MysticRealm
10-19-2010, 12:20 AM
I have only had my little Disco (9ish week old Lovebird that was hand raised/tamed) for 4 days. He is getting better and better about stepping up but it's definitely not a 'yay' thing for him yet which I expect only having him for 4 days. What I would like is to be able to treat him when he does step up but he won't take food from me. I do praise him as much as I can with my voice but I dont' think he finds that a great reward yet. He has started to slightly feel or nibble things from my hand. Sometimes I can get him to take half a small sunflower seed from my hand but he usually holds it for half a second then drops it.
Is he just full from eating beforehand? Though if there are any seeds on the ground (which is rare but sometimes there are some) when he is out he will eat them even if I just offered him some from my hand that he wouldn't take. If he is just full how do I go about with holding food so he will want the food from my hand without starving him?
Is he still just needing to warm up to me and that's why he won't take it?
Have I just not found a food he likes enough?
Another question I have is that Disco's wings are clipped so when he is out of his cage there is no way for him to get back to his cage, so if he is hungry or tired he isn't able to get back there are eat or sleep. I try to put him back in his cage when he goes near it on the floor and ducks down like he is thinking of trying to fly up there. But sometimes I do that and he immediately turns around and comes back out and the other times he just wants to go in there to be higher off the ground. I don't want him to always want back in his cage, using it as a security blanket cause he is uncomfortable on the ground, but I don't want to stress him out either.
I bought him a little play center today and the smart devil used it to jump onto the seat of a chair then managed to work his way up to the top of the back of the chair so he really likes that because it puts him up high, but it also scares me.
When I go to pick him up from the chair or to help him down from his cage when he wants to come out he will sometimes try to fly away which scares me cause his wings are clipped. So when I go to pick him off those things I have to block him with one hand while picking him up with the other which makes it scarier for him. IF he does ever try to fly off my hand I try to immediately pick him back up again praise him for stepping back up then put him down so he just steps off.
Should I find some way to allow him to get in and out of his cage on his own or will this make him very dependent on his cage as a security blanket or should I make him ask to go up and down?
Sorry for the long thread and the confusingness of it.
Is he just full from eating beforehand? Though if there are any seeds on the ground (which is rare but sometimes there are some) when he is out he will eat them even if I just offered him some from my hand that he wouldn't take. If he is just full how do I go about with holding food so he will want the food from my hand without starving him?
Is he still just needing to warm up to me and that's why he won't take it?
Have I just not found a food he likes enough?
Another question I have is that Disco's wings are clipped so when he is out of his cage there is no way for him to get back to his cage, so if he is hungry or tired he isn't able to get back there are eat or sleep. I try to put him back in his cage when he goes near it on the floor and ducks down like he is thinking of trying to fly up there. But sometimes I do that and he immediately turns around and comes back out and the other times he just wants to go in there to be higher off the ground. I don't want him to always want back in his cage, using it as a security blanket cause he is uncomfortable on the ground, but I don't want to stress him out either.
I bought him a little play center today and the smart devil used it to jump onto the seat of a chair then managed to work his way up to the top of the back of the chair so he really likes that because it puts him up high, but it also scares me.
When I go to pick him up from the chair or to help him down from his cage when he wants to come out he will sometimes try to fly away which scares me cause his wings are clipped. So when I go to pick him off those things I have to block him with one hand while picking him up with the other which makes it scarier for him. IF he does ever try to fly off my hand I try to immediately pick him back up again praise him for stepping back up then put him down so he just steps off.
Should I find some way to allow him to get in and out of his cage on his own or will this make him very dependent on his cage as a security blanket or should I make him ask to go up and down?
Sorry for the long thread and the confusingness of it.