So to those of you who followed my post from a few weeks ago about handling the finches daily, I ended up abandoning it completely. It started to become a "chase" with Charlie and was really stressing him out. We almost had an accident too so I put a stop to it. Its been a week or so now and I have noticed a negative impact on both their behavior which is unfortunate, but keep reading! So I have noticed that they are far more nervous around me and even prone to frights when I walk by the cage sometimes. It didn't used to be this way. 98% of the time they had gotten used to me and were pretty much fearless with me around the cage and even in the cage. They would of course move out of the way if I needed to mess around in the cage, but they were casual about it. Now it is quite a bit more out of fear. As I said though, keep reading. So again, I completely abandoned the experimental training and decided I needed to work on building their trust back. I have waited this long as I have not had the time that I assumed was necessary to gain back their trust. I assumed it would be as complex and lengthy as the month or so that it took to first tame them. Boy was I wrong. In four or five 2 minute sessions spaced about 15 minutes apart I went from them being utterly terrified of me to happily perching and singing back on my hands and shoulders!!! Clearly they are still very tame and just needed a little affirmation that I could be trusted again. Happy outcome!
Second non related observation. I noticed today during those training sessions that Emma is getting a little food aggressive towards Charlie. I've never seen her behave this way. She was hogging the millet and made it very clear with her beak that Charlie was not to have any. Charlie didn't put up much of a fight, but would approach cautiously closer and closer. Eventually he would be able to eat by her side and then she would be fine with it, but if they both left the food the process would reset. Can anyone explain this behavior? Perhaps this is her being a little standoffish towards Charlie do to their spats in the past over mating time?
Thanks!
Second non related observation. I noticed today during those training sessions that Emma is getting a little food aggressive towards Charlie. I've never seen her behave this way. She was hogging the millet and made it very clear with her beak that Charlie was not to have any. Charlie didn't put up much of a fight, but would approach cautiously closer and closer. Eventually he would be able to eat by her side and then she would be fine with it, but if they both left the food the process would reset. Can anyone explain this behavior? Perhaps this is her being a little standoffish towards Charlie do to their spats in the past over mating time?
Thanks!
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