Bonding With a Bourke

[AthenaDreaming]

Hey all!

My husband and I have been trying to bond with our new Bourke for the past few weeks! He is a little over 3 months old, and is very fidgety when he's out of the cage. We can get him to step up fairly well, but when he's on our hand or shoulder, he can't wait to fly away from us.

He seems to be a bit fearful of us perhaps, and just always tries to get away when he's out for social time...

As far as his health and diet go, he eats and drinks very well, loves the toys in his cage, loves to sing throughout the day...everything there is fine! We're just bummed that we doesn't really have an interest in us. We've tried treats when he's out on our hands to encourage him to stay there, but that just lasts as long as the treat lasts.

So, fellow grasskeet folks: any tips on things we can try to do to form an actual bond with our little guy and get him to like us? We'd love him to be able to sit with us for more than a minute or two at a time!!

 

[tastybeets]

You're way ahead of me. Craig is still afraid of hands. Just keep doing what you're doing. It takes lots of time and patience.

 

[AthenaDreaming]

That's interesting to hear, tastybeets! Thanks for the encouragement

After I posted this, I got him out of his crate and he stayed on my hand for about five minutes, making noises at me and preening himself on me. Is the preening a good thing? Bird language still confuses me

 

[tastybeets]

Preening is great. I always take preening as a sign of comfort. They're no longer on guard.

 

[LunaTheBourke]

Ok, so with Luna it was a strange story. She came from a breeder in an outdoor aviary, if we even went close to the cage she would freak. So when she became used to us I would wait for her to go the floor of my room and then sit with her and roll treats in her direction, the distance got shorter and shorter until she was taking seeds from my finger tips. The strange thing about Luna is that she doesn't step up or let me touch her but she is completly fixated on us. When I get home she flyies to me and stays on my shoulder all evening.This took about a year to achieve.

Preening is an amazing sign!!!
Bird language will become clear soon, if you spend time with him.