It's been 2 weeks and Raku is still afraid of me.

[BriansAWildDowner]

The first day I had him he loved me, but then the second day I startled him by turning on the coffee grinder and he's been afraid of me ever since.

He loves my girlfriend so he is still getting some positive attention from her, but he runs from me if I get anywhere near him. Even though his wings are clipped he's pretty good at flying around. Just a minute ago I put my laptop on the table which he knows means i'm about get up, and he flew off in to the kitchen and then back to his cage when I went to rescue him.

He will come to me if I have sunflower seeds or banana for him, but he just grabs some and then runs away again.

It's really frustrating since I can't figure out how to do any sort of training like this.

Even complete strangers he doesn't run away from.

I feel like I must be doing something to reinforce his fear of me but I really can't imagine what that might be.

Is 2 weeks just too soon or am I doing something wrong? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[strudel]

It's really frustrating since I can't figure out how to do

My suggestion is to try not to feel frustrated and stop thinking in terms of how you can "fix it" or how to do anything at all. Think nothing at all, relax, do nothing and wait for him to decide that you are not a huge threat or something to be avoided, but perhaps something worth investigating.

Your determination and frustration will be semaphored to him. They can't interpret anything by reasoning that you are trying to be his friend or anything else. All they know is that you are tense... Your determination to "overcome his resistance" may be causing his resistance.

Forget about it completely, relax, ignore him, and see what happens. Some favourite food in your vicinity while you are doing nothing might make you worthy of investigation, but if it doesn't, don't let it get to you.

(and yes, 2 weeks is nothing in making friends with him. Give him time, put aside all thoughts of results or when they "should" have been achieved.)

 

[Superbird]

Each bird is different, some warm up faster than others. You're doing fine. Don't do sudden movements around him and do the parrot friendly gestures and mannersism (look up online)

 

[BriansAWildDowner]

Thanks. I'm having a hard time turning off the part of me that says I must be screwing it all up, but hearing (reading) that helps.

My girlfriend says I need to talk to him more. I'm not a very verbal person so that will be a challenge but I'm going to give it a shot.

 

[strudel]

My girlfriend says I need to talk to him more.

I am a "big fan" of the running commentary. I find it works with all sorts of animals and little people. Think of yourself, if somebody were to suddenly reach towards your head, you'd flinch and duck, but if they preface it with "you've got a leaf in your hair", you'd be less likely to.

As I said, I don't think they even need to understand what you are saying, just the soothing tone and the talking keeps things calm. I also give my galah little hugs prefaced by "cuddle?" and she doesn't mind me sort of hugging her to my chest. She's pretty cruisy with all sorts of contact. A couple of times I've had to snatch her up really quickly (that dog is going to EAT you!!) and she will squeal if she doesn't know it's coming, so it's not that she just doesn't mind being grabbed. If I say something first, she's good, even if it's kind of quicker than normal.

 

[JasmineGCC]

I talk to my GCC Jasmine all the time. I over exaggerate how happy I am to see her and she responds by chirping back. I tell her she's a good girl all the time and give her treats - every time I pass her cage I talk to her and giver her a pine nut! She shouts hello when I leave the room and I shout hello back then she's ok til I come back. Your tone of voice is very important - sound happy, make kissing sounds (Jasmine kisses back), praise her a lot. When I first got her, even if she looked at me, she got a good girl and a treat. Now she migrates around the cage depending where I am in the room and she gets a lot of attention even when she's not out with me. I also trained her to touch the end of a chopstick through the cage wire for a treat - it's one of her favourite games and she will go all around her cage to touch that stick! All reinforced with praise. Jasmine is fully flighted and enjoys zooming around our lounge at times, but mostly she sits on my shoulder and preens my hair

 

[anita1216]

We have had our bird Dali for a week, amazingly things are going pretty well. We just move very slowly and talk sweetly constantly. I have noticed that Dali startles easily and then takes hours to calm again. I am finding patience is a virtue.