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Thread: Have we taken on too much?

  1. #1

    Default Have we taken on too much?

    Hi Everyone,
    We are a family, new to the love bird community, needing some advice.
    We relocated from UK to Spain this year and left a disabled, none too sociable cockatiel (which we adopted) with friends. We promised the kids Love birds when we got settled and have been looking for the right cage / time. We ended up making a big mistake before christmas, because we found the right cage and we saw that there was going to be one love bird left in the pet shop as someone came along, to buy his little friend. We didn't want the little fella to be alone at Christmas (this was the kids pulling on our heart strings). Sorry for the long-winded version!! Both my hubby and I had our own hand reared birds when we were younger so this was always the plan, but we brought home 4 mth old Bonnie (not hand-reared!!). We have already made the mistakes of grabbing her and catching her with scarves and blankets to get her back into her cage. I'm delighted to read other people's posts to find that we aren't the only ones, and that the haste to tame her hopefully hasn't put her off us for life - patience is the key I read!! Two days ago we went back to our original plan and collected a 3-week old lovebird from a breeder, so Bonnie will have a mate, but this one should be a lot tamer - right? So we are hand rearing this little one, my daughter has named 'Blu', who is an absolute little delight!! She is in a container next to Bonnie's cage. Bonnie has been a little bit interested but not so much. So over the past few days Bonnie has become much stronger and confident at flying, but she has also become much louder - her squawks are becoming much more shrill and ear-piercing whilst she is out and she looks like she wants to fly down and land on our heads (I don't think she is doing this in an aggressive way). She is taking forever to go back to her cage of her own free will and her noise is constant whilst flying from cage to wall decorations - I am worried about the neighbours
    Sorry - there is a lot in here. Firstly I am hoping that someone can help us to understand the recent changes of behaviours for Bonnie and how we can manage this better. Should we only let her out of the cage at certain times? Secondly are we doing the right thing by introducing her to the chick at this stage? Thirdly, will we be able to keep our little chick tame even though Bonnie is going to take longer to tame, and how do you think they will get on?
    I really appreciate any support / guidance to help us through this stage.
    Emma

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    27,318

    Default Re: Have we taken on too much?

    Hi and welcome to Lovebirds Plus Community! Glad you decided to join us!

    First of all, Lovebirds are very social. There are some that can be kept singly as pets but I know I can't be there to offer as much attention to a single lovebird as it would get from a companion. From that angle, finding a second lovebird was a good idea. However....... (you knew this was coming...), a 3 week old is very young to introduce to an older lovie.

    There can be exceptions to this statement. Does Bonnie seem interested in the baby? Are you sure Bonny is a "she"? I remember having a pair of Blue Fischer's that got very interested in a young Lutino Peachie that I was hand feeding. They wanted to help. In the end, they "adopted" this baby and took over its care!!!!! If Bonnie seems interested, you can let her see what's going on. I think a lot of the "noise" you are hearing is contact calls to your little one. Be watchful because Bonnie could injure the little one should she decide to be aggressive. I think this is about seeing what's going to happen. Each bird is different and the hardest part is getting to know your own particular birds!
    Linda L.
    There are no bad birds, just misunderstood ones.



  3. #3

    Default Re: Have we taken on too much?

    Hi,
    Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
    We don't expect the bonding to be instant as Blu is still so young and Bonnie must still be a baby herself, so we don't expect her to be maternal. She is a little interested but not particularly phased by him. I think we are more concerned about our approach to bonding with Bonnie. She was out of her cage this morning and for three hours made so much noise flitting back and forward between her favourite stations around the room. She is swooping closer to our heads and it seems she is excited to be our friends, but just isn't sure how to. We had to sit and wait patiently until she returned to her cage of her own free will, as we have no idea how to train her to do this without scaring her. Any ideas are welcomed.
    I have no idea about the sex of either bird, hopefully having Bonnie tested tomorrow at her vet check-up, but again I'm worried about this as she will not trust us again.
    It's the loud crazy noises we would really like some help to understand.
    Thank you

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    27,318

    Default Re: Have we taken on too much?

    Those loud noises are happy noises. Bonnie is out of her cage and loves flying around! Taking her to the vet may not do as much damage as you might think. It can be a positive experience since she will be handled but not hurt. Parrot learn trust by experience and some will take longer than others. Bonding with Bonnie is a matter of allowing her to accept you as a member of her flock, not her accepting that she is a member of your family (which she is, but you need to see it from her perspective).

    What you might want to do with her is stick/perch training her. Find a 3/4" dowl or perch and try approaching her slowly. Tell her "step up" each time. Many parrots just don't like human hands and perches will work very well. Should she land on your head, that's a good thing. You've now become a human "station!" Once will most likely be repeated.

    The best way to win her trust is through love, kindness and lots of patience. Believe it or not, parent raised birds make excellent pets if you just give them time to be comfortable with you.
    Linda L.
    There are no bad birds, just misunderstood ones.



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