First day - he was sweet, wouldn't hesitate to step up, nipped me a few times and laughed, and peck my face like those birds on top of rhinos you see on animal kingdom
Second day - stopped stepping up, but stopped nipping
Third day - started flying away whenever I approached him and offered my hand for step up; became more aware of me petting him
Fourth day - started TREMBLING when I pet him, and flying away became more frequent
Fifth day - started to quickly lose weight, and became very dependent on the food that I was eating rather than the food in his cage
Sixth day - I've tried leaving him locked up in the cage all day, because of hygiene issues and he seemed to become more scared by the day
Seventh day - still friendly; still prefer being outside of the cage; still no biting
Eighth day - started preferring being inside his cage; started biting me
Ninth day - started charging toward my finger whenever it even so much as touched his cage
He still trembles whenever I touch him while he's outside of his cage. I've fed him variety of food by hand, and he's enjoyed them so much that tempting him with food is now the only way to get him out of his cage.
I don't understand what I did wrong here. Is it because I started restricting his freedom? Is it because I've held him - because he wouldn't go inside if I tried to put him in while he was perched on my finger - to place him inside his cage during nighttime? Why does he tremble whenever he's outside his cage and I'm touching him?
* He seemed to enjoy it when I held him in my hands, so I didn't think much of it, because he didn't exactly protest. Was that the problem? Is the damage to the relationship permanent? Will he never be the sweet bird I brought home on the first day?
Second day - stopped stepping up, but stopped nipping
Third day - started flying away whenever I approached him and offered my hand for step up; became more aware of me petting him
Fourth day - started TREMBLING when I pet him, and flying away became more frequent
Fifth day - started to quickly lose weight, and became very dependent on the food that I was eating rather than the food in his cage
Sixth day - I've tried leaving him locked up in the cage all day, because of hygiene issues and he seemed to become more scared by the day
Seventh day - still friendly; still prefer being outside of the cage; still no biting
Eighth day - started preferring being inside his cage; started biting me
Ninth day - started charging toward my finger whenever it even so much as touched his cage
He still trembles whenever I touch him while he's outside of his cage. I've fed him variety of food by hand, and he's enjoyed them so much that tempting him with food is now the only way to get him out of his cage.
I don't understand what I did wrong here. Is it because I started restricting his freedom? Is it because I've held him - because he wouldn't go inside if I tried to put him in while he was perched on my finger - to place him inside his cage during nighttime? Why does he tremble whenever he's outside his cage and I'm touching him?
* He seemed to enjoy it when I held him in my hands, so I didn't think much of it, because he didn't exactly protest. Was that the problem? Is the damage to the relationship permanent? Will he never be the sweet bird I brought home on the first day?
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