bhansenuta
Meeting neighbors
- Joined
- 3/6/20
- Messages
- 38
- Real Name
- Bella
Okay so its been a couple days since I last posted and I'm just losing all hope. I'll try and explain. My cockatiel Theo (barely 5 months now) was getting so good at stepping up and once in a while he would do it without millet! I've had him for about 5 maybe 6 weeks. I trained with him for about 5 minutes two to four times a day and all was going perfectly! One day he went for my hand like crazy instead of the millet which was right there. I let him bite it for a minute and just held still and didn't make a reaction, but he just kept biting! It started to hurt so I took my hand away, closed the cage and turned around for about 30 seconds. He started kind of whimpering for me but I waited for the full 30 seconds before turning back around and trying again. Same thing! I assumed this meant we should stop training and just layed on my bed (about 5 feet from his cage) and we talked back and forth to each other.
Every SINGLE time I've tried training since then (about 7-9 days ago), he bites my finger super aggressively over and over and over again! I've taken to closing his cage and leaving the room for about 2 minutes when he does this which is torture for him and he cries and screams but I just wait. Then I come back in and retry. If I do it with a perch he'll step up fine about 90% of the time. If I lay my hand in his cage with millet on it, he goes and eats the millet. If I have my finger in the step up position anywhere near him he freaks and attacks it, even if the millet is way closer than my finger! I don't get it! I've been perch training because he hates my finger so much, but I still try once or twice and its always the same. He's not scared of my hand, and not even my finger (I hold the millet and stick my finger out and he's still fine) its just he won't step up and hates when I have my finger near him. I don't understand and its making me feel horrible! I have never forced him to step up so I don't understand why he hates it. Whenever he steps up he gets millet, lots of soothing words, and gets his cage door open and a ladder to his play gym which he's crazy about. I have only been letting him go on his play gym when he steps up to try and entice him more, but it rarely, rarely happens (think twice or 3 times a week.)
His food is about 60% pellets, 25% seeds, 15% veggies, so he's not just eating millet all day. He has a good sized cage about 24 x 24 x 38 inches full of perches and toys, a food dish and a water dish. I used to have two food dishes but he started getting insanely aggressive if I went near it to change and when I took that out it all went away. I'm in the room usually 3-8 hours a day with him and when I leave he screams for me. I try not to go back in until he stops screaming but that can take forever and sometimes I need stuff so I'm not crazy consistent about it. I know he likes me (because why else would he scream for me for what seems like hours and talk back and forth with me) but it doesn't seem like it right now... I've tried leaving my hand perfectly still when he bites it but he literally won't stop. I've tried turning around but he doesn't care THAT much. So I've just been full on leaving the room and he hates it but it must not be working because there's no change??
Any advice is appreciated!
Every SINGLE time I've tried training since then (about 7-9 days ago), he bites my finger super aggressively over and over and over again! I've taken to closing his cage and leaving the room for about 2 minutes when he does this which is torture for him and he cries and screams but I just wait. Then I come back in and retry. If I do it with a perch he'll step up fine about 90% of the time. If I lay my hand in his cage with millet on it, he goes and eats the millet. If I have my finger in the step up position anywhere near him he freaks and attacks it, even if the millet is way closer than my finger! I don't get it! I've been perch training because he hates my finger so much, but I still try once or twice and its always the same. He's not scared of my hand, and not even my finger (I hold the millet and stick my finger out and he's still fine) its just he won't step up and hates when I have my finger near him. I don't understand and its making me feel horrible! I have never forced him to step up so I don't understand why he hates it. Whenever he steps up he gets millet, lots of soothing words, and gets his cage door open and a ladder to his play gym which he's crazy about. I have only been letting him go on his play gym when he steps up to try and entice him more, but it rarely, rarely happens (think twice or 3 times a week.)
His food is about 60% pellets, 25% seeds, 15% veggies, so he's not just eating millet all day. He has a good sized cage about 24 x 24 x 38 inches full of perches and toys, a food dish and a water dish. I used to have two food dishes but he started getting insanely aggressive if I went near it to change and when I took that out it all went away. I'm in the room usually 3-8 hours a day with him and when I leave he screams for me. I try not to go back in until he stops screaming but that can take forever and sometimes I need stuff so I'm not crazy consistent about it. I know he likes me (because why else would he scream for me for what seems like hours and talk back and forth with me) but it doesn't seem like it right now... I've tried leaving my hand perfectly still when he bites it but he literally won't stop. I've tried turning around but he doesn't care THAT much. So I've just been full on leaving the room and he hates it but it must not be working because there's no change??
Any advice is appreciated!