I've had my 1 yr. old female for 3 weeks. She seems to have settled in and talks all the time. I feel we have bonded, but she still won't willingly step up for me. I have to sort of trick her into it by holding my hand in front of her cage door (so she won't go back inside). I don't want her to fear me. I know it's still early on, how much time does it take to adjust?
2006-11-14 07:49:15 · 5 answers · asked by liztorlex 1 in Pets ➔ Birds
A parrot can be scared you hand is not strong enough to take her weight. Step up from a cage is also difficult, try from the top of the cage or gym. Lay your hand flat on the top of the cage so that your hand does not move as the bird is stepping up. The parrot will also seem to take a long time to step up it does not just jump on your hand like a budgie or smaller bird does, it seems to do so in slow motion. To step up slowly is not unwillingnes it is just a grey style. If you put fingers flat between it legs you can encourage the bird that way. DONT try force it will bite you then. The bird may also test with the beak how strong your arm is but it wont be a bite just a sort of grip. If you see the eyes dilating dont mess with the bird. You can also try getting the bird to step up by offering a favourite treat that the bird has to step up to get the treat. Make sure you are ready for the feel of the claws on your hand/arm because if you flinch even the slightest the bird will not trust you, you will scare the bird that the hand is not safe to perch on. If you can it is better to let the bird perch on your arm rather than a hand, it makes the bird feel safer. Once the bird trusts you, it can perch anywhere on you.
2006-11-14 08:30:22 · answer #1 · answered by Angie C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don’t.
You’re Grey will step up once she wants to. You need to first develop a trusting relationship with her; make her actually WANT to come close to you. Once she has the desire to be close to you, it will be much easier to get her to step up.
Some of the other suggestions might work, but as you mentioned, it would be like cheating. Bribery works great, but not only as a tool for getting her to step up. Offer her a treat just being in the same vicinity as you; one per day for several days in a row when you first see her. This way she’ll equate you with something positive.
Don’t force her to try to step up on you but instead, get closer to her when she’s inside the cage or outside and converse with her a bit. Approach her with parts of your body to see how she’ll react first; a shoulder, an arm, etc. If she has any interest in that, offer her a finger but don’t push it at her. Let her come to you. Lay your finger flat and hold it steady.
Keep an eye on her body language to see if she feels threatened – her eyes might pin down, feathers might ruffle and head might go down if she does. Pull back if this happens and keep trying every couple days, it will take patience.
Be prepared to get bitten!
- An exploratory bite will simply be a slight grasp with her beak. She might do this to feel what your hand is like and see if she can trust it to hold her.
- If you’ve bonded with her to a degree she might still bite but hold back a bit – I like to call this a warning bite, similar to a slap on the wrist.
- If the feathers are ruffled and she charges… have a band-aid ready because you’ll be bleeding shortly! Try changing tactics a bit and give her more time if this is the case.
If she does bite, resist the urge to pull back and yell. Keep your hand there, let her bite and pull back once she lets go. For one, she might not actually be trying to bite you but might be exploring your hand. Pulling back might make her think she has to hold on harder next time. Also, by backing off when she bites (if it was intentional) she will realize that biting will get you to leave her alone. You don’t want to reward this by giving her what she wants when she bites.
2006-11-14 15:06:47 · answer #2 · answered by lerxstwannabe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you have had your african grey for only 3 weeks, give her more time to settle in and trust you.
You can coax her to come out of her cage and sit on the top of her cage...once out of the cage, close the door.
You can take your finger and put it towards the top part of her legs where her chest is and gently push your finger up lightly raising her chest to coax her to step up onto your finger. If she does not mind you touching her feet, you can gently use your other hand and lift one of her feet to put it on your finger, then coax her by gently lifting your finger up. She will they step up with the other leg that is not on your finger.
Keep an eye on her eyes and how she acts so you will not get bit. Keep encouraging her to step up using a soft voice talking sweet to her.
In time she will gain more trust in you and when you open her cage she will automatically lif her foo up in the air wanting to step up on your hand.
Good Luck :-)
2006-11-14 09:55:05 · answer #3 · answered by Debbie S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try using a perch instead of your hand...she may feel your hand isn't secure enough.Tap her on the chest with the perch and stay step up.Become more and more insistent until she actually does it,and make sure you keep her balanced.Once you get her out of the cage,offer your hand again and repeat.
2006-11-14 08:41:47 · answer #4 · answered by Lindsey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a bird also. The way I got her to step up onto my finger was I placed my finger at her feet and pushed slightly back and up so she feels that she has to grab something to stay balanced. While doing this say "up". Later on in life this will make it a lot easier to get your bird to listen to you. Hope that helped
2006-11-14 08:04:59 · answer #5 · answered by lynnz 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