Andreea Velea
Moving in
- Joined
- 6/23/19
- Messages
- 12
- Real Name
- Andreea Velea
This is where I'll post updates about how Kiwi is doing and about how our relationship is evolving.
Some of you might remember that a while ago I made a post asking for advice on how I should tame my boy( whom after a visit to the vet is now decidedly a boy). I received a bunch of wonderful advice from lots of people and because of that Kiwi is doing great right now. I fell that I have a responsibility to keep you all updated because of that.
Also I am by no means an expert so I might need more advice down the line.
I got Kiwi at a pet store, and he was not tame at all, terrified of people and especially hands. He is flighted, probably having lived in an aviary with his buds before being brought to the store. So he was pretty unhappy with his cage at first, looking for a spot he could escape whenever he heard other birds outside. He'd get scared whenever I moved around and wouldn't chirp at all.
I placed his cage in a spot where he could see me at all times, and I'd talk or sing as often as I could. Then one morning he surprisingly joined in. Can't tell you how happy I was to hear a sound from him.He also got pretty chill with my hand being on his cage.
Things got gradually better and one day I decided I'd let him out from his cage. Oh boy, what a day that was.
I bird proofed the room, covered the windows and I opened his cage. He took two hours to come out and when he finally did he got scared and hid behind a pot before going back to his cage. The next day I attempted it again and it went a lot better. He flew around for about 2 hours before deciding to go back. I currently leave his cage door open as long as I am around and he seems very happy with that. His flying has gotten a lot smoother and he doesn't crash the landings as he often did when I first let him out.
I've been trying to help him overcome his fear of hands this whole time and today he finally got the courage to come and nip on my fingers. He is not treat motivated at all, and I've tried a lot of things; I even drove to another city to get spray millet and the little twat doesn't have the slightest interest in it. He does like dancing however, so as I was tapping my fingers to a song he flew over on the table I was tapping onto. He was still very wary at first but after some intense staring he gently nipped on one of my fingers. Now, I know this might not be a very good thing, but it's the first psychical contact we've had!! I really don't know how I should be reacting to this since I don't want to discourage him from interacting with me but biting isn't acceptable either. Some advice on this would be much appreciated!
This is what's been happening so far,but I'll keep you updated from now on. I hope this thread will help and give some hope to people struggling with a new wild birdie. It's all worth it!!
Some of you might remember that a while ago I made a post asking for advice on how I should tame my boy( whom after a visit to the vet is now decidedly a boy). I received a bunch of wonderful advice from lots of people and because of that Kiwi is doing great right now. I fell that I have a responsibility to keep you all updated because of that.
Also I am by no means an expert so I might need more advice down the line.
I got Kiwi at a pet store, and he was not tame at all, terrified of people and especially hands. He is flighted, probably having lived in an aviary with his buds before being brought to the store. So he was pretty unhappy with his cage at first, looking for a spot he could escape whenever he heard other birds outside. He'd get scared whenever I moved around and wouldn't chirp at all.
I placed his cage in a spot where he could see me at all times, and I'd talk or sing as often as I could. Then one morning he surprisingly joined in. Can't tell you how happy I was to hear a sound from him.He also got pretty chill with my hand being on his cage.
Things got gradually better and one day I decided I'd let him out from his cage. Oh boy, what a day that was.
I bird proofed the room, covered the windows and I opened his cage. He took two hours to come out and when he finally did he got scared and hid behind a pot before going back to his cage. The next day I attempted it again and it went a lot better. He flew around for about 2 hours before deciding to go back. I currently leave his cage door open as long as I am around and he seems very happy with that. His flying has gotten a lot smoother and he doesn't crash the landings as he often did when I first let him out.
I've been trying to help him overcome his fear of hands this whole time and today he finally got the courage to come and nip on my fingers. He is not treat motivated at all, and I've tried a lot of things; I even drove to another city to get spray millet and the little twat doesn't have the slightest interest in it. He does like dancing however, so as I was tapping my fingers to a song he flew over on the table I was tapping onto. He was still very wary at first but after some intense staring he gently nipped on one of my fingers. Now, I know this might not be a very good thing, but it's the first psychical contact we've had!! I really don't know how I should be reacting to this since I don't want to discourage him from interacting with me but biting isn't acceptable either. Some advice on this would be much appreciated!
This is what's been happening so far,but I'll keep you updated from now on. I hope this thread will help and give some hope to people struggling with a new wild birdie. It's all worth it!!