hand feeding an adult parent raised to tame

[debbielabella]

the breeder I got my 6yr old parent raised Illigers macaw from said he tamed an adult lory by handfeeding it through the bars of the cage. He said the bird was just like a hand fed pet after that. Has anyone heard of or tried this?

[Lori~D]

It probably means that was the only option for food. And many animals can be tamed this way but it requires you are diligent in making sure you offer them food enough. It would have to be the only source of food thus they become dependent on you. Therefor you would need to know how much food they require each day to stay healthy and make sure they get that. They might not get it the first few days because they have to gain trust in you but a few days is OK.

[debbielabella]

thanks Lori, yeah that sounds a little too much like starving a bird to get it to like you, not to mention dangerous for a novice like myself to try it. She seems food driven enough where I should not have to take it to such measures with a little patience. At least she is taking food from my hand so I don't think it will be necessary to go to such lengths.

[tielfan]

Sensible food bribery can be an excellent way to make friends. First you find a treat that the bird really really likes. Then you arrange it so the bird only gets that treat as a gift from you - don't just give it to him as part of his regular food. If the bird is too shy to take the treat from your hand, then at first you just show him that you have the treat, put it down where he can reach it, and then back off so he can enjoy it. After a while he starts to think it's a good thing when you approach the cage because he might be getting a treat. You eventually work up to getting him to take the treat from your hand, then into stepping up on your hand to reach the treat.

This is not remotely close to forcing a bird to take food from your hand if he wants to get any food at all.

[chapala]

Feeding a bird a good, healthy diet, and reserving special, favorite food for training treats is a lot different from what you described. I'd go with the training treats approach!

[debbielabella]

thanks I agree, food as a treat and patience. I ordered 2 books, The second hand parrot and Parrot Training: A Guide to Taming and Gentling Your Avian Companion. She is very friendly and will take nuts from my hand easily. She purrs when you come over to her and feed her. I've been working with my laptop in front of her cage with the cage door open and she keeps closing her eyes like the way cats wink at you when they love you so I've been doing it back. Once or twice she has stuck her head outside the cage but goes right back in. It's hard not to love her you can see how much she wants to be with people. She watches my movements no matter where I am in the room, and purrs with delight when my husband comes home from work. I can't wait, but guess I'll have to, until the day she steps up. In some ways this is more exciting than getting a pre-spoiled baby. I'm so glad that she is friendly and people oriented otherwise I think I would be in over my head.

I like the name Emily for her so far.

[Rahni]

Sounds like your on the right track Debbie, and she's sounding sweet already. Good idea leaving the door open. I'm pretty sure I saw hand-taming videos on you tube somewhere, they might be worth a look.

[debbielabella]

I've got her in a walk in aviary now. It's great because I can go right in there with her. I think it's the perfect place to work with her. I don't like letting her out of a normal cage because she won't step up even from the floor. She's quite happy now. I will need to post some new pics, I looked at the original ones from her and she looks like a nervous wreck.