Handfeeding baby Lovebird advice

[Marino]

Gosh he is driving me mad today!
I am trying to discourage him flying on my hand. So every time he does this I put him in the cage of ten seconds and then let him out again. Problem is it has started getting progressively more difficult for me to get him in the cage. He'll always let me pick him up without issues, regardless of where he is, but he's started climbing up my arm whenever I try to put him in.

It is driving me mad! I open the door, he'll fly on my hand, to my head, to my shoulder. Ill put him in the cage. He'll fly on my head. He'll go in the cage. He'll fly on my hand or shoulder, stay out for a period, then back on the head. He'll go in the cage. Repeats. Any advice?

I don't want him to start viewing the cage as a punishment though. He has cottoned on to the fact that once he's on my shoulder it's considerably harder for me to remove him. So he'll fly onto my head, then straight onto my shoulder . He's also not eating very much. He's on two feeds a day, averaging about 7-8ccs a time. He never touches his fruit anymore and I rarely see him eat unless it's out of the cage with me.

 

[Zara]

So every time he does this I put him in the cage of ten seconds and then let him out again. Problem is it has started getting progressively more difficult for me to get him in the cage.

Don´t use the cage as punishment.
1. The cage is a fun place, so why is it punishment?
2. If you associate the cage with negativity, he won´t want to go in there at all.

Any advice?

Keep him active while out of the cage, don´t fill him up on treats. He will want to go in there when he is hungry and be easier to put in there when sleepy. It is good to make sure he knows he can go in and out to eat etc.
Though in saying that, I went through phases with my boys with them wanting to be out and not wanting to go back in Luckily I was patient with them and just waited until later to try again to put them back.

So he'll fly onto my head, then straight onto my shoulder

If he starts running shoulder to shoulder, lean against the wall to block the way.

He's also not eating very much. He's on two feeds a day, averaging about 7-8ccs a time. He never touches his fruit anymore and I rarely see him eat unless it's out of the cage with me.

7-8 is a good feed for a lovebird.
Have you tried offering vegetables? Mine prefer the veg, I only offer a little fruit in the mix.
Have a read of this; My Chop "Recipe"
Is he eating seed in the cage? (you can tell, by finding hulls)

 

[DoubleTake]

If you want a time out cage. It needs to be a different cage in a secluded quiet place in the home.

 

[Marino]

Don´t use the cage as punishment.
1. The cage is a fun place, so why is it punishment?
2. If you associate the cage with negativity, he won´t want to go in there at all.


Keep him active while out of the cage, don´t fill him up on treats. He will want to go in there when he is hungry and be easier to put in there when sleepy. It is good to make sure he knows he can go in and out to eat etc.
Though in saying that, I went through phases with my boys with them wanting to be out and not wanting to go back in Luckily I was patient with them and just waited until later to try again to put them back.


If he starts running shoulder to shoulder, lean against the wall to block the way.



7-8 is a good feed for a lovebird.
Have you tried offering vegetables? Mine prefer the veg, I only offer a little fruit in the mix.
Have a read of this; My Chop "Recipe"
Is he eating seed in the cage? (you can tell, by finding hulls)

Thanks for the tips! Every now and then I'll catch him eating a bit, but not a lot. He has a salad prepared every morning: spinach, apple, carrot and berries. He does eat it occasionally, but not in a meaningful quantity. It's cut into very small pieces.

Yes! The cage issue is starting to cause some problems. He'll come out for a bit, but then I have to go to check on something cooking, or someone will ring the door. Then comes 5 minutes of trying to get him back in. Then I try to leave the room with him out the cage, but he sees me approaching the door and flies to me knowing I won't leave the room with him on my shoulder.

I've added lots of foraging toys, shredded paper in loo rolls etc for him to destroy. He shows zero interest. if I'm not with him he'll sing quietly (if I leave music on, which is nice). Or he'll just wait by the door. I don't feel all that comfortable with that...

