Luca & Bruno, scared to human touch

[luca_bruno]

Hello everyone!
First allow me to share with you couple of pictures of my new parrots, got them 2 weeks ago:
say hi to..
-Luca: 10 weeks (White bellied Caique)
-Alberto: 9 weeks (Black Headed Caique)



I am handfeeding both for 2 weeks now.

-Since i got them, I am not sure what they have been through, they are scared of hands, and bite(i do believe they might have been taken out from the nest a bit older?).(not the first time i handfeed parrot, at such young age i was surprised to have such behavior already..)

-I am spending lot of time with them to bond,did some progress with them, biting is minimum now and manageable as I am able to read their body language, less scared, but they are just focused on each other and refuse to interact, or bond with me at all.

-I did handfeed a caique in the past(only 1) and all he wanted to do is to come to me and be with me, which is not the case with these 2; each bird is different this is understood, but the reason i got 2 caiques is that i got the information that 2 caiques can still bond with each other and bond with their owner. My concern is not to be able to bond with them, and looking for some advice on how to address my concern and get them to have some interest with me (yes im jealous, that they are only into each other!) as i see a huge difference between my previous caique behavior, and those 2.
Did i take the wrong decision to take 2?

I will really appreciate some advise on the above.

Thanks !

 

[VanSwss]

Beautiful babies!

 

[April]

@Irishj9 @Laurie

 

[Irishj9]

Well its very unlikely they were handraised if they are reacting so badly to your hands. still they seem to be accepting food from you which is always a good sign.

Clearly they are still unsure of their new environment so this is making them even more dependent on each other for the present.

Your information was right, two is better than one, for all concerned

As for their attention, you have nothing to worry about. These are VERY curious birds and they will be following you everywhere before you know it. All it takes is a little patience. Take it slowly and let them come to YOU. No forcing. Their own natural curiosity will not allow them to stay away for long

Just keep a very stable, calm quiet environment. Chat away to them and whistle etc but no forcing contact on them. Sit nearby and play with keys and shiny things. Always have some nuts on your person. At mealtimes eat near them etc

Youll be fine

 

[CrazyKozmo]

OMGoodness! Such cute photos! In my experience, they can bond with each other while including their person in the mix. I got mine when they were 4 months old and already bonded to each other (which made me get both of them...I've never had birds who were friends!). I would say keep doing what you're doing and they'll get used to you and, eventually, you'll become the third caique in the group. Patience....

 

[Xoetix]

Out of curiosity, did you get their names from the movie Luca?

 

[Tyrion]

They are so cute best of luck with them

 

[luca_bruno]

Hey guys!
Thank you so much for your valuable input..
Get me reassured as i was worried a bit about missing to bond with them..
And yeess! The names come from the Disney movie Luca! Good guess
These are couple of cute videos of them, once they relax:

on Instagram: "Saturday morning cuddles"
on Instagram: "My name is i’m an 8weeks old white-bellied caique "

 

[VanSwss]

Great vid's - I don't think you're going to have any handling issues with them. Be patient and take your time.

 

[Irishj9]

Hey guys!
Thank you so much for your valuable input..
Get me reassured as i was worried a bit about missing to bond with them..
And yeess! The names come from the Disney movie Luca! Good guess
These are couple of cute videos of them, once they relax:

on Instagram: "Saturday morning cuddles"
on Instagram: "My name is i’m an 8weeks old white-bellied caique "

They look great. Im assuming those vids were taken during their afternoon downtime. Its so unusual to see caiques almost motionless, I would now like to see some action. Are they lively and playful. When you own a parrot, quiet time can be suspicious lol

 

[luca_bruno]

Good morning everyone!

Irishj9, they are not "yet" crazy active, they are only 8-9 weeks, they are not weaned yet, they have few times where they go loco, but they mainly sleeping and not doing much, i just transferred them to their cage yesterday, as before they were still in a box, now they are managing to jump outside lol. we re getting there!

 

[luca_bruno]

Good morning everyone, so this morning I did the below video, i tried to be as brief as possible with the cuts, so i can highlight to you their "scared" and nippy behaviors.

I'll just keep bonding with them and be patient

yesterday i moved them to their cage, as they started to be able to jump out from their box!(they do grow up super fast!)

 

[Irishj9]

OOPS Big mistake. DONT FORCE IT

If they show reluctance to be touched, you BACK OFF immediately. (Look Baby, Im no threat)

If you back off immediately when they show resistance, they will trust you 100 times faster!

 

[luca_bruno]

Good evening,
Thank you for your reply
i understand and i do agree, but if they refuse to be handled, i cannot just leave them to be, they are still no weaned and need to be handfed 3x per day..

 

[Irishj9]

Good evening,
Thank you for your reply
i understand and i do agree, but if they refuse to be handled, i cannot just leave them to be, they are still no weaned and need to be handfed 3x per day..

All my handfed babies come RUNNING when they see that feeding spoon

 

[Irishj9]

dingdong.mp4

drive.google.com

Here is Dingdong at about the same age, waiting for his dinner. He can see the dinner AND the spoon, and is shouting at me because he knows im teasing him.

This is what to expect from a hungry baby caique who trusts you. He shouts, he flaps his wings, he steals the spoon out of your hand making a mess everywhere

He will not be hiding in a corner

 

[luca_bruno]

Hi guys!
Exactly and this is how all my previous parrot that i handfeed used to behave!

but it is not the case with those, thats why i was seeking for advise.I believe those chicks have been removed late for handfeeding thus they require bit more work to get them used to human hands.
I starting doing what you guys are adivising, let the bird approach me and not otherwise.

I can say that this is already working with Luca, Bruno is still a bit young to be triggered by his curiosity..

i will keep you posted and im open to more advices and im trying my best.
Thanks a lot again

 

[Irishj9]

Hi guys!
Exactly and this is how all my previous parrot that i handfeed used to behave!

but it is not the case with those, thats why i was seeking for advise.I believe those chicks have been removed late for handfeeding thus they require bit more work to get them used to human hands.
I starting doing what you guys are adivising, let the bird approach me and not otherwise.

I can say that this is already working with Luca, Bruno is still a bit young to be triggered by his curiosity..

i will keep you posted and im open to more advices and im trying my best.
Thanks a lot again

Its far more likely that they have never been handfed. Or handfed regularly. That is why they are scared of hands and cowering in the corner

 

[luca_bruno]

yeah.. that is my guess.
They were removed later from the nest, and were not that used to human contact.
and this brings us back to your valuable knowledge on caiques, how to get them used to me.

thanks again!

 

[luca_bruno]

Hello!
I think your advise is helping guys!
Been spending some time while
Letting them be around without forcing them to be CLOSE to me, having a meal with them around on the floor, not forcing them to be close to me at all, both of them today approached, to see what im eating and share my food with them! (Weaning is ON)
Here is a short video:

on Instagram: "Sharing’s Caring! "

5 likes, 0 comments - lucaeberto on March 27, 2023: "Sharing’s Caring! "

www.instagram.com

i hope it will be uphill from here on