Winnie at last !!!!

[lizb]

Hi everyone I am just going to share a lil piece of my joy with u all !
Been really trying to tame Winnie and its very much early days wih her massive cage she could avoid me and it very much felt like I was chaisin her around with treats she does not want.
Well today I had enough of this I got bit about 3 times which may I add hurts like hell
So I put on my gardening gloves and did not allow her to take control ( understand glove is not ya hand but it really hurts ) after like half a hour she let me stroke her belly even though it was wided eyes and all scared but a lil millit which she had a peck of helped after a while she started to slow down in cage hopping around slowly then I pushed my gloved finger under her Tum and said step up. It started with one foot for a while but finial she sat on my finger and stayed until I returned her to her perch !!!!
I know it's gloved but better than nothing she is not scared of the glove and after seems like forever she gets on and sits. I would not say she 100 percent happy I am invading her space but it's a start ! ;D

[lizb]

I would love upload the photo but my I phone will not let me and my laptop dongle is broke but I will try when I can lol !!

[lizb]

She has been stepping up on my gloved finger and let me go from perch to perch with her very good progress I am such a wimp with the glove lol

[lizb]

Sorry to keep going on .... Winnie is now stepping up and down on a gloved hand I have offered treat and millit but is not interested in the reward. So as for this training will it stick she does not seem interested at all with treats I have tried many she had a lil nibble at some peanut butter as I read it on a post but can't imagine it's very good for her an I mean it was a very quick nibble can u do this kinda training without ?

[budgiefriend]

Woo Hoo, Winnie. We are all so proud of you!You've made your Mom happy. Good job!

[Bird Junky]

Hi Lizb You might find it an advantage to check-out
the Bonding. Taming/Training post's on this Site,
there's a few to choose from......B.J.

[wingz4thingz]

hey Lizb,
congratulations on getting Winnie to step up, it's a good start. Some budgies may take weeks, months, even years to tame down and trust you completely. However my little one who I have had a few months is very tame, loving and affectionate. Try again with the gloves offering millet and when she is confident you can try with your bare hands, yes she may bite but try not to react. I know it hurts but if you scream and yell it will make her thing it's a game and if you pull away, you are giving her what she wants and that will encourage her to bite you. If she nips you just remain calm and stay still and carry on. My Moshi isn't much of a biter but occaisionally when he's on the keyboard when I'm trying to type he will start biting my hand if I press a key that's near him. It does hurt but it's bearable. NEVER hit your bird or return it to its cage as a punishment. Hitting causes
much physical as well as psychological damage. Returning him to his cage will make him associate going back in his cage with being punished. Spraying because they like being sprayed so it will be a reward. I try to use positive reinforcement wherever possible, so if she does something you don't like, just ignore it. But always reward her for good behaviour.

[lizb]

I was a bit suprized how much it hurt but will never punish her for it because I understand that she is scared. As for the glove I am a wimp an that's that I will try with out lol
As for the treats she is not interested I will keep offering though. So excited glove or no glove it's better then nothing

[wingz4thingz]

don't worry, if she sees you're not going to hurt her she will eventually start to trust you, and if she trusts you, she may bond to you over time! Also keep on offering the millet. Some other treats you can try are sunflower seeds, raisins, little pieces of carrot or celery. My Moshi still won't eat his vegetables! Dark leafy greens are good for them and I've heard they like eating lettuce and dandelion leaves. And hey, at least you're not getting bitten by a senegal. We have a senegal parrot (it's mainly my mum's) called Merryn and, though affectionate, he does bite! Hard! He does have a character and is funny and very cheeky. Senegals are a bit bigger than budgies, about the size of a small conure, and come from Africa. He's quite young and he'll be getting scratched and then he'll bite really really hard! A lot of the time he leaves dents in the skin! But most times he doesn't make us bleed but he has a couple times. Good luck with Winnie, I had another budgie called Pichu who was pretty much exactly the same as your Winnie, but she flew away out of the window when I opened my bedroom door to come in and just flew out the top window. I had her for, like a month. She pecked at me as well, and let me stroke her sometimes and would sit on my finger. She was silly and cute though and she really was getting there.

[sweetie]

Hi liz I agree with wingz4thingz, get her confident doing the same thing with glove on and then try with your hand, soooo happy for you and Winnie

[Hezz]

Hi Liz. Don't worry about not finding a treat to reward her with. I know this is the accepted way to do things, but I must say I have rarely used it. (I am not a fan of using food rewards for dogs either - may take longer, but we get there). So don't fret over that one.

I was going to suggest putting Winnie into a smaller cage for the training sessions, but it seems you two have reached an understanding there. As for getting her eating veggies, try eating some yourself in front of her, and leaving a piece close by. Most lettuces are not good - they like them but there is no nutritional value as they are mostly water and can cause wet droppings. Dark coloured lettuces like your red-coral are better, but there are plenty of leafy greens to chose from.

[lizb]

I will carry on with the veg I even tried herbs as listed on her she kinda runs herself on them but that's about it lol. As for te train I guess I can't force her to eat anything she does not mind stepping up with out I am also starting to let her out this way instead of the stick lol

[Hezz]

Good! Sounds like you have worked it out for yourselves.

[lizb]

Ok a update we r back to square one which is total pants. I think this has happen because of me going on holiday just as I was having a break threw so 2 weeks of no training she is gone back to her not so sure self so I will start again :-(

[Moogie]

I bet (although no expert AT ALL) that even though you are back to square one it will not take you HALF the amount of time to get her stepping up again as it did in the first place,i reckon you will be giving us an update in the next week that she is confident again stepping up
I had to catch Elfie for a week to give him meds when i had only just got him used to stepping up and once the meds had finished,every time i put my hand in his cage he thought i was intending on catching him but within a week,week and a half and alot of Patience from me he was stepping up as if nothing had happened xxx