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Thread: Rescue bird afraid of hands?

 

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  1. #1
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    ProudPastry's Avatar


    Parrots

    2 Conures

    Question Rescue bird afraid of hands?

    Hello! I've been having a difficult time with my bird, Willow. He's a rescue conure and I've had him for about 2-3 years now. I also have another rescue conure named Pina who I've had for about 4 years.

    Here's a bit of background on Willow
    Both of my birds came from very bad situations, but I'm going to mainly focus on Willow for this post. Willow was found in a box on the doorstep of someones house and was brought to the rescue I adopted him from. He's a beautiful bird and does not bite. He's however, VERY scared of hands... He'll let me pet his beak, and he'll take treats from me, but the moment I try to pet him or get him to step up, he runs away. I also wonder if he was ever hit out of the air by his original owners, because every time I take the broom out to sweep the floor, he panics and screams. I don't know anything about his past or how old he is. He WILL sit on the back of my chair and play with my hair, and he seems okay with sitting on my shoulder, he also learned how to give kisses and make a kissy noise... He's okay with me being close to him, just not my hands.

    The problem:
    I've been very patient with him, trying really slowly with target training, which he seems good at... but trying to teach him to step up has been extremely difficult... It's been a couple years now and I feel like I've gotten no-where.
    I use a clicker and treats and have been trying to get him to step up onto my forearm instead of my hand because I know he doesn't like hands, and I'll make a little progress, but then he goes back to being afraid. It's like I'll take a step forward then a step back. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get him to step up... Should I just keep trying? Maybe use different treats every now and then? I'm at a loss.. If anyone has any help or advice, I'd love to hear it!
    Side note: My vet told me that when you teach a bird to step up, it's easier if you clip their wings and practice with them on a flat surface. Should I clip his wings and keep trying?

    Thank you so much for reading!

  2. The following user likes this post:

    Dragonlady2 (06-08-2018)

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