General bonding question.

[dknight8919]

How long did it take you and your bird to bond,

And how did you go about making the experiance more smoother?

 

[IcyWolf]

Billie bonded to us almost instantly, although we still get bites from him. But he will fly to us and talk to us and for the most part, he is an awesome little bird. We have had ziggy, our alexandrine for almost six months and she still isn't really bonded to either of us. She is definitely "my bird", and she yells and carries on if I leave her sight, but she isn't very cuddly and would rather just be near us than actually be touched by us. We are just taking it slow and not forcing her to do anything she doesn't want to do. I have learned when she wants to be picked up, which isn't often but as soon as I see her acting like she wants to be held, I pick her up and hold her until she starts eyeballing the safety of her cage again. I also never close her cage door. It has probably been open for about two months now, but she never leaves her cage unless we pick her up or something really scares her in which case she will jump off, but that doesn't happen often and we try to avoid it. If I were to ever leave for an extended period of time I would close the door but I'm never gone too long or often, especially since the baby was hatched.

 

[suncon97]

We could get Pearl to step up as soon as we got here but she still didn't really "like" us.She bonded with 1 person(me) although everybody else could pick her up.For about a month and a half I would sit there and talk to her and leave her cage door open for hours each night.Eventually she began to crawl up top and since I'd accomplished that I began to work on handling more.I sat across the room and the more I sat there over the weeks the more she wanted to come to me.I just kept taking it slow like this and doing one step at a time.now she loves head scratches,she comes with me all around the house and lately she's let me touch under her wings(she was extremely touchy there before) Of course our bond can get much stronger with certain things but we've made great progress over a time of about..ehhh...5 months.Everybody else can still hold her now.But I can tell she really loves us because she gets so excited when we walk into the room!

 

[roxynoodle]

My Nanday chose me and I swear she bonded to me before we even got home! She even said her first word in only 2 weeks of being with me. That's a record though and not my usual experience.

All my budgies were parent raised and it took at least a couple of months.

My BC took a few weeks I think before she truly loved me. She was coming out for me and letting me touch her within a few days, but she was still uncertain about everything.

I thought Pete would take awhile, but within 2 days he began making friends, and I'd say now he does love me. He is also interested in me romantically though and that I'm discouraging!

 

[dknight8919]

I tried to rub his head -through the cage- and he kinda lunged at me, is this bad/ Or do i just need to be patient. he is sitting on his perch right now thats closest to me and hes eating, is that a good sign?

 

[dknight8919]

Should I be discouraged?

 

[suncon97]

I've heard that it takes a while with some birds to achieve a head scratch.It depends on the bird but it took me about two months.Dont ever get discouraged it just takes lots of time.It became overwhelming with me sometimes but then I thought of what the great outcome would be and now I have it and I'm so glad I kept trying. And I would say eating close to you is a good sign Patience is the key.

 

[dknight8919]

Ive had punky around 5 days and ive let him out of the cage, but he doesnt wanna step up however he will come close to me to get food from me whle inside and out of the cage, then he returnes back to the top, any ways I can work on this?

 

[suncon97]

Not at all.Just try introducing your hand slowly to him.Dont make fast hand movements around him because it can frighten him. Also don't stick your hand inside the cage when he still isn't comfortable with you.Doing that got me a really hard bite on my fingers. He will get more comfortable with you over time. Progress time is different with all birds. It could take you a few weeks or a month or two. When he's out just try to let him do his thing as long as he's not getting in trouble. This may sound crazy but sing to him,talk to him,turn music on,do whatever makes him comfortable around you.As for stepping up wait til he gets comfortable with your hand(it may take a while)patience But when the time comes stick your hand or wrist up to him around his stomach and say step up. Rub his stomach with your hand to try to get a foot up then put his foot on your hand.Step up takes time too.I wouldn't recommend trying now because you might get bit.

 

[roxynoodle]

Should I be discouraged?

Oh gosh no, not at all! Some animals can take a year or more to come around. I was full prepared for Pete to take that long, to be honest. He had the same owner for 28 years from the time he was a newly weaned chick. Parrots are very much like people in some ways. They can and do mourn a previous owner. Try to think how you would feel if someone you loved died or disappeared. Your bird is feeling grief right now. You have to remember how sensitive and intelligent they are. I have had cats that mourned the loss of their best cat friend, and horses that did as well.

Macaws have a particular sensitivity as well. Hopefully you are committed to him, and I'd guess you are from all your questions. Bear in mind he will be with your a loooonnnggg time. Let him decide on the pace. In the meantime, just continue interacting with him and letting him get interested. I've met a lot of macaws that seem to like to jump at people and love scaring them. They kind of go "Blah!" and jump at you with their wings out. If it's a game, you might laugh. They often laugh back and try to engage you again. They are the only bird I know that does this so that might be what he's doing. See if he wiggles his tongue at you, too. It can be a frightening looking game of theirs for the uninitiated but they love it! I bet there are videos on youtube of macaws doing this. Watch some and see if this is what your bird is doing. If it is, it's a macaw game, not meanness. If that is it, they seem to love it if you jump a bit and say things like, "Oh no! Help me!"

Often at night my amazon kind of lunges at my face when I go to cover him. He just gets very suddenly grumpy 10 minutes after I turn off the light. I don't take it personally. He gets so wound up in the evening that the grumps hit really fast. He just may never be a bird like my Nanday who wants to give kisses at bedtime and delay it as long as possible. He just wants to be covered and go to bed.

 

[dknight8919]

He moves his head back and forth sometimes, what are some signs that he is getting comfotable with me?

And yes I am very committed to him, he is 11 years old. I plan on having him until I pass or he does.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yeah, you have a GW, right? GW's especially seem to love the "jump at people and scare the crap out of them game." Can you tell from his demeanor if he is playing that or if he's actually frightened when he lunges?

 

[dknight8919]

I cant really tell.. Care to explain, and yes he is a gw

 

[roxynoodle]

I'll see if I can find a video of one doing it. But they kind of go "Blah!" and jump at you with their wings held away from their body. And the ones that know how to laugh usually will laugh afterwards about how pleased they are with themselves for making the person jump and yell. I've never come across any other type of parrot who does it except macaws. That's why I wondered if it actually was playing this macaw game with you. If I can find a video I'll post it. Every GW I've met that loved me right away played this game with me. I've seen B&Gs do it, too.

 

[roxynoodle]

I went through several pages of videos on youtube but didn't see what I was looking for. It would help if I knew what to call it. I'm sure if you ask the macaw people here they will know exactly what I'm talking about. I was able to tell the first time it happened though that it was playing with me. But, I can also see a lot of people being scared half out of their wits by a large bird like that playing this game.

 

[henpecked]

Well i've guess you've heard all the different answers.This is why i tell people to let the bird pick you.wiether it 's a baby or an older rehome, go with the bird you "connect " with.Meet all the birds you can, go with the one you find that "spark" with.Sure you can work at it for years or find that "magic" at the beginning.