Tinkerbell Henry 24 days and counting.

[clawnz]

Yeh! What a morning!

We have just had a visit to the property from 3x Eastern Rosella's, I had seen them in the area this morning. Before they came to the house. The way they are acting it seems they have come due to the noise from Henry and Tinkerbell, who have seen them and are making more noise than usual. Each day as they get used to being here they are getting more vocal.
Sorry got to the camera too late to get pix.

Tinkerbell:
I have to be picking, that she is used to someone 'Freaking' her out in the mornings. 24 days now, and we start all over every day. She will fly away as I walk anywhere near her, I mean with-in three mt of her to start with. She does not like a human in the cage. (My house).
I have been trying to spend as much time as poss with her. This can amount to most of the day sometimes. But it is the same every morning. But she is settling down, after the first hour or so.
Lost ground today, she is back on edge again?
She is a very strong flyer and can do some big mileage before she will come back to Henry, with me not far away. She flew to the cage for food to top up the tank, while I was less than 2mt from the cage, Friday!
She is a challenge.

Henry:
He is so close to taking a Millet treat from my hand.
He is settling well. He postures at me, so I put the Millet on the perch and he comes and gets it. I can get with-in 1/2mt of him now.

They are trying the Milk Thistle, Chick weed, Dandilion, I also have been trying them with fresh picked grass, not in seed yet.
They do not seem to be into the Mung Bean sprouts yet.

[Monica]

I've found that food of any sort can be majorly tempting first thing in the morning!

In 2005, I adopted a family of cockatiels. The parents were not tame at all, (prone to thrashing about, particularly the mother when servicing the cage) and the offspring were at one point tame but hadn't been handled in a while. Not needing an entire flock of tame birds, I let them be - to an extent. After a while, I allowed them to be cage-free. They'd come up to me if I had food in my hands (didn't matter if it was millet or regular seed), and would eat from my hands, particularly if another tiel was already doing it so I was "sort of" deemed safe - for the time being. I really didn't handfeed them much, however. Two years later, Sunshine, the daughter, started acting funny. She landed on me twice (something she never did previously), and the first time I thought she was one of my other tiels who always lands on me for attention. For several days, I couldn't figure out what her deal was... I mean, in the mornings I go in, get their dishes, clean them out, fill them back up, and allow them to eat. But during this time, Sunshine kept "pestering" me, without really ever touching me... and then one day, for no reason at all, I offered her food from my hand. It didn't matter that there was already food out, she wanted food from me. Almost every day since, and until the day she got adopted, that was our way of interacting. She'd fly to me to get fed and felt comfortable doing so.

YouTube - Sunshine in the Morning


Shortly before Sunshine was adopted, I took in Faye. As far as I know, she was never handraised, but you can tell by her personality that she really is a sweet bird. She watched Sunshine eating from my hands, and practically picked up on the habit after Sunshine left. Of course she wasn't as bold as Sunshine, but then her past is more unknown to me. Where-as Sunshine would always fly to my hand for food, with Faye we had to "meet in the middle," with Faye on a perch. Even then, she was extremely hesitant and weary. Over time, she did become trusting enough to fly to me for that interaction. Besides Casey (who is my handraised loveable brat who demands scritches), none of the other birds would fly to me. Sure, if my hand was near a perch or surface, they might fly to that spot and cautiously eat from my hand, but they were never willing, as Sunshine, and eventually Faye, were to fly to me. The only downside is that I really haven't kept up this routine with Faye so she has "reverted back to being wild" again. She still has a lot of potential, don't get me wrong!
YouTube - Hesitant Faye


Although I haven't kept up with the behavior, I still find it rather amazing the change some birds will do over time... even if it's *just* food and nothing more than that. Heck, the "wild" parents have even "calmed down" some, to a degree... at least, they are no longer biting to draw blood every single time I handle them - and they are not, in the least bit tame. My A-Vet even commented on how friendly the female tiel was, because breeder birds (even if ex-breeders) are usually not so easy to handle.




I hope to someday read similar stories about Tinkerbell and Henry! You are at the start of it, so I know it's possible! Perhaps you'll even go farther than myself!

[LovelySydney]

My Oliver is like this. He just doesnt seem to get used to my hands no matter what. He is always flighty. I think once he sees his buddy reacting nicely towards you than maybe he will come around, seeing that its safe.

[clawnz]

Thank you Monica!
Panic was the name of the game this morning! I must of walked out of my bedroom to fast, she went into flight mode, setting Henry off, to crash into I am not sure, but found him on the floor again. Looking flustered.
I know it is early Days and I will do my best to win this one. She is a challenge. She has been much more flighty the last two days. I am trying treats (Millet) for her away from Henry on the Play Gym, while I keep working on Henry. She can still see what is going on. He took Millet spray while I was holding it today. Ye Har. I will crack him. He likes being talked to I can tell that. He was someone's baby, they may not of handled him.

Lovelysydney I am working on this theory, but at the moment she is not paying attention. I am sure she thinks I want to eat her.