please help:S

[mcgr4680]

Hi my name is Kasey and I got a cinnamon lovebird named Jasper on sunday and I am having some troubles with him. I've been talking to him and just cleaning his cage and feeding him like suggested but he doesn't seem to even want me near him. I even put his birdie bath in this morning and he wouldn't even go near it. I have taken him out a couple of times and he flies around and tries to hid under things, or bites very hard. I really want to get him tamed so that I can take him to my apartment at school but its not looking to good at the moment.

[Susan27]

Hi Kasey,

It will take some time for your new lovebird to become comfortable in his new environment and you. He may not have had much interaction with humans, especially hands before coming to live with you, so he will be skittish. You have to build trust with a bird, and it takes time.

Sitting by his cage and talking to him regularly will get him used to your sounds/movements. Make sure he is in a room where you are mostly. I would leave the door open to my lovie's cage and he would explore on his own terms. You may have to handle him to get him back in his cage, otherwise his need for food/water will entice him back on his own.

You can use a wooden dowel or extra perch to teach him to 'step up' for you. This is a good way to get hand shy birdies to go where you need them to go. This is also a good step to teach your lovie to 'step up' on you finger. When doing this, you should use a phrase (I used 'up'), and when they do step up, praise them. I am constintly saying 'whatta a good birdie'.

The birdie bath is a hit or miss sort of thing. All of my lovebirds would rather bath in their drinking water dish, which makes for many water changes.

Another way to help with allowing your new lovebird to be easier to train is to have his wings clipped. This doesn't hurt your bird. Your local vet or petstore should offer this, there may be a charge. You may even become confident enough to do it yourself. There are instructions in the Resource Library if you are interested, also read up on the links in that section, it is a good place to start for new lovebird owners.

It will take longer than a few days for you to bond with your new pet. Don't get discouraged, you will form a relationship with Jasper as time goes by. These are little birds with big attitudes and lots of curisoity, it takes time, but it's worth it!!

Good Luck

[mcgr4680]

Thank-you! I have tried to teach him to step up but whenever I go near him he flies to the other side of the cage. I had a peachfaced lovebird that passed away last year that I had fully trained to go everywhere with me, she even would come in the bathroom and play when i was getting ready or in the shower, sometimes she hopped in with me, she was like a baby. She never seemed this hard to train as Jasper, but it is different with each bird. I couldn't stand not having a lovebird around all the time so I got a new one. I thought that his wings were clipped but watching him the past couple of days it looks like they aren't. I will check into this because it will help me.

[Janie]

Hi Kasey,

Take a deep breath and relax! :) Read back over several pages of the "Behavior & Taming" section of the forum and you'll find that sometimes it can take months to earn the trust from a lovebird. Some lovies can be tamed in weeks but most take far longer than that.

How old is your bird? If he's older, even 4 or 5 months old, and has not been socialized on a regular basis before you got him then he is considered wild and it will take time, and a lot of it, to tame him. It is worth the effort but you'll need to be patient with him. I've never seen a lovebird in a pet store that wanted to come out and cuddle with someone. They nearly always freak out and go as far to the back of the cage as they can. Even if they were bought (by the store) as hand fed or socialized babies, after sitting in the store for a few weeks they usually revert back to being wild unless the store employees have made an effort to socialize the bird daily before it's sold. It's usually the larger, more expensive parrots, that get the attention from pet store employees. The last two I got came from a breeder who did hand feed and socialize them but they still didn't know me and I had to work hard at gaining their trust.

Do read the Lovebird Resource Library information and the behavior and taming sections.....you'll lean a lot about the best way to go about taming your lovie. :)

Kasey, I just saw your second reply and see that you've had a lovie before. Yep, they are all different (my three sure are, :D) so you know that a lovie can be very tame from your past experience. Don't give up, you can do it! :)

[michael]

Hello Kasey and Jasper. Sounds like maybe a wing clip may be a good avenue towards taming Jasper. Especially if your going to relocate or travel back and forth to a different location, as he may not be tame by then. The possiblity of him escaping and being lost is greatly increased by others that may enter your apartment at school. A clipping may also facilitate having better cotrol if he needs to be returned to his cage in a hurry. Hope everything goes well with you and Jasper.....Take care......Goofy and Michael

[mcgr4680]

So I've gotten Jaspers wings clipped and I can def. see a difference in him now, he came out of his cage by himself for the first time today!!! But he still wont let me get to close with him. He seems to be doing better but I can't teach him to "step up" because when I get too close he flies away. But he is doing better.

[michael]

Coming out on his own is a really big step for a tiny little bird. Way to go Jasper! Kasey, sounds like the wing clip may have been the best thing for him, especially in that he can still fly a little. I have a feeling that one way or another he'll be on you in no time. Just watch your lips in case he needs to test out his beak a little!......Goofy and Michael

[dani]

Hi Kasey!!
I can tell you for sure, with some birdies, it definitely takes time and patience. With my Haku, we are still not quite there yet, but we are making a lot of progress. When I first got Haku, he was petrified of everything, including his cage, his toys, and most especially me:(. I took everyone's advice, and 6mths later, Haku is playing 'fetch' with his toys with me (I;m doing the fetching of course) and letting me give him scritches. He only steps up when he feels like it, but I'm just relieved that he is growing to trust me more.
Boy this sounds like an infomercial for this forum...:lol....