how do I get him used to hands??

[Pips mom]

My little Pip came to us from a former owner who loved him and took good care of him, he just realized that he didn't have the time to spend with him and Pip does NOT want to be in a cage! He wants to live in a house, like us! Plus the cage he came with is kinda small------Pip seems very social---he just loves dogs! and will land on them----good thing my dog was bird friendly already! He also seems to loves other birds----he really likes my tiels---although they aren't too fond of him! He seems to like people, animals, and doesn't seem too picky who his company is! He is curious, adventurous, and just loves being out and getting into things and chewing on everything!
The thing with Pip is that he is afraid of our hands. He seems to like us ok, and will land on our heads, and once in a while shoulder-----but no hands! We recently got him clipped, and he can still fly fairly well, just has to work harder when he wants to go up! but when he tires and lands on the floor and is desperate, he will get on our hands, so he can't be too scared of them! What can we do to get him more used to our hands so that one day he can step up and let us hold him?? He doesn't bite-----if you come at him like your going to grab him or scare him, he will bite----but never bites at all usually, and one time he even put his beak on my hand while I had it in his cage and just very gently put his beak around my finger but never bit! He really is a friendly little guy, loves to have fun! OH---and I got him a bigger cage-----we still have to clean it up and put some new perches in and all the toys, so he will have a new big home over the weekend! I am wondering if this will help at all having all the room now so maybe he won't hate being caged so much for the times when he has to. Any suggestions on how we can get this little Pip to warm up to hands?? I talk to him all the time and immitate his little sounds----especially love that soft little grunting noise he makes! He listens to me intently! and even immitates things back to me! think there's any chance here he will get used to hands one day??

[Elle]

I am in a situation very similar. I just adopted the most friendly little 4 year old peach face lovebird. He is very social, lands on our shoulder and arms, will even land in our food so we have to be careful. He likes to take his baths under the kitchen tap, in our hands, but will not step up onto our hands. Some birds will never accept hands and you have to be ready for t his possibility too.

What I will do with him, starting this week, is lock myself in the bathroom with a play stand and Petie. And for 10 minutes, twice a day, we will work on step up.

What will happen is when I present Petie my hand, he will fly away. I will then offer him my hand from his new location and ask him to step up. He will be scared and nervous and will fly away quite a few times before he actually steps up on my hand.

Once he steps up on my hand, I will praise him as if there is no tomorrow. Once we both calm down, I will place Petie on his perch again and try again. Our sessions will be no longer then 10 minutes. We will do it a minimum of two sessions a day with at least one hour between each sessions.

Some people will say get your bird used to step up on a dowel first. That is perfectly acceptable. The reason I am not using a dowel is I know my bird. I also know he used to step up on hands but stopped when his mate died and a hand reached in to take the remains away. He used to trust hands and I need him to understand there is not one hand in this house that will harm him. My bird is tame and I am not afraid of bites.

You can follow the same steps but offer a dowel instead of a hand. I recommend a small room such as a bathroom, with shower curtains closed. If your bird is clipped, it's even better.

Another method you can use is clean the tub very very good. Place a clean towel at the bottom of the tub to prevent slipping. Place Pip in the tub, on the towel and offer him your hand. Pip will need to step up in order to come out of the tub. Do this a couple of times a day, every day for a least 10 minutes,

Good luck,

[Pips mom]

Thanks, I will give it a try! Something tells me trying to get a lovebird hand tame is harder than getting a tiel hand tame! The lovie also seems smarter than the tiels.

[Islandbirdies]

Sounds like you may be cleaning the tub alot. :p just had to have a chuckle about it :rofl:

[Jessica]

I think Elle's advice is really good. I have found that once they get to trust hands progress seems a lot quicker. Our Celeste was a hand tame baby allowed to go wild so we had to take time to let him get used to us. Now I can reach up and grab him without much fuss but it took a long time to get there. I also think lovebirds are very smart but have no hookbills to compare him too.

[Pips mom]

Just wanted to update----Pip is doing really well and is starting to step up onto hands----without even having to take him into a small room! He is really warming up lately! He even sits with me now at the computer to watch lovie videos-----here are some pics!
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/kim1888/?action=view&current=woodyandboss038.jpg

http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/kim1888/?action=view&current=woodyandboss037.jpg

just couldn't resist a munch on that notebook! lol
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/kim1888/?action=view&current=woodyandboss039.jpg

[michael]

Thats great that Pip is getting a little more comfortable. Hopefully he doesn't take over your keyboard there. Understanding and getting to know your bird is key to choosing the most positive way to go about training/taming. If we consider the fact that birds behave through their instincts to be protective of not only themselves, but their home/cage, their mate, or their flock, we can find ways to circumvent behavior thats "only natural" and maybe create an atmosphere more healthy for them and less painful for us. I've on occasion mistakenly refered to birds as being domesticated in a sense once they have learned to interact with poeple. Really the term "domesticated" couldn't be farther from the truth as the training/taming process is quite different than that of dogs, cats, or any other animal. It is nothing short of a miracle that these small wild creatures are capable of learning to coexist with us humans. And they do it on their own terms too!.....Thanks for sharing those wonderful pics of Pip! :) .................Michael and Goofy

[Jessica]

Very well said Michael! I have "wild" birds as pets and one hookbill. The hookbill took the longest to gain trust from but once we got there it's really great.

Congratulations on your great work with Pip. I'm really happy that the relationship is blooming. Great pictures too! Pip is a beauty.

[Pips mom]

Thanks! as Pip tries to get closer to me, he has been biting at my fingers all of a sudden. He doesn't do it when stepping onto hands, he does it when I am doing something with my hands and they are kinda close to him----instead of backing away from my hands now, he does this at times. Pip has not really bitten before----unless maybe someone tried to grab at him and he felt threatened. I am wondering why, as he becomes closer to hands and a little more comfortable with them, he is doing this. He's always been so good about not biting before, but then we weren't really handling him much, and he seems to want to be closer to us now too----like now he will fly right to me and sit near me. Pip will be one year old next month, and I don't know for sure his sex-----his previous owner said that he thinks he is male.

[Jezzahbella]

Pip looks just like Furby!!! So cute! I'm having the saem problem with her though. :[ She has been more vocal and happy but still hates my hands.

[Flapjack]

Jack does the same thing. He's perfectly calm, playing in and rubbing all over my hands, then, if I'm manipulating some small object- WHAM:evil: !
Otherwise he doesn't bite like he did when he was about 4 months old. I figured out in a hurry not to be doing any task that requires tiny things, or tie my shoes, or button a button while he's near my hands.