# What happens when I stick my hand in the Cage??



## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

Whenever I stick my hand in her cage, she flips out lol
She doesnt know step up either. She didnt even know it when I bought her 4.5 years ago. 
(Which i didnt know it made a difference back then.)

Heres a video of her from today, 3.3.09:

(I try to pick her up)
http://s421.photobucket.com/albums/pp293/I707erSk8I/?action=view&current=MOV01154.flv


And heres a picture of a toy I just learned how to make today:


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

_Trust is not part of the package when you adopt a bird. Trust has to be earned and it can only be earned if your bird learns that you are not a threat, that you are not going to hurt her and that being with you is an enjoyable activity. 

Don't ever stick your hand inside of the cage and grab or towel your bird to get her out of the cage. This will cause her to bite and lose trust in you. You want your bird to come to you willingly, not by force. Spend as much time as you can sitting near your bird's cage. Read a book or magazine. Do a crossword puzzle. Eat your meals and snacks next to the cage. Talk to your bird in a gentle, slow and loving voice. Cockatiels are sociable, flocking birds and they need interaction with humans. Sooner or later your bird is going to show an interest in your voice and she will move over to the cage bars nearest to wear you are sitting. Offer her some treats through the cage bars. Once she has become comfortable with accepting treats from your hand, if her wings are clipped, open the cage door when she's sitting on the front perch and offer her some loose seeds from the palm of your hand. Food is a powerful motivator when working with birds.

Once you bird has learned to eat out of your hand, she may step onto your hand without you having to doing anything else. Even if your bird does this, it's time to teach it the Step Up command. Move your finger or the palm of your hand in a steady, rather quick upward motion forward towards your bird's lower body, right above its legs. Try to imagine that his upper legs are invisible and you are going to move your hand right through thin air. The motion is exactly like the way you move your hand through a lit candle flame. Don't pull your hand back or stop, giving the bird a chance to bite. The idea is that your hand should be quicker than the bird's eye. If your bird is not responding to this technique and is getting even aggressive, stop and try again the next day. If you continue you will make this a confrontational issue, causing your bird to bite.

(You can also use a perch if you don't want to use your hand - using a perch is better and easier for some Cockatiels so just keep that in mind)

Use a command word such as "Step Up, Hop or Jump" when moving your hand towards your bird for stepping up. Cockatiels can learn to associate words with an action or object and your command word will tell your bird exactly why your hand is moving towards her.

When she does step up, praise and reward her with seeds or a favorite treat. You can start teaching her the step up command from the top of her cage. After a few days of practice, take her into a different room away from her cage and practice stepping up as described above._


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## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

Thank you for that! Thats exactly what I needed!


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Some birds just don't like being handled.


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## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

Just like every other day, I wake up and run to my computer lol
well, Beans always starts "talking" when she sees me come in the room. So I will talk back. After everything I say she gets as close to me as she can through the cage and runs up and down that wall chirping after I say anything. But the closer I get the farther back she gets haha (and quieter she gets) 

To me, it seems she doesnt hate me, she actually likes me, but is still afraid of me.

Should I scoot her cage over here near my computer? Its only about 10 ft away but it would also be 10 ft closer to me.
(Im on here for a good few hours cause I check all my email and stuff then I do schooling on here aswell.)


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## Danielle (Aug 15, 2008)

I'm on the computer most of the time since I'm a distance ed uni student, and so I put the cages next to the computer. I think it helps them get used to a person faster, being where they are most of the time.


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## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

She steps up for me now. All I have to do is Say step up. I dont even have to push up or anything!

Now I am working on using a clicker to get her out of her cage.
Thats my biggest problem now. She doesnt want out, but once shes out she has fun!


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## Aly (Jul 30, 2007)

Sounds good. I never used a clicker...mainly because I think it would annoy me but it worked for alot of people. She's doing good so far, just be patient and she will be screaming to come out soon.


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## Danielle (Aug 15, 2008)

I had the same issue with Quinn not wanting to come out of the cage, as he's deathly afraid of hands. I found that playing with Harley out of the cage in front of him made him come out pretty quickly, he doesn't like missing out.


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## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

Rouille said:


> I had the same issue with Quinn not wanting to come out of the cage, as he's deathly afraid of hands. I found that playing with Harley out of the cage in front of him made him come out pretty quickly, he doesn't like missing out.



If only I had a second Tiel to try that with :/


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Try luring her out with a piece of millet spray or some other treat.


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## Matt (Mar 2, 2009)

tielfan said:


> Try luring her out with a piece of millet spray or some other treat.


Ive Tried that...Doesnt Work.


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## TeacherMom (Feb 3, 2009)

I have 2 tiels that are like that...they are my "special loved" pair since they came to me from a life of seeing the world from only the inside of the cage. So what I do with them is leave their cage door open and allow them to come out when their comfortable. They're in the school room that I have in my home so while my girls and I are conducting school...they get to have some social time...or as my girls like to call it...They are in P.E! Elvis and Priscilla aren't the quickest at figuring out how to get around the cage...they've never been given the chance before coming to live with us to climb around on things or have any more then 1 perch in their cage. Now it's P.E. time for them...so to watch them learn to crawl around things and up things and have to fall at times has been sometimes funny but really rewarding to watch them come out of their shell. Give her time and if you have some time while you're on the computer, leave her door open and continue to talk to her. Maybe just the temptation of you being across the room and being able to come to you on her own with really help her.


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