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Handfeeding baby Lovebird advice

Ali

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Not an idiot, just had a moment! We all do!
 

Zara

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Quite the adventure!

You are extremely lucky. Lovebirds can be quite stubborn, lucky he is still a young bird and more likely to as asked :)

Good God I can't believe I was that stupid.
We have all had some sort of close call. It is a reminder to be extra careful, becuase it only takes a second for something bad to happen.

I´m so happy Marino came back! Don´t beat yourself up too bad! :hug9:
 
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Marino

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Quite the adventure!

You are extremely lucky. Lovebirds can be quite stubborn, lucky he is still a young bird and more likely to as asked :)


We have all had some sort of close call. It is a reminder to be extra careful, becuase it only takes a second for something bad to happen.

I´m so happy Marino came back! Don´t beat yourself up too bad! :hug9:
yes! Extremely lucky!

do you have any suggestions on how to teach him to leave the shoulder when I request it? Honestly millet has lost its appeal with things like that... he much prefers being with me to food so I can’t really reward him stepping off me effectively.

what approach do you take with your birds?

i ask because getting him back in the cage is becoming horrible. It can take upwards of half an hour and that’s simply not sustainable.
 

Ali

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Have you ever tried nutriberries as a new treat? Might work for a little bit at least!
 

Marino

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Have you ever tried nutriberries as a new treat? Might work for a little bit at least!
Nutriberries are his staple food! I ended up ordering 2kg of them. He eats them, pushing them about and ripping them apart also entertains him. I supplement that with some Tropican pellets that Zara recommended but not sure how much of them he eats. He puts them in his mouth then flings them. He also has some dried fruit and normal seeds. I'll give him fresh fruit occasionally, but anything green he actively flees from so still need to work on that one.

The problem is, no food can match his need to be with me. He will come to me on command. He will also get off me on command if I put my hand on a surface. He will also come off my shoulder on command but only when he knows its not to put him in the cage. I have no idea, but he just KNOWS. I then removed my t shirt as he can't grip my shoulder without. He was livid. He now knows that a T-shirt-less me is a "me" trying to cage him.

Now I can remove him from my shoulder with my hand, but as soon as my hand approaches the cage he'll fly back to the shoulder. rinse and repeat. What concerns me is once he is older he may start biting to stop my hand trying to remove him from the shoulder.

Today I only managed to get him back in the cage as he perched on my ipad. I promptly tilted it into the cage door and shut it behind him. But really, every day he is becoming more and more resistant to it, and I can imagine it becoming a serious problem down the line.
 

Zara

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i ask because getting him back in the cage is becoming horrible.
I have found that my boys are much harder to get back in their cages than my girls... but also I found they would go through this sorta stage where they would give me the runaround, as they got older they seemed to stop doing it, but every now and then my Sydney gives me the run around. I have had to learn to be patient with that, and to back off. So I make sure I have the time to have him out, factoring in that he may give me a hard time getting back in his house afterwards. If there is an emergency and I need to go and he is giving me a hard time, I take him to my spare bathroom (it´s only 2mx2m, loo seat down) and then I get a hold of him and walk back and put him in his house. I don´t like doing that but if theres an emergency I will. I have used this when my boyfriend smashed a glass once, also I took Nube in there recently to check out some blood I saw on him but I couldn´t look in my living room because he would just fly away, I also used it to inspect a blackbird fledgling I found after a cat got him.
I usually can get all my birds back in their homes by removing food sources a good hour before. They will either go in looking for food or will happily be put in.

not sure how much of them he eats
If he´s not eating them, try another food. Not all birds like the same pellets. I have some that won´t touch the tropican, others love it.


I'll give him fresh fruit occasionally, but anything green he actively flees from so still need to work on that one.
Try veggies. Specifically pumpkin, red/orange peppers, a couple of pieces of corn, carrots, sweet potato (the orange one).
Give peas a go, I know you say about green , but the shape may just get him. Same with broccoli.

but only when he knows its not to put him in the cage. I have no idea, but he just KNOWS.
I swear my birds know that too :lol:

He was livid. He now knows that a T-shirt-less me is a "me" trying to cage him.
Hang around with no shirt on more. This way he won´t associate you being topless with being put back in his cage.

