taming a bird under a bed sheet.

[littlestever]

hey guys i had my lovebird for about 3months now and shes fully flighted i never clip the wings. she seems to go on my finger when i have food in my hands and allows me to pet her sometimes when shes out the cage. though she allows me to do this sometimes it can be difficult due to the fact that she is a flighted bird. it seems to be hard to try and tame her because she always flies away and she seems scared of me still so i figured i try and put it under a bed sheet with me under near her that way she cant fly around my room.. when i did this she calmed down and allowed me to fully hold her and cup her in my hands. i just want to know is this a bad idea and can this change the birds trust in me? i do not intend on clipping my birds wings is it possible to fully tame her?

[marie83]

Have you got a tiny room or large cupboard in your house? That will be large enough to give her the choice to be near you but not to the extent your birds too far away that you cant get near her. She will also be close enough to see you have treats and hopefully a new room will let her see you as the safest place to hang out as you will be the most familiar thing in there.

I always think its better to give a bird choice as it establishes a stronger sense of trust and doesn't run as much risk of making the bird phobic from not feeling in control. I used to use the bathroom after it had been birdproofed for initial taming and training exercises.

[liz]

I love the bed sheet idea. Under the sheet the two of you are in a world of your own. There is nothing for your bird to have to look out for and can just pay attention to you.

[JacobBird]

I don't think there is anything wrong with taming the bird under a bed sheet. I'm sure he is wayy more focused when you do this.

[Grey_Moon]

Actually I do this with Jacko a lot when its rainy out/before bed/I'm having a lazy or sick day, we sorta cuddle and have a nap n watch tv.
I find it helped her deal to a certain point with towels and her fear of them.

She dozes off now and gets snuggled under the blankets quite often with me and it helped her get used to gently being restrained and in close contact as I find they're much more receptive to being touched and handled when gently covered by a blanket.

Just be careful not to fall asleep because you could crush the little bird. I do it, but she's a bigger bird and we're very much in-tune and like a mum with her newborn I sleep very still when she's near me.

[Khaiqha]

I cover my Alex sometimes with my blanket. He lets me pet him more when he's under the blanket. I was worried I might of been doing something wrong, but now it's to the point he crawls under the blanket by himself. I think he's just copying me, as he only does it in the mornings when I haven't gotten out of bed yet.

[CaitlinRice413]

[friend2parrots]

Caitlin, this idea of setting up a table with a sheet on it is a really super idea. I'm going to recommend this idea to Alberta Aviary to help with her budgies