The Best Way To Hand Tame A Love Bird?

[Fae88]

I recently was given a lone male Lovebird. He came from a friend of a friend who bought him and a female on a whim and then decided she no longer wanted them. The female was given away first and then the male came to me. Not ideal I know. But I have lots of time to spend with him and plan on spoiling him with tons of toys (homemade and store bought), and a better cage. And there is a possibility the female may end up with me in the end. And even if she doesent, I don't have a problem with finding him a companion eventually after quarantine ect.

Anyways I named him "Skittles" and he is a sweet heart. I have had him for about a day and a half. I can't whistle ect. But when I make kissing noises he gets excited and mimics me and tries to get as close to me as he can while in his cage. I just talk to him and tell him what a pretty boy he is ect and he just eats it up.

I have made no attempts to touch him. I just let him come to me and I just talk to him real sweet and make kissing noises at him. I only put my hand in his cage to change out his food and water. He opens his mouth and acts a bit bitey but I just ignore him and he has yet to actually bite me.

I don't want to push him too much too fast. I want us to have a good relationship where he trusts me. So I plan to take this slow.

According to my friend who ended up with the female, the female does not have clipped wings. So I can only assume that Skittles does not have clipped wings either.

I had a Cockatiel as a teenager that was bought from a pet store. His wings were clipped when he first came to us. And I feel like it helped with the hand taming big time.

I am sure it is possible to hand tame a bird with unclipped wings. But I am afraid to try it. I have dogs in the house which I can close up when the bird cage is open. But I just have a fear of him flying around the house and hurting himself ,and potentially not being able to catch him. I know most birds return to their cage on their own. But still is makes me nervous.

But if anyone has any tips on hand taming a lovebird without clipped wings I am ready and willing to listen.

I was told my local vet clips wings for $5 which I plan to confirm tomorrow when I call the vets office. If the vet will clip his wings I plan to have it done just for this time period of taming my bird. Once he is tame and trusts me I won't care if his wings are clipped or not. That's how it was with my Tiel.

Anyways I am open to any and all advice I can get about hand taming. I remember the basics. Let the bird come to you, ignore biting ect. But it's been about 10 years since I hand tamed a bird. So a refresher would be great.

Of course I am also studying books and other sites.

Thanks in advance

 

[Fae88]

Earlier I was talking to Skittles and I placed the tip of my finger on a bar of the cage, opposite from where he was perched. He worked his way over as I talked and made kissing sounds at him. He of course bit at my finger but I did my best not react. He did bite hard a couple of times and I pulled my finger back slightly. But I didn't say anything like "OUCH!!" or "Ahh!" I just placed my finger back where it was. I never pushed my finger any farther into his cage. I just let the tip of it rest on the bar. He would do some light nibbles with the occasional hard bite. Sometimes he gave up and would walk away from my finger and try and get as close to my face as he could, while I talked to him.

Seemed pretty successful. I let him come to me and I did my best not to react when he nipped. My question is this. When it comes time to put my hand in his cage to work on his hand taming, should I wear gloves? I never used gloves with the tiel I hand tamed. And I feel like a gloved hand is scarier than a bare hand. But of course that means potential painful bites. I am not sure how to go about it when the time comes.

 

[thekarens]

I'd recommend giving him treats through the bars as opposed to letting him bite you. That way he can start to associate you with good things.

 

[Fae88]

Thanks for the advice!

I plan to buy him some millet this week. I cut him up some apple (no peel, no seeds) earlier. I put some in his bowl and tried to feed him a piece through the bar but he was not interested. I am sure millet will go over better. He doesent seem to know what to think of these other treats. I tried to give him a grape the other day. I tried a whole one and I tried one cut in half. He didn't seem to understand the purpose of either.

 

[LoryLover]

I've tamed a few lovebirds, but they were all clipped at the time. My neighbor gave me a pair of lovebirds once, and I was able to tame one of them... to the point where it would leave the cage and walk over to me and want me to pick it up. In taming, I would just hold it and speak gently and kindly to it. For about 10 minute sessions and I'd take it to my bedroom, away from the other bird.

As for foods, I've noticed that if the bird isn't accustomed to a certain type of food, then it doesn't seem interested in it. Sometimes they will mimic you as you show them how to eat it, such as biting into a grape for instance.

Enjoy your new birdie.

 

[Fae88]

Well I lucked out and was able to get Skittles a appointment at the avian vet this morning. They had a cancellation so I was able to bring him in. I was able to get his wings clipped and the full array of tests done. The vet said he is a healthy boy .

Now to start to really be able to hand tame him. He was trembling after his wing clip and tried to nip a bit when I put him back in his cage. I figured I would give him a day or two before I try to handle him again....

Does that sound right? Or would it be okay to leave his cage open today and handle him if he glides to the floor? I don't want to stress him out too much too fast.

I am pretty excited to have him clipped though. Just for hand taming sake . Once he is tame enough I don't plan on clipping his wings in the future.

 

[LoryLover]

I would let him have a day to recover from the wing clip. Continue to shower him with gentle and loving words. Starting tomorrow, work on getting him to sit on your finger, even if it takes coaxing with a treat.

Do you think he's afraid of your dogs? Even if they are not in sight, I'm sure Skittles senses them. Was he around dogs in his previous home?

 

[Fae88]

Thanks for the advice! Yeah I was feeling like I should at least give him a day to recover from the wing clip and vet trip.

He was around dogs in his previous home. He doesn't *seem* scared of my dogs. He is up high and away from them and when they rarely bark he doesn't react. But I am sure they atleast slightly make him nervous as all predators probley do.

 

[LoryLover]

That's good that he is used to being around dogs.... of course, these are new dogs, but I'm sure he'll get accustomed to them quick. Have fun on this journey of bonding with your new birdie... as you know, animals sense our feelings and react. All I have to do is smile at my Lory and she says "you're so sweet, I love you"... and if I look at her with a stern look, she keeps quiet.

I think it was a good move to get Skittles wings clipped for this bonding/training phase. I have kept my birds clipped until I know we're bonded, then I stop clipping them. My Lory has had her full fight feathers for about 15 years and it's fun to see her fly from her cage through the house over to our bedroom and land on my husband... she does victory calls during the flight... it's so fun. She doesn't randomly fly around the house though. We've conditioned her very well as to which areas of the house she can be out and about in.