Home sweet home??

[iluvmyluvbird123]

OK so when I went to get skittles s/he was fine with me I could hold her and everything. When we got her home She ran from me and I could not hold her. The day before yesterday I made the accomplishment of finaly catching her and holding her with about 5 bird bites. I try to be patient and teach her no bite but she still dont have a clue. Today I took her in a bedroom and closed the door and got her out of her cage, and Oh boy was that a job. I took her out of the cage and and she flew or at least tried to fly (clipped wings) right into the cage before I even had a chance to close the cage once I did get her out and the cage closed I let her go(manily bc of biting). She tried to get in her cage but since she couldnt she climbed on top of her cage. And I dont even feel like typing everything that happend when I tried to pick her up. Is she just ajusting, Is there something wrong, Is it something Ive done? Please help.

[Tango's_Mom]

Ok first things first, take a deep breath, and relax. You're new bird is in a new home, a new situation with new people, if you read through this section of the forum you will see that it can take months to build a trusting relationship with your lovebird, in my case it took me 6 months to get my guy used to hands, for the first 6 months I had him, I never picked him up, never touched him with my hands at all. He would come out, step up onto a perch or my sleeve and sit on my shoulder, but wanted nothing to do with hands.

The first thing I would do is stop forcing her to come out of the cage, take her to a small, quiet, safe room, and let her come out on her own, just sit quietly near the cage and wait for her to decide to come out (I advise bringing a book, it can take awhile and sometimes it helps to talk to them, reading aloud is a great way to get them used to your voice), do this everyday and eventually she will get braver and start to explore and interact with you, this took me a couple weeks, and it was over a month before he would come to me without me bribing him with millet, so be patient, as she becomes more comfortable you can teach her to step up onto your finger, or if she is afraid of hands you can use an extra perch. With time and patience she will come to trust you and want to be with you, but you have to let her go at her own pace, you can't force her to trust you.

[Janie]

I can't add a single thing to Jenna's advice....it's all good!

[LauraO]

Ditto to what Jenna said! She knows as she's made some great strides with her Tango. It can take a long time to develop a strong lovie relationship. Our first bird Zimber was a wild and crazy bird, but here we are seven years later and he won't leave me alone and spends his days figuring out new ways to pester me .

Good Luck and don't give up

[Janie]

Ditto to what Jenna said! She knows as she's made some great strides with her Tango. It can take a long time to develop a strong lovie relationship.

Good Luck and don't give up

I agree! Jenna could be the "poster child" of giving her bird all the patience required and it worked! I am sure it's very frustrating reading about all the cuddly lovies on this forum but in most cases, that takes a lot of time to get to that point.

[shylevon]

Yup, no hands in the cage. A being's home is their castle, and it is not much different than a stranger bursting into your house and putting their hands all over you.

You probably have not caused any long term ill effects with your birdie, as long as you become patient now. You may ned to repair some hurt fellings and trust, but you can do that in time. Let birdie come to you and never chase him unless it is an emergency. That can be terrifying for anyone.

Try to put yourself into the birdies position, and think of things that would make you comfortable if you were him. He is getting used to a new home and a new new momma and that takes a bit of time.

[iluvmyluvbird123]

im trying

[Tango's_Mom]

Don't worry Autumn (you have a lovely name by the way) we all understand how frustrating it can be when things aren't happening as quickly or as easily as we would like. And I'm sure that everyone on this board has made mistakes when it comes to their birds, especially in the taming process, I know I did before I found this board. But believe me when I tell you that all the time and effort will be well worth it, it may have taken me a long time to build a bond with Tango, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it because he's turned out to be the most perfect (IMO) little bird I could ask for. These little guys are absolute dolls and with time and patience you will probably find that before you know it you have a loving little bird that wants nothing more than to be with you, all it takes is some time, you're bird is very young, and you will have many many years together, and the time it takes her to come around will seem like a very short time in the long run. I've had Tango just over a year, and he's become such a part of my life that I can't imagine not ahaving him. So don't give up, with alot of love and patience you'll be just fine