advice on hand taming blue masked lovebird

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hi there. i just acquired a baby blue masked lovebird and would like some advice on handtaming. i have been handling him 2x's daily for 20 minute sessions. he(or she) will perch on my finger for that time but is still too skittish for me to attempt step up command or even touch. any advice. he's about 3-4 months old and actually pretty good for a petsmart bird. thanks

Since you've only had this bird for a short time, I think you're doing wonderful. It is hard to hand tame any bird, especially a lovebird. It takes time and patience. You have to teach the bird to not be afraid of you and to trust you and that takes time.

Keep doing what you're doing, play w/the bird and offer it treats when it stays on your hand. I use millet as a treat. Most birds and lovies in particular love this. Are his/her wings clipped? If they aren't, clip them or have them clipped. A bird doesn't like to be in the floor and will more than likely accept anything, even your hand, to help him get off the floor.

On the cages of the Petsmarts here it says, "parent raised lovebirds". Did it say that on the cage you bought your lovie out of? If so, they are harder to tame but it's not impossible and from what you've posted, you're well on your way to having a sweet, tame lovie. How about some pictures of your new bird?

Lovebirds make wonderful pets. I raise peachfaced lovebirds and handfeed all the babies.

Here are a few pics of some of mine. The one in my hand is one of my pets, Wilma. The rest are some of the babies I've raised this year.

Karen they are adorable!!!
Many people have more success if they hand tame in shorter periods of time; having your bird out with you and having it try to step up onto your finger several times a day would be a good start.

there was no notation on the card if it was parent raised or hand raised. i'm going to assume parent raised. it's kinda of funky looking because as i said before, i was told it was a blue masked lovebird but he's black and gray. even the new feathers coming in are staying that color. his wings were clipped when i got him but it was a bad job and he began picking at them. so i'm waiting for them to come in fully and then clip them again. he's been good about the picking lately. now how do i work on the step up command when he won't even let me move my fingers near him? if i move he flies away and runs for his life. here's a pic by the way.

That little guy is called a double dark blue masked lovebird. Quite a mouthful, huh?

You can't work on the step up command until he is no longer afraid of your hands. This will take some time and he may never be unafraid of your hands. Keep holding him and try to make him see that you're not going to hurt him. He will eventually seek you out to be friends with but, again, it will take time.

My first peachfaced lovebird, Greenie, is like that. He loves me, will fly to me, play on my back, shoulders, steal earrings, chew hair, run down my arms, play on the table in front of me but if he even thinks I may touch him with my hand he freaks out and flies to my shoulder and hides under my hair. If I catch him in my hand, then he screams bloody murder. He is terrified of hands. He was parent raised and I bought him from an ad in the paper. He had fledged the week before I bought him so he was very young but still not hand raised. I tried & tried to make him hand tame but I could not do it. He's now 5 y/o.

Keep posing updates and good luck.