# Afraid of my hands?



## SoraRyuuzaki (Jul 16, 2012)

Since Luna is all settled in now, I've started to try to teach her to step up onto my hands. However, when I try to get close to her body, she gives me the beak lunge and tells me to back off. My hand has been in her cage for a long time and she will even eat seed from my hand, but she almost refuses to step onto my finger. It takes a lot of prodding.

I'm thinking it might be lack of sleep for her that's making her cranky, since my family tends to get noisy late at night and early in the morning. I cover her cage at 8 pm and uncover it around 7 am, and she's always awake when I do so :/

But can anyone help me?


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## SunnyandChickie (Jul 9, 2012)

It took Sunny a long time to step up to a finger. We just kept trying and if he was giving the back off signal we always did. Just be persistent and keep giving Luna treats/food by hand, chances are she will eventually step up for you.


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

Smokey is also scared of hands. It's taken a while but he'll now take treats out of my hand and i can even tempt him onto my arm so long as my hand is held in a fist. If he sees fingers he goes a bit mad.

I think all we can do is persevere >.<


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Don't be discouraged. 

I know it seems like she's all settled in but it can take forever to teach step up. 

You are doing it right.


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## SoraRyuuzaki (Jul 16, 2012)

Okay... It's a relief to know that it's not something I'm doing wrong. She stepped up last night, which made me really happy, but just a question... Once she starts stepping up, how do I keep her there? How do I get her to want to stay on my finger?


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

Offering her a treat while she's there will keep her happy, like a bit of millet spray. Or if she's comfortable enough you could do a sort of never-ending ladder with your fingers, getting her to keep stepping up, or even just talking to her to keep her attention. This has the added benefit of her getting even more used to you and your hands.

You seem to be doing really well so far!


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

That and make sure you are holding your hand up high. If you arm is outstretched, they will run for your shoulder most of the time. I get mine out of the cage with "step up" and then i kiss their tummies and let them run off. They generally will hang out on my hand long enough to say hello and then they no longer have an attention span to stay put. lol.


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## SoraRyuuzaki (Jul 16, 2012)

Awww, that's cute <3

Luna will climb onto my hand now if I bait her with treats, but I have no idea how to progress from here :/ She'll sit on my hand and maybe my arm for a while and then, if I don't constantly stuff her face, she'll turn around and flap back into her cage


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Will she sit on your shoulder? I stopped dealing with my hands after I realized Grey was going to have none of it. He would step up for me but that was it. I just carried him around my shoulder for pretty much 5 months solid. He would watch what I was doing and want to do it too and that's how we bonded.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Also. If you can work with her in another room away from her cage, she has no terrority to run back to. I took Grey into the bathroom and would sit him in the floor and let him run around with me in there. Eventually he realized that I was the most interesting thing in the room and he would interact with me.


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## SoraRyuuzaki (Jul 16, 2012)

Ummm, I'll try that! It sounds like a good idea. I managed to captivate her attention for a little bit, but I don't really know what to do once I have it ^^;;


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

I didn't either! I just started offering him stuff to tear up and then I would wait for him to do something cute and reward him. Lol. I had no idea what else to do. Now it all comes naturally. But intinially I just kind of winged it when I didn't know what to do.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Same problem here, unfortunately. Juju loves to sit on my head and shoulder, and I can give him scratches or treats with my fingers, but he panics when my hand goes near him for any other reason. He can tell when I want to give him scratches because I make a fist and just stick my index finger out and move it slightly. I'm at a loss for what to do...it's annoying because I can't take him out of the cage or move him from my head to my shoulders. Or put him back in his cage for bedtime when he's hanging out on top of it. I just have to wait for him to go in on his own, meaning he doesn't get to sleep until 1 am sometimes. :\


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Try using a perch versus your hands. Or offer your fist instead of a flat palm. Birds are usually afraid of your fingers not anything else.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I've tried all of those things and it doesn't help at all. Juju hates things approaching him...he needs to be the one to approach them. This includes perches, toys, etc -- anything other than millet spray haha. (Sorry, Sora, I don't mean to hijack your thread!)


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Have you been using food bribery? Offering him treats from your hand will make your hand appealing. Once he gets used to eating at a distance from your hand you can move the treat closer and closer til he has to stand on your hand to eat it.


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