After five years of the little green budgie scampering away from my hand, I've decided to make a renewed effort to tame Suzy. I don't have high expectations - I bought her in a pet shop, after all, and not from a breeder that hand raises and feeds chicks. The first time I saw her was when a store employee had to get her out of the cage. The employee grabbed Suzy from behind and kind of pushed her right up against the glass
which is probably why she's so terrified of hands.
7/22/15: I decided to get Suzy used to my presence, so I put my hand into the lower half of the cage for a few minutes (after removing the mirror). She didn't seem too scared, and watched my hand for a bit. When I was done, I replaced the mirror. Eventually, I'm going to take it away, but Suzy clearly was stressed by the temporary disappearance of her reflection. So far, she's doing well and meeting expectations.
7/23/15: I started things off by doing the same thing as last time. This time around she seemed more interested and less scared. To see how close I could get, I offered Suzy a bit of millet from my hand. She took a nibble and scampered away. I left the mirror out of the cage for about five minutes, both to clean it and see how she would do. She didn't seem stressed at all. Later on I checked on her and she wasn't staring at the mirror, which is great for her second day
7/24/15: Now I have two birds to take care of! I took out the mirror for ten minutes, and Suzy seemed fine. While I was doing the hand thing again, she lost interest for a moment to play with one of her toys. I can't be mad, as it's the first time she's played with a toy since Jack's passing! She took a 1 1/2 inch piece of millet from my hand afterwards. Remy (Pronounced Ray-may) got his first day of taming. I simply put my hand in the cage for a bit. To see how far he would go, I offered a 3 1/2 inch section of millet. Even though it was his first ever day in my flock, he didn't seem daunted and enjoyed the treat
So far, both are doing fantastic!
7/25/15: I was busy all day and couldn't spend much time with Suzy and Remy. The time that I did have with them was mostly spent getting Suzy used to my hand again and introducing Remy to perch training. I took the mirror away for twenty minutes, and Suzy was fine.
7/26/15: Suzy let me pet her a bit today, and got millet. Remy stepped up onto the perch, which is great. I removed Suzy's mirror for thirty minutes today. She apparently heard Remy, and chirped back.
7/29/15: I'm not going to update this training journal anymore, as I have been really, really busy the past few days. However, I'll continue to work with Suzy and Remy.
7/22/15: I decided to get Suzy used to my presence, so I put my hand into the lower half of the cage for a few minutes (after removing the mirror). She didn't seem too scared, and watched my hand for a bit. When I was done, I replaced the mirror. Eventually, I'm going to take it away, but Suzy clearly was stressed by the temporary disappearance of her reflection. So far, she's doing well and meeting expectations.
7/23/15: I started things off by doing the same thing as last time. This time around she seemed more interested and less scared. To see how close I could get, I offered Suzy a bit of millet from my hand. She took a nibble and scampered away. I left the mirror out of the cage for about five minutes, both to clean it and see how she would do. She didn't seem stressed at all. Later on I checked on her and she wasn't staring at the mirror, which is great for her second day
7/24/15: Now I have two birds to take care of! I took out the mirror for ten minutes, and Suzy seemed fine. While I was doing the hand thing again, she lost interest for a moment to play with one of her toys. I can't be mad, as it's the first time she's played with a toy since Jack's passing! She took a 1 1/2 inch piece of millet from my hand afterwards. Remy (Pronounced Ray-may) got his first day of taming. I simply put my hand in the cage for a bit. To see how far he would go, I offered a 3 1/2 inch section of millet. Even though it was his first ever day in my flock, he didn't seem daunted and enjoyed the treat
7/25/15: I was busy all day and couldn't spend much time with Suzy and Remy. The time that I did have with them was mostly spent getting Suzy used to my hand again and introducing Remy to perch training. I took the mirror away for twenty minutes, and Suzy was fine.
7/26/15: Suzy let me pet her a bit today, and got millet. Remy stepped up onto the perch, which is great. I removed Suzy's mirror for thirty minutes today. She apparently heard Remy, and chirped back.
7/29/15: I'm not going to update this training journal anymore, as I have been really, really busy the past few days. However, I'll continue to work with Suzy and Remy.
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