question about hand taming

[mvd12720]

well i just got my baby on saturday well come to find out the breeder didn't work with her. and now i have to hand tame. i guess when she would get her out she would use a washcloth to get her out. should i go ahead and do that so i can work with her. she will not step up but once i have her out after a couple of minutes she will set on my hand and just look around but if i put my other hand up for her to step up she gets scared and will junp off of my hand but i can put the wash cloth up there and she will step up. what should i be doing she is 5 months old next week.

[Sally]

I do not like using towels. Chipper and most Parrotlets hate towels. That is just too scary. We want to be relaxed with the birds and not scare them.

You just got your bird so go slow. Let the bird get used to the new cage, home and you. Talk, sit near the cage, sing. Relax the bird and put yourself in her place. Be very calm.

Handfeed a treat like a safflower seed, bird bread, etc. Quiet music is nice and not lots of noise and stress. Give her time to adjust. It is scary for them. Let her eat, drink and play and watch you and listen to you for now.

When I would get Chipper out, I just used my hand, even when she would bite, after she was used to me. She is tame now. Good luck! It took months to be bonded with Chipper. We have to earn their trust.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/PICT0009500use.jpg

[Pado]

Congratulations on your new fid' :)

Seems to be common Breeders advertising hand"fed" babies but they are not hand"tame" :p ...

As Sally said I wouldn't grab her with the towel but if she is stepping up onto it on her own that is a different story. Its actually good to have your bird not afraid of towels for when they go to the vet - most Vet techs will handle birds by toweling them. I use a towel for "step ups" (not grabbing) when my birds are being territorial and in the biting mood.

I agree with going slow with her - its the best approach for a Parrotlet.

Let us know how things go and post some pics when you have time -

[mvd12720]

well i tried today with her steping up on a wooden perch and that worked to get her out of her cage. so i didn't have to use the towel so i guess that is good and i put her on the play gym that i have and well she sat there for about 5 min then it looked like she was going to try to fly away so i got her to step back on the perch and put her in her cage but she seems to be fine doing that so what would my next step be?
melissa

[Butters]

Hi and congratulations on your new addition!
When I got Butters, he was very shy. He came from a house where the kids just grabbed him out of the cage and played with him like a toy :( . He was very nippy and put a huge hole in my finger. (I mean HUGE. I had to use antibiotic cream on it for 3 days!) I'm just letting you know how cranky and scared he was. I could not get him to step up on a perch, let alone my finger. What worked really well for us was this. I would take a small piece of grain bread (you know, that Pepperidge Farm 12 Grain bread) and offer it to him while he was in the cage. He really liked it a lot. I could put my hand in the cage and offer it right up to his beak, and he would take it from me. Then, I would hold it in a way that he would have to step onto my hand to get it. All the while I would talk softly to him. After about 2 days of this, he was coming right out of his cage, onto my hand to get the bread. I would hold the bread with my third finger and thumb, with him on my index finger. He started to let me 'scritch' his head with my other hand. After a couple of days of this, I was able to get him to step up back and forth from hand to hand. Now, he comes out willingly (I can't keep him in!) to get head scritches, and he only gets bread as a treat. They are so smart.....your's will catch on!