my heart is broke..

[Mare]

Come on folks..what the hell happened?! Seriously? I'm in the dark..Does no one have something to say?! I'm going to tell you about my semi-amazing day with my silly/stupid/pain in the butt/totally frustrating/loving/fantastic and fascinating birds!

Chip the cockatiel, not cage bound, has a place in my heart even though he won't let me touch him,,I know he wants to be close to me and could one day love me :). I really enjoy this kind of energy that is not so needy, not so asking of attention. Sassy is needy and this is ok, birds in a cage have to have attention from us..Sassy has to be put back in her cage when she gets aggressive. Such a bummer :(. She is very territorial when she is out of her cage with Tim :(. Amigo is outside, at the moment, and I will try and lure him in momentarily, supper is being served!

Got to go! Let's see some more energy!! :th_chickendance:

[PlaxMacaws]

I'm here, Mare... just watching the moss grow :numbness:

[Mare]

Hey, you!! Shut up! There is life out there, life that can support! Come on, folks!

[2birds]

Sorry guys, there just isn't much going on around here. Unless you want to hear about the retards that I spend time with at my job. They are quite funny though, and I do love them. :)
I guess I'm spending more time doing research on african greys as the time is approaching that my baby comes home. I found this great journal written by a man in the east. I will share it on a different section.

I'm going to buy a couple of harness'. One for the grey and one for Lilliput. She is getting so loving with me and I can touch her just about anywhere now. I think it would be a good time to introduce the harness to her. I'm sure she will initially view it as a bird eating snake but hopefully she will get used to it.
Her small area of plucked feathers on her leg is filling in and no more barbed feathers on her wing. I hope that means that she is happier in this environment than she was before.
I have no idea of where she came from or what her story is. I only know that I was told that she is around five. For all I know she could be two or fifty.

Mare, Clover the Alexandrine is kind of like your Chip but Clover will ride around on me. He just doesn't like hands. I can actually pet him with my face, just NO HANDS!! lol I'm good with that. He will get on my hand but it has to be a certain way. It has to be the back of my hand. No palm up or no fingers. LOL By the way, he's not mad at me anymore for the in house shower.

Tony, it may seem like a three toed sloth right now but it will pick up. Don't worry, use thoughts for positive energy.

[Mare]

That's the spirit, Lori! Yeah, There is something about the hands.. When I'm at Sassy's cage, Chip will fly over and get as close to my face as he can. I talk to him and tell him what a pretty bird he is and he just loves this,, the moment ends if I dare to pet him and that's ok :) I love him anyways!

Happy to hear that Lilliputs is coming around, great news! I, nor Tim, ever had good luck with getting a harness on Sassy but she IS pretty special :). Tim actually got it on her, one day, then had a total catastrophe trying to get it off! She will NEVER let that happen again!!

[plax]

There is something about the hands.."Hands are the grabbers... they have tentacles called "fingers" with minds of their own! I love my human, BUT I must stay away from those grabbing parts at all cost!!" :th_shocked3:

[Mare]

Do you think it has something to do with a bad memory, something they can't get over from past experience? Hmm.. Maybe it's more like instinct? I still have hope that one day Chip will let me help him with those pin feathers!

[2birds]

I would think that it would be a little of both Mare. Probably instinct at first, but then they either learn that hands are gentle and ok or they learn that they are not, depending on what kind of hands that they encounter initially.

[PlaxMacaws]

I agree with Lori.

[jtbirds]

Mare I'm still around, I haven't wrote a blog post because no one is supporting them but a few. I put a lot of effort into them and would like to see more active suggestions/discussion on them. The stories here are great guys! hope everyone is well and i;m still around:).

[kendrafitz]

I'm here!! Sorry for being AWOL this week. Hoping to be on more next week. :)

[Mare]

Keep it up, Justin! Your blogs are wonderful highlights of my day, thank you so much!

[coltfire]

Hey mare im here just not active as not well,my flock is still growing even tho I find it hard to even look after them atm , thanks to my sister for all the help of late. I will try and be a little more active.

[2birds]

Hope you feel better soon Steve.

[spiritbird]

Mare do you have a photo of Chip? Best if not in a cage. How is he doing now?

[Lady]

Oh I would like to know more about the mystery of the hands. I think it might be because they move so quickly. Lady use to step on to my wrist, and I'm not real sure why she started hesitating except for the time she was in a bad way with a toy and we had to help her out before she was severely hurt :(. She has no problem taking food from my hands and she will allow me to pet her head, neck and beak, but still won't step up if I ask her. We're working on it almost daily and someday I believe she will.

Mare, dose Chip take food directly from your hands?

[Lady]

Justin, I would LOVE to read a new blog from you. I always thought it would be cool if you had a live streaming camera at your rescue. We could all watch them as they come and go to their new forever homes :D~

[Mare]

Chip is doing well, Dianne. He's a happy bird just doesn't like hands near him. He's free to fly anywhere, his cage door is always open and his favorite place to hang is on top of Sassy's cage. He's very vocal and loves to whistle, we've been working on Dixie, he's got part of it down! My son built him a platform on top of Sass's cage that always has fresh millet sprays for him to munch. I also feed him his brown rice and veggies up there, his seed and water is in his cage.

I don't know what the scoop is about hands. We've had Chip about a year and a half. My brother was visiting my dad, in 29 Palms, CA, sitting on the patio, eating tortilla chips and this cockatiel flew onto his shoulder (very hungry) from out of nowhere wanting some of my brother's chip!, hence his name :). Long story short, Tim and I brought Chip home with us.

