Bonding with Miko

[Joe Bachi]

Hi everyone,

I've had Miko for 9 days now, and he's already showing great progress:

*He doesn't growl at anyone anymore

*He will eat seeds from anyone's hand through the cage bars (they hold it between their index and thumb)

*He eats seeds from the palm of my hand

*Today we started something new: I let him eat the seed off of my palm and then ask him to "shake"(as in shake my hand) and he lifts his leg and puts it on my hand then removes it.

 

I am using the clicker training method, and it's amazing how smart he is and how fast he learns things.

I keep his "treat seeds" in a little bag next to his cage, and now whenever someone opens the bag his knows that he's going to get a treat and gets closer to that side of the cage while extending his neck:p

Since I've bought him he's only bitten me three or four times (not very powerful ones) and I always stay cool and don't react, then I tell him firmly:"NO BITING"....................Is that a good way to deal with biting?

 

Lastly, I was wondering, should I give him a water dispenser(like the one used for smaller birds) ?or should I leave it in the water dish? And how can I get him to eat his fruits and veggies?(He refuses to eat anything that is not sunflower seeds:confused:)

 

Thank you all for your help

Regards

Joe

[Ray P]

Hi Joe we use a water dish and for us it works fine because our grey and amazon don`t mess it their dish but that is up to you.

Keep giving the fruit and vegs, to them and they will try them and eat them in do time. I do not give any sunflower seed to my birds. They love their vege treats and will do anything for them. You could try raw almonds as a treat to replace sunflower seed. Any way the no bite thing is great and no reaction to a bite is good.

[judygram]

It sounds like things are going well for you and Miko, its hard to believe he has come this far in only 9 days so you must be doing something right and not having a strong reaction to his bites is good and as the weeks and months go by you will get better at reading his body language so you will know the signs of an impending bite and learn to avoid them.

[Barbara2]

Some people have had success sprinkling some spices on fruits and veggies like ginger (that's the only one I can think of right now). Maybe cinnamon. Or grind up something tasty that you know he likes and sprinkle that on.