Are you giving him a reward?
When you put him back in his house, be sure to offer some sort of incentive. A treat.. a new toy.. a veggie bowl..something that makes him want to go abck in his cage to see what you give him. Switch it up to keep him interested so he cannot decide whether he wants to go back in based on XYZ reward.
Apply this same technique to your millet treat. Don´t just reward millet. Offer a sunflower seed, a small piece of almond, a small piece of dehydrated fruit, a small piece of cereal etc. Mix it up, don´t always give the same treat or he will start to make decisions based on whether he wants a piece of millet or not. Not only will the surprise keep him interested, it will be driven by curiosity, because a lovebird just needs to know everything, they cannot handle the curiosity so he will come, whether he wants the treat or not because he needs to know.
 

Marino

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I have found that my boys are much harder to get back in their cages than my girls... but also I found they would go through this sorta stage where they would give me the runaround, as they got older they seemed to stop doing it, but every now and then my Sydney gives me the run around. I have had to learn to be patient with that, and to back off. So I make sure I have the time to have him out, factoring in that he may give me a hard time getting back in his house afterwards. If there is an emergency and I need to go and he is giving me a hard time, I take him to my spare bathroom (it´s only 2mx2m, loo seat down) and then I get a hold of him and walk back and put him in his house. I don´t like doing that but if theres an emergency I will. I have used this when my boyfriend smashed a glass once, also I took Nube in there recently to check out some blood I saw on him but I couldn´t look in my living room because he would just fly away, I also used it to inspect a blackbird fledgling I found after a cat got him.
I usually can get all my birds back in their homes by removing food sources a good hour before. They will either go in looking for food or will happily be put in.
Hmmm, so it's OK to occasionally hold him to restrict his wings? What about putting a thumb over his feet, is that OK? I've avoided doing both of those things because I don't want him becoming aversive to my hands, but it I did it it would certainly make life easier! Removing food sources is something I should do. However he's usually out for about an hour at a time. I had this idealised vision of me being able to use my computer in the same room as him when hes out the cage... that is just impossible. He'll climb on the computer, try to rip up the keys blah blah blah. I can't use the ipad because if I touch the screen he has to eat my fingers. I can;t even use my phone, he'll fly on it and try to rip the case apart. So I have to dedicate about an hour at a time to him... and only him. I'm hoping he will calm down a bit as he ages because my life would be much easier if i could get something done with him around.
If he´s not eating them, try another food. Not all birds like the same pellets. I have some that won´t touch the tropican, others love it.
He's expressed more interest in them than the other brand I had! I might remove the nutriberries one day and ONLY leave that in the cage and see what he does, or slowly reduce the number of nutriberries and seeds.

Try veggies. Specifically pumpkin, red/orange peppers, a couple of pieces of corn, carrots, sweet potato (the orange one).
Give peas a go, I know you say about green , but the shape may just get him. Same with broccoli.
Peas are the spawn of satan to him. He is terrified of them. Very bizarre. I definitely need to try broccoli though.


Are you giving him a reward?
When you put him back in his house, be sure to offer some sort of incentive. A treat.. a new toy.. a veggie bowl..something that makes him want to go abck in his cage to see what you give him. Switch it up to keep him interested so he cannot decide whether he wants to go back in based on XYZ reward.
Apply this same technique to your millet treat. Don´t just reward millet. Offer a sunflower seed, a small piece of almond, a small piece of dehydrated fruit, a small piece of cereal etc. Mix it up, don´t always give the same treat or he will start to make decisions based on whether he wants a piece of millet or not. Not only will the surprise keep him interested, it will be driven by curiosity, because a lovebird just needs to know everything, they cannot handle the curiosity so he will come, whether he wants the treat or not because he needs to know.
I have tried rewarding him, but once he's in the cage he won't take anything. He will fly around frantically and climb the walls. He calms down after a few minutes. He doesn't scream for me (thankfully)... likely because I've never responded to it.

I'll definitely try mixing up the rewards!
 

Zara

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so it's OK to occasionally hold him to restrict his wings?
If there is an emergency. Like my examples - 1. there was a smashed glass on the floor 2. there was blood on the bird and I needed to see what was going on 3. there was a bird attacked by a cat and I needed to know if it was injured
Obviously it is not great for a relationship which is why I usually just ride out the bird not wanting to go back in their house and try again a little while later (this is the best option).
It is the same as toweling/using a fabric to catch the bird. They really are not good ways to get a bird back in the cage. It should only be done in emergency situations because it will likely damage trust over time.

What about putting a thumb over his feet, is that OK?
I do not know about this. It is not something I have ever done.

Removing food sources is something I should do.
Yea, a hungry bird is way more likely to return to the cage.

