holy moly... I really do think I have the wrong bird

[momo]

Elmo and I have been getting on super well lately.. well she has asked me to mate with her.. :rofl:

I thought I would try with the hand things. I had conceded that I would never be able to touch elmo but I thought since elmo is so keen on me lately that it can't hurt can it? i wasn't going to force anything this time.. and she can't hate my hands any more lol!!

So, I have this glove that is still quite thin.. as in I can still feel the bites but they aren't as powerful as it is on normal skin. With the power of millet and glove. Elmo will step up with the glove on. Though has been only for the past 20 minutes and now elmo is asleep, crossing my fingers elmo doesn't forget.

I let elmo have a bit of millet and then put it just out of reach she would have to step up on the back of my hand.. after alot of attempts to bite.. and mummy holding her tongue. We got there!!.. Elmo stood on my finger. After alot of.. step down and step ups.. We finally got elmo to stand on my finger without ripping my nail off. Mummy didn't need to flinch because there was extra material at the end where elmo was biting thinking it was mummy's nails.

I knew it worked extra.. ( well for tonight.. I am holding no hope for tomorrow at all.. ) because I carried elmo to bed on my finger but he flew off my hand on the way to his cage.. and I bent down and picked him up with my hand and no millet as reward afterwards.. (this happened twice!!)

There is a light at the end of a tunnel.. but I am paranoid now because if I teach elmo this.. and soon he will be in birdy day care for three weeks.. I am afraid he will lose it all.. but at least now I know how to start it off.

Also, I am scared to take OFF the glove. I did it once in the training when I got over excited.. *sigh*.. and well.. yes the bites are very powerful.. but after a bit of encouragement with the glove.. we got back to a good place with step up on fingers. To the point where elmo would jump on my hand.

Oh wow, I am just so.. omg omg at the moment.. finger fear no longer exists.. well at least for tonight.

[Chickobee]

This is too cute and funny! It sounds like you are making good progress too. Maybe soon you'll be doing everything with gloves off.

We had problems with our first two birds biting when they were at the adolescent stage and until they were sexually mature. One of them is still an extremely territorial hen who protects her cage at all times, but she is nice once removed with a LONG ladder. The rest of our birds only beak our fingers to be sure they are a safe perch.

I had trouble at first allowing the beaking because I was fearful of hard bites after some of the finger pealing I'd experienced from Miss Pixie. Now I'm thinking that I got bitten more in the beginning because of my own fears and not being able to read the birdie body language.

Or, maybe we're just lucky to have less temperamental birds? Whatever the reason, out of 23 birds we only have one bitey one--but she does her very best to make up for the others.

I know we made mistakes by letting them snuggle into a towel and crawling up Dave's pantleg when we would watch TV. We also let them shred paper and they had happy huts. We didn't realize at the time that we were encouraging nesting behaviors that probably caused them to be more territorial and bitey.

It was cute, but we have skipped all of that stuff with the other birds. They might just have sweeter dispositions genetically, or they maybe didn't develop problems because we didn't let them do things like that. I guess we'll never know for sure. I do know for sure that I like having birds that don't bite me! :)

[momo]

wow.. out of 23.. one bites.. that is a GOOD statistics!!

elmo has the happy hut and she shreds paper, tucks it and forgets about it. Should I stop her from doing it? She has never made a nest.. she just enjoys chewing the paper. It's quite strange really. i can take it out of her back, she doesn't really care.

elmo did a little beaking with the glove but because i am so scared of her bites.. she can make me bleed i flinched a little causing her to bite me more and more.. but after a few gos.. i literally bite my own tongue and just coped the bites.. and eventually she got on my hand.. the amazing power of millet.

-----

ok the next day.. i have been going to elmo every half an hour and "presenting the glove".. and she steps up on the glove without hesitation now AND without the minute of biting my hand we previously had. before she jumped on my hand before I put it directly infront of her!!

she enjoys sitting on the back of my hand but once I entice her to stand on my fingers she just stays there!.. Today I have gotten her to step up on my hand and haven't given her millet.. every 5th time she does it, i will let her have a bit of a nibble. It is amazing!!.. Maybe one day.. just one day i will be able to take the glove off lol!