I need help with my weird kak

MaxJ · Member Joined: Feb 20, 2017 Posts: 5

I have had my Kakariki for around 2 months now and he's a weird one.

After a couple of weeks I slowly gained my birds trust to the point where he would step up on a wooden dowel for millet and eat from my hand however now all of a sudden he just snatches the food and runs off making it Impossible to do any training. Every now and a gain I can get him to step up on my finger and even onto my arm however I need to hold an entire millet stalk (or whatever you call them) on my arm for him to stay there. He Is quiet happy to come up to you while out the cage on rare occasions however absolutely hates you going to him In and out of the cage. He even sometimes gets annoyed if you make him step up and gives you a gentle yet sturn bite. He has just started vocalising however If you make any interaction with him he stops instantlly

This is incredibly frustrating wall

as I would like to start to be able to retrieve him when out the cage and even examine/move him to check for any injuries or fit an aviator harness and such alike

His nails are also getting rather long and I need to figure out how to get him to allow me to cut them (I know about cutting veins and such and dont want this to happen)

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Go to the Quick Search block on the left...
Type in taming and read....you are doing thing basically right, but with slight modifications would improve things... change the millet to mint or apple
Nails , kakariki have longer nails than most other species.. and when get too long they will trim them them selves... Go to the Quick Search block
Getting the bird back in can be a traumatic effort.. for both of you, dont under estimate the intelligence of kakariki, espec if compare the size to most other parrots od similar size... they win hands down
Go to the Quick Search block

A common factor to much of the above... the cage has to be his HOME the place he goes to roost, feel safe, when dusk falls...(curtains close light fails... Wink

If you want akakariki8 to do something he will only do it because he has a reason to do so... and unlike most other pet animal, pleasing you is not one of them .... This has to be your mindset, and accept kakariki are very independent but nature... you co habit as a friend , not have a live cuddly toy