Elfies Progress

[Moogie]

Hi Guys
I thought id let you know how Elfie is doing....He has certainly come out of him self and is a noisy little thing,if i am not paying him enough attention he soon lets me know about it haha,he is still into his awful pop music but now his taste is getting alittle bit better and varied
I did try a few times with the finger training and step up but i felt he wasnt quite ready and maybe i was rushing him as he would dart off running around the bars of the cage so i have taken a step back and am offering him some millet seed in my palm again and now he has started to fly on to my hand and stay there...I might carry this on for a while until he is fully comftable with my hand and then strat the finger training again but would like your opinions on this..Thankyou

[BudgiesBuddy]

Good going Moogie

[Marianne Marlow]

Sounds like things are going really well and you are fast gaining his trust

More pics please!

[maz]

Sounds similar to me and Benny - just occasionally he will come on my finger without any millet, but he often still jumps away onto the cage bars, and Frankie certainly won't have anything to do with the finger, millet or no millet! She will just about approach far enough to get hold of it, for which I praise her, but that's all. She's generally less sociable than Benny and doesn't come out for a fly as often, although now and then they do a bit of formation flying round the room, always passing by my head/face very closely! Any ideas why they like to do that? Are they trying to intimidate me?

[MattJ]

Jan 13, 2012 14:57:43 GMT Moogie said:

i have taken a step back and am offering him some millet seed in my palm again

You could try tearing off piece off millet spray so its like this



then hold it by the tail between finger and thumb offer it to Elfi, like this



Hopefully the lower profile of your hand should seem less intimidating
Also if he'll take millet from you like this you can easily offer a few bites as a reward when doing step up training

[Marianne Marlow]

Aw look at Puck, what a little darling. Love his hairdo too

[Hezz]

Jan 19, 2012 9:26:54 GMT maz said:

Sounds similar to me and Benny - just occasionally he will come on my finger without any millet, but he often still jumps away onto the cage bars, and Frankie certainly won't have anything to do with the finger, millet or no millet! She will just about approach far enough to get hold of it, for which I praise her, but that's all. She's generally less sociable than Benny and doesn't come out for a fly as often, although now and then they do a bit of formation flying round the room, always passing by my head/face very closely! Any ideas why they like to do that? Are they trying to intimidate me?[/quote]

Nah, Maz, they're just showing off!!! Wouldn't you? I think they work on cutting down their margin for error to zilch, they remind me of fighter pilots. ;D I know Sparky does. "Which side will I part their hair on, today?" type of thinking. "How close can I fly over the top of this chair without hitting it" - just like kids thinking they can be Superman.

[BudgiesBuddy]

Puck was unable to decide whether to play with it or eat it. Very cute

[samwiseg]

Jan 13, 2012 17:47:04 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

Sounds like things are going really well and you are fast gaining his trust

More pics please!

Yes, sure sounds like you are doing fine - Elfie will be confident in no time, they just need a lot of patience and love - and agree with Marianne - MORE PICS PLEASE! ;D

[Moogie]

Thanks again guys for all the encouragement,because Elfie is my first ever Budgie i sometimes wonder if we will ever get there and hope that i am doing it all right,i have to keep reminding myself i have only had him for 3 weeks now and it is a learning curb for both of us.
I have tried the millet in between my fingers (Thanks mattj for the vid),Elfie did eat it but only the once so i will keep going with that ...

[Moogie]

forgot to ask...,by feeding Elfie in the way thats in the video,will this get him more used to my finger when it comes to finger taming?? also should i still feed him out of the palm of my hand or now just feed him with fingers?

[MattJ]

I think it should help with getting him used to your hands
If he gets used to it then you could hold your finger in front of him with one hand then with the other hold the millet so he'd have to jump on your finger to reach it - I did try making a video of that but I need 3 arms

That's basically what I did with Puck, I've only tried it with him so your mileage my vary. Once he'd step up I kept increasing the distance till he had to fly. Each time rewarding with 2-3 bites of the millet.

[maz]

Thanks for the reply, Hezz! They do seem to be having fun! They've been going mad today and have now started landing on a chair (and trying to peck at the stitching...) Benny will now fly across to me about a foot if I have millet in my hand.

[Moogie]

WAHOO im so happy,Elfie stepped up today around 8 times or more,first of all he jumped straight back off and then he decided to stay on for a few seconds longer,it wasnt even for a treat of millet...i did however just say "up" as i was so excited i forgot to say "step" up,is it easier for him to understand if you say "stepup"?

[samwiseg]

HEY CONGRATULATIONS! What a feeling when it happens for the first time eh? As for what to say, as long as you stick to single syllables (similar to dog training) he will soon grasp the connection but well done, you're doing great!