Sunflower's Diary

[javelin]

Will be putting up my updates on Sunflower our peach-faced lovebird on this thread. If you're interested in the intro story on how he came to be with us, follow the thread here. Comments and suggestions are welcome and I thank you guys in advance.

Just to establish a baseline, Sunflower is to my estimate a year or two years young although I cannot be absolutely sure since he came to us as a lost bird about almost a month ago. He was probably previously-owned since he is not overly afraid of humans but he may not have been trained up properly because he is still afraid/not comfortable of being touched.

He is not at all aggressive. Doesn't show a propensity for biting. But he does scamper away at situations where he feels threatened. This is why I think he's a very young lovebird.

He may also have been cage-bound. He shows sign of familiarity with cages - examining spaces behind food and water trays for hidden doors. At least his actions seem that way. I reckon that's how he escaped from his previous abode.

He's fully flighted. I don't see clippings on his wings. When we were trying to capture him he has demonstrated flying to a height of at least 10 feet and a distance of about 15 to 20 feet.

However, I do wonder why his big talons/claws on both feet seem to be missing or cut off. (The smaller toes still have claws.) Is this normal? I have no idea whether this was due to injury or was deliberately trimmed by his previous owner.

As far as tameness is concerned, I've ventured as far as being able to touch his toes. He avoids having his feathers touched by hand but would allow stroking his chest feathers and sometimes on top of his head and back with a stick or a piece of rolled up paper. He'd squeak and fly to the far side of the cage if he's had enough.

[javelin]

Just yesterday, Sunflower nervously had several seeds held by me through the cage bars. Its our first encounter for hand-feeding Sunflower. (Yipee!)

I started out in the morning by just leaving the sunflower seeds on a ledge by his perch and then staying far from his cage. Every time, he took the seeds (sometimes it would take just a few minutes, sometimes it would take almost an hour particularly when he's napping) I would replace it with a new one and come a few feet closer to the cage. By the afternoon I was within a foot and a half of the cage through this process.

By evening, I was already keeping a finger on the ledge right near the seed and he would cautiously grab it, tolerating the presence of my finger. After a few more of this I started holding the seeds between my fingers and just barely lifting it off the ledge. Sure enough after a few more repetitions, I was completely giving her the seeds from my fingers.

It was a wonderful moment! Sunflower was still obviously hesitating but he must've been so hungry that he just let things be. I had my wife try to take a video of the process but at some point she got too close and it spook Sunflower off. I then left a few more seeds for her for a job well done and let her rest. She was very tired that night and was "mumbling" in her sleep.

I'll be repeating this desensitization/feeding exercise all this week to let him get used to handfeeding. I figure that this was a good procedure because while the feeding was very controlled, Sunflower did not go too hungry as I was giving her seeds all throughout the day. We also left his regular feeds overnight which I saw in the morning that he consumed these while I was asleep.

What do you guys think?

[captwest]

sounds as if your ndoing a great job, maybe only give the sunflower seeds in training and not as apart of his regular diet.

[javelin]

Thanks captwest. I have taken the sunflower seeds off his regular feeds. During his first days he was exclusively on sunflower seeds which I would realize after that it was not the healthiest option. Then I bought him a pack of oats and groats the week after on advice from a local breeder.

At first Sunflower didn't seem too interested about the oats but eventually he got around to liking it for his regular mealtime.

I've observed that he would not eat as much during the day but would really empty his feeding tray before nightfall. I would mix in either some cut-up bananas, apples, carrots, rice or some diced green leafy vegies as much as possible (at the least every other day) but he mostly ignores them. I still put those in anyway hoping that he'd manage to get a bite or two into his system for some good nutrition.

Sunflower seeds are definitely his current favorite treat but I'm looking forward to trying out some new foods for him soon. Let me just spoil him for the while that he's getting used to eating from my hand.

[javelin]

Day 2 of handfeeding and again Sunflower was willing to eat off my hand (still through the cage bars) but only after sundown. He just doesn't seem to have an appetite in the daytime. He'd eat a piece I'd leave on his perch once every few hours but other than that he wouldn't care for much food. He'd eat off his feeding dish early in the afternoon though so I don't think its a loss of appetite issue. He naps several times during the day anyway.

I'm thinking maybe he's previous owner left him for most of the day and would just leave feeds for him during supper and this routine is still in his system. I was expecting him to be foraging during daytime but he would either be napping, preening (he does this a lot) or exploring his cage (which I suspect is his way of looking for a way out of the cage). Anyone here experienced or in the know about lovebird feeding behavior? Is this "night-time-only-feasting" normal?

Anyway, I've started mouth clicking during our handfeeding sessions. I don't have a clicker and I haven't found one from the local stores. Before, he used to get agitated with my clicks but not so much now. I hope the click-treat association will sink into him soon. Anyone know how long this process goes?

