Coco update

[Thelly]

I've had 14 year old coco for a month now and she never let's me touch her. I try every day with no luck. Well today she came up to me dropped her wings mouthed me whilst making soft crying noise. Then she put 1 foot on my arm. I thought Omg. This is it but she then changed her mind. I know that some if these actions are to do with mating but is this still a good sign. I hope so.

 

[AMR500]

definitely a great sign!
That's a very affectionate I love you gesture! Bela does it all the time. Encouraging it for the first little while to promote bonding won't hurt.... It's how I was able to connect with Bela. Once that connection and trust is established you want to ignore the behaviour... but utilize it as a tool for now? That's my opinion - everyone else will chime in here too..

 

[MikeyTN]

At least she's trying, there are birds that wont make the first step. Its a good progress, keep it up and CoCo would be riding on your shoulders in no time. Im training my new ekkies right now and I have both riding on my shoulders....its cute!

 

[suebee]

aww i am so pleased for you

 

[Thelly]

Thank you. She is the most tatty bird I have seen but also the most beautiful. I love her so much. My life has changed loads since I got her. I no longer get bored when the kids are at school, infact I can't wait to push them out the door so I can spend time with Coco. :jumping40

 

[MikeyTN]

LoL!!!!! They're more fun then kids in my mind!!!

 

[Thelly]

Here is a video showing what she is doing. Do you think this could help us bond. What should I be doing next?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTzcUkv-4yw&feature=youtube_gdata_player]YouTube - Coco[/ame]

 

[AMR500]

Hey - so yes that is the same thing that Bela does!! Very submissive I love you... so I can see Coco trying to step her foot up on your hand.. however your hand is always quite high when she does this - at one point you tried lifting the hand to get her to shift weight - which when there is confidence.. great - good that method works, but for now you're rushing and making it too difficult. Secondly, I see her mouthing you - this is ok, as long as they are EXTREMELY gentle about it... I say 'no biting' and Bela stays very light with it. You're moving a bit quick and rough to me, so try slowing down, that will also reduce the excitement and make the mouthing less aggressive in turn.
So far as the step up goes... when she's dropping her wings like that level your hand out more flat (horizontal) towards her breast and at the front of her legs, and say 'step up'... put slight forward pressure (towards her with your hand) lightly and see what happens.. go slow... the foot coming up is great! I'm not trying to criticize you here.. just give some pointers... If you do get her to step up.. just leave it at that... let her stand there quietly, maybe offer a treat, but don't go forcing to move her or pet her yet... get it going more down pat before you start taking her away. It's great especially that she's doing this in her cage by the looks of things! Goodluck

 

[Thelly]

Thanks for your advice. I'm very new to all this so I do everything wrong lol. But I'm learning every day thanks to you guys. I will take on board what you said and try not to push things. I'm very pleased at the progress so far.

 

[mtdoramike]

WOW, that is GREAT! I agree with the above. Coco will let you know whn he is ready for you to go further like petting or scratching his neck. Try giving him a treat when you say step up and if he makes a good attempt at stepping up then give him a treat. This way he knows that if he does when you ask, he will get a treat. You can also use a clicker for this as well. But for step ups, I just say step up and once they start making a good effort, I give a treat like a piece of millet spray.