebird today, the guy that was working at the pet store said they were hand-tamed so I bought one.

I know birds are scared at first when they arrive at their new home, but my lovebird is acting like he isn't tame. Whenever I walk by the cage he moves to the other side of the cage and he looks sooo scared all the time.

I've had untamed birds before, and that was how they acted, so I'm thinking that maybe my lovebird isn't tamed? Is there anyway to tell when you first get your lovebird?

[michael]

Sounds like your new lovebird is really scared, poor little booger. I'm sure its all new to him, strange place, different poeple, different sounds, smells, all the things that are impossible to explain to a lovebird before he gets a new home. Be very patient and gather as much information as you can from this community. Everyone here wants to help as much as they can. So questions are never a problem. ...Take care ...Goofy N' Michael

[Christine9]

Congratulations on your new addition! While it is a possibility that the pet store was dishonest with you in saying that he/she is a handtame bird, it is also a possibility that the bird was, in fact, once handtame, but may have gone a little wild from not being handled enough since he/she was weaned. That's assuming it's a handfed bird- did they say whether it was handfed?

I can tell you from my experience (and I have eight birds that I purchased as babies), the ones that I bought immediately after being fully weaned, or the ones that I know were socialized well after being weaned, adjusted better to me than the two lovies that I bought who weren't handled much while they were waiting to be sold. They were handfed, but due to lack of handling afterwards, they were very flighty when I first got them.

My advice would be to not allow yourself to be discouraged. He/she is nervous and getting adjusted to his/her new home, and needs things to be taken slowly. Some birds just adjust quicker than others. Give the lovie time and patience, and you could have yourself a velcro lovie in no time. If it turns out that you do need to teach your lovie to step-up because he/she isn't handtame, there are plently of old posts you can find using the search feature that can be of great help to you. Good luck and keep us posted as to your progress!

[Mummieeva]

Did they tell you hand-fed or hand tamed? Because hand-fed does not mean they are tame always. Just means they fed the babies not the parents. Many but not all breeders hand -fed and play with babies. I bought a bird a while back that was suppose to be both and she was not. Hopefully your baby comes around soon.Good luck on your new baby.


Steph

[LauraO]

I would not define your new lovie as tame. While there is always an adjustment for lovies in new homes, tame lovies are more receptive to their new owners and are leery but not scared as you describe. I agree with Christine that the bird was probably tame at one time, but lack of interaction and socialization has caused him/her to revert to being wild. Once a bird is tame or handfed pet stores forever define them as being tame no matter how wild they are.

Petshops are harsh places for birds and they not only get little to no positive interaction, they must deal with different people coming in and doing whatever they want to you, people looking at you, kids screaming and banging at you, etc. When I got our lovie Birdy Boots three years ago, the breeder had just arrived with the birds while I was there. She had a bunch and they were all tame and friendly. I played with them and they all climbed all over me and were not afraid at all. I brought Birdy Boots home to hang out with Babygirl after she arrived in our home, but she left him for Won Ton shortly after. So two weeks later we went back to the store to get another of the birds the breeder brought that day. There were like three or four left and they were nothing like the birdies I remember. They were totally wild and crazy. There was no doubt these were the same birds, but being in the petstore the two weeks totally destroyed all the hard work the breeder did to raise tame and loving lovies. We still brought another birdy home and named him Katsu. He's a great bird today, but it took a lot of time to undo all the damage those two weeks in the petstore did to him.

Good luck with your lovie. Let us know how it goes:)

[wilkiecoco]

whether your lovie is tame or not doesn't change the fact that he is scared by his new environment, new owner, all the new things surrounding him. take it slow getting to know each other, talk softly to him even while he's in the cage, and eventually you should see him becoming less afraid and more curious about his new home. with patience, and time, you will be rewarded with a little bundle of attitude and love. Good luck, and most importantly, enjoy!! :)

[Jessica]

Almost a year ago we brought home Celeste who was handfed. She was terrified in the store when they took her out but we got her anyway. The poor thing was the last from a breeder and was alone for a week. Amazingly she hadn't learned to bite. The two things that seemed to work the best were patience and consistancy. I tried to do everything on her time table and now we are best of friends. A board like this is really helpful too because you can always ask questions. For someone like me who never had lovebirds before it was a life saver. I didn't post much but boy did I do some reading. This site has great advice.