Our Taming Progress

[knight76]

Hi all.

I recently bought a hand raised and tame IRN.

Now admittedly the breeder has done alot of work with Charlie to the point where he is not really hand shy and will hop onto your hand readily.

Tonight we got some watermelon and I was able to hold it out to him whilst he was sitting in my other hand and he ate some. He also ate some from my wife's hand which is encouraging.

He is definately not sure about me though as he is a lot more flighty and fidgety when I am holding him than when my wife is. For my wife he will sit on her for a scratch for minutes at a time as the pic below shows.


Yes, his wing is cut until he is used to his new enviro and us.

He will not do this for me yet, if I try to scratch him or stroke his head he will wriggle and run off. I guess this is a time thing. He did eat the water melon from my hand which is encouraging.

Now for my question:

When we have him on us he is always trying to get upto our heads and climb on top. I realise this is a bird thing and they have to seek the highest point, but is there anything we can do to discourage this?

We got him on xmas day so have really only had him with us 3 days.

I realise I can search this forum and have done so reading a lot, but find it easier to get direct advice.

Oh, and from the photo, anybody want to have a stab at sex. I realise this is a long way off yet but its always fun to guess.

[julie]

who clipped him?

[knight76]

Hi Julie.

My wife clipped him.

We got him out again tonight and had more success. He actually sat with me and let me scratch him happily. Then he crawled up under my jaw and stayed there for a chin scratch so he is warming to me.

[skibum]

oh s/he's gorgeous!! Trying to get mine used to it too - only had it for 2 days so long way to go but hand-reared as well and pretty tame. Loves sitting in its cage though - bought an absolute whopper, s/he looks like a tiddler in it! Will follow your progress with great interest as is virtually same age as mine.
As for sex - its anyone's guess. My last one I got a off a breeder she reckoned was male and she was right. With the colours I reckon is easier to tell with green. Blue is a litle tougher. Give it a couple of months - the website does give some tips without getting DNA test. Posing and strutting are the key behaviours for a male.
Cool birds, soo clever, soo cheeky.

[freaky]

is that only 1 wing clipped?

[Lene]

It looks like it's just one wing clipped, and not just the flight feathers.

The bird needs to have both wings clipped equally, in order to maintain balance, when its gliding to the floor.

Here a site which shows a great way to clip:

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html

[Lauren]

What a sweet little face! You wouldn't want him to injure himself with that wing clip. Both wings need to be clipped to give the bird balance. And thats a bit too many feathers clipped. Only needs to be the first 5 or 6 *flight feathers* just until they are neatly tucked under. And do read up on *blood feathers* in case you might clip one. I know of a bad wing clip all to well, I had a cockatiel that would constantly nose dive into the tiled floor (no balance), it broke its breast bone and plucked its chest open, it was a horrible site, with a big gaping wound, we had no idea he was in pain until his chest opened up, we just thought he had a bad temper, all because his wings were clipped incorrectly. Sorry for the lecture, but we are just trying to help.

[giantfoot_truck]

Your baby have a beautiful color! and very cute too!

Anyway I would put my hand above their head when they tried to climb up to my head, to prevent them from continuing, then I would distract it with something more interesting than climbing up to head, like showing them things that may interest them, it can be anything.

Did you house it below eye level?