Scared Lovebird

[pinochika]

Hi there! I need some advice with my five year old lovebird. I got her 2 months ago when somebody needed to rehome her. Her old mate had passed away and she was crying for a new one. I got a 2 year old lovebird and he loves all the attention.

The guy who sold Chika (the one I am asking advise for right now) promised me that she was tame and loved attention, but when we got home with her she wasn't. She is scared of people and she is curtailed. She and my other lovebird Pino are great: they are friends and Pino really wants to help Chika to find her way and shows her how to get on the couch etc (Pino isn't curtailed, he can fly wherever he wants in the house, so I find it special he walks on the floor just for her).

But we got Chika for over two months now and she still isn't used to the people in our house, we have so much patience with her but it looks like she really is traumatized by the previous owner. (There she sat in the hallway in a little cage behind shoes on the ground).

Can someone please help us to win Chika's trust and show her we do no harm? The time they get new wing thingies is here and we won't let her get curtailed again, maybe that helps?

Thank you so much for reading and I hope, really hope someone can help us!

 

[MonicaMc]

Have you tried feeding them food and treats by hand?

 

[Cheri]

The bird may have been tame and friendly in her old home, but you are starting all over again from the beginning. You are a stranger to her and her home that she knew for 5 years has been taken away. Give her TIME. It may take months or years before she develops a bond with you. Or now that she has a bird friend, she may never bond to you.

 

[gracebowen]

I'm still working on my lovie too. She's a lot better but still will bite if I try to touch her. I can't feed her by hand. She will bite.

She will take a bath in my hands. Yesterday she only bit me once.

Yes I give her a bath knowing she will bite. She wants a bath but is still scared of hands. The funny thing is she will only take a bath in my hands.

 

[sjalfsmord]

My lovebird, Melon was aggressive towards me when I adopted him. It's been a year now. He finally trusts me, but we still have a long way to go. Lovebirds are snuggly birds but it takes it's time to gain their trust.

 

[EllenD]

Unfortunately the worst thing that you could have done was to buy her another lovebird as a mate, because now she is or already has bonded to the other lovebird, and the chance of her bonding to any human in your house now are slim to none...NEVER buy a second bird to help your first bird with anything!!! This is a very common mistake, I understand you only wanted to help, but the only time you should ever bring home a second bird is if you want the second bird for yourself, to bond to you, not for a bird you already have in your home. One of two things always happens, either they hate each other and can't be near each other at all without becoming violent and hurting each other, OR they bond very closely with each other and then their desire to bond with humans is nill...

The only thing you can do now is to have patience, work with her daily WITHOUT THE OTHER BIRD THAT SHE HAS BONDED WITH BEING IN THE SAME ROOM THAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH HER IN, and commit to spending a good amount of time each day working with her one-on-one. As already said, she had the same owner for the first 5 years of her life, and she likely would have eventually come around and bonded to you or someone in your house if you had given her the time to do so, which can take months to years to accomplish. But now it's likely that you're going to simply have a pair of bonded lovebirds...And if they are truly a female and a male for sure, then they are eventually going to start mating too, so you need to think about how you are going to handle that situation soon...