I finally broke down and bought my daughter a peach-faced lovebird. It’s really cute and looks like a minature parrot. We also read a “how-to” book on caring for the new addition. But some other questions we couldn’t find answers for:
What’s the best way of taming the bird so that it is used to being handled? I’ve got leather gloves and we’ve been holding and petting it to try to get it used to us. How long will this typically take–a few weeks? Months?
What’s the right balance between playing/handling the bird and leaving it alone? I know birds are social creatures but there’s got to be a balance between playing with it and letting it do it’s own thing.
What other things should we expect that the book didn’t tell us about? Molting? Weird behavior? Things we definitely shouldn’t do?
The key with dealing with parrots (and yes, lovebirds are parrots), is establishing that you (or your daughter) is the “flock leader”. That is, you call the shots. The most effective way of doing this is through a technique called “laddering”. You also teach the bird how to “step up” onto your finger at the same time. Laddering consists of commanding and then having the bird step up onto one hand (you may need to nudge your finger into the belly a little to persuade him), and then commanding and having him step up onto your other hand. You keep repeating this for a couple minutes (even if the bird is complying without protest). At first, you will want to do this daily.
This accomplishes two things: one essentially forcing the bird to do this thing whether he wants to or not (establishing dominance), and teaching the invaluable command “step up”.
If biting is an issue (as a form of protest), you can stick with the gloves, or try using two dowels instead of hands. Essentially biting can be resolved by showing the bird that it doesn’t have any effect. It may be tough at first, but if you don’t react (no screaming, no flicking the bird off your hand), he’ll eventually figure out that it is of no use.
As to how long for him to get used to you, it kind of depends on a number of factors: how was the bird raised, etc… Being as social as they are, though, giving attention is the best way for them to warm up to you. You have to think emotional level of a 2 year old, and that should put things into perspective.
This has a lot to do with the individual bird. But usually they will let you know whether they want to be with you, or would really rather be on their own. Chances are that they will want to be with you a lot. At least just to see what you’re doing. And once you start giving head scratches, then it’s all over - they will want to be with you continually !
Unfortunately most books are pretty lame, and chock full of bad information. There is likely lots the book doesn’t cover, but I’ll try to hit the most important ones:
diet. Pellets, pellets, pellets. Seeds are essentially candy for parrots - both in appeal and nutritional value. Your bird may have been raised on seeds (because it’s easy). But you will want to ween your bird onto pellets as quickly as you can. Fresh fruit and veggies are a must as well.
Keep the birds wings clipped. The risks to the bird escaping, let alone hurting itself from flying are far too great.
Good night’s sleep. Being prey animals, birds are generally always wary of predators. The fact that they’re in this nice solid cage doesn’t sink in with them. And they need a good 10 hours of solid sleep each night. Covering the cage is a good way to eliminate distractions (visual), but also having the bird in a room of its own is even better. Birds can develop behavior and health problems when they don’t get enough (good) sleep.
Baths. Parrots generally love baths, and taking them into the shower with you is usually pretty cool for them. But even using a spray bottle will work fine. They need showers/baths at least 3 times a week.
See the vet at least annually. Just like your own check-up, you want to head off problems that may arise.
Molting - what can I say ? It will happen. Don’t freak out if you see feathers on the bottom of the cage.
As to “not do”, I guess the best thing to keep in mind is the fact that they are “prey animals”, and a lot of their behavior is geared in this regard. So keep in mind that most new things (the bigger the worse) will scare them, new people will be viewed as potential predators, etc…
The other thing to keep in mind is that they are very social. They need attention/interaction. They are NOT like fish ! Don’t let the “novelty” wear off and start neglecting the bird. He will let you know when he wants some attention (usually vocally).
Congratulations on your new bird! Peach-faced lovebirds are really cute; as for looking like a “mini-parrot”, well they ARE parrots, which explains that. They’re just small ones (although don’t tell that to your bird, because HE thinks he’s the size of a macaw!)
On to your questions:
The time it will take for the bird to become hand-tame is hard to predict. Obviously, taming will go faster with frequent, gentle handling. Age matters, too - young lovebirds (which you can identify by their more muted colors and the black shading on their beak) are mch easier to hand-tame than older birds ( fully-grown adults may never become handleable), and hand-fed young birds tame more readily than parent-fed ones. Do you know if your bird has been hand-fed?
One trick that might help speed the taming process is to identify a food that your bird particularly enjoys, and then give that favorite treat to your bird only when he’s on your hand. That way, he’ll come to associate stepping onto your hand with Good Things happening.
(If you didn’t already know it, parrots need a varied diet including both fruits and especially vegetables; pellets are also a good idea. A seed-only diet is NOT adequate!)
Your bird will need an hour or so of handling and attention a day minimum if he’s to stay tame. You’re quite right that you don’t want to handle the bird constantly; he’s got to learn how to amuse himself on his own, too. I’d suggest setting aside several hours in the mid-day/early afternoon as 'birdie nap time" which your bird will spend in his cage, so that he can rest and relax. And your bird should get at least 10 hours of sleep a night! Parrots are creatures of habit, and tend to do best on a relatively regular schedule, so work out one that will meet his social needs and fit your family’s own schedule, and stick to it.
