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Raising a Tame Lovebird

• Raising a Tame Lovebird - Part 1
• Setting Guidelines and Rules for your Lovebird -  Part 2

Lovebirds are fearless creatures that can quickly become nippy if proper socialization & guidelines are not practiced from day one.  Proper socialization is teaching and showing your lovebird how to deal with new events, new people, and new surroundings.  Setting guidelines are crucial if you expect to have a friendly companion that everyone can benefit from.  Though we tend to overlook lovebird development, it is important that a good foundation is built from the beginning. 

Lovebird Socialization

Socialization needs to begin as soon as you receive your lovebird.  Some breeders choose to start the socialization process as young chicks and continue the processes until the baby lovebird is sold.  Many breeders will expose their babies to new surroundings, new toys, new foods, and new people all before 8 – 10 weeks.  This helps them cope with change and to adapt to changes later on in life.  In a sense, this random exposure is teaching the lovebird to enjoy variety.  In the wild, lovebirds are exposed to change daily and all must perceive it as a part of life, not as something negative.  So how come many lovebirds have problems accepting change in captivity?  Because some owners are unaware of how to ease their new pet into their new surroundings and daily life; this hinders the bird from developing into a lovable pet.  Here is an example, imagine bringing home a new baby lovebird.  You become excited and spend all your time with him.  During the first six months you continually repeat this pattern until your schedule becomes busy and unfortunately, you are not able to spend as much time as you wished.  As a result, your baby, who is now a young adult, starts to scream or pull his feathers out.  He also starts to bite every time you pick him up.  What happened? 

The bird was shown or had the impression that you would be there all the time.  How so?  Because when he was new, the owner failed to teach the lovebird to play independently.  Now the lovebird, which is set in his ways, will not play by himself and only seeks the person who was once spending time with him for attention.  It’s a given fact that our lives change constantly, if proper techniques are used form day one, the lovebird will be more willing to adapt to your busy schedule.

Another example of improper socialization comes from owners who do not allow the bird to interact with all family members.  Unintentionally, they spend more time with the bird or other family members choose not to participate in dealing with the bird.  This is the wrong approach and will cause more problems down the road.  When a female lovebird reaches sexual maturity, she can chase or lash out at anyone whom she sees as a threat to her and her bonded owner.  Though males are not as prone to this, they can still bite out of jealousy.  Before an explanation is given to remedy this problem, it’s important to understand that lovebirds are hardwired to bond strongly to their mates and protect anything they perceive as a threat to their bond.  Because of this, many people run into problems and blame the lovebird.  So how can you help minimize the chance of having an intolerable lovebird?  By letting everyone in the family interact with him.  We don’t buy dogs and only let one family member interact with him—the same should apply for your lovebird. 

Lovebird Socialization tips

Here are a few tips to help point you in the right direction for a better socialized lovebird.

• Expose your lovebird to new environments.  Move the cage around every few weeks to new locations.  Take your lovebird with you to a park or to run small errands.  (Using a parrot leash is highly recommended).

• Teach your lovebird to enjoy toys and teach him to be independent.  An independent lovebird should receive an even amount of time spent with you and an even amount of time learning to play with toys.  Instead of putting a bunch of toys in your birds cage at the same time, rotate them around every week or so, like 2 or 3 at a time.  This keeps the bird curious and more interested in playing with them.

• Teach your lovebird to gobble oatmeal, cream of wheat, or hand feeding formula from a spoon.  Why?  If your lovebird ever needs to take antibiotics or medication, it can easily be done without forcing it down the bird’s beak.

• Let the lovebird try new foods daily (right away if handfed) to avoid a seed eating only lovebird. 

• Don’t respond to loud chirps or calls.  Don’t even make eye contact.  This can lead to screaming and an irritated owner.