As everyone else has mentioned, I wholeheartedly agree that it's all about patience. Eliza was so smart, and friendly when I'd go to visit her...and completely different when I got her home. I had already done some research, and talked to different people...but I must admit I was having some serious doubts. It was a completely different bird than the one I had originally met and fell in love with.
I'm almost ashamed to say this now, but I really was almost ready to throw in the towel, and concede that--while I love birds--maybe actually having something other than, say, a budgie just wasn't for me.
Then one night I was watching TV and she was out. She started crawling up my leg, and I immediately tensed up, knowing I'd be once again rushing for the band-aids if she decided to really go after my hands or arms. Instead, she sorta curled up in my palm, and scrunched her head over.
I'd like to say my first thought was "Oh, how adorable," but in fact, I was so stunned I didn't know what to think. I tentatively started scratching her neck, and she made little purring sounds. We sat there for a couple of hours.
I finally put her to bed. I figured it would be back to aloofness and/or aggressiveness the next day. Instead, it was as though she couldn't wait to be with me.
That started the bond, which has only grown stronger over the past thirteen months.
Apologies for the long reply. I couldn't put into words how much I love that little bird (and Henry too!), and it was all due to patience and trying not to force anything. (I'm not taking all the credit, mind you--Eliza was the one who made the leap!) True, I came close to giving up. I cannot imagine what this house would be like if I had.
So please hang in there, and keep us posted! I feel 100% it will all work out...and that we will one day be seeing a post from you that begins "Hey, remember when..."
Derek
PS Yikes, this is going to get even longer. But the contrast between Eliza's experience and Henry's is sort of interesting. With Henry, the owner of the shop had me come over to her house a couple of times to spend some time with him. Now the owner had a family, plus three dogs, at least one cat, and several birds. So, as you might imagine, Henry's young life was one filled with a lot of chaos! When I got him home, he was almost too clingy--he was probably wondering when a bunch of dogs would come running around the corner! He couldn't handle being in such a comparatively quiet house. It's been fun to see his confidence develop over the past several months; he's quite the self-assured young man now!
