Need suggestion

[noodles123]

You said you can't buy millet in stores---Do you have an Amazon account? If you aren't old enough, you can buy a pre-paid amazon gift card which serves as a credit card and that will allow you to buy things online without having an actual credit card on file.

 

[ChristaNL]

Not sure Amazon delivers anywhere in Indonesia... though Jakarta is pretty huge.

 

[Nix277]

I dont really know about amazon, usually my friends buy things online with different site, i dont even know if amazon could reach indonesia lol

 

[Nix277]

Hello i am back ^_^

Here we go by number again haha

1. Lately around this week i already tried fed him his fav food only by my hand, and i put some of meals not too much and not too little, and lately when i fed him from outside cage, i dont know why, but i feel he is getting closer to me each day

And guess what, when i want to feed him, i said spin and he spin before he eat it, and ofc after he did this i praise and gave his fav food, i tried around 10x more and he already know that move it seems ^_^

And btw for the next week, since i already done with the feeding him by hand from outside cahe process, i would like to try feed him with my hand inside the cage, i just tried it today

And what i saw is whenever i pick his fav food and move my finger to open the cage door, he follows it, and when i place it to wait for him, he seems still afraid of my finger,

I know he is afraid because he move from his 2nd hanger to the 1st one near my hand slowly and he dont wanna get near it, just his head try to reach his food from my hand.

This case makes him bite me and miss his fav food. Any idea about going to the next process ?

2. And in indonesia usually people pet lovebird and hear their chirping sound which can be used to a competition! Do u know how to make the chirping longer? Haha my bird only chirp around 1 min or 2 min i guess, but its so

Please tell me about the next step and the biting from afraid that he feels, too bad i let my guard down because he got scared and fly away while i got bite ...

 

[ChristaNL]

\o/ you are doing great: your bird is bonding to you and even wants to do tricks!

I think we all flinch once in a while when a birdbite occurs - so your bird will get used to it.
Love your patience in getting to know each other - your bird is a lucky one.
Keep doing what you do.
Slow and steady

You may not believe it- but you are really making friends fast.
Some parrots will take ages just to go towards the offered food, your did it in just a few weeks.

If your bird keeps being afraid of your fingers - read the thing called target-training.
Then you both can do different things together/ play without the fear of fingers getting in the way.
It the bird wil follow the (chop)stick you can always (slowly) inch your fingers down (every session or so) so the stick part will be storter and your hands closer to the bird.


2- no idea about the singing lessons- maybe you could chirp along?

 

[Anansi]

Hello!

By the numbers! Let's see...

1) As Christa said, you're making great progress. He's coming along rather quickly. But this doesn't;t mean that you should start pushing faster. Remember what I said before. Go at his pace. By sticking your hand into his space, you pushed further than he was willing to go. Instead of sticking your hand into the cage, work instead on holding the food outside the door and having him come to you. Whenever the contact is his idea, he'll always feel better about it. You have all the time in the world. No need to rush.

2) This is entirely out of my range of experience. I had a cockatiel who loved singing and whistling with me, but it was something he wanted to do rather than something that I trained him to do. Best general advice I could give on that is to reward any sound he makes that you want to encourage.

Again, great progress! Keep the updates coming!

 

[Nix277]

Thanks for the compliment two of you ^_^

I didnt know that 2 weeks can be said as fast, i though it is normal haha,

And for anansi, i would like to know

1. Yeah i remember u said go for the best result and not to rush things, thats why i ask you if it is a good idea or not and it seems like its too fast to do it, so i think i will try feed him from outside the cage while make him do tricks sometimes.

When u said holding the food outside the door, do u mean i need to open the door too?

And for christa
I got the video about target training from anansi while back but i think its not the time yet? Or is it to make my bird know the presence of my hands is not gonna harm him? If could i would like to do both haha

Nt : i cant reply to ur msg because it needs 20 post to reply to someone

And about the chirping, i thought u guys know about it haha, because in indonesia people find lovebirds because their singing can be so long , i know that some people can take it as annoying, but my family is happy that he can singing freely and look so happy

Oh and the biting issue, should i ask in the thread u gave me before? Or i could just ask u two haha

 

[Anansi]

1) Yes, indeed! When I spoke of feeding him through the bars from outside the cage, I meant with the door closed. You can also begin target-training through the bars by using a pointer or chopstick and pointing to a certain area of his cage. And when he goes near that pointer, you reward him with praises and a treat.

Now, when I mention holding the food outside the door, I do mean with the door open. This should happen once he has grown comfortable enough with you. Of course, if you get him comfortable with target training through the bars of the cage, it wouldn't be very difficult in most cases to open the cage door and point to somewhere outside the cage... with positive results.

Remember, it's never too early to start target training. It's just a matter of whether the target training is taking place inside the cage through the bars and with the door closed, or outside the cage with the door open.

And as for the biting issue, you can either ask here or in the thread I linked. Either works.

