Why are my new lovebirds afraid? How do I bond and gain their trust?

Thanks for reaching out and including photos. The difficulty is winning the trust of these small birds. Try offering treats by hand and then encouraging them to step up to gain the reward. Even using a small diameter perch to step up and then remove them from the cage. Many birds are cage protective and personalities with mellow once out of the cage. Keep all movements slow, noises quiet, and lights low. A book titled " A Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot" has some useful information. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Pico and including pictures. Individual birds with respond differently to training techniques. Being the provider of treats and playful activities can gain trust. Letting Pico see you play with the other lovebird, and then want that same experience, might help also. This is a difficult one, because not all birds are tamable. Good luck. Be persistent.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thanks for helping these guys! I would recommend you continue to try this because most of the time, it just takes time for them to get better and trust you more. The secret recipe really is patience and being consistent. I would also recommend you try giving them treats as you pet them so they start associating your contact with something positive. This should work but again it will take time. Best of luck!

Taming can take time, and doing it in several steps with a lot of patience can help. A good first step is to just offer/toss a favorite treat to both birds any time you approach their cage. Once they are used to you being around, you can then start placing your hand in the cage with the treat on it, letting them approach it and eat from your hand. Once they are comfortable with that, you can transition to petting them while offering a treat, and finally handling/asking them to step up while giving a treat. if at any time they become scared or try to get away, simply take a break and go back to the previous step once they've calmed down. It can take days to weeks depending on the bird, so patience is key!

Time and patience are key to helping your parakeets get used to you, and each individual bird may bond differently to you due to their individual personalities. If your birds have a favorite treat, you can also use that by giving it to them every time you visit their cage or interact. I'm also including an in-depth article on teaching your bird to step up which can help with the bonding process as well: https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-bird-training-how-to-train-your-bird-to-step-up/

Time, patience, and lots of treats. If you notice Curio has a favorite food, you can start by offering that favorite food only when you're interacting with him. IE, when you pet him, approach his cage, let him out, etc. This can help him to associate you with something fun/good and also make him more curious every time you come by to spend time with him. The same can also be done with toys he likes to play with. Sitting near them when he's out of the cage playing, and feeding a treat every time he comes close or shows interest in you can help teach him that you are safe to interact with and play around. If at any time Curiou becomes nervous or scared, stopping the activity and letting him calm down is best. From there, you can go back to the previous way he was OK with (IE just giving a treat from your hand but not petting) and work again from there.

Thanks for reaching out about Polie. Winning the trust of a bird requires time, to decrease stress. A book entitled "A Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot" is a good start. Trimming wings might decreased the flight potential when scared. Offering treats by hand can win trust. Good luck.