Alias isn't scared of hands, but he won't perch on them either - why's this?
Sparrow 13
sanfrancaliusa
When Alias came home with us, he was said to have been hand-raised.
That was a few months ago. Since then I have been hanging out with
him a lot and being as friendly and pleasant a great big featherless
thing as I know how to be -- talking and singing to him whenever
henotices me, handfeedng him lots of millet and so forth. Well, we are
certainly buddies after a fashion -- he eats from my fingers and plays
"budgie-ball" with me from the top of his cage, seems pleased and
interested whenever I talk and babble and sing to him, will nibble at
my eyebrows and nose with what seems to be affection or friendship,
and definitely is not scared of me.
Here's the problem: the little brat just simply will not hop onto a
finger or perch I offer him; that is, A: unless he wants up onto
something he cannot get to on his own and wishes me to give him a
boost or B: every now and then when I am sort of sneaky about it.
Once he is away from his cage he will play "Hop on" from one index
fnger to another and once in a great while he has allowed me to give
him a good "scratchies" -- the last is something he gives every
indication of enjoying very much, turning his little head this way and
that for me to get to the itchiest spots in a way which would seem to
suggest a lot of confidence in my good intentions, but it is not a
common occurence. I haven't been trying to force the issue much since
we seem to have a fairly good rapport otherwise.
I'm sure he's not scared of my hands -- he will often give my fingers
a friendly little nibble when I reach into his cage to put food in his
dish,hang up a treat or a green leaf, or give his toy ball a poke, or
when he's up top of his cage and I am goofing around with him(I most
certainly know the difference between a playful nip and a scared or
"teed-off" one by now!).
Should I go on as I have been, and assume that he'll eventually want
to hop on of his own accord, or should I be doing something different?
Or are some 'keets just not big on perching on human fingers even if
the human is a good pal, and maybe mine is one of those? When he rubs
his itchy little face on his perch or the bars of his cage, I know I
could do a real good job of giving him a scratchies, and it
frustrates me he won't hardly ever accept them from me!
Pamela L. Paine
I figure I'm better than nothing. I'd say it's just a personal preference
your bird has. They're all different, and maybe finger perching just doesn't
do it for him. Considering how friendly he is, I certainly wouldn't worry
about it. Unless he's terribly flighty, you can push the issue by literally
pushing your finger against his chest.
My own little guy, Bobby, doesn't necessarily want to hop on my finger,
either. Especially when he's in his cage. He'll sidle away with a definite
"buzz off" attitude. But if I keep after him, he'll eventually get on my
finger like, "All right. Fine."
But when he wants to come to me, it's a whole different story. Bobby also
likes to sit on my keyboard when I'm typing, then tries to sit on my
fingers. He's kinda funny about getting his head scratched, too. Sometimes
he'll let me; sometimes he won't.
In short (I know -- far too late!), it's not something I'd worry about if I
were you, especially since he's so friendly in all other respect.
"Sparrow 13" <sparr...@SPAMLESScomcast.net> wrote in message
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