 

[Zara]

Then I try to leave the room with him out the cage, but he sees me approaching the door and flies to me

My birds, especially Sydney, do this. I don´t let them land on me while I´m trying to leave. Then as they are on the other side of the room, I quickly leave but don´t close the door all the way, I leave it a good 20 cm open at first then close slowly (to avoid any serious accidents).

I've added lots of foraging toys, shredded paper in loo rolls etc for him to destroy. He shows zero interest.

Time to try something new. Some are more playful than others, and all have their own tastes in toys. He may enjoy something with a bell on it, or a small plastic kitten ball with a bell inside, or a jingly toy he can pull around and make sounds, or some C-clips in a chain, or a balsa toy (it´s very soft wood), popsicle sticks are a hit with most of my birds, as is palm leaf type toys (planet pleasures type shreddables).

spinach, apple, carrot and berries.

Try to incorporate some dark greens; boy choy, swiss chard, broccoli, other dark green leafy veg. Peppers are great to give too. Spinach must be given in moderation or it can impede calcium absorbtion. Carrots are good, so are berries. Apples don´t have much nutrtional value, but a little amount is good for variety.
I´m not sure if I posted this link, but it is extremely helpful;

My Chop "Recipe"

I see a lot of requests in bird groups and forums all over the web asking for a good recipe for chop. It's hard to give a definite or correct answer to that question because there simply isn't any right way to do it. (Chop, for those who don't know, is simply a name for "salad" or "mash" as some...

www.lilmonstersbirdtoys.com

 

[Marino]

My birds, especially Sydney, do this. I don´t let them land on me while I´m trying to leave. Then as they are on the other side of the room, I quickly leave but don´t close the door all the way, I leave it a good 20 cm open at first then close slowly (to avoid any serious accidents).

Today he was pining for food. Going crazy. He had 8ccs in the morning, but honestly it doesn't look like he has eaten anything else over the course of the day, apart from a bit of millet when he's been out with me. I came back from the shops to let him out for a bit... that was a mistake. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to escape the room so I could prepare his food. I was running around like a madman trying to avoid him landing on me to get out the door. Then I tried giving him millet whilst slowly lowering him into the cage. He knew exactly what I was doing! In the end I held him, walked out the door, closed it a bit, then quickly placed him outside the room before closing the door so much to only allow my hand back through. Stressful! He's too smart for his own good!

Time to try something new. Some are more playful than others, and all have their own tastes in toys. He may enjoy something with a bell on it, or a small plastic kitten ball with a bell inside, or a jingly toy he can pull around and make sounds, or some C-clips in a chain, or a balsa toy (it´s very soft wood), popsicle sticks are a hit with most of my birds, as is palm leaf type toys (planet pleasures type shreddables).

I remember telling you he was independent... that did not last too long! He's like velcro! He has all sorts of toys, bells, ladders, shreddable paper toys, wooden toys to chew. None of them are as pleasurable to him as my ear, apparently.

Try to incorporate some dark greens; boy choy, swiss chard, broccoli, other dark green leafy veg. Peppers are great to give too. Spinach must be given in moderation or it can impede calcium absorbtion. Carrots are good, so are berries. Apples don´t have much nutrtional value, but a little amount is good for variety.
I´m not sure if I posted this link, but it is extremely helpful;

My Chop "Recipe"

I see a lot of requests in bird groups and forums all over the web asking for a good recipe for chop. It's hard to give a definite or correct answer to that question because there simply isn't any right way to do it. (Chop, for those who don't know, is simply a name for "salad" or "mash" as some...

www.lilmonstersbirdtoys.com

Yes, that is helpful, thanks for that. I'll prepare a batch, and give it a go. He always has veg available to him, but he has taken to using the veg container in his cage as a bed! I'll buy him a flat platform to rest on in his cage. He eats a bit of it, but he's definitely not had any of it today.

His food is Hari Tropimix for small parrots. It's pellets, dried fruit, seeds and grains. I crush it before giving it to him because he definitely wouldn't be able to eat them otherwise, they're far too hard. When he was younger I used to soak them, but if anything that seems to put him off. He'll play with the food, but it's rare I see him break it down. It usually falls out of his mouth after a few minutes and he forgets about it!