I had this idealised vision of me being able to use my computer in the same room as him when hes out the cage... that is just impossible. He'll climb on the computer, try to rip up the keys blah blah blah. I can't use the ipad because if I touch the screen he has to eat my fingers. I can;t even use my phone, he'll fly on it and try to rip the case apart.
Well.. I bought a little play stand (don´t you have the same one? I think I saw you post a picture of it) to try to focus some attention over there. For a long time they weren´t interested, but some seem to enjoy it now. My youngest is just happy shredding my mousemat which is annoying. I have objects placed all over it to try stop him, sometimes I remove it completely. But he loves to run along the keyboard and push himself under my hand while I´m typing, or sleep on the keyboard, or press buttons and delete all the text.

because my life would be much easier if i could get something done with him around.
Give the play stand a go. Attach toys to it, and put foot trays and treats in the tray. See if it entertains him. Make sure the stand is somewhat close to you

He is terrified of them. Very bizarre. I definitely need to try broccoli though.
If he is scared of peas, the be sure to chop the florettes down so it is not a giant broccoli devil

I have tried rewarding him, but once he's in the cage he won't take anything.
Try setting up a designated treat area. a special bowl that is for his treat. not a bowl for regular foods etc.
Set up the bowl and leave it empty all the time. But when you put him in the cage, drop the treat in the bowl, be if edible or a small toy, or foraging activity. At first he may ignore it... but curiosity will kick in and over time hopefully he will be more accepting of his ¨reward¨ and will run and wait by the bowl :)
It is important to have the treat ready and drop it in the bowl directly after putting Marino back in his house.
 

Marino

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In the beginning of September I'll be going on holiday for a week.

I have two options:
1. Leave Marino with someone. She is very busy and I don't think he would leave the cage during that week, but he would be in the cage I have for him.
2. Bring him with me, but he would be in a very small cage for a week. Certainly well below ideal requirements... HOWEVER I would be able to have him out the cage for a few hours a day.

Which do you think would be preferable? The journey in the car would only be an hour, and he wouldn't be away from me which I'm sure he'd appreciate. I just hate the idea of him being in a tiny cage, but the car will certainly not accommodate for anything larger!
 

Zara

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I would leave him at home and get someone to look in on him and feed/clean/water etc. He will be ok for a week in his cage. Prep some foraging activities and instruct the person to put a few in a day. You could leave an instruction sheet, what to feed and when, and what toys/activities to add in and when. Add the phone number for the vet to the sheet (just in case).

I say this because if you are going on holiday, you don´t know what sort of plans you will have and Marino could end up being taken along and not see you as much as you intended to. Plus he would be in a small cage all day in a strange place while you are out sightseeing.
 

Marino

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The vegetable problem is improving! Cauliflower greens! When more greens come back in season I'll get them!

As for the holiday... sightseeing won't be problem. I can have a structured day as it's just a villa by the sea. I can come and see Marino on a schedule. As I said there is someone available to pop in for 10 mins a day to change food, water and clean the cage. I'm just terrified of something going wrong! (not sure what could but... yeah...). I don't like the idea of leaving him.
 

LunaLovebird

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I have found that my boys are much harder to get back in their cages than my girls
This was my experience with Anakin also. Usually he was very well behaved if I needed him to go in, but if he didn't want to it was basically impossible. If it was night I could turn the lights off and get him that way, but several times I just had to leave him out. In the house I lived in when I got him he was more or less cage free, except at night (my brother was always home so I didn't have to worry too much). He was extremely predictable and well mannered, so I didn't usually have to be concerned about him getting into trouble. Provided he had a sunny place to sit, he would be fine. In our last house he had a favourite windowsill that got a lot of afternoon sun, but it was too high up for anyone to reach. If he was there and didn't want to come down, there was no way you could get him, and he could be there for hours. Luna will sometimes give me the run around if she wants more out time with me. Worst case with her, I get her to step up and distract her by feeding her treats while I move her in. Sometimes I just have to leave the whole stick in there.

The vegetable problem is improving! Cauliflower greens! When more greens come back in season I'll get them!

As for the holiday... sightseeing won't be problem. I can have a structured day as it's just a villa by the sea. I can come and see Marino on a schedule. As I said there is someone available to pop in for 10 mins a day to change food, water and clean the cage. I'm just terrified of something going wrong! (not sure what could but... yeah...). I don't like the idea of leaving him.
You. could get a camera to watch him remotely. I got one for Luna after Ani passed because I was having a lot of anxiety over leaving her alone, and I've found it to be a great help.
 
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