by marie83 » Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:04 am
I would sit as close as I could without freaking the bird out, gradually moving closer until the bird doesn't freak out with you sat right outside the cage.
I would talk softly, gentle movements and not look at the bird too much for a while (predators stare) until the bird was comfortable.
I would then feed treats through the bars and eventually move on to feeding them with the door open. I don't put the hand in the cage, I let the bird come to me.
As soon as the bird was happy with this I fix a perch next to the door on the outside of the cage and lure the bird out with treats.
Eventually I would use my arm as an extention of the perch so s/he can get used to the feel of being on an arm rather than a perch, then put the arm in front of the perch to get them to step across for their treat.
Take time and patience, sometimes your sat there so long holding treats your arm aches but every little improvement in the bird makes it so worth it. Sometimes you can do all this in a few days and other birds take years. You can train the bird to target inside the cage them move on to targetting just outside the cage and onto your hand instead.
Whichever method you use, take it at your birds pace and go back a few stages if the bird gets scared/too uncomfortable. Impatience or pushing the bird too hard can set you back a few stages, believe me I have been there but perseverence will win through.