Lovebirds (once tame) often like to crawl into the breast pockets of your shirt. If your bird starts chewing paper into strips and tucking them into its rump feathers, you know “he” is actually a she - that’s how the female transports nesting materials to back to her nest hole (lovebirds, like most parrots, nest inside tree cavities).
A few cautions your book might not have mentioned: chocolate and avocado are poisonous to birds. Birds have a much more efficient respiratory system than mammals do and are highly sensitive to fumes, so be careful with hair spray, cleaning products, paints and solvents, scented candles, etc. Teflon is also deadly - if it overheats, it produces a gas that is highly toxic to birds (your bird will die before you can even get it to a veterinarian). Avoid cooking with Teflon or Silverstone cookware (or at least keep your bird in a far-distant room, and keep a close eye on the pan to make sure it doesn’t dry out and overheat if you do decide to keep using it). If you have Teflon-coated drip pans under your stove burners, get rid of them! The fumes produced by self-cleaning ovens are also deadly; open the windows and kep your bird in a distant room when putting the oven through a self-cleaning cycle.
The sign at the store said it was hand fed so I’ll take their word for it. I don’t see any black around the beak so I’ll assume it’s mature. I’ve tried giving it different things (a grape, celery leaves, a piece of apple) but it hasn’t touched anything I’ve given it. I was thinking of getting some millet spray which I’ve read is supposed to be a real treat. Thanks for the tip on the food…I’ll head out tomorrow and get the pellets and use the seed occasionally as a treat. We’ll be patient in working with it but I have noticed a difference in that it seems a little calmer each day. Assuming the life span of a bird is 8-10 years, we know that it will eventually accept us. We’ll be patient but we’re still learning. Thanks for the help so far.
What kinds of tricks can they learn? Anyone taught their bird anything cool?
If you change the bird’s diet to pellets do it gradually. A bird that is used to seeds may not even recognize pellets as food. Add a little more to the dish each day over the course of a week or two. That said, I still feed a seed based diet. My birds get plenty of fresh and cooked foods and sprouted seed.
Fresh fruits and vegetables should be offered daily. It generally takes a few days before my birds eat unfamiliar food. When introducing something new I wedge a piece in the same area of the cage bars every day. Parrots are naturally curious and will eventually taste anything in their vacinity. Pasta’s also good, mine won’t touch it without sauce. Spoiled beasts.
Cheerios are favorite treats!
Don’t forget some toys. And possibly a Bird Buddy[SUP]TM[/SUP], a fleece snuggly that ties to the cage, for your bird to cuddle with. Lovebirds are flock animals.
Although I found leather gloves handy from time to time (especially the time we had to deal with a broken bird leg and a hysterical mate), for the most part I always handled my birds with bare hands. Yes, you’ll get bit occassionally. And lovebirds have a heck of a bite when they use it. Prior poster’s comments about not letting the bird have its way apply.
Also remember that parrots are very social animals and from their viewpoint it’s all about ME! ME! ME! Misbehavior should result in minor ostracizing, do NOT reward bad behavior by giving the bird more attention over it.
Gosh, when we had lovebirds letting them “do their own thing” resulted in them not leaving us alone. They wanted to be sitting on human shoulders ALL the time, involved in whatever we were doing, etc. One of the benefits of hand taming, if you could call it that.
When we get a new bird we allow it to mostly observe the first few days. Talk to it, feed it, but don’t handle it much. Gradually, increase the time for “school” (laddering, basic manners, what “no” means) to about 2-3 15 to 20 minute sessions per day, but otherwise, if the bird is shoulder tame, he’ll happily ride along as observer. Ours particularly liked to sit on my husband’s shoulders and watch him play shoot-em-up video games
Lovebirds actually like to sleep under blankets. Really. We used to provide ours with washcloths and soft rags and they’d crawl under for snooze. So be VERY CAREFUL if your bird is out of the cage that you know his whereabouts at all times. One of our birds was almost killed, and did suffer broken bones, when she crawled under a t-shirt on the couch for a nap and someone sat down on her. The experience, by the way, did not “cure” her of doing this sort of thing. If they’re out of the cage they may also attempt to crawl under the covers with a favorite napping human - needless to say, this is not to be allowed. Far too dangerous for the bird.
Ours would happily bathe once a day if a small bird bath was provided. We used the bottom of a plant pot - you know, those low saucer type things you buy to put under the potted plants. Plenty of room for them to splash. If you don’t provide bathing water they’ll look for alternatives, which could be hazardous. One of ours almost drowned taking a dive into a human-sized bathtub - they are NOT ducks and do not float!
Keep the birds out of the kitchen while you’re cooking. Too many hazards. They will enjoy eating when everyone else it though - flock animals, feel everyone must do everything in unison.
You may also have gathered from my post that, while these birds can become very attached to humans and affectionate there are also a LOT of hazards in the world for them. They really are like two-year-olds - narcissitic, into everything, and completely ignorant that there are hazards beyond cats and dogs out there.