[javelin]

The week is going through and Sunflower will definitely eat seeds off my fingers in the following scenarios:

1. During late afternoon to evening. I assume this is when he is most hungry. He would "snub" my offers for most of the daytime.
2. Only through the cage bars. I tried putting my hand in his cage but he would still show a lot of uneasiness in such a situation.

He would scoot off to the far end of the perch after taking the seeds off my fingers. Although I did observe that recently he would not go all the way to the other end but just about midway of the perch. Well, I guess that's some improvement.

One thing I did introduce is the target stick. Just a plain old half of a pair of chopsticks. He doesn't seem to be much affected by it. He would mostly ignore it at this point and would occasionally nip at it out of annoyance. Sunflower would not show interest for the seeds when I present the target stick. He does like being stroked with it though. Even with my hands in the cage, but he is still spooked when my hands get too near his body.

Any suggestions guys? Am I progressing correctly or am I inadvertently conditioning him to act otherwise? Did any of you guys go through the same "snubbing" behavior with your pets?

[captwest]

Hey Javelin, maybe hold off the target training til he gets comfortable taking treats from your hand, then target train toget him to step up and then maybe the touching/petting will come easier.check out some of the post about clicker/ target training.

[javelin]

We had several breakthroughs today with Sunflower.

For the past week he has been eating seeds off my fingers through the cage bars with much hesitation and when he gets spooked for some reason it takes a while before he gets back in the mood.

This afternoon, I took out a fresh pair of chopsticks and tried to feed Sunflower with it -- with remarkable success! My hands were in the cage and he was calm in his swing and would in fact stretch out to the end of the chopsticks to retrieve the sunflower seed (his favorite treat to date).

Although pinching a shelled sunflower seed in between chopsticks can be slightly difficult (I dropped over a dozen seeds into the cage floor in the process, not to mention my numbing hands) this new albeit unorthodox encounter seems to be a welcome progress both for me and for Sunflower.

Furthermore, my 7-year old son who has yet to successfully hand-feed Sunflower, was able to feed him seeds in the same manner (except that we had to secure the chopsticks together with rubber bands since he could not handle the chopsticks that well yet). You could see the wonder in his eyes being able to be closer to his pet for the first time.

So several things worked with this technique.

1. Proximity-wise, we were able to work much more closely with Sunflower in a mutually agreeable scenario compared to before.

2. There is a widening of Sunflower's "social circle" in a manner of speaking, allowing another person (my son) to be more interactive in a positive situation with him.

3. Whereas "handfeeding" Sunflower was confined to a specific timeframe, the "chopsticks method" now extends the interaction with the bird in a manner that was more time-neutral. He is now more open to this interaction outside of the "usual hours".

Thinking about it, I know that our handling of Sunflower may be moving somewhat outside of the framework that Michael has written down in the taming/training guides here at the forum but I suppose that's because Sunflower doesn't actually belong in the mold of what may apply readily to the guide. He was a lost bird that was rescued by inexperienced would-be owners and may have less than ideal previous encounters with humans or may even have had a traumatic experience from his previous handlers. At any rate, I'm happy with how things are developing with Sunflower and we are looking forward to new and inspiring surprises that we expect will come in the following days.

[captwest]

Sounds as if your making progress, keep up the good work

[javelin]

Handfeeding Sunflower is progressing as expected.

I continue to feed him sunflower seeds through chopsticks but for the past few days, the distance to my hand has progressively shortened. The day before my fingers were within an inch of Sunflower with minimal arguments from the li'l rascal.

Last night, I was able to keep the seed between the chopsticks and my index finger. He was quite apprehensive at first, looking intently at my poised digit but eventually he came around and took the seed.


He has also begun eating in this manner in the late mornings. I still use the chopsticks as a prop but I hope that in the coming days, Sunflower would eventually welcome eating wholly from my hands.

One thing I have realized these past few days is that these birds are very discerning and in that sense quite intelligent. I read somewhere before that the birds will regard the sticks as an extension of the persons hands. Now, I would readily beg to differ. It was clear from my experience with Sunflower that he absolutely knows the difference and that, based on his reactions, he was keenly aware that the distance between the seed and my fingers were gradually disappearing.

I've also started to understand his behavior. When he is spooked he will fly in panic away from me (sometimes trying to hide behind his oversized cuttlebone). But if he is just discontent, he would merely turn around and cling on the back of the cage but would almost immediately come back to the perch and wait out for the next step in our interaction. Also, when he is feeling content, he would feed at his large perch in the middle of the cage but when he is uncomfortable with a situation he would back up to the swing perch at the back of the cage (which I realize is his secure zone).

If my memory serves me right, this would be the first month to the day that we've had Sunflower in our care. It certainly is amazing how the relationship is growing everyday.