Geist's taming journal!

[Reese]

Sorry in advance, but my Double u key is broken! D: So I can't type them, instead I've been replacing them vvith double v's.:rolleyes:

Alright! So I've decided to hand tame Geist, I've never had a hand tame budgie before. They vvere all pet store bought and vvild. Geist included.

First up! Say hello to Geist! ^^

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33304816/Geist/Geistt6.png
"Excuse me! I'm busy preening.:mad: "



As of novv, Geist has been home for a vveek and a day. C: He has calmed dovvn, he's eating, drinking. Playing vvith his toys and chattering every novv and then!

I vvon't start hand taming until his molt is over. Since molting takes a lot out of a bird and tends to make them cranky! Besides, every time I look over, Geist is sleeping. XD :budgie:

[aka.pody]

I love his color. :) When Geist starts to trust you the training comes a little easier. When he's used to your hand try to let him come to you for a treat. This might take a while but when the day comes and he flies to your finger it's all worth it. Good luck, have patience, and don't give up. ;)

p.s. by the way typing using two v's is brilliant. I hope you can get the key fixed though. :)

[Reese]

Hehe Thank you!

12/11- Geist is MUCH more active today! His molt must be coming to an end soon. C: Today he decided to fly around the cage like a maniac! He has finally taken an interest in his cuddle bone, and his toys. He has even been singing and head bobbing! Instead of being that sleepy, quiet, little bird that I've knovvn for the past vveek.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33304816/Geist/Geistplay.png


Another update- From you can see in the above picture, there is no lining on the bottom on the cage. VVhilist he vvas playing around, I noticed that his feett vvould slip through and he'd trip himself. Concerned, I decided to risk scaring him to death and put paper at the bottom instead of having a chance he'd trip and break a leg. Thankfully he didn't get scared too bad! I rolled up the paper and slooovvly stuck my hands in the cage, slovvly unrolling the paper and placing it at the bottom of the cage. The first time, he freaked out and flevv around the cage. I stopped moving my hands and he flevv into the corner and landed on the perch. The second, third and fourth time I put a piece of paper at the bottom of the cage, he vvas just vvatching me intently. He seemed kind of curious! :D

After I took my hands out of the cage for the last time, he vvalked over to his toys and started playing vvith them and novv hes grinding his beak and chattering in content. I'm glad I didn't scare him TOO bad. I just didn't vvant to vvake up one morning vvith a budgie on the bottom of the cage vvith a broken leg. D:

[Reese]

Another 12/11 update!- I played the blinking game vvith Geist! It seemed to be vvorking fairly vvell! I vvas sitting eye level vvith the bottom perch, right next to his food dish. Blinking slovvly at him, he vvould slovv blink back. XD Then he hopped over to me, ate a fevv seeds and decided to investigate the big creature peeking at him through the cage so he peered over the food dish at me and stared. I thought it vvas the most adorable thing ever.

And then my brothers phone alarm vvent off. Scared the living crud out of him and he flevv off. OTL GOSH DARN YOU BROTHER! VVhy'd you put your phone so close to his cage!?

[FaeryBee]

Geist is gorgeous!! Glad things are going well with him - love your updates. :)

[Kathryn]

Sounds like things are coming along. Geist is lovely :love: Keep up the good work ;) :D

[Reese]

Thanks guys! :) My brother is being impatient! He vvants Geist to learn to talk already! XD Patience! He isn't even hand tame yet.

[Reese]

12/13- Our training session for today just involved me moving a fevv toys around his cage vvhile he vvas still in there. I noticed he like a particular toy but he had some trouble getting to the top! The bottom vvas tore up but the top vvas untouched. :0 He'd stretch his little body out so far, just trying to reach the top that I figured I'd help him out.

After Patches passed avvay my mom had cleaned the entire cage and all of the toys (as neither of us vvanted Geist to catch the respiratory illness that Patches had before she passed) and vvhen she put them back, she didn't exactly put them in the original spot I had them in. Geist's favorite toy vvas directly above the perch, so it vvas blocking his ability to sit up straight vvhen he vvas by it. D:

I slovvly stuck my hand in the cage again, he moved avvay to the far end of the perch but I expected as much! XD I unscrevved the toy and tried to get it off the particular bar it vvas attached to, but it didn't vvant to come off! :eek: I pulled as lightly but forecful as I could but no dice. This stubborn toy did not vvant to move!

It vvas one of those thumb screvv keychains and the bar vvouldn't fit through the little space!
http://www.oneinhundred.com/upfiles/upimg7/Thumb-screw-key-chain--4983987.jpg

VVhile I'm fighting vvith the toy, Geist gets curious and vvalks over and observes me and starts chevving on the toy vvhilist my epic struggle! :eek: Then he starts chattering, bobbing his head and singing to me like he vvas egging me on!

After finally getting the toy off, I moved it over a bit and to the left. So it vvasn't hovering over the perch and restricting his space, plus it vvas lovver dovvn so he could get to the top and chevv that to pieces too!


Then I observed that the svving vvas basically doing the same thing as Geists fav. toy, so I slovvly moved my hands over there and moved the svving over a bit for him. Then took my hands out and figured that vvas good enough unintentional training for today and played the blinking game vvith him instead.

Soon after he started getting sleepy, so I got up, put the sheets over his cage and dimmed the lights for him. Sleep avvay little buddy! <3


Edit/update: I also noticed that since playing the blinking game vvith him yesterday, I can move around the room vvithout him getting nervous!

[Reese]

12/18 Update- I've been taking things incredibly slow with Geist. c: Week by week, I am taking things, or how ever long he needs to get use to the next step.

