Today i’m going to answer one of the most popular questions: “my bird is scared of me. What do i do?” This is a very common problem.
But the good news is, it is also quite easy to fix. With this method, your bird will start trusting you within a matter of days. I’m going to illustrate this with a goldfinch, but the method works for canaries, budgies and other small birds as well.
Birds Believe in You
Put the cage in an undisturbed place near which you spend a lot of time. It is important that at least two sides of the cage are covered, so that the bird feels sheltered.
For the first two or three days, you don’t actually have to do anything. Just leave your bird alone to get used to his surroundings and you being around. On the third day you can pull up a chair next to the cage and just start talking to your bird.
Don’t face him directly just yet!. Your bird will probably go into a mild panic because you are suddenly so close. That’s ok, because you’re only going to sit there for a few seconds.
Don’t pay any attention to him, just start talking to him in a soothing voice. Count aloud from 1 to 30, then move back to your place.
Repeat this two or three times a day. What this does to your bird is show him that your presence isn’t dangerous since nothing at all will happen to him if you just sit there and talk.
The next day, move your cage a little closer to your desired spot. Again, pull up a chair and start counting, this time to 40 or 50. Then again, return to your usual activities.
The following day move the cage closer to your spot once more and repeat the procedure with the chair and the counting. Over the span of a couple of days, you should slowly increase the time you spend sitting close to the cage, counting to up to 100.
Approach the Bird Slowly
You will notice that your bird will get much, much calmer. Let’s sum up:
- move your bird’s cage to an undisturbed place where you spend a lot of time.
- spend time at that place.
- sit down next to the cage two or three times a day and count to 30, then move away again.
- repeat this step for a couple of days, counting to a higher number progressively.
Also, every day, move your goldfinch’s cage closer to you. And that’s it!. You are invited to share your progress in the comments below. See you soon!.