will unrequited love be all that remains? hand tamiing tips?

[evaleen]

FIRST:
sorry sorry sorry sorry for the RIDICULOUSLY long post!!!


plez plez plez someone, ANYONE...
any tips on hand-taming this bird of mine... i really want it to know the joy i could have...
its harded bcuz its too scared of ppl just passing by even!

on day1, kiboo had spent the entire day panicing, prancing, pooping, pouting, more panicking, and panicking.
oh yeah, did i mention panicking?

day2,he's just a small fraction calmer. but still imitates tom (from tom and jerry) like he's being chased by a pack f wolves.

day3, he's calmed down a little. (mind you just a little though!) he still dose his tap dancing when someone other than me passes by his cage, but now he can tolerate me coming close to the cage. (which is if i am about 1.3meters afar)
......................................................................................................................................................................................
kiboo's story...

i dont blame him... these are some of the things he's been subjected too:
=the kids in his previous home used to throw a glass of ice cold water at him
=the cage was really small, so they used to grab hold on to his long tail that stuck out, thus stressing out the poor bird
=they changed his water 3 a week. but cleaned the container only once a week
=the kids used to bang on the cage with a steel hollow pipe
=they shoot the bird with water guns, and also use it as target practice for their stupid toy guns
=they used to poke him with a stick
=they had once managed to bring it out and tied a rope on one of his legs, and took fun in watching him trying to fly away and falling to the floor
=the kids used to deliberately spook him. theyd cover the cage with a cloth, and stick in a barbeque stick. the bird went crazy, cuz it didnt hav any idea where the stick will poke through next
=they used to towel the bird and shake it violently if it tried to bite
=they clipped its wings and threw the bird to person to person playing catch
=they used to kick its cage when ever someone wanted to vent out one's angr out
=and sad of all... they used to bath the bird... by repeatedly and briefly submerging the whole cage under water- bird and all. they said that this also helped clean the cage too...

when i went to this particular house for a visit... i was appalled... i felt sick... wanted to throw up... and couldnt stop crying...
(it was my friend's aunt's house) i was begging my friend to persuade her aunt to treat it right... and the relative bluntly refused.
"whats such to care for? its just a bird. u worry too much. dont let it bother you. besides, look how much the kids are having fun!"

after she said this, i came straight home...

they'v had him for a year, then when they were shifting houses, my friend managed to persuade her aunt to sell it off to her.
and she gave me him as a gift. i was overjoyed... and relieved that.. even if it can never accept humans as friends... it will still live a peaceful life now onwards.... and thus begins my struggle to let it know it had a friend... me.

sorry for the huge huge post...
there arnt any people out here who are passionate about birds... so i cant share it with anyone... if i do share it, they think i'm weird- fussing over "just some bird". and i get angry all over again...
atleast you people can understand what i feel... i just HAD to share it... sorry for the blabbering...

oh yeah, i presented it with a variety of fruits (including bananas, apple, guava, and some other fruits of which i dont know the English name) in its food bowl. but it didnt even TOUCH any. isnt that weird?
mayb cuz it was on a seed diet all its 3 years? the only fruit it identifies as food are grapes. i had even cut the fruits in various sizes and shapes, cuz i dont know what it prefers. but he didnt even touch. he did went to investigate them, so i still have hope.

and it shows an odd behavior when i approach its cage. wen ever someone comes near it, kiboo goes crazy and starts attacking everything. (from all its toys to even the food bowl itself). he goes into a chewing frenzy. whats going on???!!!

(ummm... newbie here... i hope this was posted in the right section...)
(do pm me if i seem to b too much of a hindrance... sorry in advance!)

p.s, my intuition tells me i'v already lost my audience...

[laducockatiel]

Hi!
I feel really sorry for kiboo because of what his previous owner did, but at least now you have him and I'm sure you give him all the care and love he needs.

Its not unusual for him to not try fruit, many birds don't, so all we can do is put it in their bowl every day and keep doing it until they try it.

Does he have any favourite treats? If not, then you can try millet spray. Pretty much all birds, especially parakeets, love millet spray. It can be purchased In many, if not all, pet stores and I'm sure he will love it. I think, to get him used to you, you should hang some millet spray in his cage and hopefully he will try it and love it. Once he has learned to love it, you should hold some in his cage with your hand, he will most probably try it, and keep doing this for a week so he gets used to your hands.

After you have done this for a week or so (however long it takes to get him to eat from your hand calmly) you should let him out of his cage and feed him some millet. This will get him slightly more used to you and your hands.

Then, after you have done this for another week, try target training him. Here is a link to an article in which target training is explained: http://trainedparrot.com/Taming/

To view how to target train your parrot, scroll down to the article called How to target train parrot outside of cage and to find out how to teach your parrot to stepup, scroll down to the article called How to teach a parrot to step up. I hope this helps, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me.

[liz]

Me too. First I want to throw up then I want to hurt someone and I am a non violent person.

Did you get it a bigger cage and give it toys. It probably never had a toy. Just keep giving it a variety of foods, even bites of what you have.

The most important thing is for it to feel safe. If you have already done the quarentine, the other birds will help it adjust.

My method with Myrtle was to open her door and let her no she is safe and not trapped. I don't know if you can do that but my scared, skinny bird progressed within 48 hours.

Keep us informed and no it was not lengthy. You had to tell someone and we are here to listen.

Bless you for trying to help him before and taking him on now.

He knows where he has been and how awful it was. He just needs to learn that his new life has started.