Week one consisted of me leaving him alone, letting him get use to his new home.
Week two consisted of me sitting by his cage, playing the blinking game.
Week three also consisted of me sitting by his cage, playing the blinking game! Until I could walk by his cage and not interrupt his daily activity. (There is a space by his cage and my bed that I use to walk through daily. XD)

December 20th is gonna be the start of the 4th week hes been home here. If he is completely comfortable with me walking about the room and sitting by his cage at that point, I will start with keeping my hand in the cage for 10 minutes at a time, daily. After hes completely comfortable with that I'll start perch or millet training. I haven't decided which yet. c: Wish me luck guys!

[Reese]

12/23-24 Update!

Early this morning I decided I would start the hand taming process. Giest is completely comfortable in his cage and with me walking around the room.

He has even started jumping to the front of the cage when I walk by. This started when I would sit by the cage and playback a video of him chirping on my brothers camera while holding it up to my face. When he would hear himself chirping on the camera, he'd fling himself to the front of the cage and stare at me. The only thing separating me and him were a few bars! :eek:

Anyways. I started by sticking my hand in the cage. His reaction was expected. XD To move to the far corner and STAAREE, making sure this strange thing in his cage didn't eat him. I gently rested my hand on the middle of the perch and slowly, and I mean slowly. A literal snails pace; moved my hand towards him and stopped a few inches from him when he got uneasy. He flew to the other side of the perch and watched my hand.

I moved my hand at the same super slow snails pace over to him. About half way there he got uneasy again and flew around the cage. He landed on my arm for a second until he realized that he was standing on the strange creature! Eep! He then flew off and landed in the same spot he was before. I continued moving my hand slowly towards him and got within an inch of his feet before I decided I was close enough and moved my hand away.

He seemed very confused! :giggle: He flew to the bottom perch and then to his salad dish and started eating. Even with my big ol' arm looming over him! At that point it has been a little over 10 minutes and my arm was starting to ache. So I figured enough was enough and started moving my hand out of the cage.

HE DIDN'T BUDGE! He just kept on munchin' away at his salad, looking up a few times to check where my hand was at.

I'm so proud of him! :budgie:

[Reese]

Christmas update!

I've been keeping my hand in the cage for 10 minutes or so a day. :D He seems to be getting use to this but is still very unsure.

Here are some photos from today! Taken with my brand new snazzy camera.

http://i39.tinypic.com/ev9jzb.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/3484p5f.jpg
" I dunno about this..."

I refrained from touching him after that photo. C: and took my hand out of the cage as it had been 10 minutes. But this round it primarily consisted of him eating with my hand by him. XD He didn't freak out and fly around or anything.

[Reese]

12/27 update!

Geist is having out of cage time! c: He seems very attracted to the sound of other budgie calls so I played a few of those clips and out he came!

He flew around in circles around the room. I was worried sick that he'd hit a wall but he didn't! Thank goodness. I DID budgie proof the room. Covered up the tv, covered up the mirror and my brothers computer, even covered up the book case that had a bunch of towering piles of junk on it. Covered up as many wires as I could as well.

First time he flew around he landed by my bed. He rested for a bit but with the budgie calls still playing he flew around the room again. Seemed like he was too scared to land near me so he just kept flying in circles until he flew down by one of the sheets and that is where he is resting now, staring up at me.

His first major exercise! Woot!

[skythrutrees]

Yeah! Pretty soon he will be zipping around the room like nobodys business!

[Reese]

Another 12/27 update!

Geist has flown around the room a few more times. XD He has seemed to have gotten more use to his surroundings as I don't hear him smacking into things any more. (Like the portable fan or the light stand.

and thank goodness I tacked the sheet up onto the wall or else he would have fell back behind the tv! :eek:

He's currently hanging out on the sheet that's covering the tv. Replying every so often to the budgie chirping that's playing on the computer.

[Reese]

Final 12/27 update!

Geist is now safe back in his cage, and we had some awesome highlights of today! Namely I could walk up to him while he was ontop of the cage and peer out the window without him flying off. I thought I heard a noise outside so I checked! And he didn't move a muscle! Even with me being so close to him! :eek:


Here are a few areas that he deemed safe enough to land during his flights around the room.

First! The floor!
http://i40.tinypic.com/261z01x.jpg


Second! The sheet covering the TV!
http://i42.tinypic.com/2nh2ue0.jpg


Third! The ceiling fan! Yay for it being off!
http://i41.tinypic.com/ztynsy.jpg


and Fourth! and the most epic and awesome! Right next to me and the computer!! :eek: :budgie:

http://i43.tinypic.com/2vn4b5i.jpg

[Amin]

Haha so nice that you and your bird are connecting :2thumbs: I'm totally subbing

[Reese]

Thanks! CX

Today I decided that I as a gift, I'd extend his cage and make it bigger. It's suppose to be a cockatiel cage and isn't super wide, so I thought he would appreciate the extra room above.


After the initial scary moments with two people taking apart his cage while he was still inside and sticking another cage section in there, he calmed down. Tested out his newly found space by flying around in circles and investigating every nook and cranny! XD I need to get him more perches today or tomorrow because two perches aren't enough for the big cage now. He can't reach the top unless he climbs up there!


He loves his new space though. c: He has been singing all morning and I've been cooing and calling him a "cutie birdy" and he seemed to be responding to it! He would get that corndog look, tilt his head and stare at me when I spoke.

I decided to take a video of him singing and I played it back. Immediately he jumped to the front of the cage and stared at me and the camera. I leaned forward and he didn't move. I played back the video again and he started to investigate the camera. Chewing on it. Then he started using my fingers as a perch through the bars! :eek: Then he got curious about my fingers and started gnawing on them too!

More progress! Yay!

http://i40.tinypic.com/20l4zt.jpg