My lovebird is stressing me out..

[NikkoLover]

I recently found out I am pregnant. I have a lovebird that I've had for almost a year now. He is very attached to us but I'm starting to stress out about his behavior especially now that I'm pregnant.

He is very clingy, and when we leave the room he screams and will continue to scream until we come back to the room. I try to take naps especially now that I'm pregnant and since he bites my face I have to cover my face with the blanket. Which just makes him scream until I wake up and makes it so hard to sleep.

He is used to being outside of the cage all day, starting at 7AM he is up and screaming to let him out of the cage. Then at 10PM I fight him to go back to sleep, I used to chase him for 5 minutes, now I've learned to turn off the lights and lead him to the cage.


I'm worried about how his behavior will be when the baby is here. Any tips on training him are greatly appreciated. I don't have an extra room to put him in, we live in a condo and he stays in our room.

 

[onamom]

Congrats on your pregnancy! It sounds like your little guy could use some help with independence. What does his cage set up look like? Is he interested in and does he play with toys? Have you tried offering any foraging activities?

 

[NikkoLover]

Congrats on your pregnancy! It sounds like your little guy could use some help with independence. What does his cage set up look like? Is he interested in and does he play with toys? Have you tried offering any foraging activities?

Thank you 😊
I think he has a great cage set up, I got him plenty of toys to shred, unfortunately he is uninterested. He prefers to entertain himself with everything that's not his. Like our hats, belts, ironing board...

He refuses to be in the cage, he only goes in for food, water and snacks. I have a kabob for him that I add fresh fruits and veggies to. He gets pieces of the fruits/veggies and brings then to my chest to eat lol.

I really want him to be more independent, he is super clingy. We thought about getting him a female friend, however now with the baby coming I'd rather hold off on another bird.

I'm unsure about foraging, I don't believe I've done that for him.

 

[onamom]

Thank you 😊
I think he has a great cage set up, I got him plenty of toys to shred, unfortunately he is uninterested. He prefers to entertain himself with everything that's not his. Like our hats, belts, ironing board...

He refuses to be in the cage, he only goes in for food, water and snacks. I have a kabob for him that I add fresh fruits and veggies to. He gets pieces of the fruits/veggies and brings then to my chest to eat lol.

I really want him to be more independent, he is super clingy. We thought about getting him a female friend, however now with the baby coming I'd rather hold off on another bird.

I'm unsure about foraging, I don't believe I've done that for him.

If you are able to, I would consider looking into getting a larger cage. That one looks too small in my opinion. Lots of fun stuff in there but with the tight space it seems a little crammed. I personally don't use any mirror toys as they have been known to cause territorial behavior in the cage for many birds. My advice is to try transitioning him to a larger cage now, before your baby comes, and try to get him interested in foraging. Foraging can be easy, it can just be hiding little treats in toys to get them to dig them out! I would say these things would be a start in getting him more willing to spend time in the cage.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I recently found out I am pregnant. I have a lovebird that I've had for almost a year now. He is very attached to us but I'm starting to stress out about his behavior especially now that I'm pregnant.

He is very clingy, and when we leave the room he screams and will continue to scream until we come back to the room. I try to take naps especially now that I'm pregnant and since he bites my face I have to cover my face with the blanket. Which just makes him scream until I wake up and makes it so hard to sleep.

He is used to being outside of the cage all day, starting at 7AM he is up and screaming to let him out of the cage. Then at 10PM I fight him to go back to sleep, I used to chase him for 5 minutes, now I've learned to turn off the lights and lead him to the cage.


I'm worried about how his behavior will be when the baby is here. Any tips on training him are greatly appreciated. I don't have an extra room to put him in, we live in a condo and he stays in our room.

Wow! I would think you were talking about my budgie Rocky- she's the same way, but at least I'm not about to have a baby, too! You must be pretty stressed out. I think you MUST start now putting him into his cage during the y for progressively longer periods. You can't have him flying around landing on your baby and taking a bite! Be prepared for a lot of screaming in protest. I have no idea how you can train him to "behave better" but maybe our more experiençdf

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Wow! I would think you were talking about my budgie Rocky- she's the same way, but at least I'm not about to have a baby, too! You must be pretty stressed out. I think you MUST start now putting him into his cage during the y for progressively longer periods. You can't have him flying around landing on your baby and taking a bite! Be prepared for a lot of screaming in protest. I have no idea how you can train him to "behave better" but maybe our more experiençdf

Oops.
More experienced PF members can help. Congratulations on your new baby!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

If you are able to, I would consider looking into getting a larger cage. That one looks too small in my opinion. Lots of fun stuff in there but with the tight space it seems a little crammed. I personally don't use any mirror toys as they have been known to cause territorial behavior in the cage for many birds. My advice is to try transitioning him to a larger cage now, before your baby comes, and try to get him interested in foraging. Foraging can be easy, it can just be hiding little treats in toys to get them to dig them out! I would say these things would be a start in getting him more willing to spend time in the cage.

I agree the cage is too small. It's tall, but that space is mostly not used. It should be about half as tall and twice as wide.