More questions about taming lovebirds

[shadylady20]

So I have officially started trying to train my lovie. He's not liking it at all. He used to be very cute and fluffy 24/7 and now his feathers are flat alot and he's nervous more often. I'm not sure if I'm doing this the right way or not. He's just so scared of my hands, but not very scared of me. Sometimes when he's out he'll come see me, but as soon as I move my hands he runs away. When I train him, I take him to a corner that has nothing in it and try to get him to step up, and he just won't. Sometimes he bites me, not in an aggressive way because I barely feel anything, but I can tell that it's not in a good way either. He will eat out of my hand, even though he is a little nervous about it, but he will not step up on it unless I have food.

Should I be doing something different? Also I never touch him while he's in the cage. Only when he's out.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I know it's wayy too early for him to trust me (I've only had him a week) but since I started these exercises, he's been nervous and it breaks my heart. I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

Please, any tips are very much appreciated. Thanks :)

[shadylady20]

Also I'm having a hard time getting him to eat things other than nutriberries and avicakes. I tried beak appetit, carrots, corn, peas, green beans, kiwi and banana but he turns his nose to it. Any good tips?

[expressmailtome]

Your job is harder since your bird is not hand fed. You might want to try a hands off approach. Try sitting by your birds cage and calmly talking to him. Other than that I would keep trying the suggestions from your other thread. As for food, what was he weaned onto? If it was only seed and/or pellets then it will take time to get him to try fresh food. You can try offering it in different ways. Try chopped, diced, etc. You might also want to try making birdie bread. Put veggies into the bread. Others may have different ideas.

Matt

[shadylady20]

Thanks Matt =) He was weaned onto seeds.. but I remember the girl saying something about spinach too, so I'll have to try.

[dancelady]

Shadylady, please give your bird some time to adjust, you haven't had it too long, and it takes a while for a bird to get settled. About, food: it could take months for them to like to eat new food -- at first they think it is going to hurt them. You have to mix up new stuff along with the current stuff they like, and give it to them a little at a time. One bird took over a year to eat pellets and then became a big fan. About nervousness: don't worry, and don't try to handle it when he is near or in the cage. They become very territorial about their cage. Then hands can mean you will hurt him. Try making up a playgym or place to play with toys separate from the cage, and then talk to him when he's there. Read to him, make your voice friendly. He needs to know you will be gentle. If you can get him to step up on a perch, then get him used to that at first. Another way to soothe him is to play music (not rock, more like new age or easy listening or birdcalls in nature) to let him be comfortable in the place that you keep him. Give him lots of toys and baths to keep him happy. Eventually he will become more agreeable and then you can check out Bird-Click or try to use clicker training to really tame him.

[birdlover912]

How old is your lovie? Does he/she step up when you have food? If he/she does, keep trying with food. You want your hands to be associated with good things like food; not bad things like grabbing. Go slowly up to your lovie with some seed in your hand and wait quietly. If you don't include seeds in the normal diet, or at least a limited amount (not starving your bird though!), it will encourage them to investigate the seed in our hand. Do this for a few minutes a couple of times a day. Before long, your baby might show intrest and eat some out of your hand. Curiousity usually gets the best of lovies! They tend to be pretty fearless, so it shouldn't take long before he isn't afraid of your hands.

I have a semi-tame younger lovie as well (AJ). AJ doesn't like to step up for my finger, but he will step up onto the palm of my hand. Strangely, one of my budgies, Keiko, will only step up onto my thumb. Birds develop preferences...maybe your lovie prefers a different finger? Maybe has a bad experience associated with an index finger? It might be worth a shot!

[chapala]

If the bird's body language shows discomfort or fear, you are pushing him too fast. You need to back off and hand-feed a favorite treat until he begins to associate your hand with good things, not being grabbed (probably was in the pet store or wherever you got him). Then, it's fairly easy to transition to having him step up by asking him to reach across a fixed hand holding a perch to get to the treat in the other hand. Forcing a bird does not develop trust. It's better to take more time, and gain the bird's confidence and trust in you.

I posted a Budgie training video that someone made. It's only 4 minutes long (about), and it took her two weeks to accomplish what it shows in that 4 minutes. Don't have it handy, but you might want to do a search.