Why I got a PF Lovebird

[Michael]

Well for good of for bad, budgies are kind of dumb. Of course that's compared to most other parrots because they are pretty intelligent compared to other birds and some of the people who own them

But some things that I think makes them hard to own is that they seem pretty unemotional (once again this could be a good thing). They don't seem to care too much for interaction and praise/attention isn't worth much to them. Kili will still do things without food rewards. Even during her free flights I will unofficially recall her when I just want to hold her and she will come and I will hold her/pet her, etc. On the other hand, if Duke isn't hungry, you could forget about him doing anything! I guess he'll still step up but even that is iffy if he's really full.

Also I think the larger parrots pick up on things on their owner better. They kind of become familiar with routines, patterns, where they can go, and things like that. The budgie seems pretty oblivious to those sorts of things. Basically it just seems harder to communicate with it and get through. My Senegal Parrot seems to understand things better.

When it comes to training tricks, the budgie is still capable but many tricks that are simple to teach the larger parrots are very tedious and difficult to teach to budgies. Where this is going is that budgies often require more patience to get to the same point that you can with a larger parrot. On the flipside, the people who get budgies are the impatient little brats who want instant results. Even the "hand raised" budgies I've come across are barely tame at all. What they really mean is that they aren't parent raised but it doesn't mean that they were socialized. A parent raised budgie is usually like $15 and a so called "hand raised" one is $25. For that kinda silly money, no one is going to properly raise and socialize those birds. Maybe if budgies cost $300, they would be raised in a similar manner to larger parrots and be tamer but they still couldn't be any smarter than the species limitations so people wouldn't feel them worth that kind of money. That's why they are a cheap expendable bird that people get for their kid like any other toy and then don't know how to get rid of. The kids get disappointed because they don't step up off the bat and they give up.

If you haven't already read it, check out my article about the abuse of budgies at carnivals as prizes... that will show you just how expendable they are considered to be!

But about that emotional aspect of the birds, it creates kind of a drive. My Senegal knows the difference between me and Kathleen and has specific relationships with people. She likes being around people, she likes showing off, she likes attention and being the very center of it. The budgie really couldn't care less. He'll do his tricks only for the person who is holding millet, otherwise he couldn't care less. He doesn't have any attachments to any person and I'm sure he would be just as willing to live with anyone else. I guess it's kind of disheartening to have a pet that has no attachment toward you so that makes it more difficult for humans to have the budgies. It makes them seem ungrateful.

This is not to say that Kathleen and I do not enjoy Duke but I think it's definitely harder to appreciate the budgie and want to care for it if you don't put a lot of sacrifice into it. Kathleen, would you agree?

[Natacha]

I guess it depends on the bird and how it was raised.

The last budgie my mom had, and this was before I existed, seemed to be quite the budgie.
She has had a few of them but none seem to compare to Peter, which was his name.

She got him when he was very young; I think his uncle gave it to her. The bond they had was quite something.
He had a very VERY large vocabulary. And he used words in contexte..an example? He would go from his cage (in the kitchen) to the dining room on his own...not by flying but by walking (he wasn't clipped though). He would spend some time there and then would want to go back to the kitchen, but didn't want to walk (or fly) it. So he would call someone to come and get him. My grand father or grand mother would often ask my mom, louder and louder, to come (as come here). Well, the budgie picked this up and would, from nicely to very loudly and annoyed, call for someone to get him, it would get worst if he found no one came fast enough.
He also had a "lover" in the form of a roll to curl hair. He actually named it..Suzie.
One day he flew away, accidentally. He was on my grand mother, she went outside and something spooked him. Anyways, someone had found him and was apparently very impressed at how tame he was. My mom eventually found out who had him and when she went to retrieve him, the people didn't want to give him up, claiming it wasn't her bird. She took out "Suzie" from her pocket and Peter went straight for it, calling out "Suzie"...at which point the people who found him couldn't deny it was my mom's bird

[Kathleen]

I do put care and sacrifice into Duke. To me he is fun to train and interact with even though he doesn't necessarily bond to me. I hope to get a different kind of parrot at some point. Duke, for me, is kind of just building some experience and it's been about learning what the right techniques are, but it's harder and takes longer. Seems like it'll be even easier with a bird that is more bonded to me.

[Natacha]

I do put care and sacrifice into Duke. To me he is fun to train and interact with even though he doesn't necessarily bond to me. I hope to get a different kind of parrot at some point. Duke, for me, is kind of just building some experience and it's been about learning what the right techniques are, but it's harder and takes longer. Seems like it'll be even easier with a bird that is more bonded to me.

I watched a couple of videos where Duke did his tricks and he was quite cute.
You're doing more with your budgie than the average person, that is for sure.
He is about to be 8 months, right? You've had him how long? Maybe 6 months? Was he hand raised to begin with?
You should probably give him a bit more time to have a great bond between the two of you, specially if he wasn't hand fed to begin with (properly hand fed, not what some pet stores might advertise as being hand fed )

[Kathleen]

I've had him since May of this year, he was approximately 3 or 4 months old at that time. Not banded. He was hand raised, one of the more expensive kind ($25 vs $10, US dollars of course. not sure what the conversion is).

Duke does quite a few tricks. Fetch was difficult. He wasn't even interested in objects and I had to start by training him to touch one with his beak. Wave was difficult, weak leg muscles and a ground feeder species. Most of the other tricks were fairly simple to teach.

[Hubert]

Now I heard that lovebirds are often very aggressive and bite their owners a lot. I understand this is not your case. But why do you think they have this kind of reputation? Is it the bird type or is it the typical kind of people that buy them that leads to this?

Its a common people's problem. Time, buy a handfed bird and think they are tame for the rest of their life. You need to invest, every single day...
After a few months, the cute little lovebirds birds will become mature and the females are quite difficult. They usually become very aggressive around "their" cage or any place they find suitable for breeding. If you try to step-up or pick-up, you will get bitten even by tame birds. You can't blame them its their nature. The simple solution is learn their body language. With a little knowledge and distraction female lovebirds are not so aggressive as people think. Male lovebirds are much easier to handle.

Handfed or natural breed it doesn't really matter, handfed gives you a kickstart however there are unwanted site effects like no-natural behavior anti-social with other birds. I prefer natural breed, maybe i don't like shortcuts