EDIT: Just read a post above where I said I was trying to discourage him from flying on hand. I meant HEAD, not HAND.

 

[Zara]

If he is just eating the formula and you are offering all of these adult foods, don´t worry too much. He is eating and that is the important things, he will make the switch in his own time when he´s ready.
I don´t remember if I asked already, does he like sprigs of millet?

My birds do not really like dried fruit, they tend to throw it out.

 

[Marino]

If he is just eating the formula and you are offering all of these adult foods, don´t worry too much. He is eating and that is the important things, he will make the switch in his own time when he´s ready.
I don´t remember if I asked already, does he like sprigs of millet?

My birds do not really like dried fruit, they tend to throw it out.

Yes, yes, he loves millet.

That's funny, because he goes for the dried fruit immediately! I just get the impression his beak isn't yet hard enough to eat seeds and pellets.

 

[Zara]

isn't yet hard enough to eat seeds and pellets.

It should be, especially for seeds. You can offer a small dish of water by the side of the pellets, some birds like to dunk before eating

 

[Marino]

It should be, especially for seeds. You can offer a small dish of water by the side of the pellets, some birds like to dunk before eating

He has a dish with water at the bottom of his cage in case he wants a bath, in addition to two water dispensers in the cage although I have never seen him drink from them, nor use the bath.

He does drink in the mornings though. When I clean out the bottom of the cage he'll come with me into the kitchen, jump off my shoulder into the trays as they're being rinsed and bathe and drink. He'll fly back on me when he's done! It's become my favourite part of my mornings!

He's been eating a bit more today, but it's rare he'll eat inside the cage. I reckon I'll have to buy another tub of nutribird baby food! Even if I bet I'll only get through a smidge of it before he's done weaning!

 

[Marino]

SO... he's still consuming about 8cc in the morning and 8ccs at night. Always at the same time and he begs for it.

My question is. Normally he will take 4ccs, then fly onto my shoulder. He won't come down for the food, but he will beg for it when I bring the syringe closer to him so I end up getting him to step up and then place him back on the table to resume feeding.

Should I stop doing this?

I remember, even when he was very young he'd take 1cc, then walk to the edge of the table only to be put back to the centre to be fed again (rinse and repeat until the crop was full ), so this isn't that unusual.

but should I start tapering down feedings? I don't have scales and haven't been weighing him, but he certainly hasn't noticeably lost any weight at all since reducing to 2 feedings per day. He does go for food after being fed, maybe he would eat more if I didn't fill him with baby food so much in the morning and evening? I'll restructure his cage on Sunday to try to "lead" him more to his feeding dishes. He tends to eat more outside of the cage than in, which I want to avoid.

He must be about 8 weeks old now.

At the moment his food is seeds, pellets and dried fruit. He eats a lot of millet when out the cage for training purposes. I also hide millet around the cage for stimulation when I can't be with him. He doesn't touch fruit and veg anymore which is a shame. He will actively flee from spinach . "Chop" usually gets pooed on. Should I - for the time being - offer him a seed mix? Or could that just create more problems down the road?

 

[Marino]

Here's a very wet Marino after his morning bath! He literally puts his head under the running tap...

 

[Zara]

You could reduce feedings to 6-7CC.
If he is eating the pellets, don´t worry too much about the chop, but keep offering it. You can sprinkñle a little quinoa or millet on top,, I sprinkle sesamo.
Love his deep black feet!

 

[Marino]

You could reduce feedings to 6-7CC.
If he is eating the pellets, don´t worry too much about the chop, but keep offering it. You can sprinkñle a little quinoa or millet on top,, I sprinkle sesamo.
Love his deep black feet!

I ordered nutriberries. He devours them! It seems he's just not fond of his other pellets. Which pellets do you feed your birds?

 

[Zara]

I use Hagen tropican, and Psittacus.

Jaime and Aldora eat the hagen,

Gisli, Sydney and Adelie eat the psittacus

Nuba and Lapis eat either, but not a lot. They are good veggie eaters though.

