Major Milestone!

[IIvalu]

As the titel says, I've had Jacob for 5 weeks now and he has started eating from my hand! And today he even stepped up on my hand without me asking him to, and walked around a bit!
I'm very happy, and exicted. I believe I have to wait a week with him eating from my hand, and then I can start asking him to step-up, is that correct?

Also, I got him from a pet store, how can I tell how old he is?

[linda040899]

This is absolutely wonderful news!!! Earning the trust of a parrot, even a small one, just simply takes time and baby steps. If he's hopping onto your hand, you may want to add a command "Step Up" when you put your hand in his cage when you offer food. That way, he will associate his action with what you want him to do. Your words indicate what is expected. I use the step up command whenever I want one of my birds to change perches. From the cage to my hand, from my hand to his cage. The words tell him what to do. Praise, praise and more praise, all the time.

If you can post a photo in an online storage site and copy/paste the URL here, we maybe able to tell you an age. Certain colorings change at certain times but age has to be before the first molt, under 6 months.

[IIvalu]

He only did it once during the morning, hasn't done it since. But still tests my hand to see if I'll grab him, like putting his foot on my hand and then pulling it away. He still hates when I approach him with hand first, but hopefully he gets used to it.

I try finding the www.imagestation.com but for some reason my computer won't open it, am I doing something wrong?

[linda040899]

Imagestation closed several years ago. Try Photobucket.com

Parrots are not particularly fond of hands and that includes my own. Try seeing if he will step up onto your arm and see if that's more successful. One finger might even be an idea. He's not flying away in fright so that's a good thing!

[IIvalu]

I don't have money to pay for a monthly subscription. I'll see if I can find an alternative to get a picture here

He isn't as quick to fly away from my hand when I offer food but does it last minute. So I believe he is getting a little more comfortable. But how would I approach him with my arm, if he is scared of nearly everything human? Should I just wait for a week before asking him to step-up?

[linda040899]

Try Flickr for online storage. It's free, no fees. I haven't used Photobucket in a while so I didn't realize they aren't free anymore...

Will he step up onto a perch or dowel?

[IIvalu]

He will only step up on his bowl and perches, but whenever I move my hand a little while he is eating from it he backs away or flies away. I am a bit lost on how to move forward from this. :/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/185264.../shares/T4u6aH

This is what he looks like ^

[linda040899]

Thanks for the photo! You have a very pretty Green Fischer's Lovebird. There are 9 species of lovebird, Peachfaced being the one seen most often. With Fischer's it's harder to distinguish age by appearance but he doesn't look like an older bird. I'd have to say possibly between 3 - 6 months of age.

It's no easy to hand tame a lovebird that's not been handled or socialized properly. And each bird is different so many times we have to get creative. I have a Green Cheek Conure who I got from someone who bought him from a pet shop but realized she didn't have time to give him the attention he needed. She had him for 2 weeks and then he came to live with me. Talk about changes!! His name is Fonzi and I broke all my own rules with him. I actually caught him in a towel and took him to the smaller of my bathrooms and put him on my hand. He couldn't see his cage and there was nowhere to go so he got a crash course on human interaction. We spent about 2 hours in the bathroom just talking, interacting and me giving him treats. I did the same thing several times/days in a row and he finally realized I mean him no harm. I can throw this out as a suggestion and let you see what happens.

Sometimes is just takes time and LOTS of patience/attention!

[IIvalu]

Thank you for the age guess!

Yesterday I held my hand and arm in his cage away from a perch, with some seeds and he flew down to it and then flew away again. But each time he is getting closer and closer to my hand, so I think I'll try that method since he only complains a little and flies to a perch nearby instead of the side of his cage.
Thank you for your time.

[linda040899]

Glad things are working for you! Fischer's are not quite as outgoing as Peachfaces but they sure can make delightful pets. I have no problems offering suggestions based on my own personal experiences.