Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/10/2006

Question
I want my lovebird to like me.  I just brought him home last night. I have moved his cage near me when I type or when I am somewhere else in the room. I have let him come out of his cage, and he seems eager to come out. He is very scared of my hands, the slightest movement whether he is in the cage or not in the cage sends him away.

Eventually I would like to be able to get him to step up or step down on them and interact with him.  I have had to pick him up to put him in the cage, which he hates and I fear he will not like me know.

he is happy in the sense he grinds his beak before sleep. He is constantly cleaning himself, fluffing himself up and eating. in addition he is not afraid to blink in my presence.

I tried sticking a stick in the cage to see if he liked that better but he seems to hate anything with my hands. He is smart enough to recognize my hands are hands even when covered up.

Do you have any suggestions, please tell me what I am doing wrong or right> do these just take time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it very much.

thanks
Anna  

Answer
Hi, Anna.  Thanks for posting.

Your new lovebird is stressed out from being moved to a new environment.  S/he needs time to adjust to it's new surroundings, time to get to know you a bit, etc.  S/he doesn't know you, therefore, s/he is being very cautious.  Sounds like your lovebird has been in a place where people could poke their fingers at s/he all the time and, therefore, is very leary of fingers/hands.  This is typical of birds being purchased in a pet shop or other and not from a parrot breeder.  

You'll need to give your lovebird some time and you need to be patient with s/he.  You need to build trust with the lovebird, as a parrot who trusts it's human will allow it's human to do most anything with it because the parrot knows it's human means it no harm.  Keep interacting with your bird, i.e., talk to it, try but do not force your lovebird onto your fingers/hands until s/he is ready.  Allow the bird to come out of it's cage, etc., until it has had time to get used to your home and you.  The amount of time this takes depends on the experiences with humans your lovebird has had up to this point in it's life.  Let the bird decide when the time is right, but try coaxing s/he some now and again.  Usually, the older the bird, the longer it takes.  Whenever your bird does what you want, give s/he it's favorite treat (reward positive behavior).  Never reward bad/negative behavior.  Also, most parrots don't necessarily like their humans intruding into their personal space (their cage!).  This is their security, their home, and other than servicing the cage, most parrots would rather you keep your hands out!  If your lovebird reacts like this, respect it's wishes and wait for s/he to come out of it's cage before trying to work with s/he.  Keep both wing feathers clipped...this forces the bird to rely on you to get s/he from point A to point B, and the parrot can't fly away from you when you want to work with it.

Come back if you need to.  Thanks.

Chrys