Scared of Hands

[lpeonyc]

Hi all! My cockatiel Charlie is 6 months old and ive had him for just over two months, he was parent reared and isnt quite use to hands yet. I would really like to let him out to fly and get some exercise but the last time (about a month ago) i did, it took me over an hour to get him back in his cage because i didnt want to frighten him. We are making great progress on his fear of hands, i feed him his breakfast from my hand every morning and he almost let me pet him on his head and his belly this morning but got nervous and retreated. this is the best progress so far but as a first time bird owner i wanted to know if his progress if going at a normal speed, how long it took your birds to overcome their fear of hands, and if you have any tips to make him feel more comfortable?
thank you xx

 

[Sunni Tiel]

Yay! You're making great progress! It took me 6+ months to tame my parent raised budgie. 2 months is nothing to a tiel.

 

[Budgie33]

Hi all! My cockatiel Charlie is 6 months old and ive had him for just over two months, he was parent reared and isnt quite use to hands yet. I would really like to let him out to fly and get some exercise but the last time (about a month ago) i did, it took me over an hour to get him back in his cage because i didnt want to frighten him. We are making great progress on his fear of hands, i feed him his breakfast from my hand every morning and he almost let me pet him on his head and his belly this morning but got nervous and retreated. this is the best progress so far but as a first time bird owner i wanted to know if his progress if going at a normal speed, how long it took your birds to overcome their fear of hands, and if you have any tips to make him feel more comfortable?
thank you xx

My budgie loves my DIY nutriberries (I don't like some of the ingredients in the commercial ones), and I put them in my hand for her. You can also lure her to the nutriberry and put your hand as an obstacle course in the way, that way she has to touch you somehow to get across. I've had my budgie for 2 1/2 months and she still hates hands, but I do let her out of her cage every day for 6+ hours and she will fly around my head if she wants attention. Good luck!

 

[lpeonyc]

Yay! You're making great progress! It took me 6+ months to tame my parent raised budgie. 2 months is nothing to a tiel.

Thank you xx

 

[lpeonyc]

My budgie loves my DIY nutriberries (I don't like some of the ingredients in the commercial ones), and I put them in my hand for her. You can also lure her to the nutriberry and put your hand as an obstacle course in the way, that way she has to touch you somehow to get across. I've had my budgie for 2 1/2 months and she still hates hands, but I do let her out of her cage every day for 6+ hours and she will fly around my head if she wants attention. Good luck!

Thank you! X I will definitely try the obstacles idea and I think he trusts me more now so I will let him out again this week x thank you for you help

 

[sunnysmom]

Do you have a small room where you can take him and let him out and work with him? I find it easier to work with a bird outside of his cage. And a bird should really have out of the cage time everyday. Is there a treat that he really likes that you can use to train him? Like millet spray? And you can try putting a perch just outside of his door with some millet spray to encourage him to come out on his own (with supervision, of course.)

 

[DesertBird]

It took my budgies about 2 months to be fully comfortable with my hand coming near them and touching them.
What I did that really seemed to help was I just put my hand in the cage, as close to the bird as possible without him/her getting nervous. Then just stay there for about 10 minutes.
Also, my birds started eating vegetables pretty quickly, so when I gave them their veggies in the morning I held the bowl so they had to come near me to eat. Once they were comfortable doing that, then I put the tip of my finger above the rim of the bowl. Then I gradually put my whole finger above the rim. After a while, they were standing on my hand while eating.

 

[lpeonyc]

Do you have a small room where you can take him and let him out and work with him? I find it easier to work with a bird outside of his cage. And a bird should really have out of the cage time everyday. Is there a treat that he really likes that you can use to train him? Like millet spray? And you can try putting a perch just outside of his door with some millet spray to encourage him to come out on his own (with supervision, of course.)

He is in my living room and he’s only ever come out when the doors, windows and curtains closed.He love sunflower seeds more than anything! He has a perch on top of his cage but I don’t think he knows it’s there yet thank you for your help x

 

[lpeonyc]

It took my budgies about 2 months to be fully comfortable with my hand coming near them and touching them.
What I did that really seemed to help was I just put my hand in the cage, as close to the bird as possible without him/her getting nervous. Then just stay there for about 10 minutes.
Also, my birds started eating vegetables pretty quickly, so when I gave them their veggies in the morning I held the bowl so they had to come near me to eat. Once they were comfortable doing that, then I put the tip of my finger above the rim of the bowl. Then I gradually put my whole finger above the rim. After a while, they were standing on my hand while eating.

Thank you! I will definitely try this x what veggies do your birds like because I’m struggling to find one Charlie likes. He only really like crunchy textures but I’ve heard you have to cook some veggies which makes them too soft...

 

[DesertBird]

Thank you! I will definitely try this x what veggies do your birds like because I’m struggling to find one Charlie likes. He only really like crunchy textures but I’ve heard you have to cook some veggies which makes them too soft...

My budgies love broccoli. They also like bell peppers and swiss chard.