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I am amazed at how smart my little guy seems to be. I just love that little grunting noise that he makes, so cute and quiet, and I always immitate it to him. Whenever I immitate anything he does, he just sits there and watches me closely like he is paying close attention. He immitates that little grunting sound back to me and sometimes does it first because he knows that I like it! He also is able to figure out that he not supposed to be going into the tiels cage to harrass them! He still goes in-----but if he sees me get up off the couch to come over there, he comes right out before I can even get there-----he knows it's a no-no! and that I want him out of there! He also is just crazy about toys! get a new toy and you can lure him anywhere with it, just shake it and move it a bit and he comes running right over to play with it! He has full flight and I have trouble sometimes getting him back into his cage, so I use tricks to get him back in, and he gets wise to them very quickly. Can only get away with each one about two or three times and he doesn't fall for it anymore! smart little stinker!
One thing-----I don't know Pip's sex for sure, was told that they think he is a boy. Is there any behavior I can look for that might tell me if he's really a boy? He's very playful, loves to take baths, and is very social----loves people, dogs, other animals, and other birds. He is not hand tame-----but he lands alot on our heads and one time he landed on my shoulder. He seems to be getting used to my hands though---will let me touch his feet at times and lets me get close with my hands sometimes too. Can I get him hand tame with full flight or will he just keep flying away? or should I get him clipped some to slow him down-----was thinking of doing this just so I don't have such a hard time getting him back into cage. This little Pip is the funniest little bird I have ever seen-----he is so curious and adventurous, and will chirp really loud and stick his chest out like he is saying-----I am the king of this house! lol He's a little moster at times and will get into things while out, and chew on just about anything-----but how cute is he and how smart-----he really is a BIG bird in a little body-----just like they say!

I'm in the same boat as you, having a new lovebird in the house that's not totally hand trained. Wonderful time wasters aren't they!?! Speaking of, I need to get going! It's nice to hear someone else's stories! Don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I just gotta tell someone that can relate!

The first shock of getting Pip was the noise! He can be so loud at times! I am just amazed at how much personality is in this little tiny bird, how much spunk, energy, noise and curiosity.
We got him clipped today----oh I feel so bad taking him out tonight and he can't fly around like he used to! He still does ok, but this is definitely gonna slow him down a bit! I feel bad-----but I promised him I will not do it again! lol this is just to get him more used to us and to hands and maybe slow him down from all his adventures, so maybe he might spend more time with us for a while? Poor Pip! I'm sure he will be flying around like he did though in a few months!

I used to have a conure and I felt the same way. I think if the wings had been clipped on the lovebird I have she never would have escaped her previous owner. I'm hesitant on clipping her wings. I have 3 large dogs that find her a bit too interesting. Granted we never take her out when the dogs are in the house, but still. She does try to get out the front door if someone comes over. I'm not sure what to do. We have a lot of large hawks and owls where I live. I don't think she'd make it a day.

I know it's tough sometimes when it comes to clipping. I'd rather have all my birds with full flight, but what's nice about clipping is that you can clip, and then the feathers grow back so fast, and you can let them grow out afterwards. With Pip, he is not hand tame and we would like him to get used to hands------well with full flight he will just be flying away, so that would never happen----not to mention how hard it is to get him back into the cage. With my tiels, I got the first one clipped to get him tame and it worked wonders-----now his feathers are all grown out and he is tame as can be and has full flight----I have another tiel that would fly into walls at full force and get a bloody nose, so I had to clip for her safety. Remember-----clipping grows out in about three months! grows so fast! so if you clip and then change your mind about it, you can just let them grow! this is what's nice----I can give that tiel every chance to fly and not get hurt, clip if I have to, then give things another shot. Her wings are currently growing in fast and she can fly pretty good and has been doing better this time around and having some good landings---but clipping probably saved her life or from being hurt badly.