Will there ever be love???

I am fostering a year and half old Cherry Headed Conure. She/he had been hand fed but had not been handled in a long time and the bird store knew she would not go home as anyone's pet when she was so afraid of hands and being taken from her cage. I volunteered to give her time to come around( with the hope that maybe she would warm to me and I could maybe add her to my small flock). Here is how she is doing and I am looking for comments. Is this going well ? I have never done this before - IS there is a good chance she will warm to me - or will she always be at best a reserved but polite parrot??? When she first came home she was not just terrified of hands she was terrified of the world and everything in it. She did not move from her clinging position on the side of the cage for 24 hours. In the past 10 days I have transferred her to a bigger cage - given her toys and lots of time out of her cage ( I let her decide when she feels brave enough to come out ). She is now eating well and playing with toys. She is VERY interested in my other 2 birds and approaches them ( they are not ready to welcome her yet ) she comes out of her cage and perches on the top and seems relaxed, she will occasionally take a treat through the bars from my hand and a couple of times after seeing my BCC take a treat directly, she did too. However, all attempts to get her to step up have continued to be full of fear. She will scream and run from my hands EVEN if she is on the floor. I have to scoop her up by approaching with both hands at the same time- one from the front and one from the back. I can than scoop her up and once up, she goes very still with fear, but pretty quickly she relaxes and will cuddle. Yesterday she even perched on my shoulder for about 20 minutes while I worked at the computer. So she has come a long way and is a much happier bird but my question remains " Will there ever be love??". My other 2 actively seek my attention and want to be with me. That is the relationship I need from a pet that I will be committed to for the next 20 plus years. Please tell me what you think!

Please write and share your thoughts!! I worry about this all day long and want to know if I am doing anything right and if I can hope for a positive outcome....

Hey Lynne, and welcome, sorry to say the only one that can answer that is the bird, only time will tell, from what you've written your making great progress so far, with love and kindness,time and patience only then will you know if you can accomplish what your trying to achieve, you can never tell when it comes to birds, I've worked with wild caught birds that have been the biggest snuggle bunnies to handfeed birds that have been nothing but a big bundle of attitued, so I'm afraid this is one of those questions that no one can truely answer for you honestly, just keep the faith and go on doing what your doing, it seems to be working.....Good luck to you both

Hello and welcome to this wonderful forum. It sounds from what you write that you are on the right pathway to gaining the trust of this bird but it may take longer. It will take time and lots of your attentions. Second question is has this bird been seen by an avain vet? You should be separating the birds until you know if there are no diseases or viruses present. Just be near, talk softly and do not be in a hurry. Are you going to keep her? After you gain the trust the bird will relax and you will be able to start the training process. You should always have something in your hands she wants like a treat. In that way your hands will be looked at as friendly.

Sounds like things have come a long way in only 10 days..Keep up the good work.
My IRN was the same way when we brought her home just under a month ago.
Using clicker training,she now readily accepts treats.And she is starting to step up.
Her fear of hands is slowly disapearing.She even let me give her a head scratch yesterday. Spiritbird is right on with the treat idea.
Good luck

I am afraid it's pretty much what Bobby said: nobody knows. And I would go even further and state that not even the bird does! She has come a long way and you have done a GREAT job but parrots have very good, very long memories and studies have shown that stressed out baby birds retain a difficulty to deal with stressors for the rest of their lives making them highstrung (most likely one of the reasons why so many pet parrots pluck even under good living conditions). The only things I would change in what you are doing is that I would not ask her to step up but would wait, instead, for her to take the first step in that direction, and I would also train her to a stick instead of scooping her up with my hands (less stressful).

As to your needing a guaranteed cuddly animal for you to make a long term commitment, I am afraid that, when it comes to parrots, this doesn't really work because nobody can predict how they will turn out. Not even when you handraise them yourself. Rescues are full of very affectionate and cuddly birds who changed as they got older -some of them becoming downright aggressive toward their owners. And the species doesn't help because all conures are known for their nippiness as they mature and I don't know about anybody else's cherry heads but mine, at ten, decided some time ago that cuddling is out of the question and would nip you as soon as kiss you -LOL.

Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with a bird who is not cuddly and I actually admire that streak of defiance and independence in a bird but if this is going to be a problem for you, I suggest you consider finding this bird a home where no matter how he turns out, he will still be loved and wanted.

Will there ever be love???
It's pretty much like a marriage !!!!!!! It's a chance we take.
Sound like everything is in order, and you are doing a great job, even in the short time you have had the bird. Above members have given great advise and tips.
As I usually quote "when the bird is ready and willing" in his own time, will changes take place.
Please keep us updated

Thank you everybody!! At least I know I am doing the right things so far. I will let you know how we progress

Are you quarantining?