Avian vet told me a strange taming technique (+ unrelated question)

[BlueBull]

Many Lovebirds, as well as other parrots, will defend their cages (homes) when an intruder enters it. It's normally just confined to inside the cage. I don't think I've ever had a bird that will defend the outside of the cage. Respect his attitude and work around it. Once he comes out, everything is fine so don't sweat the small stuff, so to speak!

I'm glad to hear that he is spending time with your girlfriend. I have some that will spend some time with other people but I'm still the main slave.....

I am so glad that this is working out and you didn't resort to desensitization. As you are finding out, you can't force trust. It has to be earned!

Understood, then we will leave it like it is and work around it, my only concern was that he would at some point begin considering our entire home his territory and start defending that. I have no problem with him defending his home, it's the only spot where he's truly the boss and that needs to be respected. It was just an unknown behavior pattern to me because my budgies never did that, so probably this is at least in part species-dependent

I suspect indeed I'll remain the main slave as well but it appears he is spending time with her on his own volition as well so that's perfect. Also, I was never truly considering using the desensitization method, it just seemed like animal abuse to me and I was wondering if that was a valid method truly used with birds or that the vet was just a closet sadist. I do wonder how many people that vet influenced in treating their bird like that

I'm indeed glad it worked out like this, it's without a doubt the start of a beautiful friendship, couldn't have done it without your help so thanks again

[linda040899]

I can understand the concern that he might consider the entire house as his "home" but I've never had that in my experience. Larger parrots can do that but not normally smaller birds. I have an Amazon who thinks everyone needs to stay where they are and she can get defensive if my macaws are out and about so, when the macaws are out, she is not.

You would be surprised at how many vets give advice that I, personally, would never follow. You need to get to know your vet. They are usually good at treating illness but know little to nothing about breeding and even nutrition. They are not behaviorists and would have to have a huge amount of experience with many different parrots for that. I remember the week-end that my male African Grey got sick. I took him to 2 emergency clinics and the last one wanted to hospitalize him so he could be on oxygen. I asked for a gram stain to see if it indicated an infection. They would not do it, as they had no vet on staff that could read the results. The last clinic called around and finally found an avian vet who would do the gram stain. In the end, my grey truly did have an infection that would have killed him if he was not given an antibiotic! The better you know your own bird, the better you will be at making different kinds of decisions for him.

[Kenneth91619]

This is interesting because I have used the avian vets technique. I have used it on 2 pairs of lovebirds when i was a kid and more recently I used this method with my parrotlet whom I had for 8 years before I was forced to rehome due to moving between states and my new places not allowing pets. I can say confidently from my experiences this doesnt just tame your bird but your bird will bond with you just as well as taking the long route to taming a bird by waiting for the bird to allow you to progress. My birds (both pairs of lovebirds and my parrotlet) were trained in flight recall, basic commands like step up/down, go home (cage), and stay. They were just as bonded to me and my family as my uncles African Grey who he took 3 months to fully tame and bond with. They would eat breakfast with me and would follow me anywhere in the house. I never tried my birds wings its important for them to feel confident in getting away to safety. They would come when called and enjoyed my company. My parrotlet more then my previous lovebirds would chirp up a storm when he wanted out to hang out. Each had their own personalities but all where bonded to me and were deafly afraid of going outside lol. The only difference I did was at the time of taming I would spend over 4 hours cuddling my birds and talking to them, singing and making kissing sounds. I feel people like to judge a technique before they are able to use it themselves. Do I think its full proof absolutely not all birds are different and rescue parrots might suffer from this technique instead especially if they have trama with hands. My birds didnt just tolerate me they loved me to bits I can testify to that through 1000s of hours of obervations and studying parrot behaviors. I love learning about animals and I never stop reading and finding new techniques and tips. Lastly almost forgot not sure if this plays a big role they were all fully weaned babies at the time of taming and non ever bite me during taming. If you have a biter or older bird might not work.