He will fly onto my shoulder, likes to be near my face and glasses when I'm near Sassy's cage, will take quick little nibbles of food from my fingers but backs away quickly. We tried to find his home, in 29 Palms, before we brought him back with us, had no luck, so I don't know any of his previous history. I don't know why he's so skittish about hands, he just is.

[Lady]

Wouldn't it be nice if they just knew how much we just want to do the best for them. If we could just tell them that we'd be happy to give them a good scratch and a soft cuddle :parrot024: whenever they want it.

[Minamommy]

Sorry guys I have been super busy working and when I don't I'm hanging out with Mina who has decided to pick her leg and chest. I adore spending time with her and learn something new everyday about her selfless love.


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[spiritbird]

Mare Is Chip still hand shy? I believe once a bird is in fear of human hands it is ingrained. I have this issue with both Linnies still.
Lots and lots of millet tries to no avail.

[Lady]

I have been working with Lady for months on getting her to step up and I am currently at a stale mate with her only choosing to step with one foot, thus still not getting to take her out of her cage or a 1/4 of an inch from her cage. I'm trying to keep at it by moving the motivating pistachio just a little further away but it's not working. She will just back away. This being said when she comes out on her own to get treats that I will just put on the area where I'm sitting and not offering them to her by my hand, I have had success getting her to use both feet on occasion. I'm not understanding what the difference is to her???

Anyone have any insite on this?

[Robyn]

Mare Is Chip still hand shy? I believe once a bird is in fear of human hands it is ingrained. I have this issue with both Linnies still.
Lots and lots of millet tries to no avail.

Even though Carina has to be cage bound for the next 2 weeks I ended quarantine yesterday and discovered ifhe sees Riley step or or rreceive scratches he will do both without hesitation and Carolina is 17.

[jtbirds]

Lady I suggest possibly removing her from her cage, this could be done by wrapping a towel around her or something of that nature. Take her to a quite room and just sit on a chair and set her on your lap remove the towel and see how that goes. This is usually what I end up doing with birds that need some work. Sometimes they get attached to the cage and bonded. This can be near impossible for them to want to bond to you and want to interact when all they know is safety of the cage. Personally a few birds just came into the rescue all have not been handled for years. They all have stepped up already and come out sometimes being slightly more direct can be helpful, sometimes being slightly less direct works. Sounds like Lady might need you to be more direct, Macaws even Mini can have hard heads and just play games because they often find them fun. Sometimes with macaws you have to be a little more straight forward and once the respect and bond is built then play the amazing games macaws play and they will love you unconditionally.:)

hope this helps maybe even a little.

[Mare]

Dianne, Chip is still hand shy. He's a very social bird with me, will land on my shoulder, loves being talked to and told what a pretty bird he is but..will not/does not like a hand coming towards him. I'm okay with that, he's such a sweet soul to just be around :)

[Lady]

Thanks Justin, I think your right on her being hard headed and I do believe she is surely feeling that her cage is her safe haven. I am a bit concerned about toweling her and destroying the bond we have built over the last year. But now your words are making me think about what I can do once she is out of her cage. I think I will definitely have to think out of the box.

[Mare]

Eeks..although I can reason with Justin's advice..feel your bird..

[Lady]

Well today I took the chance given when Lady came onto the area I sit. She came out for her current favorite treat. I pushed her cage far back and away from her. We played a bit and I gave her some extra toys to keep her interest. She was fun but when she was ready she does what she always does, fuss. I pulled the cage close enough that she got excited but only allowed her to use my arm as a bridge to get to it. It worked when she finally decided she had enough of me.

[spiritbird]

Seems no matter how much training and rewards hand shy birds remain hand shy birds. At mine do.

[Mare]

In my short bird experience, Dianne, this has been my experience. Sassy and Amigo will sometimes not feel like stepping up but have never been afraid of my hand. Chip has a definite fear.

[Lady]

Well, I'm not giving up. She will have to learn to use my arm then. I've tried perches and small stands and it can work but I want her to come to me more than any thing. I hope that if I can show her what she gains from coming out of her cage and explore, she will learn to enjoy herself more.

[jtbirds]

I am not 100% sure what advice I can give to help anymore, I have taken birds with a fear of hands and switched them in days and never broken a bond only worked to make a stronger one. Toweling taking to another room may sound forceful but There is honestly no need to make it forceful. Let the bird play with a towel get used to it make it a toy, then start working with wrapping it around and playing eventually you should be able to wrap the bird in a towel without restraint and make it fun if you would rather not just move the bird from the cage. Do not force a step up onto a hand just ease into it and be gentle. I barely use a towel, but it seems most people need some assistance I live by letting the birds feel my skin no matter if it may end up with me being bitten.

[Lady]

Justin your advice was great and I will always lean toward being gentle, patient and take the time she needs. I watch her body language to not upset her or get bitten. I don't want to force her to do what she seems to be afraid to do. I use to have a towel down when she came out of the cage so that I could try to play with her with it. She never took to it and would screech when I would even move it so that the ends of the towel would fold upward a bit. She seems less fearful if I use a sheet.
Please don't think you can not give advice anymore, I hope you might of meant in this situation with getting birds use to hands. I will always be grateful for your shared knowledge. You have tons of experience and I know we all do some things differently but that is what makes it our own, doing something a little differently but still acting on the advice given. I sincerely hope I didn't offend or upset you. It was your advice that helped me to get her out yesterday!