 

[Nix277]

1. Well, i dont know if my bird and i ready to take things that far, what i know is its true that whenever i fed him from outside the cage bar, he will eat the food and i never get a bite again, but when i just approach with my bare hand he still open his mouth feels like want to bite.

While i fed him from outside the cage , i havent done any target training, what i know is when i fed him like usually, he come to approach me because it is quite near, but when i try to feed him from the cage door , i cant just hold the food outside the door cage, i need to guide him from his perch down to the cage door. But he still follows my lead

I do believe if i start target training by pointing chopstick to some point, he will come and bite it, but i dont know if i open the door cage, i think he will fly.

And i actually afraid when he fly and not come back to his cage, especially when he poops everywhere, including my bed if i open the cage in room.

So what do you think? Another 1 week only for target training?

2. Its not that i am lazy, but i already like ur way to tell me step by step, u r such an amazing and patience person to guide me, so i will just ask u if i may ^_^

I am curious , do the target training helps me to prevent from getting bite? Because this is just my logic , but i think bird starts to know something by "biting" . I gave him some hard plastic spoon yesterday and he bite it, but it looks like he bite it quite brutal, i dont know if he think that as a toy or what, but i dont see its a angry sign i think

I just confuse whenever i try to get my hands near him he will try to bite, like getting his guard ready. I tried to hold my hand like a little inch away from the cage around couple mins sometimes, is it gonna help me prevent biting in the future?

Please tell me a good way to teach him from getting ready to bite whenever my hand get near him while i try to take hings further with the bonding and training.

3. Oh yeah, i know that he wipe his mouth after he ate, but its a wood and it can scratch his beak right? Is it gonna be dangerous in the future?

 

[Anansi]

1) Ah, I think you've misunderstood me a little. I'm not saying that you should work with him with the cage open now. I just mean that is something you can do once you and your bird are ready. See how you said that you weren't ready to go that far yet? That's good! Listen to that instinct. You don't want too rush. You don't need to rush.

Remember, this takes as long as it takes. You haven't had him very long. If it takes you weeks or even months to earn his trust, that's fine. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

As for the target training, once he approaches the stick to bite it you can withdraw it and give him a treat. If you do it right, it won't take long for him to understand that going toward the stick = yummy treat.

As for the food and him following your lead, remember that the point here is not for you to keep putting the food near him and then pulling it away to draw him forward. You want him to come all the way to you. He gets rewarded for coming to you. If he refuses to come all the way to you, so you meet him halfway, you're rewarding him for not doing what you wanted. In fact, at that point he's training you. See what I mean?

But he doesn't trust you enough yet where you should be sticking your hand into the cage with him anyway. Take baby steps. Don't rush.

And no, don't limit yourself to just one week. Remember, it takes as long as it takes.

2) Thank you. I'm glad you're finding this stuff helpful.

Yes, indirectly target training does help keep you from being bitten. For several reasons. First, obviously, since you're using a targeting stick your fingers aren't really in biting range. Second, much of the reason you are being bitten at the moment is fear. He's biting you out for a fear response. Because he doesn't trust you yet. So by using a pointer you are giving a bit of distance from your hand. Which is less scary for him. And third, once he makes the association in his mind that going toward the stick earns him a treat, he will come to enjoy the interaction and start looking forward to seeing you. But all this takes time.

Again, with the plastic spoon you may be causing a fear response in him. He might be attacking it because he feels threatened. Of course, he might also just like striking at it, like it's a toy. Hard to tell without seeing the behavior. But it's more likely a fear response, so you should stop pushing the spoon toward him. Introduce one strange thing at a time. Targeting stick first. Let him get completely comfortable with that first. (Well, not counting the toy. Once you get him a toy you can try putting it in his cage right away. If he seems afraid of it, though, make the introduction more gradual. Even if you have to bring it closer and closer to the cage over a matter of days.)

When putting your hand near the cage, he is opening his mouth to warn you that he is not comfortable with your hand being that close. Pushing that boundary anyway just stresses him out and chips away at the trust you're trying to build. That's why you only get as close as you can without putting him on alert and then stay at that distance while talking to him. And then treats. It's you're job to convince him that you are not looking to eat him.

3) No, if you're talking about the wood of his perch or one of his toys, you don't have to worry. His beak will be just fine. Birds use those hard surfaces to keep their beaks noice, healthy and sharp. It's a natural behavior.

 

[Nix277]

hey there guys, its been a while... i have some good news.


1. i tried the target training everyday since then and now i can command my bird anywhere i like and every corner i like, but still in the cage. i did the training only at noon form him and everytime i come to train him on the next daym he looks so excited ^_^


and now since he can learn spin, sometimes before i command him to spin he spin first XD.


i wonder what should i do for the next step? did i do things too rush? but i think my bird kinda learn something quite fast, he dont get afraid of many things and likes all the seeds.