She will tolerate it if I hug her against my chest with some grumbling so I can check under her wings, I usually give her kisses on her bald spots to show her I'm not going to hurt her, I can also nuzzle her neck feathers with my nose---its just the movement of me bringing her close and my hands touching her that freak her out (I can also ask her to give me her feet if she's sitting on my hand and she'll do it although not comfortable).
This has been a constant throughout her seven years with me. She's sweet, rides on my shoulder, eats from my hand no problems and is starting to be ok with being in a blanket, steps up inside her cage and etc. She's also pretty quiet...really honestly if I could get over this hurdle plus have her be more interactive/seeking me out she'd be pretty much perfect as she only rarely bites or is undesirable in any other way. The plucking...enh. I've accepted her as is, its a quirk from a difficult past and doesn't change who she is.
The problem is I don't know if she'll ever get really good with hands, as she was mistreated. Once I have her she doesn't fight me wildly, but she'll grumble and run beforehand if she gets the chance. I just know she isn't happy. But I don't know if her history can be overcome as she was used to being pried off the cage and was physically abused. I.e. I don't know if the taming to touch guide will be good for her---as if I push her at all on the issue she panics and is not as willing to come to me afterwards for days. If she senses I'm going to touch her she changes her demeanor and doesn't want scritches or to come out etc. For example, if I reach for her to step up she often flees, then seems to turn around and go 'oh yeah, its okay, its a step-up'.
I never push her on anything really as I've pretty much left her to come around in her own time and respected her boundaries so beforehand this wasn't much of an issue---but its 'the last frontier' for Jacko and I.
Any ideas?
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