no touch nanday

[arky67]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so please be patient, I don't know my way around. 2 weeks ago I got a nanday, I was told chico is a boy? About 2 years old. He loves to ride on my shoulder, gets excited when I come in the room, but he will not let me touch him. He seems to be afraid of hands. How do I fix this? Also he won't eat anything but seeds. No fruit or pet store treats , just picks the seeds out of his mix

 

[SoCalWendy]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so please be patient, I don't know my way around. 2 weeks ago I got a nanday, I was told chico is a boy? About 2 years old. He loves to ride on my shoulder, gets excited when I come in the room, but he will not let me touch him. He seems to be afraid of hands. How do I fix this? Also he won't eat anything but seeds. No fruit or pet store treats , just picks the seeds out of his mix

Welcome! Start offering fruits and veggies in a separate bowl from the pellets. Pellets in another bowl exclusively. As for the seed you can give this to him as a separate treat. Using them to build confidence in you and your hands. Try using a stand or the back of a chair away from his cage. Show him the seed and offer him a seed, see if he will come to you willingly for the seed. If he is reluctant, respect his space and try again later. Over time you will learn to read his body language. Pay attention to it carefully, never push him beyond his comfort zone. Respect his space and retreat. Once he begins to trust you can see that your hands are not evil, and you can offer him a seed, over and over and over again - it seems endless, then you may be able to touch his beak. And start the process over again, rewarding as you go.

Now I ask my bird things like, do you want to come out?, do you want to go to bed?, touch?, before I handle my bird. This way she knows what to expect from me and she doesn't fear me anymore. She makes certain sounds, and holds herself in a way that I now anticipate what she wants. You will too. Hope this helps a little. Btw... Seed are not bad for birds, just don't make a meal out of them and use them in a way that can benefit the both of you. Win/win.

 

[arky67]

Thanks so much. You make it sound so simple. I can't wait to get started

 

[Pajarita]

Please do thorough research before you settle on pellets as their main diet, more and more people are finding they are not the healthiest option for them.

As to touching him, I've had two Nandays, both were very sweet-tempered and docile but they never did like having their body touched, lots of parrots don't, you know...

 

[SoCalWendy]

I think the key is balance and variety. There are good things in seeds, pellets, fruits and veggies, etc. for your bird. I would never go exclusive pellets, seed, or just fruits and veggies. The Internet is a wonderful resource to research what your species of bird eats in the wild. You can try and duplicate that as much as possible.

 

[arky67]

I got some zu preme pellets . He really likes them. For now I'm sure its better than what he was been eating. So far he won't eat anything but sunflower seeds. I am offering him apples and grapes. Have tried mango, melons and blueberries. I don't think he has ever seen fruit before.

 

[patch]

Excellent trick that has gotten a lot of results: eat new foods in frot of your bird and make a show about how much you like them. That's how I get my bird to eat new fruits and vegetables. The minute I'm enjoying something, he wants to enjoy it too.

 

[SoCalWendy]

I got some zu preme pellets . He really likes them. For now I'm sure its better than what he was been eating. So far he won't eat anything but sunflower seeds. I am offering him apples and grapes. Have tried mango, melons and blueberries. I don't think he has ever seen fruit before.

Excellent, and you can use sunflower seed for training and bonding.

 

[JasmineGCC]

I agree with others you can remove sunflower seeds from his food and the only time he has them is as a treat or reward. My GCC jasmine loves pine nuts too.

Try teaching simple tricks like turning in a circle on your finger/arm/sofa. Or hanging like a bat. Jasmine can do a finger somersault but that took weeks to teach her. We also play touch with the end of a chopstick - the moment she touches her beak to the end she gets an immediate 'good girl' and a treat. She loves it and all good bonding opportunities.

However although she was very cuddly as a baby, now she's mature she only allows head scratches - no body strokes or cuddles. She will snuggle into my neck gently preening my hair but has bitten my fingers a few times. She clearly knows what she likes and what she doesn't and I've learnt to respect that

Good luck