Need Help with New Baby

[UlyBirb]

Hey everyone, I need some advice. This is a long post and I apologize.

As I’m sure some of you have seen I brought home a baby lovie on Sunday. I had him in a big prevue cage my previous lovie Obie was in, but since this little one was used to a smaller cage with siblings I moved him to the travel cage yesterday I brought him home in. His world has been flipped upside down: this is his first week away from his siblings and with his wings clipped. Understandably he’s a bit scared: more than I thought he’d be, but he's more comfortable today and is spending time on his perches rather than the bars of his cage, and is even venturing towards his food (which he wasn't doing before, because his bowl is situated directly beside where I sit.) Don’t worry though, he is eating. I know every bird is different, but it’s a bit disheartening having to start over. In this time when Obie was home, I already had him out. Obie was also comfortable with climbing onto my hands, whereas I know this guy wouldn’t do that on his own.

What I did with Obie was I lured him onto my hands with millet and then took him to a different room to make me the most familiar thing in an unfamiliar room. After doing this every day he was comfortable with me within a few days and was even coming out of his cage by himself. Since this new baby was handfed and not scared of hands at his other home I don’t think he would take long to adjust. I was hoping to towel him in a few days and bring him to a different room to do the same thing. I know it’s best to have to the bird make the first move, but I also know that sometimes you have to push them a little bit, and that’s what I did with Obie and it worked. I also know since this guy is used to having a bond with other critters, once he figures out I’m not going to hurt him he’ll latch on to me. I was just going to bring him to another room and sit on the floor with some millet and just let him be with me. Does this sound like a good plan?

Thanks for any suggestions. I’m a fairly new bird mom and Obie made it easy for me, so this little guy is a bit of a challenge.

 

[itzjbean]

How a bird is raised plays a huge role in how tame and comfortable they will be in a new setting. Did you get your new lovebird from a reputable breeder, or was he raised in an aviary, possibly from the pet store?

A reputable breeder will handle a baby bird every day after it is pulled from the nest. An even better breeder will socialize the baby with people of different ages and will spend time with each bird to get them accepting of human touch and contact. Many times (as your last bird seemed to be), they will also come home able to 'step up' and allow being handled. But.... not all breeders are the same or care as much as others to raise a well socialized baby.

In a situation where a bid is not willing to step up/is not that tame, while disappointing to not be able to take him out and start playing, it doesn't mean he won't eventually learn to trust you.

It just sounds like he is settling in, getting used to being alone. During this time, all you can do is try to make every single interaction with him a positive one. Offer treats when he calms down in your presence, talk softly to him, and just try to win his trust. Eventually he can be moved to a bigger cage and worked with on a daily basis on stepping up.

 

[UlyBirb]

Thanks for your help. He is from a reputable breeder and not from an aviary. I know he'll come to trust me- I'm looking for any additional things i can do to speed up the process. Perhaps Obie was a special case- although he was a few months older he was not socialized and i was the one to teach him his step ups. I have been reading to him and am currently typing with one hand and the other against his cage bars with millet, lol. I was hoping to get him used to me prior to being in a larger cage.

 

[EllenD]

If he was hand-raised/tame, why do you have to "towel him"? I guess I'm co+nfused about him being hand-raised and yet not able to be handled, I've not experienced that before. I can see having some issues with him coming out of his cage at first for you, which is when millet is a great asset, but once he's out of the cage, if he's a hand-raised baby, he should do just fine after he settles-in, as Itzjbean has already mentioned. He's only been in your home for 2+ days, so he'll settle in soon.

Honestly, I would make sure that the room is safe (he's clipped so this shouldn't be difficult), I'd open the door up, and let him climb out of his cage on his own, without toweling him. Try sitting in the room while his door is open, not right next to his cage but in the room, and just talking to him, until he comes out of his cage and climbs to the top of his cage. Once he's out, see if he's willing to step-up for you, which he should if he was hand-raised and handled often by his breeder...Then you're on your way...

I've spent a lot of years hand-taming parent-raised birds, which takes a lot of time and effort, but I've not ever had any issue at all with any hand-raised babies that I've brought home as far as getting them to step-up, sit on my shoulder, eat from my hand, etc. once they are out of their cages. So I'm not sure I'm understanding exactly what the issue is that you're having...

Either way, it's all about time and not forcing the bird. Toweling is sometimes necessary, and it's a good tool, but with a hand-raised, young baby who just came home, it shouldn't be necessary once you get him used to coming out of his cage on his own.

 

[UlyBirb]

He was indeed handfed, I know this for a fact. Obie was as well but I took him to a different room to train to get used to me before he came out on his own, and that helped greatly. This breeder is much more knowledgeable than the breeder I got Obie from, and he was handled, but I think he may be wary of hands from having his wings clipped the day before I brought him home... I am offering millet to him through the bars and will move up once he gets more comfortable. Like Obie, he does not know how to step up.

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm all for working with birds where they feel the most comfortable.


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