New barrier with Cosmo!!

[jimmycoop2005]

I was sitting beside his cage like usual just sweet talking him. When I decide I'm going to let him taste my fingers I do, it leads to him letting me rub his beak. Spend more time with him, then I get to rub under his eyes beside his beak his neck and head. I'm soooooo excited right now, I just had to share!! I wanted to show you guys so bad I took a video haha.

 

[judygram]

That was pretty good Jimmy, but I am not so sure you ought to be offering him your finger to nibble on, later it could be more than just nibbling if you catch my drift, but thanks for sharing a couple of moments with Cosmo with us.

[jimmycoop2005]

he is just tasting it, not nibbling. he licks it and doesn't put any pressure on it.

[judygram]

Ok Jimmy but watch out later on, for it could get to nibbling and then biting.

[jimmycoop2005]

I thought you were suppose to let them "taste" your fingers?

[danmcq]

Wonderful video Jimmy :-)

 

We all have different approaches and opinions on the Finger nibbling. I and Kim have let Dayo nibble and test our fingers and toes since day one. At first he did bite the nails hard, but not the flesh. He knew the difference. The nails took a few days to get him to understand how much pressure was allowed on them. He did crack one of my wife's nails while learning :-) but he has not done so now in the last 2 months.

 

The way I figure it (I could be totally wrong) is that they are smart enough to learn and know how much pressure is acceptable and where. The only time this goes out the window is IF they do not want to step up for example cause their having fun, then the pressure increases proportionally to how much they want you to leave them alone. :-)

 

The only time Dayo has bitten me fairly hard and it did bring blood, was when I was first trying to get his aviator harness on. He got the strap around his foot and it freaked him out. I don't know if he cared what he bit at that point, he just wanted that freaky thing tangled on his foot OFF. :woohoo:

 

So, you you need to make a decision on your own on this one, based on your gut feeling and how your new baby is acting. Much like the decision to shoulder or not etc.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/11/26 15:59

[Kibibi]

Using their beak is how they explore new things. So letting him "explore" your fingers isn't a bad thing if you are comfortable with the fact that he may take a bite. IMO this is fine in the early stages of bonding. However, using this as a habitual greeting (which probably isn't your intention) probably isn't advised because sooner or later he will decide to take a bite if he's feeling bad or angry about something. Cute video BTW.

[jimmycoop2005]

Well I tried to do it again this morning and he did bite hard I think he is in a bad mood today for some reason. He is still being kind of a butt hole. I will try some more later. For some reason he bit hard first when I put my finger in there like he was being protective over something. I'm not sure what's wrong, I was so shocked I forgot to tell him no.

[Guest briansmum]

cute video jimmy. and they do have their off days, not matter how strongly you are bonded with your bird sometimes they just get up on the wrong side of their perch

 

as dan said people have different opinions on whether fingers should be offered or not, i always have, and yes i've suffered a bite once or twice, but now i can judge his moods, if he is happy i can touch him all over his head. both through the bars of his cage just like in your video and when he is out.

 

he still "beaks" my finger but he isn't biting, i consider it to be a form of affection, occasionally he gets carried away bites a bit hard.. i take my finger away look the other way for a minute or so and then go back to him at which point he's all "puppy like" again.

 

overall i find it best to touch and handle him as much as i can and it seems to be paying off. at the end of the day the only person you need to listen to on this subject is cosmo, he will make it perfectly clear when he doesn't want physical contact and you will quickly learn the signs.

 

in the mean time it's a case of learning eachothers boundaries which includes him learning the difference between feeling your finger with his beak and biting. but i did exactly what you are doing and it's working for me

[jimmycoop2005]

Great that makes me feel wonderful. Tonight was another good night, I opened his door and started like I did through the bars. I worked my way to scratching his neck. Boy did he like it, he about fell off his perch he was putting his head down so far :laugh: I scratched his neck and head for about 20 min before I got tired and he became hungry. haha Thanks for all the tips guys, I know every bird is different, I just hope he isn't becoming a one person bird. My girlfriend has worked all day for the past 4 days and when she gets here he is sleeping, I learned the painful way to not bother him then!! And I was just changing his food dish where the little rat pooped in it haha.