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Taming older lovebirds

21 16:23:51

Question
I have two lovebirds who are approximately ten or eleven months old. I bought them together (but not as a breeding pair), and they have become extremely bonded to each other as expected. However, my problem is that now we are having a lot of difficulty in bonding them to us! They seem to be so distracted and focussed on each other that as of yet we have been unable to tame them to us. The female seems to be slightly tamer, letting me pick her up and handle her when I separate her from the male, however she is not affectionate or even curious about me and won't stay with me for long. I've tried holding apple pieces for her and gently scratching her but she's not interested. As for the male, I cant even hold him as he seems to hate it and struggles to get away. The main problem is that about a month after we got them, we had begun training and they were just becoming used to us and letting us pick them up without running away, but then we went on a two week holiday during which time they got no attention from the relatives we had looking after them and since we got back they are so bonded to each other that they are completely uninterested in us and the male even fears us. I would love to tame them as I feel that they would have a better quality of life if we could have them out of their cage more often and have them so that they weren't frightened of us.

Answer
Katy - The particular information you asked for can be found on my website.  This is why I didn't repeat it in my response to your post.  

Chrys
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Hi, Katy.

Birds prefer other birds to humans.  This is the problem you are faced with.  The best pet parrot is a single parrot in the home.  You are going to have great difficulty taming these birds.  It's not impossible, but will take MUCH time and patience if possible at all.  Visit my website for information on how to try to tame:

www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys