I handfed my cockatiel since he was 15 days and we were good all the time he loved to play and he comes to me when I call him but from 2 months my bird started to ignore my calls and running away from my hand when i try to pet him amd he is stealing the treat from my hand and run away. He started flying to my sister everytime he sees her and i posted a thread that he ignore me but know i knew that he lost trust of me cause from 2 months I tried to teach him to lay on his back and got him a harness. I did introduce the harness step by step and the trick too but he hated them and that made him to hate me too so any suggestions to make a bond again?
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My bird doesn't trust me anymore.
- Thread starter Lolipop10
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Shezbug
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Step by step instructions make no difference if you do not work at the birds pace and listen to it when it tells you it is not enjoying or trusting what is being done. Sounds to me (if I interpreted your post right) like your bird learned that you do not listen and you cant be trusted to communicate with it so it is now avoiding you and hanging out with a safe family member who did not force harness or laying on back training on him.
I would go back to the start and pretend you do not know this bird (so do not expect anything from it) and start earning its trust again by working with it rather than working on it as a project without its own feelings and wants. My bird lays on his back sometimes in my hand but he must want to do it and choose to do it, if I force it when he is not feeling like doing it then I am pretty sure he would flip over and be annoyed at me and let me know by biting me or flying away and staying away. Anything your bird does for you or with you must be its choice if you want the best out of your relationship with it.
I would go back to the start and pretend you do not know this bird (so do not expect anything from it) and start earning its trust again by working with it rather than working on it as a project without its own feelings and wants. My bird lays on his back sometimes in my hand but he must want to do it and choose to do it, if I force it when he is not feeling like doing it then I am pretty sure he would flip over and be annoyed at me and let me know by biting me or flying away and staying away. Anything your bird does for you or with you must be its choice if you want the best out of your relationship with it.
So how can I start again with him as i did train cockatiels before and they were super friendly (they weren't handfed) but I'v never treated with this type of personality before as he sometimes love what I train him cause of treats and then hate it and he is so moody. So if you can tell me what to do by steps i will be grateful to you
Pixiebeak
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I sure messed up trust with harness training, I had to build back trust , permission based interactions, reading and respecting body language. A lot of treats just handed out with hello sweet girl , and not making her do anything for them . Just hanging out and talking with her.
TheFatBIRB
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Being permission based is so important. I also recommend using hands off training at times like target training (SO USEFUL).
I give him treats alot and i'm the only one that gives him treats but he still doesn't trust me and always run away from my hand.When i saw that he hates harness i said i will train him for free flying until he can get out the house without harness but i couldn't do that cause he ignored my calls and get afraid from my hands
Icey
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It sounds like you rushed into trying to train him to do a multitude of things in the short time you've had him. He flies away from you to your sister more than likely because she doesn't demand anything out of him.
How long did you let him get adjusted to his new surroundings, cage, new people, and a new environment in the relatively short time you've had him?
Your baby has been giving you signs not to push him, which you have and still are ignoring.
You need to go at "his pace", not your own or you're not going to be able to have trust.
Time and patience are key.
Walk by his cage and offer him a treat without asking for anything in return. Repeat. After a while, maybe even weeks, try offering him a treat by hand. Talk to him, sit and read to him, sing to him, act silly, dance around with him.
There are lots of ways you can re-interact with your bird.
Good luck and keep us posted please.
How long did you let him get adjusted to his new surroundings, cage, new people, and a new environment in the relatively short time you've had him?
Your baby has been giving you signs not to push him, which you have and still are ignoring.
You need to go at "his pace", not your own or you're not going to be able to have trust.
Time and patience are key.
Walk by his cage and offer him a treat without asking for anything in return. Repeat. After a while, maybe even weeks, try offering him a treat by hand. Talk to him, sit and read to him, sing to him, act silly, dance around with him.
There are lots of ways you can re-interact with your bird.
Good luck and keep us posted please.
I did give him time for the cage and surrooundings and i let him know what he wants but yes i may have rushed durring the harness but then i stopped even training him on the harness and i posted it for sale cause he absolutely hate it.My sister doesn't doany tricks with him she just keep him next to her that's it but i'm the only one giving him treats, cleaning his cage and putting food.I started giving him free treats from about a week snd he started coming to me but still prefering my sister and also still afraid from petting him unless he is tired he let me pet him.It sounds like you rushed into trying to train him to do a multitude of things in the short time you've had him. He flies away from you to your sister more than likely because she doesn't demand anything out of him.
How long did you let him get adjusted to his new surroundings, cage, new people, and a new environment in the relatively short time you've had him?
Your baby has been giving you signs not to push him, which you have and still are ignoring.
You need to go at "his pace", not your own or you're not going to be able to have trust.
Time and patience are key.
Walk by his cage and offer him a treat without asking for anything in return. Repeat. After a while, maybe even weeks, try offering him a treat by hand. Talk to him, sit and read to him, sing to him, act silly, dance around with him.
There are lots of ways you can re-interact with your bird.
Good luck and keep us posted please.
Emma&pico
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You see this a lot with handfed babies that you have handfed in wild they move away from parents and find there own friend/partner it sounds to me he as chosen your sister as his friend and that’s fine doesn’t mean that you can’t have a bond with him as well I know it hurts a little when pico first came home he loved my husband would fly to find him minute he heard is voice he learnt in end that it was me that fed him etc he still loved my hubby though
some birds just don’t like doing tricks and that’s ok mine can do tricks but it probably makes up about 5/10% of time they are out of cage and they go to a certain perch when they want treats for a trick you can’t push the truck onto them it needs to be fun on their terms and you need to read the body language way before they have had enough of doing it to end on a good note
recall I bring game you could get him to fly from your sister to you and back both giving treats
Tap your arm see if he comes
I would take hands out of it to start again no step up no treats from hands or if you do have a flat hand with seeds treats in your palm but mainly I would do what @Icey suggested just talk while they are in cage have a special treat bowl that you pop a treat into when walking past etc or sat talking once he’s settled eating in bowl while your there try offering treats though bars with your hands and work up
But if you are offering treats outside of cage I would do it on a flat hand to show as @Icey said you aren’t wanting anything from him at this time
Turn around and flip if a good hands off trick to teach that as been a massive hit with all my birds hand fed or parent raised
handfed doesn’t mean they are going to be tame if you just got out to feed say grab popped on surface fed and put back doesn’t mean hands are associated with a good things you have to build and gain trust
this isn’t me saying you did all these things just trying to explain the way a bird sees thing grabbing a big no no some dont mind it Remi my gcc will flip into my hand snuggle in my hand but I would never grab him and force him to lay on his back and I am not being funny but mostly all utube videos I’ve seen to teach birds to roll on back or roll over is forcing if this is what you mean by step by step same as big wings most are forcing a birds wings up into position which isn’t natural for your bird
some birds just don’t like doing tricks and that’s ok mine can do tricks but it probably makes up about 5/10% of time they are out of cage and they go to a certain perch when they want treats for a trick you can’t push the truck onto them it needs to be fun on their terms and you need to read the body language way before they have had enough of doing it to end on a good note
recall I bring game you could get him to fly from your sister to you and back both giving treats
Tap your arm see if he comes
I would take hands out of it to start again no step up no treats from hands or if you do have a flat hand with seeds treats in your palm but mainly I would do what @Icey suggested just talk while they are in cage have a special treat bowl that you pop a treat into when walking past etc or sat talking once he’s settled eating in bowl while your there try offering treats though bars with your hands and work up
But if you are offering treats outside of cage I would do it on a flat hand to show as @Icey said you aren’t wanting anything from him at this time
Turn around and flip if a good hands off trick to teach that as been a massive hit with all my birds hand fed or parent raised
handfed doesn’t mean they are going to be tame if you just got out to feed say grab popped on surface fed and put back doesn’t mean hands are associated with a good things you have to build and gain trust
this isn’t me saying you did all these things just trying to explain the way a bird sees thing grabbing a big no no some dont mind it Remi my gcc will flip into my hand snuggle in my hand but I would never grab him and force him to lay on his back and I am not being funny but mostly all utube videos I’ve seen to teach birds to roll on back or roll over is forcing if this is what you mean by step by step same as big wings most are forcing a birds wings up into position which isn’t natural for your bird
No it was so helpful ty
@Icey @Emma&pico @Shezbug Just to let you know that the relation between us became better and better since played with him and gave him free treats. He even fly to me from my sister about 80%.But I want him to go outside and not just be locked in the house, so how can i train him on freeflight or the harness. Btw he doesn't always come to me so that makes me not able to trust that he won't fly away.
