New Bird... nervous about plucking

[pycthedragon]

Hi there, thanks for the pics of your lovely little friend! Have you given him a name?

If you are nervous around your bird, your bird will pick up on it immediately, try to make a habit of interacting with your bird when you are calm, approach him like you would approach a baby deer. It takes time to get to know a new companion, it's normal for him to be suspicious at first. Instead of "taming" him think of it as befriending him. Provide toys and a variety of perches for him but I don't think you need to worry about boredom yet.
When I am away for even a short time, when I return to the bird room, I am always greeted like a lost flock member. I think your baby is just happy and excited to see you.

There are moments when a bird will get himself into a dangerous place and need to be rescued. Lovebirds are small and fragile, instead of a blanket, keep a small, soft folded hand towel handy and only use it in emergency situations. If you must use a towel, do it as gently as possible so he won't develop an unreasonable fear of the towel in the future.

A towel on top of his cage will be easier for him to walk on than the cage wires. There are very cute table top play stands for the little guys, and they come in handy for time outside the cage.

Looking forward to updates and more adorable pics.

His name is officially Cream. He looks like a dessert!

I think he's more just afraid of my hands than anything. He certainly doesn't mind when we're watching Youtube together. I like to sit right next to his favourite perch (it's on the side of the cage) and we watch Youtube videos together. It's funny because he is bored of bird videos but he likes video game review shows and we can watch and enjoy it together! Sometimes he gets so excited that he wants to come out, and I let him walk over the laptop and check out the video close up! He seems to at least be somewhat friendly with me because he chirps when I arrive home, but when I'm in another room or out he's pretty quiet unless I show up and start talking to him.

I have noticed him getting a bit more aggressive as he gets more acclimated. Before he used to just look at my fingers, now he tried to bite at them. I know that's kind of how birds investigate things but he's biting pretty hard, so I avoid letting him go near my fingers and I'm careful when I touch his cage. I try to sit next to it so that way he knows that its OUR cage and not just his. If he's in the cage and my hand is out though he might get aggressive. He also rubs his beak against the bars like he's ticked off or something. I let him out when he does this so he can explore around the room. We haven't had any other scary incidents and he does pop back in his cage pretty easily so there weren't any bad things about that.

That's a good idea with the top of the cage thing. I'll try that tomorrow (I won't be able to see him much today because I'll be coming home late, poor guy!).

I do notice him playing with his toys, he seems kind of like a rough bird. He has this annoying habit of trying to knock over his water bottle though, now THAT is irritating. Also, he checks to see if I'm watching him too, he's a smart little bugger... I moved it and there don't seem to be any other problems but it's still like I have to keep an eye out JUST IN CASE hahaha.

He is really smart and adorable. He's quite different from my other pets, pretty demanding! But even in this not-so-cuddly state he likes to spend time with me by watching me play on my computer. This is good because pets that are too social can be stressful for me, unless they enjoy spending time doing the same things. Unlike my old pets though, it seems we're both interested in what's going on!

 

[Lovie]

That's such an adorable name.
I agree that birds generally get braver (and therefore, more nippy) as they get more comfortable. Since it seems like it's just starting out, make sure he knows YOU'RE more in charge than he is. If possible, say "no" when he bites and remove him or distance yourself a little. Doing this may seem like an overreaction, but it'll save you pain later.

Yup, I'm hearing some very similar things to what my bird does. When Birdie wants out, she'll stick her beak in between the bars of her cage and move up and down. You might not want to necessarily let Cream out right after. That'll make Cream think all he'll have to do is rub his beak against the bars and boom, he's out. If you don't always let him out, he'll get frustrated.

Birds do tend to be rough players so try not to get too close when Cream is biting something. Misplaced aggression can be a mistake on his part, but it'll still be a little irritating to you.

Congratulations on your steps forward though!

 

[pycthedragon]

An update on Cream!

He's definitely getting much more adventurous. He loves to fly around in different places in the apartment. He's surprisingly easy to lead though, even though he's still not "tame" yet. He seems to like me, and he's FINALLY starting to eat food out of my hand! Yay! He's a goofball bird for sure, I like him a lot. He can be a little turd though sometimes.

 

[RavensGryf]

Good to hear the update. Sounds like Cream is getting more comfortable

 

[pycthedragon]

Oh dear, he is such a cutie pie now. He loves to get himself into trouble though, so I gotta keep an eye on him. Today was a major step. He stepped on my hand so I could let him back in his cage before work. He realizes its safe and didn't even bite it! He also played around and stuck his head in my hand when it was cupped up (I was relaxing my hand), so I think he's a lot more secure around me. He LOVES my phone and tries to take it over when I'm not being careful, that little troublemaker. But he's cute.

I think he's really smart. I was playing with my phone, and using the camera function that uses the camera on the front of the phone, so he could see himself. He was trying to figure out how it works, and kept looking at it. He's a really insightful little birdie!

Here's more photos for people to take a peek at.