Problems with taming my bird

[reimo]

Hello,

I got a bird little bit more than month ago and it seems we havent had any progress in taming the bird. I have been taking him beside me when I'm doing different activites in home + I'm trying to hold my hand (with food and without) in the cage for 15-30 minutes every other day. Sometimes he even attacks(?) the millet spary when I put it too close to him.

Is one month too short period? I can hold my hand near him but then he seems to be frigthened. He doesn't take any food from my hand, but when i leave the food in the cage and remove my hand, then he starts eating.
I'm starting to feel that I can't tame the bird and he will always be afraid of me.
Any suggestions ?

[Hezz]

A month is not long, and you need to work with your bird more often. Half an hour every second day is definitely not enough. More like 10 minute sessions several times a day, each and every day, and by several sessions I mean more not less. The more physical time you spend around the bird, the more used to and accepting of your presence he will become. Short multiple sessions is much better than one longer session a few times a week. Earning a bird’s trust takes as long as it takes; remember two things - you are a predator and birds are a prey animal, they are inherently distrustful of any animal with front-facing eyes and secondly they need to be given a reason to begin trusting you so always take a treat when you visit the cage, give him something that makes him look forward to your visits.

[reimo]

Hi Hezz,
Thank you for answering but the problem is that he doesn't take any treat from me. Only treat I know is that millet spray that I try to give him but he just stays frozen but as I mentioned above, when I leave the treat in the cage and remove my hand, only then he starts eating. What other foods are considered as treats?
Would it be wise to remove his every-day food from the cage and only try to feed him from my hand? Would this help?

[Ira]

You might want to try offering him the treat through the bars first, rather than putting your hand in the cage, or hold the treat at the end of a perch rather than putting it right up next to him. Let him come to you.

I wouldn't remove his normal food, he needs to be allowed to eat, but I have previously offered the first meal of the day from my hand, given a few minutes to let them decide whether they're happy with that and stayed until they finish eating if they are, but then put their bowl in regardless of the outcome.

[Hezz]

Exactly! As Ira has said, remove yourself from the equation a little. You can’t expect him to want to be your best friend because that is what you want. If he eats from the millet spray when it is left in the cage then you know that he recognises it as food. From then on only use the sprays as your special treat. If he is really suspicious of your hands you can tie the sprig to a dowel and offer it to him first as a longer version of your hand. Once he is coming to the stick for his millet you can start holding the stick closer and closer to the millet as he becomes more confident that you mean him no harm. And in the beginning use a fair chunk of spray, so he can easily see there is a treat for him. If it is too small he may feel that the risk of hooman isn’t worth it for such a small amount.