DeBree420
01-31-2008, 09:42 AM
well i have these 2 birds...
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/DeBree420/Onyxspangle.jpg
the normal grey whiteface is a boy, his name is Onyx... he was in this pet shop, in a tiny cage with many other birds, and he was there for 2 years(that i know of:eek:) the poor little guy was such a biter and he flipped out whenever anyone went near him...
i get the dna back for the spangle in 1-3 days...and is yet to be named... i am fairly sure the spangle is kinda young...
these birds i got from a pet shop, as 'untameable aviary birds' !:p:love::rolleyes:
and so far they have come in leaps and bounds...
i went and clipped their wings for training 2 days before i brought them home, and put them in a cage in my bedroom...
i started off by giving them 2 days to settle in... where i came in every morning and night to whistle to them and changed food/water during the day...
then i started to give small sprays of millet, and left the cage door open while watching them from the next room...
i did this for a few days till they got used to the millet...
the next step was to open their cage door and lie in the room for hours whistling... this was boring, but they really warmed up to me (well... a bit)
then i got them out of the cage with a tea-towel and opened it up so they were actually comfortably standing on my hand(with the towel on it) and wearing the other part of the towel like a shawl (so they can see where they are going)
i would then carry them to the lounge room where they could play on the 'lounge play gym' and just hang out with me while i watch tv or go on the net...
the first time i brought them out, Onyx jumped off the perch...
my automatic instinct was to cushion the birds fall with my hand (as they are clipped and i dont want them hurting themselves)... this worked...as he landed on my hand, i lowered it to take some of the impact, then i looked at him, all shocked(omg omg omg hes on my hand!), and he looked at me the same way... then lowered his head, and bit me :p
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/DeBree420/onyxbite.jpg
i slowly put him back up level with the perch and he stepped up on to it...
when it came time for bed i had to catch them with the tea towel...
tonight i brought them out with the tea towel again...
i had them on a windowsill, and i put my hands on the sill in 2 seperate places, both Onyx and the spangle ran like mad, back and forth leaping(as if for their lives) over my hands, i mustve stood there for at least an hour, and, after a while Onyx stepped on my hand as he went over it(i think by accident)... the next step for him was to come and do a 'test bite' on my hand, not hard at all, not like the cross little pinch he gave me the night earlier!
after he discovered i didnt move, he decided it would be ok to stand on my hand!!!!
the spangle (even though s/he is the 'tamer' one s/he is also the follower) after seeing Onyx stand on my hand, decided it was ok if s/he stood on my other hand...
they sat there happily for about 3-5 minutes before moving!
and when it came time for bedtime, i put my hand up to the spangle, and after a bit of running from me, gave in to step up onto my hand so i could walk him/her to bed!
Onyx was a little suss on me (it will take a while for the poor little dears soul to heal from his bad upbringing) but after ten minutes with the windowsill hand trick(one on each side, not moving at all), he decided he too could cope with the hand he is standing on, taking him to bed!!!
so... so far... it has been a glorious SUCCESS!!!
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/DeBree420/Onyxspangle.jpg
the normal grey whiteface is a boy, his name is Onyx... he was in this pet shop, in a tiny cage with many other birds, and he was there for 2 years(that i know of:eek:) the poor little guy was such a biter and he flipped out whenever anyone went near him...
i get the dna back for the spangle in 1-3 days...and is yet to be named... i am fairly sure the spangle is kinda young...
these birds i got from a pet shop, as 'untameable aviary birds' !:p:love::rolleyes:
and so far they have come in leaps and bounds...
i went and clipped their wings for training 2 days before i brought them home, and put them in a cage in my bedroom...
i started off by giving them 2 days to settle in... where i came in every morning and night to whistle to them and changed food/water during the day...
then i started to give small sprays of millet, and left the cage door open while watching them from the next room...
i did this for a few days till they got used to the millet...
the next step was to open their cage door and lie in the room for hours whistling... this was boring, but they really warmed up to me (well... a bit)
then i got them out of the cage with a tea-towel and opened it up so they were actually comfortably standing on my hand(with the towel on it) and wearing the other part of the towel like a shawl (so they can see where they are going)
i would then carry them to the lounge room where they could play on the 'lounge play gym' and just hang out with me while i watch tv or go on the net...
the first time i brought them out, Onyx jumped off the perch...
my automatic instinct was to cushion the birds fall with my hand (as they are clipped and i dont want them hurting themselves)... this worked...as he landed on my hand, i lowered it to take some of the impact, then i looked at him, all shocked(omg omg omg hes on my hand!), and he looked at me the same way... then lowered his head, and bit me :p
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/DeBree420/onyxbite.jpg
i slowly put him back up level with the perch and he stepped up on to it...
when it came time for bed i had to catch them with the tea towel...
tonight i brought them out with the tea towel again...
i had them on a windowsill, and i put my hands on the sill in 2 seperate places, both Onyx and the spangle ran like mad, back and forth leaping(as if for their lives) over my hands, i mustve stood there for at least an hour, and, after a while Onyx stepped on my hand as he went over it(i think by accident)... the next step for him was to come and do a 'test bite' on my hand, not hard at all, not like the cross little pinch he gave me the night earlier!
after he discovered i didnt move, he decided it would be ok to stand on my hand!!!!
the spangle (even though s/he is the 'tamer' one s/he is also the follower) after seeing Onyx stand on my hand, decided it was ok if s/he stood on my other hand...
they sat there happily for about 3-5 minutes before moving!
and when it came time for bedtime, i put my hand up to the spangle, and after a bit of running from me, gave in to step up onto my hand so i could walk him/her to bed!
Onyx was a little suss on me (it will take a while for the poor little dears soul to heal from his bad upbringing) but after ten minutes with the windowsill hand trick(one on each side, not moving at all), he decided he too could cope with the hand he is standing on, taking him to bed!!!
so... so far... it has been a glorious SUCCESS!!!