Hopefull new Lovebird owner here.

[sgd322]

Hi folks. After a fair amount of research, I've decided to adopt a pair of bonded love birds. I'm looking forward to their chirps, shrieks and affection. Any advice for a new caregiver? :)

Stephen.

[Mummieeva]

I would advise to go and read our link section as there are many good articles there. Also if you have any questions feel free to ask us. oh and also you need pictures when you get new birds..lol. Welcome to the board. Lovies are wonderful.



Steph

[LauraO]

Stephen: Welcome to the board. I moved your post to the introduction area so we could properly welcome you and your new additions. This board is great and there is tons of info and great people. I'm live on Oahu and am slave to 18 lovies and a Meyer's parrot.

YEP! The Your Attention Please is the best place to start to learn about your new lovies and Robin's new owners handbook will give you the run down on the basics.

We'd also love to know more about your new lovies :D .

[MaraJade]

Welcome to the board!
There's a ton of great information on here and great people to help you understand it all.
Lovebirds are so much fun. Welcome to lovebirds anonymous (or not so anonymous, but I still need a 12 step program. :rofl: )

[Janie]

Hi and welcome!! This is a wonderful forum and the "Your Attention Please" section is the best place to start! I look forward to hearing about your birds and think it's great that you did the research first. I adopted an older lovie 2 years ago. Lucky for me, I found this board (and read for hours) about 3 days before I brought him home. All I learned here was so helpful and I've had such a good time with him, Oliver, that I added TWO MORE 2 weeks ago! :D

[Rubygem]

Hi and welcome! You will love this group of people, they are very warm and careing, and have a lot of knowledge. :D Even some of us that knew something about lovies before comming here can learn a lot from the people here, and it is really neat to be able to get information from all different sides of the loviebird owners point of views...from the new owner, the older owners, and the breeders. You get a lot of good experiance from all around the world....I love the internet :cool:

I hope you enjoy the community as much as I have so far... :happy:

Rubygem

[sgd322]

Hello again. Picked up "Sam" and "Fran" yesterday during the torrential downpour on the southshore. Had to wait in the parking lot of my apartment complex for nearly an hour before the rain lightened up just enough to transport the lovies into the apt.
I dried off their cage and let them out of the transport box. They immediately flew to the back of the cage. They seemed a little off, but after an hour decided they were more hungry then scared.
I tried talking to them most of the night, at odd intervals, but they just jumped to the back of the cage. I am a stranger to them in their new home afterall. :o)
I cut up a small amount of carrot, and gave them some fresh peas along with their bowl of seed and pellets.
I guess the question I have for the board is this. Even though they're bonded to each other, will they have room in their lives for little old me? I think they will, I'm just not sure. The person I got them from had no idea how old they were. Only that Fran was purchased a month before Sam. they were left in her finished basement in a cage that is more than big enough. They didn't have too much human interaction for the past few years, so I'm thinking it may take a while, which is ok. As long as they come around.
Also, they never came out of their cage with the previous owner, so how would you suggest I coax them into that? I'm going to give them basicly free reign over my home, but don't want to push. I figure I"ll have to let them know I'm part of their flock now. Thoughts? :o)

Stephen.

P.S. I don't what sex either of them is, hence the ambigous names.:happy:

[Mummieeva]

Welcome to your new babies. Yes they can bond to you also but will take a long most likely. As for getting them to come out what I did was open cage door and let them come out as they saw ready. Only took my pair a few days and they loved it. I would stick them to one room at moment though. Mainly becasue not all birds like going back to cage..lol. So until they and you learn best ways I would keept to one room if possible. Good luck and feel free to ask anything you want.



Steph

[Paulette]

Hi Stephen......congratulation on your new adoptees.....love birds are such cute little characters and are a lot of fun.....sounds like you are off to a very good start....somewhere on this board....maybe in the taming training area someone had said catch and release severla times in a day.....so I tried this with my new pair......and they will sit on my shoulder, but it makes them afraid of hands......so I might not recommend it.....talking to them and letting them get used to you might be better......I personally think it really depends on the personality of the parrot......as to what they will tolerate.....but you will get lots of good advise at this board......have fun.

[Janie]

Stephen, I wanted to use the name "Sam" for one of my new boys but my human son, his name IS Sam, said, "no way, mom!" :D

You do have your work (and lots of patience) cut out for you. Since these birds have not had much human interaction, it may be that they will never be very interested in it BUT, it also may be that with lots of time, one or both will start some kind of interaction with you. No way to tell this early on. I've give them some time, just talking to them and spending time close to the cage but not trying to hold them. After they're more used to their new surroundings, I do suggest a wing clip for both. Be sure it's done by an avian vet or someone that you are positive knows how to do a proper wing clip. After that, you can try taking each one separately into a dimly lit bathroom (or any small room).....be sure to close the lid, :lol, and I'd also cover any mirrors in the room. You might try 5 to 10 minutes, one on one time with each. This may help and it may not but it will take time, probably months for a bonded pair that's had very little human interaction to want to associate with "our kind!"

The good news is that there are two of them and they are so much fun to watch together! To have a single lovebird that allows no human interaction is sad cause then they have no one and sit alone in a cage all day. Your birds will not be lonely since they are bonded and in a cage together. Hopefully they WILL learn to accept you but even if they don't, you can still enjoy them and keep them healthy and happy with good food and lots of safe toys! :) With lots of time, attention and patience, you might end up being part of their flock! Good luck and I hope they do accept you! :)

[sgd322]

Hey folks. Just updating. Fran and Sam seem to be adjusting. They're still skittish, but have been responding to my and my s/o's voices and actions. They both got out of the cage the other day and had a stressful flight around my apartment for a few minutes. I have been leaving the cage door open to try to get them used to having some freedom. At first they were leary and would stay at the back of the cage. BUT, last night, Sam went to take some millet, which is right near the door of the cage, and his bum was sticking out of the cage, just hanging there in the wind. Was quite cute.
I'm still hoping that some day they will have enough trust in me to sit on my finger, shoulder, arm, whatever. But, it's going to take a little longer than I thought. They are very fun to watch. :)