KC's progress

[Purpose By Design]

I think its a he (for now ) because his eyes are round -masked green lovie .Anyway his first 1,1/2 he was very shy.The two days ago when we would handle him we would get bitten i remember 4 times that it hurt allot.But we didnt react to him bitting us.I think he realized now that we're not going to hurt him.So he didnt bite yesterday at all :happy: .

He does make sounds when we pick him up( and he runs around in his cage and FLY'S OFF the playpen not wanting to come when we pick him up).But when he is in our cupped hand just holding him and we stroke him he is so comfortable he even falls asleep and also when he's sitting (by himself) on my lap and my hand is closeby he'll squeeze under it(as if wanting more petting) and then he falls asleep.

So i dont understand why he runs like crazy when he sees my hand coming.

[sdgilley]

Hi,
KC sounds really adorable. There are a few theories on hand-shy birds, I guess everyone has an opinion. I have a green mask that hates hands, but likes me okay. My opinion, is that wild animals (especially small birds) are afraid of hands because of predator-prey instinct. In the wild, if a big bird was going to grab them for lunch, what do you think they would see coming? Looks like a hand!

And then, unwittingly, we sometimes reinforce the dislike of hands by forcing the bird with our hands, or violating their trust. I took a bird that gave me small bites and insisted on grabbing him out of his cage. He learned quickly to bite me and draw blood. That made me look for help... so I came here to this board and found better techniques to work with Peter. Peter hasn't bitten me in 2 years. :)

If your lovie doesn't want to come out of his cage right away, I'd give him time to decide to come out without sticking your hands inside. The 'ignore it and act like it doesn't hurt' didn't work on Peter at all. Lovies do love drama, though, so if they can get you to squeal, that's entertainment!

Since your KC wants to crawl under your hands, he must view them as safe. If he bites your hands, he might be telling you no. It probably isn't that he's afraid of your hands in particular. Just a guess.

[Purpose By Design]

there is so much to learn with KC ,Sydney was a velcro birdie since day one.
we just have to be patient with kc and shower him with lots of love.

[DebSpace]

It sounds like things are going better. Just hang in there - gentle persistence usually pays off in the long-run, and sometimes it can seem like a very longgggg runnnn. Some birds are never completely comfortable with hands and for those we simply accept to love them on their terms. If he is happy crawling under your still hand, I would classify that as a good thing and try slowly approaching him with a treat, like a sprig of millet, before trying to get him to step up on your hand. :)