 

[Marino]

I’ve ordered some of the tropical pellets, and lots more nutriberries!
Today was his first day on one feeding. I usually feed him once at 11am then again in the evening. This morning he never begged for food, and I had to be out for 4 hours or so come 12 so I just left it at that. He seemed OK.

The only concern was his poo was very dry once I returned. He has 2 water dispensers in his cage AND a big metal dish at the bottom for bathing but I have never seen him touch water in the cage. I don’t think he has yet figured out what the water dispensers do! I offered water once he got out the cage and he took it.

Also! It is slowly getting more and more difficult to get him in of the cage. Honestly today was very annoying. I spent about an hour with him in the morning, then a good 2 hours straight once I got back but getting him back in took 15 mins or so. In the end I had to take off my t shirt with him perched on my shoulder, and then kind of put part of the t shirt into the cage which covered the door.

I am thinking about no longer offering him any food outside the cage unless it’s a bit of millet for rewards. Up until now I always put lots of food by my side whenever he’s with me, which I guess eliminates any need for him to ever return to the cage. He has never just chosen to return to his cage.

edit: in the cage, not out.

 

[Zara]

He has 2 water dispensers in his cage AND a big metal dish at the bottom for bathing but I have never seen him touch water in the cage.

You could spend some time near the cage, dip your finger in the water then gently touch his beak so a little goes in. Do it once or twice every now and then, he will pick it up quite quickly.

A few treats, or just little pieces of new adult foods are good to give out of the cage, but his main food can stay in the cage

 

[Marino]

Today he flew away! Out an open door! I completely forgot I left the kitchen door open (it opens to a balcony). He darted out of it the moment he noticed it was open.

I went onto the balcony but couldn't see him. Absolutely no sign of him at all. I rushed back inside to get my glasses, and then returned to the balcony. Still no sight of him. A minute later I heard a faint call. I look down and he was about 40 metres across the street! Flying about. I didn't think he'd be capable of flying such a distance. I started whistling, which he heard and began his fly back but didn't quite have the strength to fly back up to my balcony. Instead he perched on my neighbor's windowsill. My neighbor came to the his balcony, probably wondering what all the whistling was about. And panicked I said (in absolutely awful italian) "open your window and get him!". He couldn't see the bird from where he was though so must have had absolutely no idea what I was on about. I put my hand out "Marino vieni!". And he flew back to me.

I managed to get back inside and thank goodness he's back! Absolutely fine! But no more adventures! Good God I can't believe I was that stupid. He must've been gone for 5 minutes or so.

So, so so so lucky! And thank goodness he responds to being called! Those hours of training every day saved his life.

 

[Ali]

Today he flew away! Out an open door! I completely forgot I left the kitchen door open (it opens to a balcony). He darted out of it the moment he noticed it was open.

I went onto the balcony but couldn't see him. Absolutely no sign of him at all. I rushed back inside to get my glasses, and then returned to the balcony. Still no sight of him. A minute later I heard a faint call. I look down and he was about 40 metres across the street! Flying about. I didn't think he'd be capable of flying such a distance. I started whistling, which he heard and began his fly back but didn't quite have the strength to fly back up to my balcony. Instead he perched on my neighbor's windowsill. My neighbor came to the his balcony, probably wondering what all the whistling was about. And panicked I said (in absolutely awful italian) "open your window and get him!". He couldn't see the bird from where he was though so must have had absolutely no idea what I was on about. I put my hand out "Marino vieni!". And he flew back to me.

I managed to get back inside and thank goodness he's back! Absolutely fine! But no more adventures! Good God I can't believe I was that stupid. He must've been gone for 5 minutes or so.

So, so so so lucky!

You are very lucky! Remember, if in doubt, always close every door!

 

[Marino]

You are very lucky! Remember, if in doubt, always close every door!

I usually do! I was an absolute idiot this morning! I am still in shock! I was certain he was gone forever for those few minutes when he was nowhere to be seen.