[GlassOnion]

You would need to start showing him how to eat things, how to chew on wood, how to play, how to bathe... etc Thank you for taking him in! I would start targeting from inside the cage- there is a video of this on Michael's taming guide

[evaleen]

aawww guys..... thank you for all the halpfull replies and the responses... i'm honestly tear-touched...
(heh, what an emotional fellow i am...)
thank u thank u thank u...

i transferd him to a HUGE cage. the biggest i could afford which could still be mobile.
and yes, he NEVER had any toys.... i'v given him 3 chew toys, blocks of woo to chew on, and 4 shred-able toys. he loves the shred-able ones and the chewers. (i feel so sad and happy at the same time watching him play with them... and to realize that this is the first time that he has an actual retreat form all-day-long boredom....)

thanks ludocockateil! i'l keep presenting him with a fruit menu every day, whether he eats it or not.
(sighing) no pet shops here sells millet spray. (and i'v been searching for 4months now). they sell the millet seed grains. but not the ones still attached to the stalk. (am i making sense?)
i'v even tried offering kiboo the looses millet seeds., but he didnt even look. i'l try presenting it to him every day too. (and hopefully, he'l go crazy over it)
kiboo has been living on just rice seeds all his life. (and the cooked remains of chiken bone after humans have eaten the meat) (but i think thats harmfull bcuz it has salt and alot of spices, and it also has a cating of our saliva.so i dont giv that anymore.)
so i have no way of knowing its favourite treat! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~

i had once left the door open. (that was a stupid-accidental-mistake on my part), and kiboo had zoooommmed out. (the next 30mins was what the dictionery would define as "panicked chaos"). so i dont think i'l b trying that method before it solidly trusts me...

@glassonoin, (interesting name btw!!! ) my parents are worried that i'v turned into a parrot myself... i keep chewing on similar wood blocks in frnt of kiboo, eat fruits in front of him (like i'v died and gone to heaven), i'v even kept my expression at check and munched on raw leafy green veggies. (i STILL dont have any idea WHY they like them!!!!)
ah... the things a mother dose for her fids...
{and kiboo just stares at me like its paid too much for a cheap freak show and wants his money back... }


anyway, progress thus far:
all i'v done so far is always keep him close to me in the same room, eat in frot of him, and sleep with his cage bside my pillow.
now he actually sits till in the same room as me, (and keeps staring at me) (i mean SERIOUSLY!!! is it attempting to hypnotize me or something???!!!! )
but now that i can make eye contact with him, i can actually see how beautiful he is.... i my opinion... he's the most beautiful parrot i'v ever seen (which is not a mutation)....
he still dose a rampage on his toys in a chewing frenzy whenever i stand next to his cage, but atleast he dosnt bounce on the bars. it also listens attentively whenever i talk.
(i suspect he's trying to ascertain my tone of voice to identify any threats, but its still s start.)
and now he preens himself! (YAAAAY!) thats a sigh that he is more comfortable. right?

thank u everyone...
and (if u dont mind...) i'l b posting progress on his taming every day...

[GlassOnion]

That sounds wonderful! I would suggest cooking/baking for your Parakeet. I know this sounds odd, but bird bread is actually very popular among parrot keepers, and it's very easy to bake. Just google 'bird bread recipes'.

For my birds, I grind all sorts of grains like barley, quinoa, rice, etc, some pellets, a small amount of vitamins, an entire shelled egg, and a bunch of colourful vegetables and berries. Very nutritious and cheap to make, and this is the most reliable method of feeding fruits/veggies/other healthy goodies to my birds.

Also, consider ordering cookable parrot foods online. Many birds love them, and they're quite nutritious! http://www.mysafebirdstore.com/Higgins_ ... _Food.html

[laducockatiel]

Where abouts are you? You could always order millet from an online parrot store.

[evaleen]

i dont think i can order it online. heck, i'm almost POSITIVE about it. my parents wont allow it. ("i wont have u fussing over a bird like this! if u create any more problems, out goes that bird!" she says...)
(*sigh* its so frustrating when people treat birds like mere pass times...)
so millet spray is out of the question...

i'm from bangladesh. so the expense is also another factor... i'l give u an example.
here, budgies cost 150 to 200taka.
which is 2.3 to 3dollars for u guys. and the most expensive bird feeds go to 500taka. (about 6 dollars)
so if i were to ship stuff from online, the expense would automatically compel my parents to say "NO!"

plus, it'd probably take a month for it to arrive. (the services here are lousy. too much bureaucracy)
i was thinking of getting some vegtables, covering it with a thin layer of peanut butter, and sticking millet on it., so hopefully, it'l take a bite out of it and discover how tasty it is...
(fingers crossed)

@glassonion, thanks, i'l get busy right away! (i like to cook alot) hopefully, kiboo'l take a bite and like it!
ah, cant wait for my trip to the grocery! never made bread before...

[liz]

Our postal service has what they call "flat rate boxes". Anything under 70 pounds can be shipped for the one price. What do you need besides millet spray? I can try to get out of the house this week to buy it and at tops it will take a week to get to you.

When I cook I seperate part of it before adding sause and spices. My kids love cooked pasta, rice, sweet potatoe and all vegies. You can ask your mom to make a little plate for "her grandchild" as she does the cooking. It would not be an effort to put things on a little plate as she goes along and it could spark her interest in the bird.

[Michael]

Our postal service has what they call "flat rate boxes". Anything under 70 pounds can be shipped for the one price.

Note the flat rate box rates only apply to domestic shipping in the US. You can at least triple that price for international. Furthermore, mailing millet can be both illegal (export/import of produce) and there is potential for bugs/bacteria getting into it enroute. Sorry to spoil the day but I don't think it is a good idea to be shipping this internationally.