Shezbug
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Im so happy to hear you’ve made progress! That is wonderful and so fast too!! Well done
A harness or smaller carry type cage is your safest options for your little friend I think. Even the best free flying birds (who come straight away when their owner calls them %100 of the time) have incidents that puts them at risk for serious illness, death or injury, they often break their humans hearts and many never return - one macaw here closer to where I live who has free flown for a long time has been off flying about on his own for a few months now, they don’t know if he’s lost or sick and wanting to come home to his owner and bird partner or if he’s healthy and choosing to stay free. It’s a big risk that doesn’t need to be taken for most birds and their owners.
A harness or smaller carry type cage is your safest options for your little friend I think. Even the best free flying birds (who come straight away when their owner calls them %100 of the time) have incidents that puts them at risk for serious illness, death or injury, they often break their humans hearts and many never return - one macaw here closer to where I live who has free flown for a long time has been off flying about on his own for a few months now, they don’t know if he’s lost or sick and wanting to come home to his owner and bird partner or if he’s healthy and choosing to stay free. It’s a big risk that doesn’t need to be taken for most birds and their owners.
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How can I train him on the harness without losing trust again as he never wants to put his head in the harness even with target training or by introducing it to him by my hand.Im so happy to hear you’ve made progress! That is wonderful and so fast too!! Well done
A harness or smaller carry type cage is your safest options for your little friend I think. Even the best free flying birds (who come straight away when their owner calls them %100 of the time) have incidents that puts them at risk for serious illness, death or injury, they often break their humans hearts and many never return - one macaw here closer to where I live who has free flown for a long time has been off flying about on his own for a few months now, they don’t know if he’s lost or sick and wanting to come home to his owner and bird partner or if he’s healthy and choosing to stay free. It’s a big risk that doesn’t need to be taken for most birds and their owners.
Emma&pico
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Have you watch elleandthebirds on utube she shows how to do it
I tried harness training pico he didn’t like it
What if he didn't like the harness at all, should I keep him at the house forever?
Emma&pico
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There’s bird backpacks I know nothing about free flying so I can’t help
recall flying around house is good exercise
Most cockatiels do not enjoy being on their backs. In my experience they are much less willing to learn those kinds of tricks compared to a bird like a conure or caique. I'm sure that you can regain your bird's trust. Just learn to recognize when the bird does not want certain activities such as harness training. He probably has his own personal limit but due to being different species, you aren't recognizing his body language yet.
Rebel
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I don't mean to be rude but it sounds like you should get a dog instead of a bird. Your bird barely likes you because of the first round of harness training and here you are wanting to force the harness again. Your bird doesn’t need to go outside. It doesn’t even know what outside is. Itll be happy in the house. Its all that it knows.
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That is rude and no buts about it. From a minute amount of info, you tell them that they're not a suitable bird owner? Nope. And you imply that because an animal hasn't had an experience, it doesn't need one? Ridiculous. That's how you socialize, especially dogs. My birds have a 10'x10' outdoor aviary; I can assure you that they enjoy it and benefit from it. They get enrichment, sunshine, a chance to really be athletic, as parrots are, and burn some energy off.
I notice you had nothing to say when the OP updated the thread with improvement happening. If you can't say something nice...
@Lolipop10 : in my experience, birds are either naturally inclined to play on their backs, or they're not. It's an extremely vulnerable position for a bird to be in: they can't use their wings readily. I don't think there's any benefit to forcing a bird to do something it doesn't enjoy. The harness training must've been daunting to your bird. Slow things down. Did you desensitize the bird to the harness? You might try that. There are multiple youtube videos on how to harness train a bird. Since your bird is a little bird, why not just take it outside in a small cage or wheel it's cage outside?
I notice you had nothing to say when the OP updated the thread with improvement happening. If you can't say something nice...
@Lolipop10 : in my experience, birds are either naturally inclined to play on their backs, or they're not. It's an extremely vulnerable position for a bird to be in: they can't use their wings readily. I don't think there's any benefit to forcing a bird to do something it doesn't enjoy. The harness training must've been daunting to your bird. Slow things down. Did you desensitize the bird to the harness? You might try that. There are multiple youtube videos on how to harness train a bird. Since your bird is a little bird, why not just take it outside in a small cage or wheel it's cage outside?
