parakeet freindship

Question
 Hello I have a question I have three parakeets one is mine and I have been working with it for the past week. It is still a little bit scared how do I form a strong bond with my parakeet. Cause I love birds and the one I have is nice but it perfers to be with the other birds than me. I get it to come onto my finger but when I sit down I put it down on my shirt and then it walks up to my shoulder wanting to fly off. And some times she stays on my chest and nibbles on my small beard and I use my chin to pet it because it is afraid of my hands how do I get it to not be afraid of me and to actually love me when it sees me cause I really want to have a strong bond with my bird. When I wake up in the morning go to the cage and get her to come on my finger by pushing my finger against its belly and it gets on but then it wants to fly write back into its cage to be with the other birds and I forgot to mention mostly every time I take my bird away from the other birds they do a really high chirp thats ear popping I figure they are saying help and it makes me feel bad.

Answer
Hi Troy,

Great to see you again.

Please don't take what I am about to say the wrong way, I am mealy thinking from a birds point of view.

Hand reared birds are naturally more clingy, but if they are not, don't worry, you still have a fantastic chance in hand taming your bird and building up a great relationship. Also, the principle is exactly the same whether you have one, two or 20 birds.

Your bird clearly likes being with you enough to sit on you and explore you. A bird separated from the flock will screech an ear popping noise, as in the wild, noise like that travels and its how they stay in touch.

Your bird finds the cage a safe place to be and its where the water and food is, if you try hand feeding nuts and treats, he will soon learn to trust your hand.

When you have him out, try to keep him amused and give him a reason to be interested in you. He perhaps finds his mates more interesting. Put bits of food between your lips while he is on you, so he knows that your a cool place to hang out. Play games with him too. Put a sunflower seed on your tongue and just when he goes for it, pull your tongue in your mouth. Watch the reaction, its great!! Then give him the seed as a reward. You can do the same thing in your hand. They love to be entertained and challenged. get a little square of toilet paper and hold the corner while he chews it up and play a little tug of war with him. Oh! and anything shiny, like keys or pen clips and a great source of amusement.

Be patient with him though. Its only been a week and he is still getting to know you. some birds take weeks. He is probably scared of your hand a little, because all he probably knows is people grabbing him and shoving him in boxes he doesn't want to be in. Once he realises that your hand brings treats and fun, you'll be ok. Give him at least a month to settle in and his character will really start to shine.

Remember every bird is different. I have 2 cockatiels on me at the moment. One loves a cuddle and to sit for hours preening, the other doesn't want to be disturbed while she chews her way through everything she can get her beak onto and will often tell me off. She likes her fuss on her terms, not mine.

Charlotte