My New Lovebird an

Question
Chrys,

Thank you very much for your quick response.

Indeed Kinsey was bought at a pet shop.

We left Kinsey to explore the living room and enjoy freedom for about an hour. After we got him in, he simply ignored us (i guess he was pretty upset) and then fell asleep "like a baby" with his head on his back (cute to death) and didn't move until 9 this morning...I left him eat and then cleaned his cage. He doesn't try to hide or fly at my presence but he still moves left or right trying to "avoid" contact.

We decided to leave him free every day for at least an hour to get aquainted with the surroundings.

I truly hope it's all work in progress and my sweet baby won't be afraid of us anymore.

Thanks again.

p.s.
it's pretty hard to check on his band b/c he bites like a pitbull.
we keep repeating "no" but i guess it will take some time...




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Followup To
Question -
Hello Chris,

Three days ago I bought Kinsey - a Fisher's lovebird. My experience with birds is equally zero. Kinsey was in a cage with 4 others. First day home, K didn't wanna eat/drink water. Yesterday ate fairly well but last night K simply turned into a little vampire desperately jumping from/to each corner of the cage...like someone was trying to kill him...This morning, day 3, I woke up at the noise - same desperate "runaway" although the cage was covered ... but surprise surprise - towards the evening my little K figured how to lift up one of the side doors. So for two hours now, this what he s doing ... and he seem very committed. I was very impressed by the force of his beak...wow....he's shaken the cage ! But there's something else that worries me...noticed today (3rd day since i got him) he bites on his foot ring and "bites" on his feathers like trying to pull them out...I see and feel K extremely nervous...well Chris I have to interrupt this...as I was writing he got out!

Sincerely,
a desperate mommy.
Answer -
Hi, Camy.  Thanks for posting.

Your lovebird is behaving in typical lovebird fashion!  I'm assuming you purchased Kinsey at a pet shop?  Kinsey not eating the first day after being moved is normal.  You need to give Kinsey some time to get used to you and his new environment in your home.  He will act like this until he's more comfortable in his new surroundings.  In addition, most parrots are escape artists, so his skill at finding a way out of his cage is also quite normal.  You'll have to purchase some type of hardware (latches) for the cage doors in order to keep him inside his cage when you want him to stay inside.  

It is also common for parrots to bite on their leg bands.  However, be sure his leg band isn't too tight or otherwise causing him problems.  I no longer band my baby parrots because of problems I've experienced with leg bands.  The feather biting could be related to stress.  Some parrots resort to feather picking/plucking when they are bored or otherwise don't have enough to do to keep them mentally stimulated.  However, I believe Kinsey's feather biting at the moment is probably related to stress from his recent move or there could be other stressful things going on around him.  He's been separated from his cage mates and since birds prefer other birds to humans, I'm sure this separation is causing much anxiety.  

As far as biting goes, if Kinsey was in a pet shop for a while and/or did not have daily human interaction, he might not be very tame as a parrot would be whom was handfed and nurtured until purchased.  When in pet shops, parrots are poked at and prodded by customers to the point where they learn to hate human fingers/hands (and often times humans period)!

All in all, I'd say Kinsey's behavior at this point in time is normal.  Give him some time...how much I can't predict because each bird is different and this also depends on your skill with and knowledge of parrots.  Learn all you can about parrots, lovebirds specifically, so you'll know how to deal and work with Kinsey.

Chrys  

Answer
Hi again, Camy.  What the future might hold for you and your lovebird depends on many things.  If he wasn't handfed as a baby, he most likely isn't imprinted on humans, which means it could take quite a while to tame him down.  Visit my website if you'd like for more general information on parrots:

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

Chrys