Semi-Tame lovebird?

[siaro]

Hey guys,

I got this lovebird a couple of days ago. The previous owner said that he is pretty tame which he is. As soon as I got him and I opened the cage he flew right unto my shoulder. I tried to make him step up onto my hand or finger but as soon as I came close he would either bite my finger or fly on top of my head or other shoulder. I want to train this bird so he stays on my finger or hand and doesnt do whatever he wants (fly to my shoulder and stay there). That way it is really hard for me to put him back into his cage e.g. I have to grab him and neither of us like it. Also I want to be able to train him to do tricks etc. and it won't be easy if he would only fly to my shoulder and do whatever he wants to. Any tips?
Btw I do put my hand in his cage through a smaller door and most of the time he climbs right on top of it but he starts climbing down onto my arm trying to get out of his cage so it seems that inside his cage he doesnt really mind hands and fingers but as soon he is out he starts biting them and flying away from them. Any tips would help.

[30 Seconds to Bob]

All I can say is take things slow and have lots and lots of patience. Work with him in a small room such as a bathroom if you can and offer spray millets as treats. The fact that he is somewhat tame should make things a little easier. Good luck. Bob

[Colt]

I would advise clipping the bird's wings. With the really small hookbills it doesn't completely stop flying, but it should keep him from flying away from your hand by getting on your head.

I'd work in small sessions. Ten minutes a few times a day until he's comfortable. No more than fifteen minutes at a time.

It seems that the bird likes being out with you, but doesn't want to step back up after he's out. This could be because he thinks he's going to be returned to his cage.

Clipping his wings should also keep him from flying to your shoulder from your hand if your hand is far enough away. "Breaking your wrist" also helps keep the bird from traveling up your arm. Ideally your forearm (wrist to elbow) should be nearly vertical while your hand is horizontal to it. I tried to draw it but it didn't format correctly at all...

Also remember birds like to be high. If you're holding it below your shoulder height it wants to climb up there to be higher because birds feel safer (and also more dominant) the higher they are.

[siaro]

Thanks for your replies. I've progressed a lot and the bird steps up on my finger now he even lets me pet him. Also when he tries to fly to my head and shoulders I just block him with my hand. I've decided not to clip his wings because I like the idea that a bird can fly, lol. So I've bought a clicker and I think things should move forward from now on.

[Sheather]

Thank you for not clipping your bird's wings, this is inhumane in my opinion and no bird should be forced through such for our convenience.

[Colt]

Not to come off harshly or snotty at all, and people are entitled to their own opinions, but I completely disagree with this statement.

Thank you for not clipping your bird's wings, this is inhumane in my opinion and no bird should be forced through such for our convenience.

It is not a matter of convenience but a matter of safety. I worked at a pet store as a manager for over four years. Yes birds have wings for a reason and that purpose in most species is to fly...in the wild. Without the many dangers a house can present to a bird. In those four years I saw and heard many stories of birds injuring themselves, being lost, or even dying from having full-flight. Several times each year people came in with birds that had flown down to them in their yards or the grocery store parking lot. Quakers, Senegals, Cockatiels, Parakeets, you name it. Each month lost bird ads were posted in the store because someone lost their bird as it flew through an open door. Others came in look for replacement birds for the ones that the repairman let out the door or was startled and flew into a window or wall breaking their neck. The stories I've heard would take hours to type out.

Open fish tanks, hot stoves, open flames like candles and fireplaces, ceiling fans, mirrors, windows and doors, and many other dangers are presented to companion birds when they are brought into our homes. If you can not control a bird these dangers are very real and immediate.

The chances of finding a bird with full-flight once it's outside is very slim. The chances of catching it once found are slimmer still. And the idea that a bird raised in a home where food and water were provided for it protected from the dangers of the outside world in exchange for the dangers of the inside world is the slimmest yet.

So yes I absolutely advocate the clipping of a bird's wings when it is in their best interest. All it takes is something unexpected at the wrong moment for a bird to escape, injure, or even kill itself. Even at the pet store where I was constantly watching them accidents can happen. A child can come in with a balloon that startles the 6 month old Congo African Grey off the play gym and into the plate glass store front. Or the hand fed Cockatiel, inexperienced in flight to clip the tip of a wing as it turned resulting in it slamming into the floor dying immediately. Or maybe the Severe Macaw being delivered to the store that was still being hand fed three times a day that literally exploded out of the carrier/brooder when the breeder dropped it and was never seen again. No way did that bird survive a winter in East Texas. In all of those scenarios clipping the bird's wings could have saved their life.

Our companion birds are also not used to flight and learning as an adult can also bring about injury as they sprain muscles, strain themselves, crack breast bones when they are unable to land properly, or have their hearts literally give out in flight because they are not used to sustained flying.

The dangers of free flight are very real. I do know people that free fly their companion birds and that's fabulous. But I certainly never had to worry about my Jenday being snatched out of the sky in front of me by a Red-tailed Hawk or flying into my sliding glass door when someone knocked unexpectedly.

Please be aware of the repercussions that free-flight can have on you and your bird. And take the necessary precautions to ensure its safety if the bird is not clipped.