How to tame a lovebird

Question
Hi. I recently bought a lovebird from a pet store that obviously is not tame at all as it gets very nervous when my hands approach the cage. Is it possible with some effort to make it tame ? or it will remain like this for ever ?

Answer
Hi, Yiannis.  Thanks for posting!

I have to ask...why did you buy an untame lovebird if you wanted a tame bird?  

Taming may be possible, but I'm not guaranteeing anything.  This effort takes much time, patience, and knowledge on your part (you have to know what you are doing and understand parrot behavior before you can tame a parrot).  

Birds that were not handfed as babies fear fingers/hands.  In addition, from being in the pet shop, s/he most likely had lots of customer's fingers poking and prodding s/he throughout the day creating additional fear of fingers/hands.  Also, the fact that this is a new bird in your home means you have to give the bird time to get used to it's new environment and get used to you before you attempt to tame the bird.  Also realize that a bird's cage is it's personal space, it's territory, it's safety zone...your lovebird will likely try and defend this territory whenever your hands come near the cage.  Therefore, let your bird come out of it's cage on it's own in it's own time.  Once s/he is comfortable being outside it's cage, then you can start working with the bird gradually.  ALWAYS reward your bird for positive behavior, but never reward your bird for negative behavior.  It's usually helps to have the bird's flight feathers trimmed during this process so the bird cannot get away from you when it wants during the taming process.  Clipping flight feathers keeps the bird from being able to gain altitude when it flies; clipping doesn't prevent a bird from flying if the clipping is done properly.  

There's different ways you can work with your bird depending on your bird's personality and behavior.  Just take your time with your bird, allow s/he to join you in things you do around your home when you are home.  For example, when you are watching TV in the evenings, allow your bird to come out and join you on the sofa arm, etc.  When you're on your computer, allow our bird to sit close to you.  If your bird doesn't want to do these things at first, then just go about your business while talking with your bird (don't ignore your bird while doing these things).  Curiosity should get the best of your bird at some point, and s/he might come to you directly.  Then there are those birds who have to be taken into a neutral room (where s/he can't see it's cage and there are minimal distractions) and worked with one-on-one.  More information about this is on my website:

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

Come back with any additional questions.

Chrys