Update, feedback appreciated!

[asagiyuu]

Hana is a year and a half now and is in her second molt. She’s also now fully flighted and doing well with recall training, honestly it’ll never cease to baffle me how smart she is and how quickly she picks up on certain things, seemingly without trying at times! She more or less potty trained herself, even when I have her out she’ll fly back to her cage to go potty on her own or she’ll perch on her openncage door and aim for the trashcan underneath and go there. She’s a very affectionate baby so during our cuddle time I often give her little kisses and she’s taken to “booping” me lightly with her beak and mimicking the sound. It isn’t just me she does this with other people too and it’s a huge relief to me that she hasn’t found a person she dislikes yet (except my dog, but she’s a good sport about it or she’s just oblivious since she doesn’t give the bird the time of day).

The only thing that’s been a challenge thus far is that she’s very very skittish. I’ve been taking her around different parts of the house and using treats, scratches, and playtime to help her associate other areas as places of fun and not something scary, and although she’ll calm down in the moment, slight movements even if they aren’t sudden in her peripheral view spook her. Even in the safety of her regular room just seeing a glimpse of my shadow on the wall will make her freak and she’ll fly around before landing back on me. Seeing movement outside my window like a squirrel passing by or a bird flying overhead scares her, and rotating her toys always seems stressful and makes me feel bad for her. She’ll be too scared to go back not her cage or will avoid the areas with the new toys completely. Thus far I’ve been doing rewards to help her associate new toys as a good thing, leaving them outside her cage within view so she can accept them as part of her surroundings before putting them in or letting her watch me interact with them so she knows they’re safe (this seems to work best, seeing as she’ll actually approach and play with them then, but she still appears stressed once I put said toy in her cage and she’ll be reluctant to go in or near it.)

If her skittish disposition is just a quirk of her personality that I need to work around, then that’s exactly what I’ll do, but if there are any other things I could be doing or things I can do differently to help minimize stress, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[EllenD]

It sounds like you're doing everything that you should be doing, it's just a matter of repetition and time. And it can take a long, long time to de-sensitize birds to certain objects, places, sounds, etc. that they are afraid of or even just startled by. Some birds are more "skittish" than others, but in-general most-all birds are extremely skittish about at least some things, and certain things are going to scare ALL birds...

Keep in-mind that even birds born/raised in captivity and that are completely tame still retain most-all of their natural, innate instincts, especially those that pertain to their survival...You mentioned that your Green Cheek is scared by "movement outside of a window, like a squirrel passing by or a bird flying overhead", and I'd be a lot more concerned myself is she WASN'T startled/scared by these types of things in-particular, because parrots are naturally "Prey" animals...So any living creature that flies overtop of them is potentially a natural Predator, such as a Predatory Bird, like Owls, Raptors, Eagles, etc. (You'll also see many other types of pets scared to death of anything that flies overtop of them or that casts a shadow near them, such as Reptiles like Bearded Dragons, they'll run at literally around 10-15mph whenever they see anything overhead). So your Green Cheek's response to anything flying overhead, anything passing by a window outside, shadows being cast near her, etc. are all completely normal and the same response that any and all parrots are going to have, even Macaws, Cockatoos, Greys, Amazons, etc. A Raptor, Eagle, or large Owl will swoop down, grab them, and carry them off to literally eat them alive in a matter of seconds...That would scare anyone!!!

As far as your Green Cheek being skittish about other objects, places in your house, etc., it's simply just about doing exactly what you've been doing: desensitizing her to these places and things until she no longer fears them, which can take months and months to years. My guys are deathly afraid of my guitars, lol...I have them all over the house, and they're fine with them sitting on their stands or haning on the wall, but the second I pick one of them up they all start screaming and squawking and flying frantically all over the place. So I just keep on exposing them to the guitars every day, and over time they have become more and more used to them being around and moving near them. So you're doing what you need to be doing, just keep exposing her to the objects that she's particularly afraid of or startle by, keep taking her through the rooms/areas that she's afraid to be in or near, and gradually over time she'll eventually become more and more used to them...As far as her fear of animals outside passing by the windows, casting shadows (anything casting large shadows), or anything flying overhead, you not only aren't going to break her of these fears because they are innate, natural survival instincts, but you don't want her to not be afraid of them!!!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Agreeing with Ellen. I like your style... patience, love, tolerance, open-mindedness...
I hope you continue to share your adventure with Hana. Some photos or videos would be wonderful!