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Raising
a Tame Lovebird (Part 1)
(Socialization
Part 1)
(Setting
Guidelines and Rules 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 begining.
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.
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.
-
Let other people interact with your parrot. Let
them offer treats and allow them to interact with him when you are
not around. This helps to better produce well rounded parrots
that are less prone to jealousy and less timid around people.
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