Help! I'm desperate

[EmmettLuis]

9 days ago I brought my new baby lovebird home. The first couple of days I let him settle in and on day 3 I opened the cage and he loved coming out and sitting in the umbrella tree I bought for him. He wasn't yet comfortable going on my finger but he would sometimes jump on my arm. It seemed he was doing well but then all of a sudden he was terrified of me and didn't come out of the cage. I'm pretty sure my dog traumatized him by going up to his cage to say hi and I made it worse by trying to get him out of the cage to clean it (rookie mistake). So my question is if I can mend our relationship or did I completely traumatize him? Thanks for hearing my out. P.s the dog is no longer allowed in his room.

 

[noodles123]

There are a lot of ups-and-downs in parrot ownership. Keep building trust-- do not push physical contact unless your bird is interested (but if it can be done safely, allow him to enter and exit as he pleases when you are around to keep an eye on him)---DO keep the dog away. You don't know the bird well enough to take that gamble so early on. Read quietly near the cage, associate yourself with favorite treats, see if you can feed him from your hand without him hesitating. If there is hesitation, don't push it, just let him see you put the treat in his dish and keep things calm/low stress as possible (without changing the atmosphere of your home---you do want him to adjust to reality to an extent, but if you have little kids who would run up to him and yell etc, you want to keep that sort of behavior at bay for a period of time.
As long as you associate yourself with positive things, feed him a good diet, provide positive experiences/gradual socialization etc, your bird will come around. They just take a really long time to adjust. Often a new bird will also experience a "honeymoon" in a new home (until the newness etc really sinks in). Also, keep in mind that a baby bird is always going to be sweeter than an older bird, so you won't always be able to compare his behavior to how he was one you got him, as that is like comparing a 17 year old to a newborn infant.

You should have your bird in the main hub of your home (not a bedroom somewhere) for socialization and due to the fact that they are flock animals who need that sort of stimulation.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Great advice!

Here are some readings that we here often recommend. Good for you for reaching out and being open-minded.


Here's some reading on bonding for you.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community
http://goodbirdinc.blogspot.com/2012...n-parrots.html

 

[Flboy]

Like a good meal, in time, this too will pass!

 

[LucyBird]

Hang in there! It was probably a lot of new sensory things for the bird to experience and it can take some time for things to settle. Their cage is comfort and protection so allowing the bird to have the time to itself that it may need can help the relationship.