There's just nothing else like it!

[Kiwibird]

My Lilac Crowned Amazon is the only bird I have that doesn't care for being touched, although Tusk certainly does it on HIS terms, when HE is in the mood...

Everyone else is like this.

I've always wondered if it had something to do with being parent raised or wild caught VS hand raised of co-parented . Like makes them more prone to disliking touch. The 2 birds my parents raised from chicks like to be petted (though the cockatoo only by my dad, the GCA by anyone), but the wild caught DYH will not allow it. I will never know for sure, but many aspects of Kiwi's behavior lead me to believe he's parent raised. Human hands are only good for riding on.

 

[Birdman666]

My lilac crowned is wild caught, and I absolutely believe it's a factor.

 

[Christinenc2000]

Such a pretty bird.

 

[Newbsi]

Look at the size of that beak! Beautiful girl! Too much beak for me to handle though

 

[Birdman666]

Look at the size of that beak! Beautiful girl! Too much beak for me to handle though

She's a big girl, but she's 110% mush... I don't even remember the last time she gave me a hard pinch.

It's when they sense fear.... that's what triggers it. Fear of the beak is a self fulfilling prophecy.

Respect the beak. Don't fear it. If a big mac senses fear, you're done handling it... that bird will OWN you.

 

[Birdman666]

Is this what you mean by initiate some contact? She has full run of the back of the couch that is next to her play stand with a rope to come down on..I sit on that couch. She will come down to me and play with my hair and give me love nips on my back, she'll even sit on the back of the pillow letting her tail and rear end rest on my shoulder. One and only time did I get her on my lap and for a good half hour I played with her feet and her beak..it was like a different bird.

Exactly. And as you get her to lower her defenses, you ask her to take that next step to allow touching.

I actually use two of those bamboo BBQ skewers for touching excercises. You play with them with it, get them comfortable with it, start touching them with it, and then gradually work your fingers down the skewer until the bird doesn't realize that it's your fingers... not the skewer doing the touching.