Unique lovebird situation

[sallen49]

So my mother had a lovebird fly on her head while she was gardening which resulted in her screaming, scaring the poor thing and making it land on her car. Using the neighbors old cage, I was able to have it land on the top and carry it inside where my mother grabbed and put it in the cage getting, bitten in the process. After a week of no one claiming the bird we decided to keep it.

Her home is a large 2"x 2 1/2" cage with plenty of perches and a swing. I feed her mixed seeds I get from an exotic bird store and she loves fruit and veggies. She loves her cage and usually perches at the top of it when I open the window.

My problem with her is that she is terrified of hands.I gave her two weeks to get used to her surroundings and be comfortable and feel safe before I tried to train her to step up.She used to be calm if you came up and talked to her but the second you raised just a FINGER she'd flip out fly away but once you put your hand down she'll relax and puff up. Lately she's becoming scared of me even if I move a little. I have tried the clicker method and the stick method to get her to step up but it's not working. She'll step up if I'm holding a stick with my hand at the end but when I extend a finger and if she touches it without realizing she'll flip.I try giving her treats with but she'll get terrified because of my hand. I've had her for over a month which I realize isn't that long but there's little to no improvement and I train with her twice a day. Should I put my hand in the cage and let it rest there for a while so she gets less afraid? I realize it will take time to build trust and I'm willing to be patient with her but I'm at a loss because the more I train with her the more scared she seems to become of me. Her previous owners probably never hand trained her. I don't know what she's been through with her previous owners so I don't know how to handle her. I've watched countless videos and have read copious amounts of advice forums. I'm not sure how to train her or if I'm doing something wrong.

[Wolf]

To start with you said that the bird is in a large 2 inch by 21/2 inch cage, I am really hoping that you actually mean a 24 inch by 30 inch cage.
The answer to your training problem is to stop your training efforts completely. Your first mistake and your biggest is that you are not listening to your bird, and the result is that it is getting more and more terrified of you. Lovebirds are not the most trainable of birds to begin with but you can do some training with it.
To correct this situation I would watch the bird when I approach its cage from the time I entered the room it is in. as soon as the bird starts to show signs of nervousness such as moving away from you, stop your approach. now spend the next 15 minutes just talking to the bird in a calm tone. It doesn't matter what you say just keep talking and be sure to insert words that you would use for praise such as good bird and so on. The purpose of this is firstly to calm the bird and to reassure it that you mean it no harm. Secondly it is the only way to begin to gain its trust. This trust is needed if you are to be successful in you training attempts. Do this a minimum of 2 times every day, more if you are able to. in a few days you should be able to completely approach the cage with out disturbing the bird.
From this point you approach the cage as before, and talk to the bird in the same manner but now you offer it a treat through the side of the cage. Continue in this fashion until the bird comes to and accepts the treat. The next step of this is exactly as before but this time you open the door to the cage and offer the treat from your hand, if he takes fine if not leave it and end the session. If he takes the treat from your hand, your next step is to offer the treat in such a manner that he must climb onto your hand to get the treat. Continue with this until you are successful and he climbs up and takes the treat.
This is about as far as I usually go with love birds, you may try to train further if you desire but if you do you may have to repeat this procedure anytime that he starts getting scared of you and what you are doing. Take your time and never force the issue with your bird, if he is not ready respect that and you will be able to retain his trust and cooperation. You cannot progress any faster than the bird is willing to give.
One last thing about lovebirds is that they always do better in pairs. so if you want it to be happy you should consider getting it a mate.

[sallen49]

Whoops I meant 2' by 2' 1/2" and thank you for your response. I will defiantly stop what I've been doing and start at square one. As for another lovebird, I've heard the same but I've been told if they don't trust you and haven't been trained enough to even step up that owners should wait until the bird is trained. Apparently, if you introduce another bird they will focus mainly on its new companion versus you.

On the flip side if I get and already hand trained love bird and my bird sees a positive relationship, maybe she might not be so fearful of human contact. What are your thoughts on this?

[Wolf]

I think that you may want to hold off on a companion for this one until you have gained its trust and it is stepping up for you, and then getting it a mate. The reason is that it is true that in this case it would be distracted from learning to trust you by the bonding process going on at the same time with its companion. However, once this one trust you and steps up, if you get it a mate the process will go much faster as the new bird will learn from this one. At this point I don't think that you need to have two birds at this stage, where they both need to be tamed.

[Pajarita]

Well, personally, I think that training lovebirds, plets, budgies and tiels to be human pets (step up and all that) is a huge disservice to them. I personally enjoy just watching them interact with each other and, if in the process and as time goes by, I get one or two of them to come to me of their own initiative, great! But, if they don't, I am fine with it.

I had a few lovies (out of around 40) that 'liked' me. One was an ex-pet given up because of biting (they are well known for it -LOL- but Matilda was the sweetest thing ever and never bit me once!) and the other three were babies that were born in my birdroom (an eggcident). I did not hand-feed or even co-parent them but I guess they got so used to seeing me day in and day out that they figured I was OK and would always fly to me, perch on my head and shoulders and even get into my sleeves and pockets -LOL-

Hand fear is very common in small species and it takes time for them to get over it (one month is absolutely NOTHING to a bird) so be patient about it, don't push it and don't force it to accept your hand (no putting your hand in the cage!). See if you can make it step up on your arm or your shoulder (they are usually OK with that even when they fear hands and all you have to do is let them climb to the top of the cage and simply put your arm or shoulder in front of them) and try to keep your hands close to your sides as much as possible. Forget about target training for now. The bird can't be afraid of you for it to work so you need to gain its complete trust first. But, most of all, don't rush things! You already started training while you should have been getting the bird used to you so ease off and go back to square one.

[sallen49]

Okay, thank you both for your input! I've had cats and dogs my whole life but this is my first bird so I'm bound to make mistakes. I'll make sure I'm patient and to go at my birds pace instead of my own.

[Wolf]

I hear you, but they are different as they are prey, not predators like dogs, cats and ourselves. We think in a similar manner to dogs and cats. it just takes a little getting used to and we all make mistakes and are lucky enough that we can fix most of them.

[Pajarita]

Indeed! Parrots have long memories and make no mistake about that, but they are also VERY forgiving. The basic difference between dogs and birds is not only that one is a predator while the other is prey (and that one is a doozy!), it's also that dogs have a hierarchical social structure, same as humans in a family, but birds are all equal, they have no bosses so it's harder for us to 'see' things from their point of view as they are not hard-wired for training or obedience.