Excellent attitude - you can't have your millet till you've eaten all your greens. I was brought up that way.
Excellent attitude - you can't have your millet till you've eaten all your greens. I was brought up that way.
"A busy beak is a happy beak" - David Strom
Dragonlady2 (02-07-2018), Lady (02-13-2018), PandJY (02-08-2018), Quakerella (05-27-2018)
I too am a novice here, so I can't really help but I have to say that your birds are probably the luckiest birds in the world. They were neglected all of their lives and now they have someone who wants to make their world a better place! You have started and you will be successful. I just imagine it will take oodles of patience, from you, to allow for them to come to trust you.
when we got our first bird he was nippy - my daughter pointed out that if we don't interact with him because he is nippy all he will do is sit in the cage and be nasty. That may be what happened with your birds. `You just need time to socialize them. Good luck!
Last edited by PandJY; 02-08-2018 at 02:51 AM.
Casper's 2nd best friend (02-08-2018), Dragonlady2 (02-08-2018), Lady (02-13-2018)
Casper- Lol same dude, eat your greens, do your chores, actually LISTEN to your parents....... God those were better days XD
PandJY - Thank you! My birds ARE the luckiest in the world lol they have me now
Jk of course, but I had the same problem actually with Lihra and Jake, they were a bit nippy too lol, and it's taken a month or so, but we're finally out of the nippy stage XD
When I started doing this, I didn't think it'd take that much patience, I literally thought that in a week, I'd have both of them eating out of my hands and amateurly trained........ Oh BOY was I wrong. To only now be moving out of the nipping stage itself, (with Jake that is, he's still an *******... But Lihra's warming up lol) has shown me how much patience it REALLY takes to raise birds... It's difficult. .-.
I'm a pretty big animal person tho... I have like... 3 cats, 2 dogs, 6 fish, and now these 2 birds... And all of those animals- Except the L & J and the fish of course- warmed up to me extremely fast... And mostly all of them were wild... I thought it'd be like raising a dog or a cat- HAHA NOPE! Really gave me a new respect for bird owners lol
And thank you for the luck!
Casper's 2nd best friend (02-08-2018), Dragonlady2 (02-08-2018), Lady (02-13-2018), PandJY (02-08-2018)
I hope you and your birds recovered. Even though several months late, I hope that you don't get discouraged. There aren't many brave (stupid?) enough to try, again. That's why there were so many birds needing help and love at the rescue center.
You need to dedicate an area to new and scared birds. Make sure they're away from windows and trained birds. ALWAYS SAY THEIR NAMES BEFORE ENTERING THE ROOM OR APPROACHING THE CAGE! Despite aggressive behavior, cages must be cleaned weekly. Food and water must be changed a minimum of twice daily. To avoid biting situations, use target sticks.
Instead of sitting close to abused birds,
Week1: I've learned that the first week is best spent reading aloud from across a bedroom or chosen area where THEY can SEE but don't feel threatened by you. Say their names after each paragraph.
Week2: You can be sitting beside the cage reading aloud.
Week3: Let them see you eat and drink.
Week4: Leave the cage door open. Make sure and put a place for the birds to land! You can use a tree branch even. If they come out, great; if they don't , great. You may need to carry this over for another week.
Week5: They can have supervised visits with any trained birds lasting 15- 30 minutes, but only examined new birds!
Remember, birds with long tails tend to trust, again, faster than short-/flat- tailed birds. Who knows why.
I've worked with abused and/or neglected birds for years and have found over and over this method works for me. New birds are exciting but abused birds demand patience.